[Graded][Plotboard] The Confluence of Two Souls

[Valkier]

When do we begin?

Kiyoshi’s question hung forgotten in the air as the councillors of Iwagakure, resplendent upon their ornate plinth and dressed in all their finery, turned their attentions to a discussion among themselves. Their hushed voices didn’t carry far into the stifling chamber, but their continual glances down at her were telling enough; clearly their interview of her was complete, and come now was the time where they set upon her fate. With nothing to do but maintain her mask of confidence, Kiyoshi folded her hands at her waist and waited patiently. Reading the mood within their discussion was difficult, and she soon gave up trying; while Sakata Kanna seemed keen, and dominated the meeting as much as she had the interview, many of the others were much more subdued.

Only now that she had a moment free from their imposing attention did Kiyoshi turn and notice that her escorts from earlier, Hazuki Shuran and Komiya Shizuo, were still present. She wondered whether they still had a part to play in the day’s events beyond simply bringing her here, though going over to ask them now didn’t seem appropriate. Besides, Shuran’s expression suggested that his mood wasn’t any better than it had been before. She didn’t meet their eyes, instead just bowing her head slightly.

The sharp snap! of Kanna fan brought Kiyoshi’s attention back to the middle of the room, where the assembled council was now standing and beginning to descend from their dais.

“Immediately.” Kanna’s blunt reply was all that was forthcoming, and a signal from the Tsuchikage led the full procession, Kiyoshi and escorts included, out of the chamber.

Their route quickly transitioned from the decorated corridors of the council’s central meeting hall to those of simpler wood, then plain stone, and from there down into simply-hewn tunnels filled with the musty, undisturbed air of secret places. The path turned and twisted, rose and fell too many times for Kiyoshi to remember, and quickly she resigned herself to the fact that she had no idea where they were, or where they were going. Chuutetsu and Kanna strode at the front of the party, followed closely by the more aloof members of the shinobi and strutting samurai councillors, with the civilian council members bringing up the rear. Kiyoshi and her escorts were pulled along in their midst, herded onwards with no opportunity to do much but walk. But with the weight of the day’s events threatening to sink in, she was soon enough grateful for the time to just think…

[Kao]

Shizuo hadn't expected things to move so quickly. The girl's resolve was impressive, especially considering he and others had expected some kind of resistance. Hesitation would have been normal and they had been fully prepared to deal with such trepidation by force, but in the end she had made his and Shuren's jobs that much easier. The group made their way out of the chamber and eventually into twisting tunnels, carved through the rock beneath the village. There were so many turns into deeper and older tunnels that it would have been difficult for the chuunin to keep the path straight in their head, and even Shizuo eventually lost track of exactly where they had travelled. All the special jounin knew for certain is that the tunnel led them out of the village proper and into the surrounding mountains.

Kiyoshi's expression was difficult to decipher. Though he couldn't begin to truly understand the burden she faced, he was sure her mind was wracked with worry and fear. 'That won't do,' Shizuo thought with a sigh as he closed the distance between them to walk at her left side. Shizuo felt it was his duty to assuage her fears as much as possible. She would be facing the most difficult day of her life so far, and she would need confidence and reassurance. Kanna had made it clear to him that the strength of a successful jinchuuriki's mind was just as important - if not more - as her physical compatibility. Doubt would truly be her enemy.

"You're brave," he stated as he flashed the girl a kind smile. His voice cut through the silence but he kept his tone low enough that it wouldn't quite reach the ears of the councillors in front of them. "And you'll be fine. Sakata-san chose you for a reason, and you didn't disappoint. I've never seen her this excited about something. If she's this confident, then it's safe to say you should be as well."

[Valkier]

Despite the fact that Kiyoshi was surrounded on all sides by the most prestigious persons of Iwagakure — or perhaps because of that — she still felt surprisingly isolated. Among such greatness she walked as a spectre. A dwarf among giants, made evident by the way that no one seemed to be paying her much attention now that they were moving. So long as she kept pace and behaved as expected, as was her place.
But after today, she realised, she would belong in such a crowd. Right now she was probably a mere child — a tool — in their eyes, but if what was about to happen succeeded… She’d emerge as someone else entirely. Someone more. A Jinchuuriki, by necessity, would quickly grow accustomed to walking and talking with councillors, kages, and those who otherwise wouldn’t even notice a young girl underfoot like her current self. For the rest of her life, be that an hour or century, she would be one of them. In privacy, at least. She glanced up at the faces around her, but none gave any indication of that truth.

And so it was with some relief that she glanced up some time later to see Shizuo falling into step beside her. He still towered over her just as much as the others but, with his easy smile and gentle manner, his seemed a solely physical effect. She stared at him a moment, taken aback by the sudden compliment, but soon enough her feeling of intimidation at her position began to waver.

”..Maybe.” She tried to return his smile, but only managed a feeble attempt. ”The word they usually use is ‘stubborn’.”

Though his presence was some small comfort, his revelation about Kanna just fed into Kiyoshi’s concern. What if she wasn’t up to the task, after everything so far? She fell quiet for a time, losing herself in the steady rhythm of footfalls as the tunnel rose to an incline and the air grew slowly cooler.

”Thanks.” She eventually said, her tone earnest. ”But it’s more… duty. All I know is what Sakata-sama said back there in the council chamber. Given the scale of things, it’s not much. But I know that I’m the only one who can do this; it’s my task, my burden. So who would I be if I didn’t give it my all? I have to face this on my feet, with my head held high, and hope that my legs and my mind are strong enough to carry me through.” She stoked that feeling of determination and drank it in, immersing herself in it, and felt more like herself than she had all day so far.

”Are you going to be… involved? When we arrive?” She hesitated and shot another look at Shizuo. ”If this thing beats me, will you… Can you stop it? Stop me?”

[Kao]

The special jounin didn't return her gaze. Had he been a more dishonest man, he would have told her that he would be there every step of the way, as close to right at her side as he could be and ready to help at a moment's notice. It would have been the kinder response, the one that could have eased the girl's mind. But the truth was, "Not exactly."

They were drawing close to their destination. The tunnels had become considerably muggy, the air thick and pressing in around them. But as they approached the chamber there was a slight breeze coming from in front of them. The circulation made it easier to breathe, but along with the cooling sensation came a sense of power and foreboding. It seemed to emanate from the walls, creating a feeling that they had entered an ancient place that was to be respected and even feared. The hairs on Shizuo's arms stood on end but he tried to keep his face neutral for Kiyoshi's sake.

"Unfortunately I don't quite have the skills to directly assist in the sealing. I'm here to observe Hazaki-san and the others and to help you afterwards. From the sound of things, I'll be heavily involved with your training in the future so they wanted me meet you and witness your sealing." Perhaps it wasn't the answer she wanted, but Shizuo knew she wouldn't benefit from a lie. It was important that she trusted him early on; otherwise, her transition into a jinchuuriki would be all the more unpleasant. Shizuo made a point to give her the warmest smile he could manage and then added, "Of course, if it comes to it, I'll do everything in my power to help you in case something goes wrong. But let's try not to think about that. With Sakata-san here, you'll be fine."

Finally, they arrived. The sealing area was nearly as large as the council's meeting chamber and just as intimidating. Its domed ceiling was high enough that it was shrouded in darkness, the rest of the room illuminated by carefully placed golden bulbs that were nestled in the walls. The rock walls appeared to be smooth, but a closer look would reveal that large fuuin were etched into the stone. Above them and to their left was a single steel door, and above that was a large expanse of glass that separated the sealing chamber from a viewing area. "I'll be up there," Shizuo said, motioning toward the glass, "keeping an eye on you. I won't be far away, I promise."

The council and their escorts parted in front of Kiyoshi to stand on either side of her in two long lines, at the end of which Sakata Kanna stood almost triumphantly. "Now my dear," she said, holding her arms to her side as if inviting the young chuunin for a hug. "We've arrived. Here is where you will decide your fate."

Behind her was a sort of altar, simple in design. It consisted of a stone slab that was slightly raised from the floor, and there was a small, soft pillow on top of it for Kiyoshi to rest her head. The altar was the center of an enormous fuuin array that took up the entire chamber floor. Unlike the fuuin on the walls, which were etched directly into the stone, this seal was drawn in white ink. Kanna extended her hand toward the girl and smiled. As she did so, the rest of the council made their way to the door - which opened on its own before they reached it - and Shuran followed them. Only Kiyoshi, Shizuo, Kanna, and her assistants remained.

Kanna gave Shizuo a knowing look and the young man nodded in response. He turned to Kiyoshi, looking her deeply in the eyes. The smile from earlier was gone, replaced by a much more serious countenance. "Stay strong," he instructed, "and remember yourself. Trust Sakata-san, but also trust yourself, okay?"

[Valkier]

Kiyoshi's face grew grim as she listened to Shizuo's serious response, though she didn't allow her determination to waver. She'd asked earnestly and in the hope of an earnest response; better to know the truth than to rest on words of false comfort.
"Then I'll just have to succeed." She muttered, and fixed her gaze on the darkness of the tunnel ahead.

If any of the others around her felt the change in atmosphere a short while later, few showed much outward sign. To Kiyoshi, what began as a mild sense of unease soon became a feeling of near suffocation; a direct and unwavering certainty that their group was now trespassing on somewhere that shouldn't be disturbed. There was an oppressive sense of something ancient and unknowable in the very air around them as the tunnel continued, and several times Kiyoshi whipped her head around in reaction to sounds or shapes in the darkness that weren't actually there, and the unsettling feeling of being watched seemed to follow her as the group arrived at the sealing area.

Within, she took just a quick moment to gaze around the large room, noting its size, doors, and intricate layers of twisting black fuuinjutsu. She hadn't known what to expect, but the chamber before her now seemed hauntingly empty, even with the crowd of councilors and the oppressive atmosphere all around.
"Thank you, Komiya-san," was all she answered when he gave spoke again, giving her some more guidance. While his presence was becoming reassuring, it would be only a small comfort in the events to come. She'd need to face this alone, as best she could, and better that everyone not directly involved be safely far away. And, if it be within her power to survive the ordeal, then they can help her pick up the pieces of herself after. Maybe. That, too, may become a lonely task.

She turned to face Kanna as the woman spoke, then looked past her to the raised altar and began to approach it slowly. Each step seemed to increase the oppressive presence in the chamber, and by the time she reached the stone dais she could feel herself shaking just slightly. The fuuin was even more intricate here, cascading inwards in lines of white, and though she knew nothing of its purpose or creation it was clear that the altar would become the central point of the whole sealing array. She reached out and touched slapped the stone slab, and took a moment to close her eyes and, to trick herself to calmness, tried to pretend that she was elsewhere for a fleeting moment. In another time and place, she'd slept on a stone bench not so very dissimilar, in the mountain halls of the Tsuin Sangaku. With all its lack of modern amenities, it was both a harsh and a peaceful place, perfect to keep a person focused on their own path.
With a deep breath, she forced herself to stillness and opened her eyes again, then turned and hopped up to sit on the raised altar. She reached over and picked up the pillow before tossing it casually towards Shizuo, then moved to lie down.

"Today is not a day for pillows," she spoke quietly, but in the silence of the chamber her voice nonetheless carried. "The Stone suits me better." She lay there for a long moment, taking Shizuo's final words to heart and tried to breathe as calmly as she could, for all that it was now impossible - lying like a helpless patient in a nurse's ward - to ignore the overwhelming sense of power within the chamber. She almost thought she could hear a voice from far away, or as if from underwater, calling something indecipherable. Almost.

"This place.. Feels like it's between worlds.." she muttered wholly to herself. Then, looking straight ahead and trying to mentally brace herself, she called to Kanna in a voice that seemed far louder and more sure of herself than she thought possible: "I'm ready, Sakata-sama. Let's begin."

[Kao]

Shizuo quickly made his way out of the chamber, giving one last look in Kiyoshi's direction before he disappeared behind the heavy door. The walk up the stairs was steep, and at the end of it he found the council gathered around the glass window. There was much murmuring between them as they watched the scene unfold below. Instead of joining them - it wasn't exactly his place to sit among the most influential people in the village - he found a spot on the far left side of the room, just in front of the glass paneling. He could see everything from his spot without encroaching on the village council members' space.

In the chamber, Kanna shed her formal robes to reveal an outfit more befitting of a shinobi. She wore a dark grey jumpsuit with the Iwagakure symbol emblazoned on each shoulder, and at her waist was a utility belt with several canisters hanging at her side. With a wave of her hand, seven of her assistants gathered around her and, in a coordinated movement, spread out within the cavern. They formed a circle, sitting within small circles drawn into the array and folded their hands into a single seal. Kanna approached Kiyoshi's position with three assistants behind her.

"Begin the preparations."

One of the three inner circle assistants removed a large scroll from his back, setting it down on the ground with a heavy thud. He was a large man, over six feet tall, and the scroll was just as large as he was. With a flourish he opened the scroll and placed it in front of the girl. The scroll contained runes that would be unfamiliar to nearly everyone else in the room; not only that, but the both the man and Kanna had drawn special arrays on the parchment.

The man gently took both hands and drew small, circular seals on her hands and then placed an identical one on her forehead. "Forgive me," he mumbled with a tinge of embarrassment as he moved to place one on her chest. This one was more intricate than the first three, and as he moved the ink brush over her skin, his face flushed a bright red. When he finished he cleared his throat and went back to the scroll, forming a few hand seals and then placing both hands on the parchment. After a few seconds he announced, "Blood pressure good; heart rate good. All vital signs normal."

"Yuri. Jintarou."

The two remaining assistants nodded and took their positions, one standing at Kiyoshi's head and the other at her feet. Hand seals followed, a long and complicated set, and as the two formed their seals Kanna joined in. When the trio held the final seal, the councilwoman gazed down at the girl. There was no turning back now, and in that moment she knew that the girl's life would change dramatically. She would be burdened with unimaginable strength and responsibility, and where others had failed she would have to find a way to succeed. Kanna had no reason to believe that this host would be any different, but she had found in the past that even the tiniest hint of doubt could result in error that had the potential to doom the procedure and anything that followed. Not only was there no room for error, but there was no room for hesitation. She could only hope that the chuunin's heart - and her soul - was suitable for the task at hand.

"Prepare yourself, Kiyoshi-chan."

The trio forced their chakra to surge and released the jutsu. The ground below Kiyoshi rumbled and shifted, and after several long seconds the ground twisted like a corkscrew, lifting the girl a few meters into the air. The raised alter revealed that the platform beneath was atop a pillar that twisted below ground and into a deep darkness. Kanna took a moment to peer below and smiled when she realized her heart was thumping excitedly against her chest. Without dropping her seal she shouted, "First seal, release!"

In unison, Kanna, the two inner circle assistants, and the sealers who surrounded then formed their seals. The fuuin that was etched on the ground began to glow with a bright, pale blue light and began to pulse. At first the pulses were frantic and arrhythmic, some areas of the array around the sealers seeming to beat independently of the others. One sealer, whose section was beating much faster than the others, appeared to falter; but Kanna shouted at her to focus and her section began to slow. After a few minutes the rhythms became more uniform and then the many sections of the array pulsed in unison.

'That took far too long,' Kanna thought to herself, but the sealers had finally succeeded. The array had connected their chakra and the sealing could begin.

[Valkier]

Kiyoshi watched and swallowed quietly as the sealing team took their positions, spreading all around her.  Somehow the precise positioning made their actions seem more ominous; though with the intense presence still dominating the room, everything seemed that way.  She opened her palms willingly as the tall man marked her hands with further seals, but momentarily froze and gave a startled grunt as he reached with the brush towards her chest.  Clearly he needed to complete the array on her skin, and her robe didn't allow for easy access.  She murmured a quiet apology as she quickly shifted to pull the cumbersome garment away.  She wore very little beneath - simple tight shorts and a wrap of cloth around her chest that itself was easily moved to allow the third seal to be drawn - but there was little opportunity to worry about modesty.  The thought of being almost entirely naked before the eyes of Iwagakure's ruling council barely had time to register in her mind as she lay back down onto the cold stone of the altar.  Personal dignity probably wouldn't be on the agenda today, clothes or no clothes.

The tall man spoke to the others then, and another pair approached until they stood directly over her, by head and heels.  Fighting the urge to squirm, she closed her eyes and forced a few steadying breaths instead.  It was becoming more and more difficult to do that as the ritual went on.  The intense feeling of wrongness in the air certainly didn't help.  When her eyes opened a moment later they found those of Kanna, and locked onto them.  With gazes locked the room seemed to slow for a second, as if time were hanging on to the final moments of the young girls life as she knew it.  Feeling her heart beat faster, she set her jaw and gave a slight, but final nod.  

Immediately the chamber came alive with the roaring and grinding of moving stone.  She felt the plinth rise and spin below her, forcing her to lose sight of the viewing window as she lay prostrate upon it, now entirely at the mercy of these unknown persons around her.  The room became bathed in an eerie pulsing of blue light that settled into a rhythm disturbingly like a heartbeat.  The steady thrum, thrum, thrum resonated through her, and she felt something pulling at her, like a fishing hook latched to the deep core of her being.  She clenched her fists until they grew white, closed her eyes, and muttered a silent prayer.

Thrum.  Thrum.  Thrum.

[Kao]

"Vitals?"

The large man's eyes scanned the scroll, his hands never moving from their place on the parchment. With pursed lips he looked over the strange runes for anything out of the ordinary, and when he found nothing he stated, "Stable."

A deep breath. This next moment and the moments after would be crucial. As the giant seal continued to beat, Kanna and the sealers performed a long, complicated set of seals. Every five seals was punctuated by a thump loud enough to fill one's ears and drown out all other sounds. Kanna's instructions would be nearly inaudible, but the sealers were familiar enough with the procedure that they would know what to do with even the most subtle signal.

Finally, the pulsing stopped, and all at once the light dimmed and converged to Kiyoshi's position, creeping slowly and eerily. Just as it reached the altar, the light shined blindingly and shot up around Kiyoshi in a thin column. The light around her was cold one moment and uncomfortably warm the next, and with each passing second it sunk into the void beneath Kiyoshi's column. When the light nearly faded, the rhythmic thump...thump...thump... faded as well. For a moment a few of the sealers slightly squirmed, knowing what was coming next.

"Second seal. Release!"

The light flashed once and then changed color, flowing like liquid out of the void beneath the altar. It rose around Kiyoshi and settled on her body, coating her like an aura. This time the light was heavy and thick and pressed against the girl's skin like a thousand prodding fingers. The room fell deathly silent to Kiyoshi's ears.

Kanna stared at the light, having seen it several times before. It looked the same as always, the Ukiyogenma's light, imposing and ancient.

"It has begun."

[Valkier]

‘Be strong. Be strong!’ Kiyoshi repeated to herself, eyes still closed as the powerful, mind-shaking pulsing reached its climax. For all that she knew it was only the beginning of the process, each pulse struck the room like a hammer blow, louder and harder every time until, suddenly, they began to wane. She opened her eyes in response to both the silence and the shifting light. At first she thought the room was fading to darkness, but she soon noticed how the light, like liquid, flowed inwards towards her and the alter upon which she lay. Her hands found the sides of the slab and gripped tightly as the light erupted into a column, engulfing her and blinding her, blocking out the rest of the chamber. She barely heard Kanna’s signal to continue the ritual over the pounding of her heart and the rasping of her breath.

In a moment she was bathed in another, different light. Where the first had been an unruly flow of cool then warm, this second light felt somehow solid; like it was a physical weight pressing her down into place, wrapping around every part of her and binding her where she lay. She tried to focus on Kanna’s voice, but found only silence within the brilliant purity of the white-gold light around her, bright enough to make squeezing her eyes shut again a meaningless act…

---

Kiyoshi opened her eyes to an endless, radiant void.
The brightness was no longer painful to behold as it had been a moment before. Her limbs felt light as she moved and tried to sit up, only to find that she was… floating. Weightless, in limbo, surrounded by nothing but formless white light in all directions. Her stomach lurched and she flailed, trying to find something—anything—with which to orient herself. It felt like waking from a dream in which she was falling, only to find that she was instead laying down—over and over again as her mind struggled to decide which way was which. Panicking, she felt herself begin to fall then; though no wind whipped at her and no force seemed to be pulling at her, she nevertheless knew that she was tumbling down, down, down.

Panic took over and she screamed, though her voice sounded faint, as if muffled and heard from far away. Arms beating at the empty space around her, she was at once helpless, alone, and powerless to act. Again. Then the void rippled, distorting like disturbed water as golden rays spliced through the endless white, erupting and spiralling as far as she could see. And with the twisting space came a presence. Powerful, dominating, familiar… and yet… soothing.

”Hello, child.” The voice definitely wasn’t human. It was older, wiser, and much, much more. It echoed despite the open space. With the words came a mixed sensation of tenderness and disapproval, so intense that it reminded Kiyoshi of her mother during her very early childhood, being scolded without knowing why. A tingling sense of dread ran through her body as she continued to fall through the void.

[Kao]

"Heart rate remains stable."

Kanna's expression stiffened, not from her assistant's update but from concentrating due to the complexity of the final set of seals. She and the rest of the sealers focused on their task, doing their best to avoid becoming distracted by what they knew was the Ukiyogenma's presence. Some of the sealers sat with their eyes closed, refusing to look at the power that flowed in front of them. Kanna, however, had her gaze firmly on the white-gold light, almost as if challenging it. The group of shinobi reached the end of the sequence and the light started to shimmer. Then, when they all held the final seal there was a collective grunt.

Each sealer felt it, the sensation that they were being pulled. It wasn't just their bodies that some force seemed to have taken a hold of. Their chakra shifted as if it was being ripped from every pore of their bodies. Even their breath felt as though it was being stolen, and several of the sealers choked. But none of them broke the seal. They had all prepared and trained their bodies and minds for the strain, and for now, they could resist the genma's grasp.

---

The voice pressed down on Kiyoshi's entire being. It permeated her, reverberating through her very core as each wave of sound pushed her further through the void. With each passing moment the space looked less like oblivion and more like a nascent dreamscape, waiting to burst into existence. As if responding to her frantic cry, the emptiness birthed a rush of blinding color, and from nothingness came form.

Darkness and light danced around her, forming shapes and shadows which seemed to embody both comfort and terror, tranquility and chaos, birth and death; all manner of dichotomies existed as one. It was overwhelming, witnessing the beginning of Life itself, and it was something that was never meant to be experienced by any one human, especially not a young girl. It could have broken her, reduced her to only energy and returning her to the void that awaited every being that had ever been granted life. But she was strong, and the work of Kanna and the others made her stronger and prevented her from being unwound.

Kiyoshi finally stopped falling. The world around her swirled, appearing like thick clouds rotating around her position. The same white-gold light that pulled her into that world surrounded her, though instead of a thick and imposing force it brushed against her skin, timidly and softer than silk.

"I did not expect expect one so...fearful, and fearless." The voice came from all around her, and with each syllable the world around her rippled and began to converge in front of her. By the last word an outline of a featureless being stood before her, beckoning her forward.

[Valkier]

Atop the dais, Kiyoshi’s eyes opened wide, bulging but unseeing as the vision took over. Her arms, until now starting to go numb from the effort of clutching the stone, fell limply to her sides and her mouth opened wide in a gasp that could equally have been shock, torment, or amazement. Perhaps all three. Then she convulsed, twitching once as the influence of the genma surged through the room and hit everyone present. Her head thunked hard against the stone, but with her mind elsewhere, she felt nothing of the impact.

---

Kiyoshi, still falling helplessly, gasped as her mind was assaulted with colour, light, darkness, and life. The onslaught of shapes and images quickly overwhelmed her, stunning her as she tried to stare in every direction, tried to both take it all in and block out the strangeness. It was relentless. Every time she grasped some degree of control over her mind, still baffled by the strange environment, she’d turn and be hit by another rush of sensations and visions, each more powerful than the last.

But slowly, somehow, one rational thread took root in the recesses of her reeling mind; this was planned. She was meant to be here, meant to face this, and she could… Couldn’t she?
’And you'll be fine. Sakata-san chose you for a reason.’
Shizuo’s comment filtered through to the front of her mind. Despite it being spoken to her mere minutes ago in the real world, in the void it felt like a distant memory.  She seized it, using it as a catalyst to force calmness into her mind.  And slowly, so slowly, her headlong fall into the void began to slow.  Komiya’s words, no matter how simple, lit a beacon in the young chuunin’s mind upon which she could focus, when everything else around her was foreign.  For a reason.  And then she was stationary, hanging as she forced away her sense of panic and, with the mental discipline drilled into her over the past few years, began to reassert control over her own mind.  A little.

She gritted her teeth as a vague shape coalesced into a figure before her, shrouded in a nimbus of blinding gold and white.  Its voice seemed to bend the world around her, its beckoning hand compelling her to obey.  Unbidden, though perhaps stemming from the memory of Shizuo’s words before, Kanna’s blunt words began to echo in Kiyoshi’s mind.

’Will you maintain control?’

She grunted at the sheer power of the sensation urging her to step towards the creature.  Her whole body tensed, muscles locking and fighting… and she held her ground.

’…Or will you lose yourself?’

”…I… “ Her voice sounded feeble in the void, lost before the presence of the figure ahead.  ”…I will not!” Defiance flashed onto her face as she stared towards the figure, voice rising into a crescendo.  She shifted her feet, planting them a wider stance.  At some point, without her registering the change, a pool of perfectly still liquid had appeared underfoot; opaque and murky, it nevertheless seemed to support her weight as she faced the being ahead of her.  

[Kao]

"Oh?" The being shimmered when the girl displayed a sudden burst of confidence and defiance. Kiyoshi's words seemed to echo around them, though when the being made a motion the air rippled and once again, there was silence. As silence and time stretched on the air continued to ripple and shift, and the being itself began to take shape. The wrinkles in space converged to form long violet ribbons that seemed to stretch on endlessly until they eventually disappeared in the cloudlike formations that swirled lazily around the two. The being continued to solidify, slowly but surely, and it took on a humanoid form. It would be difficult for the girl to make out any one feature; wherever her gaze would fall, the being's form would shift until it was almost transparent and seemed to lose most of its form.

"How brave of you," it continued, its voice softer than silk, "to face what you cannot possibly understand. How incredibly foolish of you to believe your spirit will not be overwhelmed and destroyed by my presence, let alone by my influence should those humans continue their tiresome ritual." The being was, of course, well aware of all that was happening. This girl, this feeble human, was to be its new vessel. That was, of course, if she proved to be strong enough to survive the ordeal. Its form became more apparent, and as it spoke it became more humanlike. Legs, arms, a torso became visible, all thin and lithe as it floated before her. Its head still had little form.

"Tell me, child. Why are you here?

[Valkier]

Kiyoshi looked upon the vague being and forced herself to stand tall, using outward defiance to hide the overwhelming torrent of emotions beneath. This creature was… vast. Overpowering. Incomprehensible to her. But she knew that she couldn’t balk or show weakness, no matter how its so certain yet so softly spoken words washed through her very core.

”Because it is my task. Because you are to become my burden, and I yours.” She tried to lock her gaze onto the shimmering, shifting form before her, though without features upon which to focus her eyes constantly slipped past the being. ”You are right. I don’t understand what you are, or what you will try to do to me.” As the head slowly began to form, she fixed her determined gaze towards it. But I know enough. I know that this is the only way to protect my home, and that I am the best—maybe the only—one who can succeed here. Who must succeed here.”

She began to walk, her newfound confidence lending strength to the water beneath her feet. Slowly its murkiness began to wane, hinting at clarity that reflected the dazzling sky above them. Keeping her distance from the creature, Kiyoshi began to pace around it, circling the being slowly.

“Those who stand behind me know more of you than I, and I trust to their words. I may not know you—not yet--but they do.”

“But tell me one thing: What is it that you desire, Genma?”

[Kao]

All at once, the space around them shifted. The white-gold light dimmed, and the cloud-like formations darkened to orange then to deep violet shades, and swirled around them in many directions at once. A dark halo formed around the faceless beast, glinting in the dimmed light with a metallic sheen. The question, while it was likely intended to be harmless, earned the girl the Ukiyogenma's ire. "What I desire, child, is to be free from human influence. Free from the deep labyrinth in the mountains surrounding your insignificant village and from the seals that only barely contain my essence." As the creature spoke, the cloud formations around them rotated more violently, deep golden lights flashing within them like angry lightning. The world was becoming that of a tempest as the genma watched the girl and considered what she had said. As Kiyoshi circled, the genma moved with her, keeping the girl within its eyeless gaze.

"We were great once, we genma, and I the greatest of them all. I, who creates life and destroys it, can never be truly contained by human vessels. All have failed due to one foolhardy decision or another. How many must die before you tiny creatures understand?" The beast lifted a hand toward Kiyoshi, and the ribbons that floated around her converged on the girl at lightning speed. Within the blink of an eye they were upon her, wrapping her entire chest and pinning her arms to her side. "You humans weaken me and my kind. I will not be subject to yet another pitiful child, to a creature that is far, far beneath me.

Around them, the storm born of the genma's anger raged on.

---

Back in the world of humanity, the group continued to concentrate on their task. They each held their hands in a seal, focusing on the impossibly heavy feeling that constantly pulled at them. Many were covered in a layer of sweat from the strain, but none wavered as they kept their eyes on the white-gold light that hung around Kiyoshi's still body like an aura.

But then, something changed. The light in front of them pulsed violently, creating a sound like a violent crack of thunder. The color darkened quickly and became deep orange, and purple forks of energy erupted from her body. At the same time, each of the sealers felt a force fall upon them that felt like a hundred daggers stabbing into their bodies, momentarily robbing them of their concentration. Kiyoshi's body jerked, and the man monitoring her vitals went pale. For a moment Kanna could only stare, but she quickly got her wits about her once more and ordered her assistants to maintain their seals. Wavering was not an option. But she was concerned; she had never witnessed anything like this before.

Something is wrong!

[Valkier]

Kiyoshi kept her pace steady, gradually circling the creature as the light and space around them darkened and grew violent while the beast itself transitioned into a faceless, haloed, and menacing form. Her question had clearly been more provocative than she’d intended, though as she heard its answer, she could understand its reasoning. The Genma reacted also to her movement, meaning that it held at least some interest in her. She was an unknown. An option, or maybe a threat. Whatever the reason, it didn’t seem as if it was going to let her escape its sight now that they were face to face. Given Kiyoshi’s task, she considered it a small victory: she had its attention, for better or for worse.

Then the ribbons came upon her, so suddenly and so unexpectedly that she had barely a chance to realise what was happening. There was no opportunity to dodge, and before she knew it she was engulfed by them and they bound her with enough strength to restrict her movement entirely. Between one moment and the next she was caught, held helpless to the whims of this unknowable and indescribable creature of legend.

”…At least one more,” Kiyoshi forced out the words against the crushing pressure against her chest. Unable to take a proper breath, her voice came out quiet and broken by gasps, but she made sure to lock her eyes upon the creature and sound defiant nonetheless. ”But I will not die at your hands. I cannot grant your desire; freedom is something I have never known. In that sense I am just as shackled as you, Genma.

“But I am not your enemy. If what you desire is escape from this labyrinthine cage, then I am your salvation.” She winced visibly as the ribbons constricted tighter, cutting off her words for a moment. ”I will not lie to you: you will still be bound, but so will I. That is a fate that we will always share. But through me, you can live again.” Her vision was beginning to blur, and she had to restrain herself from gasping for breath. I will not show weakness!. ”I am the key—the only key—to the door leading out of this chamber that holds you. This “freedom” is not, and will never be, unconditional, for either of us, but it is the only option we have. Co-operation, or… confinement, here, for evermore.”

She coughed and strained against the ribbons again, a little weaker this time. ”My name is Kenitsuna Kiyoshi.” She managed to rotate one hand so that an open palm sat upwards, as if extending an offer. An opportunity. ”What is your name? Shall we teach its greatness to the world again?”

[Kao]

As the young girl spoke the genma looked on, its frustration fueling the storm around them. The world steadily darkened, and when Kiyoshi spoke of freedom and confinement, the ribbons around her tightened further. The genma had long ago lost its freedom, and to hear those words from a feeble human was more than it could stand. This child knew nothing. "You dare compare yourself to me? You claim you have never known freedom, yet you have never been confined to a dark cavern. But my patience is long, and the few years you humans have locked me away are nothing compared to how long I have existed. In time, I will be free to rule over this world."

The genma inclined its head toward the chuunin's open hand. Her words and actions were brave, though in the current situation the genma considered them foolish. "You have made a dangerous offer, Kenitsuna Kiyoshi," the beast admonished, "as there is no guarantee that you will survive this foolhardy grasp for my power. Perhaps the time for me to break free of my confinement is now." By that time the sky around them was nearly black, dark purple bursts of lightning flashing every second that passed. After what seemed like several minutes, the genma began to approach, and as it floated closer it simultaneously pulled the ribbons to draw Kiyoshi in.

Suddenly, the ribbons around her began to glow, and from them poured what appeared to be an opaque liquid that slowly encased both the chuunin and the genma in a large, fluid filled bubble. It was thick, cold, and heavy, and the girl would find it difficult to breathe and impossible to move. Even the genma's movements were affected; the ribbons that grasped Kiyoshi dissolved and the beast's approach immediately halted when the liquid fully surrounded them. The liquid pulled at them both, changing into a swirl of colors as it became saturated with the pair's chakra. The sensation of their chakra being forcefully pulled from their bodies would be painful to the genma and excruciating to Kiyoshi. The colors mixed and coiled as their chakra - their essence - coalesced.

The genma's voice would fill the girl's mind, thunderous and echoing as the pain of their union wracked her mind and body.

"Prepare youself, girl. I, Nolosha no Ukiyogenma, will break you!"

---

There was the sound of an explosion. A wave of power erupted from Kiyoshi's body, strong enough to knock each of the sealers to the ground and crack the glass of the panel that separated the sealing site from the council. Screams were drowned out by the hum of power, and darkness fell upon the room. Kanna quickly flew to her feet, searching the room for her sealers.

"Juuro! Status! Kiyoshi's vitals?" When the response was only silence she turned, swallowing her panic. Juuro, as the medic who managed Kiyoshi's condition, had a crucial position. If he had been compromised, the sealers had no way of knowing Kiyoshi's status. If her body began to break they would have to halt the sealing to avoid catastrophe. Without him, they were blind to her condition.

The sudden darkness was like thick, scentless smoke and she could barely see through it. But if she had been knocked down, it was likely that the nine other sealers had been forced to the ground as well. "Everyone remain in your arrays! We mustn't lose focus! We-" Her words were cut off by yet another wave, this one powerful enough to send her tumbling and out of her sealing array. She wasn't the only one; each of her other sealers were thrown back, some of them painfully hitting the cavern walls and falling unconscious. The fuuinjutsu had connected the sealers, and as soon as some fell unconscious, Kanna felt it - a pulling sensation that gave way to a feeling of emptiness. They were down by three sealers.

As soon as the sealers were out of their positions, the situation shifted. Another wave tore through the room, but the loud hum that preceded it alerted Kanna and she raised her hands and braced herself. When it passed she looked down, horrified to see that her hands were suddenly emaciated, the bones poking through and the skin paper thin. Above her the sound of shattering glass resounded in the room, and when the shards fell to the ground she knew that the situation was dire. The genma was breaking through.

"SEALERS, ON YOUR FEET AND BACK TO YOUR POSITIONS!" Though she was half blind the councilwoman raced forward, ignoring the fact that her body felt old and frail. "DO NOT ALLOW THE UKIYOGENMA TO BREAK THOUGH! IT WILL BE THE DEATH OF US ALL!" The woman found her way back to her position, hoping the other sealers were right behind her. Kiyoshi's body was barely visible through the haze. Kanna could only hope the girl wasn't dying, that she was strong enough to survive the ordeal. If not, there would be insurmountable chaos when the genma reached the village and hundreds, if not thousands, of lives would be lost before anyone could get the genma under control. If they could get it under control. 'Be strong, Kiyoshi! You mustn't let the genma win!'

[Valkier]

Kiyoshi coughed under the crushing pressure of the Genma's tendrils as she was drawn towards the creature. Despite that, a semblance of a smile crossed her pained face. "I didn't come here... unprepared for danger..." The words came out in a barely audible croak just as the liquid bubble enveloped her and the beast alike. A moment later, the words were followed by a silent, open-mouthed scream as her chakra began tearing away from her, surging out of her body and meeting that of the Genma in a powerful, twisting vortex. The Genma's vast power obviously dwarfed her own, making her chakra seem like a raindrop of white in an ocean of black and violet as it was pulled into the fray.

The sensation, the feeling of her life's essence being dominated and seized by the creature hovering just in front of her inside the bubble, was tortuous. She convulsed, trying to twist away from the surging torrent of chakra or resist its excruciating pull. But every movement, every thought of resisting only increased the level of pain, quickening the rate at which she felt her essence being siphoned away. With eyes wide she could see through the surging waves of chakra that their two essences were... mixing.
This is what I came for, she thought. Words have done all they can. Enough. Now I must dominate!

Even as her lungs began to ache from too long without a solid breath, she closed her eyes and forced herself to stillness. The pain was so close to obliterating her very sense of self—undoubtedly the Genma's intention—but instead of fighting it, she opened herself to it. Torment surged into her like a conduit, piercing her to the bones and heart, and sweat began pouring from her every pore. Rather than being buffeted by the storm of it, she pictured herself riding with the sensation, welcoming it and using it to gain perspective. Clarity and pain. Agony... and control. Not of the storm, but of herself. This was her pain.

She opened her eyes again. By now the bubble had spread far, obscuring everything else from view. She felt herself get swept upwards by a chakra wave and used the movement—pain and all— to search through the haze. The shrouded form the Genma was still there, just ahead. Nearby. The pressure was still overwhelming and prevented her from moving properly, but by moving with the tempest she managed to catch an eddy that pushed her right into a violent lance of white-hot chakra that, despite all her mental tolerance, made her open her mouth and scream wordlessly again. The pain increased tenfold as the liquid found its way inside her, all the while firing her like an arrow right towards the immobile beast. She collided with a powerful headbutt to the Genma's featureless temple and used the momentum to wrap her arms around the creature.

All at once, as her vision began to darken at the edges from pain, suffocation, and exhaustion, she reasserted her determination. She would not lose.
This time, amid the cyclone of life and death, her mental domination produced very real results. A radiant white-and-gold light engulfed both her and the Genma, separating both of them from the rest of the bubble. Inside that light was solace. Air returned, allowing her to breathe, and the pressure of the storm lessened within the tenuous white sphere. Forehead to forehead, girl and Genma span in the eddies of chakra, locked together with the sum of both their energies. Whatever chakra remained in Kiyoshi sprung forth and wrapped around the beast, and from the Genma around her, but this time the flows were... synchronised. Like woven threads of blue, white, violet, black and gold, the chakra meshed together and encased the pair of them, pushing them ever closer.

The outer bubble still raged in a tempest of blue and black, but outside and below it, the once-placid water "floor" began to rumble. Bubbles and geysers spouted upwards and waterfalls cascading downwards for eternity split the pool for as far as could be seen, and gradually, solid earth erupted in an explosion of rocks, emerging as an island and climbing higher, higher. The twisting ball of wild energy containing girl and beast hovered above it as it speared into the sky like the mountains of Tsuchi no Kuni...

[Kao]

As Kiyoshi's triumph over the genma solidified, the situation in the sealing cavern was crumbling. Kanna and the seven remaining assistants had found their way back to their positions, but without the added help from the three unconscious sealers, Kanna and the others struggled. The waves of energy crackled and crashed around them, and panicked shouts came from the council above as the genma's chakra affected them in spine chilling ways. Shizuo tried not to panic as he ducked, channeling chakra and beginning to glow in a distinctive maroon light.

Another pulse of chakra ripped through the cavern, and just before it reached the council a large barrier shot up from the ground. The collision sounded like thunder, and Shizuo gritted his teeth as the barrier immediately collapsed and the chakra continued to push through. He braced himself as the genma's wild chakra washed over him, and the man immediately felt a wave of nausea and fatigue. "Sakata-san!" The special jounin's voice somehow reached the woman and she whipped her head around. From her position she could see the chaos from above. Around Shizuo was a wall of what appeared to be lava, caved in and destroyed on one side. It was bolstered by the blue glow of ninpou, but Kanna knew there wasn't much those techniques could do against raw spiritual power from the genma. The thought of the condition of the council terrified her. She had left them all but unprotected.

"Protect the council!" she commanded as she turned back to the task at hand. It was an impossible task for the young special jounin, one they both knew he wasn't strong enough to complete successfully. But he would do whatever it took to keep the village leaders and everyone else in the cavern alive, even at the cost of his own life. When he looked back his stomach dropped. Several of the council members lied in heaps on the ground, and it was too dark to tell if they were still conscious. He feared the worst, but there was no time for hesitation or to even offer medical assistance.

Shizuo jumped down from the observation deck and landed painfully below. He channeled his chakra, precious seconds ticking by as he gathered more chakra than what he was used to molding at once. It was a dangerous plan, one that he wasn't sure would even work and one that could possibly leave him incapacitated or worse. But if he could buy Kanna and the others some time and save both Kiyoshi and and the council, he would gladly risk his life.

He released the technique, one he had never used before, and he erected another barrier, this one much larger than the one previously. He positioned the wall between the sealers and Kiyoshi's unmoving form. Some of the sealers remained unprotected, but a majority of the sealers - in addition to himself and the council above - were all situated behind the maroon wall of chakra.

"Hold fast!" Kanna gritted her teeth as she and the sealers continued their work. Truthfully she had wanted Shizuo to stay back on the observation deck, but with his help they might just stand a chance.

---

This girl was strong.

The genma had fully expected to quickly overtake the young chuunin. After all, she was merely a human child, while the genma was an ancient being who controlled life itself. But to the beasts surprise and aggravation, the girl would not bend to its will. Kiyoshi's will was just as powerful as the Ukiyogema's. For a moment it seemed the genma would emerge triumphant, but Kiyoshi never faltered. The white-gold light intensified while the tempest around them gradually quieted. And instead of breaking before the timeless creature, the physical manifestation of her resolve wrapped around the genma. They became as one, and the genma's chakra meshed with hers.

---

"Keep pushing!"

Shizuo was drained. Even the larger barrier wasn't enough to stop the genma's chakra completely. After merely two waves of chakra the first barrier collapsed and he had been forced to erect a second. His legs shook and his vision darkened, but he managed to hold on. Just as he thought he was on the verge of collapsing, something changed. The palpable power that radiated through the cavern seemed to teeter off. The cracking of chakra came less frequently, and the wave that followed seemed like a gentle ripple in comparison to the tremors that had previously ripped through the cave.

Finally, the shroud that had fell upon the group lifted, and Kanna could see more than a few feet in front of her. Kiyoshi's still unmoving body came into view, and the veil seemed to converge on her body. The woman watched as the power and chakra enveloped the girl, causing her to glow in a rainbow of light before settling. The cavern was, at last, still.

"Is it done?" Kanna whispered, partially to herself as her legs gave out and she crumpled to the ground. She somehow held on to consciousness and dragged herself to Kiyoshi's sealing altar. When she was in front of it she lifted herself to her feet, praying that the girl was still alive. "Kiyoshi.... Young one, open your eyes...."

[Valkier]

Kiyoshi clung to the Genma, pouring almost every ounce of her will, her strength, and her life into containing the overwhelming power of the ancient creature. Exhaustion throbbed in the back of her mind; it felt like she’d been here for hours, maybe days, though time was meaningless within the void that was the minds of girl and beast entwined. In the real world, it may be that only seconds had passed. Or years. It was impossible to tell. For now, it was all she could do to press onwards. For the first time since waking into this strange, unpredictable realm of conflicting willpower, she felt like she was winning. But winning was still walking a razor’s edge: On one side was obliteration, should she succumb to or be washed away by the Genma’s vast power. The other side was death, in all its finality, should she push a hair too far and sacrifice the last vestiges of her strength in her attempt to overpower her new adversary.

But in walking that fine path for as long as she had, something changed. The beast in her arms shuddered, then began shaking itself violently in a last attempt to get free. She clung on, pulling it towards her and locking her arms around it as if embracing the creature. It screamed, and a thousand thousand voices burst at once into her mind, shrieking one on top of another in a cacophony of torment and frustration. In its cry was a lifetime of suffering, pain, and confinement that pierced Kiyoshi’s soul with its sharpness. She clung tighter, mind reeling from the noise, the pain, and the shock of the emotion. Tears began to leak from the corners of her squeezed-shut eyes. Her throat felt raw and she realised with a gasp that one of the screams was her own, and that she couldn’t contain it. Eventually the voices died, softening into a single otherwordly wail at the back of her mind, then a sob, and then silence. The form in her arms slumped against her, taut muscles relaxing, and the vortex of swirling chakra around them stilled.
The genma had realised that it could be defeated. And in it’s defeat, clinging to it with tears in her eyes and the memory of that heart-wrenching cry, Kiyoshi loved it. What the creature had been through, what it was going through now, and would do again countless times over, was horrible. Sickening in its cruelty. And she was part of it. She hung her head until it touched the Genma's shoulder, feeling vile, but didn't let go.

The bubble of chakra sank to the mountaintop that had risen below them before fading, depositing the two enwined figures on the peak. With the creature silent, the only noise now was that of Kiyoshi’s sobs, broken by strained breaths. She reached within herself and found the small bundle of knotted emotions and dread that was the Genma, and fed into it her sympathy, her love, and a promise. Together, they were one.

The ground around them parted slowly, but without any rumble or violent shaking. As if floating to the surface of a lake, large beams and spars of wood emerged, meeting and growing into a framework of something grand. Some were painted with reds and golds, others natural and beautiful. Pillars, windows, stairs, walls, arches and all manner of other fragments were birthed from the mountaintop and rose steadily upwards, combining to form an impressive, yet simplistic building. To Kiyoshi’s half-seeing eyes it resembled one of the monastery buildings of her youth, and through her sobs she managed a smile. It was a sanctuary, for her and the Genma both, atop the mountain of their solitude. Her grasp around the featureless being had long since loosened to comforting embrace, and as she closed her eyes again, exhausted and near-broken, she felt herself fade back to reality.

---

In the sealing chamber, as the final rainbow of light enveloped Kiyoshi, she woke. Within the radiant light she opened her eyes and stared down at her prone form. She looked… old, with thin, withered arms and pale sagging skin. The light swelled, and in the next moment she was young again — too young, from the way her perspective shifted as her body shrank — and then her mother’s age in the next moment. Young, ancient, and mix of them all. As the light began to fade her form returned back to her usual self, albeit naked and marred by red marks and scratches from her writhing and convulsing on the stone slab during the sealing.

The light vanished completely, and darkness closed in in its wake. Pain and exhaustion hit her like the tolling of a giant bell, sending a shockwave through her as her mind caught up with the abuse her body had endured. She opened her mouth to cry out, but found her throat hoarse and dry. Had she been screaming here, too? The room swam when she tried to look around, and through the fuzziness she made out the chaotic scene. She reached a hand up to her throbbing head and felt it meet something warm and sticky. She saw blood — a lot of blood — on her fingers before her vision darkened. She faintly recognised the touch of hands — soft, gentle human hands, not like those of the Genma in its fury — on her, and a mumbling voice, indecipherable, as she slipped into unconsciousness...