[Graded]Beasts Best Left Sleeping

[Nafan~]

The night appeared abnormally dark with the moon's absence. The enhanced darkness seemed to muffle even sound as it grew closer to the witching hour. Perhaps that was why the window opened so smoothly at the first figure's touch. The black gloves deftly found the latch, slipped it undone and had the glass panes swiftly aside with nary a single click. Then they were in. Three tall beings of indeterminate build and shape. Each wore porcelain masks, one stylized as a cat, one simply painted red and the final mask was totally white with no eye slits.

They quickly took their positions around their sleeping target, looking down at the prone form of Nukegara, Sou. They waited as the clock ticked down, closer and closer to midnight. There, the minute hand finally shifted to five minutes to. No time was wasted as the figure without eyes reached forward and placed a bandaged hand over Sou's mouth, both to wake him and prevent him from making noise.

As soon as they saw Sou's eyes open, the one with the red mask would signal using his hands for Sou to exit through the window. The cat figure shifted straight to the door, turning the lock carefully, silently into the locked position. Then he turned back around as if to forbid that Sou move in that direction, also motioning for the boy to approach the window.

[Sanjuro]

As usual, Sou's night had passed quietly. His parents had been informed about what was coming the moment they got back from their mission and had taken to watching him with a mixture of pride and worry that made Sou so uncomfortable that he had taken to retreating to his room for hours at a time, something he hadn't done since he was an angst-ridden fifteen year old.

It was a phase of his life he'd rather forget.

Still, he had fallen asleep quickly enough and again, like usual, his sleep had been plagued with nightmares. Memories from the civil war, though they were now tainted with a faceless rampaging monster. He would watch the beast tear apart screaming men and women, begging for their lives. And then, the face of the monster would be revealed and Sou would see himself, tearing apart the men and women he had once condemned to death for the sake of his village. It was around that point he would always wake up in a cold sweat, though in the same position as always.

The first thing he noticed was that he couldn't breathe. Immediately, his hand went under his pillow and the kunai he kept there came out, swiping wildly at the hand covering his mouth. The masks and the motions to leave went completely unnoticed by the blond in his panicked state. All that mattered was removing this hand that was covering his mouth and ending whoever the hell thought it was a good idea to try and kill him in his sleep by suffocating him.

[Nafan~]

The hand on Sou's mouth lifted to grab the wrist that held the kunai, but it applied little pressure. It simply redirected the hand's momentum, twisting slightly to point the kunai just under Sou's nose. The man's other hand swiftly moved up to make a shushing motion where the mouth should have been. The pearl white mask slowly shook its head.

The other two motioned once more for Sou to approach the window, and leave the room. All three were a mixture of reassured and irritated by the boy's approach. That he would react like that to an intruder meant he was well trained, but it had delayed their mission. Now they had lost two whole seconds of time.

[Sanjuro]

Finding himself at the point of his own blade, Sou's mind quickly cleared the last cobwebs of sleep and fully processed the situation he had found himself. Two-tone eyes cut from the edge of the kunai, seemingly gleaming in the moonlight that filtered in from the window, to the solid white mask of the figure currently manipulating his wrist to make him point his own weapon at himself. A frown etched deeper into his features. Out of the corner of his eyes he saw two others, one in a blood red mask that was quite frankly terrifying in the darkness of the night and another cat-shaped one, far less intimidating than either of the others.

He wanted to scream, but the fact they had broken into a house with two jounin sleeping on the floor below suggested that even if he did, they'd probably kill them. He would sooner let these people drag him off to who knew where than risk the lives of his parents or sisters. With his jaw locked so firmly in place it was physically painful and teeth grinding so loudly his abductors could likely hear it clearly, he slowly pushed back his sheets and crawled out of bed. He doubted they would give him time to get changed and dared not try to ask for the opportunity to die with some dignity.

So it was that he, Nukegara Sou, in nothing but a pair of slacks and a loose black shirt clambered out of his own window held at the point of his own knife, three mysterious masked figures hurrying him along.

He sort of wished he wore socks to bed now. It was bloody cold out here.

[Nafan~]

The faceless man led Sou up to the top of the mountain, to Akino peak. The other two flanked him, making sure that he followed close behind. Once they wound their way to the peak, they stopped in a rocky outcrop to the right of the main shrine that was built there in the restoration. The faceless man performed a set of hand seals and the face of the mountain crumbled away, revealing a small opening. He entered and the other two guided Sou down under the mountain. The opening was closed shortly after her entered.

Thus they began their winding descent all the way down through a tunnel that moved through the mountain, in total blackness. There was no mistaking where he was meant to go, with one hand on each of his shoulders from the men beside him. After an indecipherable number of twists and turns, they stopped. He heard a voice for the first time. "You'll feel queasy for a moment." One of them said as a single hand left his shoulder. The other man placed both hands on his shoulder, and the cavern they were in was lit slightly by the glow of his chakra as it surrounded them both.

And then they were nowhere. There was an incredible pressure that pushed on Sou's body from all directions, it felt like he was being squeezed through a straw. There was total blackness around him, and yet he could still see the red masked man before him as they hurtled at what could only be described as incredible speeds towards... something.

A pinprick of light in the distance appeared. Except it was not longer a pinprick, in the space of a moment it was already the size of a door. Yet suddenly they were through that door, and Sou appeared in a grey room with bizarre black swirled carvings all over the walls. Two large standing torches burned to Sou's left and right. The man that had held him as they travelled stepped back away from him, and began to dissolve from existence once more.

Only two living things occupied the room. One was Nukegara, Sou. The other, the infamous Roppongi Banri, leader of the mythical StratOs. "You're late." the dishevelled man said with his gravelly voice. "Regardless, we shall have to proceed. Remove your clothing." Was all the man said in greeting, his hessian sack still held behind his back and woven straw hat firmly upon his head. The man looked as well dressed as Sou, with a well-worn grey cloak and baggy hakama.

[Sanjuro]

As a kid, Sou was pretty sure he went through training for when he got kidnapped. It had to be one of the classes he had attended during the Academy. Something about leaving a trail to follow, making sure you keep track of how far you travelled, etcetera. But as they made their way further and further into the village, and not heading out of it, all of that knowledge somehow went straight out the window in the face of his confusion. When they finally stopped at the shrine on Akino peak, something seemed to click in the blond's mind.

Getting 'gently' guided along the winding path in the complete darkness, he had time to process what was happening. He supposed, yes, it was technically a kidnapping. But he really should have expected it. The Raikage hadn't told him exactly when it was going to happen, and it had to be kept secret. With a deep breath, he nodded in the direction of the voice and waited for a moment while the figure did whatever he was going to do. The sudden light of chakra caused the Chuunin to squint and then he had to fight every urge in his body that was demanding he hurl the contents of his stomach all over the masked bastard.

As it was, getting hurtled through whatever the hell kind of technique he had just been hurtled through had Sou collapsing onto his hands and knees the second they stopped moving and dry heaving. "Mother fu-" He got cut off by a gruff voice as the figure that had brought him here disappeared. Looking up from under his fringe, Sou took a good look around the room he found himself. Grey, bland and boring grey, though the walls were covered in some freaky looking carvings.

Pulling himself to his feet, he dusted off his hands on his shirt and swiftly turned to face the only other occupant of the room. "You want me to strip already? I mean, you could at least buy me dinner first. It's the courteous thing to do." Even as he was talking, Sou was removing his shirt. "Those were your guys, right? You black ops guys give me the creeps. Didn't say a bloody word on the way over here."

[Nafan~]

Banri pursed his lips, lifting his mouth into a smirk that displyed far more disapproval than amusement. "They're fortunate they didn't. They were each instructed to take any step required to ensure silence. If you were noticed leaving, we'd have to.. Reorganise." He replied. Banri dropped the sack and drew from it a brush and pot of ink, stepping toward Sou as he undressed. "Now lie on the ground."

Banri waited for him to comply before dipping the brush into the ink and beginning to carefully brush symbols onto Sou's skin. Starting from the chest, Banri began to speak as he worked. "I trust that fool Hayate told you nothing. I will explain to you now what you're getting into. This procedure has a 62% success rate. The Okigenma is exceptionally powerful, and more difficult to seal than the other genma in our possession. I have to guard your body much more completely since the beast's chakra is venomous to other chakra sensitive beings." He paused for a while as he finished on Sou's abdomen, continuing down his thighs and legs.

Banri moved back around Sou and started to go up his neck. "This genma can destroy you physically, or poison you, but its most dangerous weapon is its mind. From during the sealing and for the rest of your life you will hear it speak in your head. One day you'll learn to ignore it, but until then you have to resist it. It can swallow your entire personality whole and take your body for itself." Banri paused again, because he had finished with Sou's face. "So. I will do my best to help you. Assuming you survive the night, I will make myself available whenever you require me. Just don't give up." He finished.

Banri stood and walked over to the large double doors he had been standing in front of earlier, turning only to say "Are you ready?"

[Sanjuro]

"Yeah, great, that's just what I wanted to know. 'Hey Sou, if you were to have made so much as a noise or twitched in the wrong direction, you would've been killed.' Awesome." Dropping his shirt to the floor, Sou hesitated for a moment when it came time to strip off his slacks. Really, he knew Fuuinjutsu were complex, and the more powerful the seal was the bigger it got, but his pants? Really? The look Banri gave him though told Sou to do exactly as instructed or suffer the fate he was promised earlier.

Lying in the middle of the circular chamber, Sou took a deep breath to try and suppress his nerves. While he may have been cracking funnies a moment ago to try and relieve his own tension, right now he doubted he could open his mouth without begging to be let out. He had come this far, like hell was he turning back now. He shook his head in the negative at the mention of the Raikage. All he had really told him was that he was going to become the next host for the Phantom Beast of Hell. Other than that, the man had been spectacularly uninformative.

"That high huh?" Sou managed to get out through a firmly locked jaw. Having a creepy old man standing over his naked body painting on him was particularly uncomfortable. He needed to do something other than clench his fists so tight he drew blood. Admittedly, he'd already done that. "So, uh, what happens if the other 38% prevails?"

The feeling of the ink covering was actually kind of ticklish, though the atmosphere and resignation to his fate kept Sou from giggling. He chanced a look towards the man he was basically entrusting his life to, the hat serving to cover his eyes enough Sou couldn't make direct eye contact. With a minor shrug, Sou offered the smallest of nods. "I've basically got a 38% chance of being torn apart, poisoned, or having my mind turned to mush by some ancient spirit. Sure, I like those odds."

Any sense of false bravado vanished when Banri went to stand by the giant doors that probably housed Sou's doom. The teenager audibly gulped but forced his nerves, his anxiety, and his fear to the back of his mind. "I'm ready."

[Nafan~]

Banri allowed a single grunt to escape him, which sounded a lot like the beginning of a chuckle. "Of course you are. You're a shinobi of Kumogakure no Sato." The tall man commented. He waited ten seconds for the special ink to dry, before turning and beckoning to Sou. That ten seconds passed in silence, with nothing but the spluttering torches and the breathing of the two men passing through the air. "Stand, and come over here. It's almost time."

Once Sou approached, Banri began to apply the final seals down the boy's back, once more across his thighs and along his calves. "I will introduce you to the eleven others who will be helping to transplant the beast. It will do you well to know just who is risking their lives along with you." who will all fall if we should fail he thought to himself afterwards.

Once the finishing touches were complete, he stepped forward and pushed the doors open. The chamber within was dominated by a 12 metre tall statue of what could only be described as a monster. It had horns protruding from its head and the back of its body. There were cracks in the statue from which red chakra lazily oozed upward like smoke. Ropes held tags designed with complicated symbols tightly on the statue, clearly in a makeshift attempt to hold the beast's power in one place. "This is how we managed to capture the Genma, by encasing it in stone long enough to bind it with fuuinjutsu." Banri stated matter of factly.

The chamber itself was a massive natural cavern, with twelve stone podiums arranged in a ring around the hideous figure. An altar had been placed before the beast, and it too was covered in strange ink markings, with a distinctly human blank space allowed in the centre of it. Neither the far wall of the cavern nor the sealing could be seen in tge warm yellow light provided by the three strings of paper lanterns.

Eleven people stood around the room, each standing on one of the podiums. Banri pointed each out in turn and told the boy their names, ending on Ishiguro, Hisako. "Six sealers, four suppressers and two... Just in case." He finished. "Go lie down on the altar so that we may begin. Once we start there will be pain and sickness, both of the body and mind. Do your best to hold onto yourself until you lose consciousness." Banri instructed coldly, before walking off to take his position on the twelfth pillar of stone. It was finally time to begin.

[Sanjuro]

Standing up as instructed, Sou really really wished he could put his pants back on. They were right there, just innocently lying in a pile on the ground. It would take two seconds to get them back on. He took half a step towards them but again the gravelly voice of Banri ordered him to move and he obeyed, reluctantly. As if to taunt him further, Banri moved behind him and started painting even more seals on his back and down his legs, further proving that no, he could not have his pants back.

Surely this was a form of torture, right?

The first thing Sou's eyes were drawn to when the doors were opened was the beast, causing him to stop short of stepping into the room and stare at it in horror. There was no way. It looked exactly like the one from his nightmares. He had never seen a Genma before. Hell, he had barely even thought about them as anything more than a fairy tale, despite knowing there were two jinchuuriki in his village. So there was no damn way he could have been dreaming about this exact monster.

But there it was, standing in front of him, all twelve meters of earth-encased monstrosity.

The fact the damn thing was leaking blood red chakra did nothing to help assuage the boys encroaching doubts that this was a terrible idea.

Any sense of modesty was lost in the face of such an amazing source of chakra. He followed Banri into the chamber, the sound of his voice and the names of his sealers washing over him. He was sort of in a numbed haze, staring into the face of the Phantom Beast of Hell. This… thing was going to be sealed. Into him. If that didn't sound like a terrible idea, then what did?

Being guided along by Banri, Sou slowly made his way to the altar in front of the beast. He noticed the ink the man had painted on him matched the ink that covered the altar. This was really it. He was actually going through with this crazy-ass plan of becoming a damned Jinchuuriki. He would never be able to tell his friends, would be forced to hide this power from his teams. Lying down, he closed his eyes and nodded mutely at nothing, the cold tone of Banri's voice serving to drive home just what was about to happen.

This was the first step on the road to hell.

[Nafan~]

Banri cleared his voice before instructing them all to ready themselves. All twelve shinobi were tense, and moved into somehow even more rigid positions of readiness. Banri raised his left hand before clearly commanding, "Preliminary sequence."

Three of the shinobi began performing hand seals as quickly, yet accurately, as they could. Their chakra reacted with some of the symbols painted on Sou's body, producing some kind of effect. He seemed to be filled with a kind of strength, and coated in chakra. Several of these effects came into being as seals began to activate one by one, readying his body for the ordeal it was about to undertake. One of the shinobi cleared their throat, "Physical augment phase complete."

Banri let his left hand fall then, speaking once more before beginning hand seals of his own. "Construct Suppression Field." The Ishiguro and the other suppressors began to make further hand seals, producing chakra from their bodies that approached and surrounded the sealed beast visibly. The blood red chakra that had been seeping from it slowed considerably, seeming to pool as if the blue chakra were water in which it was suspended. The field of blue chakra grew slowly out toward Sou, surrounding him and the altar as well.

Then, the fuuin all around the altar lit up all at once. "Preparation sequence complete. Augment and cast fuuinjutsu arrays complete. Suppression field complete. Stand by for release." Banri commentated, keeping the team on track with the sealing. If a single thing was out of place, it could mean disaster. For all of them.

The six sealers were still furiously performing hand seals, and the tags that were tied to the body of the beast began to glow. The red chakra changed from slowly seeping from cracks in the earth, and began to surge out. As if a dam had been breached and the blood red energy were water, it pushed itself free. But the heavy coating of the suppressors' chakra caught it and held it down, for the moment. "Begin resealing!"

As Banri said those words, the seals around the altar all lit up at once. Chakra held Sou's limbs and chest close to the cold stone, preventing him from moving too much. It gripped his chin and forced open his mouth, keeping him still in that position. Then, the red chakra started to approach. It slowly, lazily drifted through the air toward him.

It entered him. It latched onto his face and forced itself down throat, nose and even past the eyes into the eye socket. The chakra was being forcefully pushed into him, into the seals that had been prepared to merge the two into a single being for a time. The process was neither smooth, nor comfortable. Even though the sealing had now begun, it would take almost a full day to be complete.

[Sanjuro]

The first thing he felt was the surge of chakra, like a shock of electricity running through him. His muscles tensed as the glow of the fuuinjutsu brightened, and he felt the chakra seep all the way down into his core. It was a disturbing feeling, having someone else's chakra coursing through his tenketsu. It wasn't something one experienced often. It didn't help that the entire process only served to enhance Sou's nerves, rather than dissuade him of his fears. This was only the first stage of the preparation, if Banri's orders were anything to go by.

Of course he was starting to doubt himself now. He had resolved to go through with this, no matter what. But now that the process was beginning, his traitorous mind was questioning if this was such a good idea. After all, if it didn't work, he could die. Worse, he might be taken over by the beast and start killing people.

Mentally shaking his head, Sou forced those dark thoughts into the deepest recesses of his mind and held them there under lock and key. Doubt was what would get him killed right now. He had to trust that Banri and his team knew what they were doing. It wasn't like this was a first; there had been jinchuuriki before him.

A field of chakra, flowing almost like water, drew his attention away from his thoughts. He focused on the glowing chakra as it expanded, covering him entirely. The layer of chakra he was already coated in prevented this new chakra from making him feel any stranger. It was almost mesmerizing to watch though; he had never seen so much raw chakra being manipulated. He was tempted to try and run his hands through it, to see what it felt like, but dared not to move an inch for fear of disrupting the process.

And then the fuuinjutsu lit up.

Sou squinted as the room was suddenly filled with bright, chakra-fuelled light of the seals. When his eyes adjusted and he could see clearly again, it was to the rather horrifying sight of the blood red chakra that had been seeping from the statue floating lazily above him. There was a sudden pressure on his arms and chest; suddenly the chakra coating him was far less interesting and much more worrisome. He struggled against the binding, finding he could barely move an inch. His head was forced back against the cold stone slab and, eyes wide in fear, Sou almost screamed when his mouth was forced open completely beyond his control.

The blood red chakra, the essence of the Phantom Beast of Hell, began to funnel into his mouth. His nose. Even his eyes. Every orifice it could find, the chakra poured into.

Sou screamed then.

[Nafan~]

The sealers weren't sure exactly when it was that Sou fell unconscious. He had been screaming for quite some time, but after a while it devolved into weak moaning. Parts of the stone statue were falling away now, to reveal nothing but red light and empty space beneath. There was no way to tell exactly how much time had passed since they had begun, but Banri estimated they were about half way through.

That was when the Genma made its move. A tendril of red chakra lashed out toward one of the team. Ishiguro Hisako was struck in the chest by the Genma's hideous aura, and she fell silently from her podium to the ground. The energy had moved as a bolt of lightning, and it took some time for the others to register exactly what had happened. But that opening was all the genma needed. Now it had some leverage, for a while at least its power would not be as strongly bound.

---

Sou awoke. Not in life, but with the cloudy feel of dreams. He was laying on a luxurious brown leather lounge chair. The room around him was warmly lit, the walls lined with book shelves. Towards the centre of the far wall there was a huge, ornate wooden desk which dominated the room. Behind it stood a man in a pinstripe suit, with long red hair that fell to his waist. His lithe hands leafed through a small book as he leaned against the side of a black leather chair.

Just as Sou looked up at the man, he looked straight back. His eyes were the same brilliant crimson as his hair, and he smiled with genuine warmth as they locked gazes. "Hello there. You must be..." He greeted, with a deep soothing voice. The red haired gentleman turned back to the book and placed his finger on a line as if pointing out a singular word. "Nukegara, Sou, yes? I was just reading about you."

[Sanjuro]

He wasn't sure when he stopped screaming. He wasn't even sure if he had stopped screaming. The pain was beyond anything he had ever felt in his nineteen short years in this world. And then it was gone. Like it had all been a dream or an illusion. Groggily blinking his eyes open, it took a moment to adjust. There was a haze in front of him, like smoke or mist, but it wasn't stifling or suffocating. It was just sort of… there. He rubbed at his eyes with the heels of his palms, wondering if it was just a bit of sleep in his eyes.

When he looked around again, he was in a small office. A small frown stretched across his features. He didn't remember going to an office. The last thing he remembered was… going to bed? No, that wasn't right. He had woken up in the middle of the night. Been woken up? The blond shook his head, trying to clear away the cobwebs, before he was dragged out of his thoughts by a voice off to the side.

Shooting up, Sou reached for his weapons but found none. He was in his pajamas. That felt wrong… somehow. Still, he had more pressing matters than what he was wearing. Looking for the source of the voice, Sou quickly found the man who it apparently belonged to. Red eyes, red hair, looking far too calm and well-dressed. The teenager adjusted his position in the couch, wondering just what the hell was going on.

"You… know who I am?" Sou questioned, looking around the office to try and figure out exactly where he was. "Where are we? Better yet, who are you?"

[Nafan~]

The man closed the book with a flourish and stepped around the impressive desk to approach Sou. "Of course I know who you are. I have decided to offer you the deal of a lifetime after all." he answered at first as he approached, his black silken robes swaying as he walked. The edges of it were embroidered with patterns of crimson lions and tigers, stalking each other and fighting their way across the garment.

"I am called Kogenu, and this is my office. I have graciously invited you here to receive a gift, should you chose to accept it. A gift of marvelous power, for you to use in protecting your precious family." he finished as he came up close to Sou, stopping at a respectable distance. He tilted his head slightly and smiled invitingly, revealing his irregularly large canine teeth. "Is this something you would be interested in?"

[Sanjuro]

Sou pushed back further into the couch as the man approached him, trying to put as much distance between himself and the stranger as he possibly could. The way he moved, the clothes he wore, the way he talked, all of it screamed 'power', 'royal', and 'trust me'. Nineteen years of life, thirteen of those spent being a shinobi, had left Sou with a healthy amount of scepticism though. When someone was obviously trying to appear trustworthy and helpful, that was when you tried to run them through with a sword. Unfortunately Sou was currently in nothing but his pyjamas.

"Look, uh, Konegu? I've got no idea who you are or how I got here. And you're offering me power? What would you expect in return?" Sou glanced around the room, trying to find any hint of escape. The bookcase lined walls showed no windows. No door. No way in or out of the room.

Which begged the question how did he get here?

He groaned and rubbed at his temple. He could vaguely remember being woken up and escorted from his room by people in masks. Did they bring him here? Why would someone kidnap him and bring him to a creep offering power? Did this have something to do with that whole Jinchuuriki business the Raikage was on about the other day?

It was starting to come back to him. He could remember a dark tunnel which was guarded by a shrine, one of his masked abductor's had used some kind of jutsu on him and he had wound up in a room covered in weird carvings. Then there was the creepy old dude in the hat. Sou knuckled his forehead a little harder. It was like trying to drag something heavy up from beneath the surface of the water, but his memories of whatever had happened were slowly coming back.

[Nafan~]

Kogenu let out a merry chuckle, raising a hand to slightly cover his mouth as he did so. "Oh my. Of course you would be suspicious." He added, taking a seat beside the confused shinobi. He reached up and placed a hand on his shoulder, turning the boy slightly to meet his eyes. "It's okay. It's all for the village, of course." He said as he smiled, slightly tilting his head as he attempted to convince Sou.

"I will give you everything you need to make sure nobody can ever even touch these people. The people you love and care about. That way, we can all sleep soundly." He added enticingly, in a sing-song voice filled to the brim with innocence.

[Sanjuro]

He was still trying to recall what had happened since he was so rudely awakened when he felt the pressure of Konegu's hand on his shoulder. His neck whipped around so fast he almost gave himself whiplash and blue-green eyes met blood red, one set filled with suspicion and the other filled with a desire to help. Sou swallowed hard enough for it to be audible, his mouth suddenly dry. All for the village? The power… to protect everyone he cared about. That was why he agreed to become a Jinchuuriki for the village in the first place, wasn't it? If this man could offer him that power…

Sou shook his head and shrugged off the man's hand. "You never told me what you want in return. You can't seriously expect me to believe you can give me that kind of power without some kind of price." The chuunin pushed himself up and away from the couch, keeping a wary eye on the charismatic Konegu. "Tell me how I got here."

The guy in the hat had told him to strip, and covered him in… seals? Sou looked around again. No doors, no windows, just a room. Was this an elaborate Genjutsu? Was it a test before he had a monster sealed inside of him? He looked back towards Konegu and scowled. Was this all just a figment of his imagination, more dreams? It felt real, though. He could remember a room past the one he had initially been shown to. It was filled with pillars and people and… something else. A statue maybe?

It had been leaking chakra, like there was something below the stone.

Blood red chakra.

Blue-green met blood-red.

"Son of a bitch."

[Nafan~]

"Well you see, you were brought here thr-" Kogenu began calmly, placing a hand on his knee and using the other to accent his words. However, Sou cut him off with his next outburst. Surprise flashed across his face for a moment before he realised exactly what had just occurred. The demon sighed disappointedly and stood once more, seeming to walk with such grace that he glided through the air back toward the desk. "I see you have figured out who I am. This does not, however, change anything." he began again, turning back to face Sou as he reached the desk. He placed his hands together to form an 'O' shape in front of his abdomen, regarding the young shinobi with a much more guarded expression.

"The point still remains that we can make a bargain. It's just now you know that I really can come through. I can protect your family, your friends and your village. Or.." he trailed off, before raising a hand over his shoulder. The wall behind the desk rose, showing a solid pane of glass. Beyond the glass, Sou saw each member of his family tied and hanging by their hands, suspended in mid air. Blood dripped slowly from gashes and wounds in their bodies, bruises showing starkly against their unusually pale skin. "Alternatively, I can drive you insane and have you do this to the very people you love. You may think you can resist me, but nobody can. They all crumble, in time. Even the last jinchuuriki had to take to the mountains as a hermit to avoid harming others. That is how powerful I am. Your only real option is to come to an agreement with me, or suffer for the rest of your days." He threatened. But it was obvious that Kogenu was distressed. His speech was quicker than normal, and his eyes seemed to flick to the right every now and then, as if carefully keeping an eye on something.

[Sanjuro]

How? How was this possible? He had seen the statue of the beast; he knew what the genma was supposed to look like. So how did Konegu appear to be so human?! Sou stared hard at the man as he moved, almost glided, back towards his desk. He clenched his hands into fists at his side when the beast admitted that the jig was up but still kept trying to persuade him. And then he made that gesture. The wall moved away, revealing his family. Tortured, battered, rounded up like limbs to the slaughter. Sou bit the inside of his cheek so hard that he could taste the coppery sensation of blood filling his mouth. "You…"

Raising his hands to his chest, he clapped them together, drawing up his chakra. When he did he noticed that his arms were covered in black ink. The fuuinjutsu had reappeared now that he had begun to realize the truth of the situation. With a smirk, he began to run through a set of hand seals, focusing all of his chakra into his arms. "My little sisters are terrors. My older sister is a genius but completely clueless and my brother is a jackass. My parents are so busy I'm the one that has to look after everyone. But they're my family…!" Sou took a step forward, realizing Konegu was distracted by something, before he launched across the room and over the desk, cocking his fist back. "And nobody threatens my family!"

He drove his fist into the glass window pane. Nothing seemed to happen at first but Sou growled and pushed against it even harder. Then he heard the first crack. And another, then another. The glass splintered outward from his fist and he realized the fuuinjutsu covering his arms were glowing. That's right, the sealing was taking place right now. With a final grunt Sou shoved forward again, completely shattering the glass pane and the image of his family being tortured.

TechniquesShow

[Boost • Triple]
B-Rank Ninjutsu
After performing the necessary hand seals, Sou channels chakra throughout his body. This reinforces his muscles, giving him a +9 to strength. Meanwhile he suffers a -9 to control due to the fact that he must maintain this technique. This jutsu lasts for 5 posts.

[Nafan~]

As the glass shattered, so did the rest of the room. All of it fell away to nothingness, showing simply a black void stretching into all directions. But still there was Sou, standing on some invisible solid in the middle of empty space. Illuminated as if he himself were producing light. Then it appeared.

A giant slab of stone, grey and unmarked. It was gargantuan, many times the size of any human being. The most magnificent part of it was the beast chained to the centre of it. The massive demon struggled against the steel chains that bound it and its massive crimson bident to the huge slab. It let out a roar of frustration and rage, the same voice projecting into Sou's mind "You ignorant little stain. How dare you defy me? I who was called king and absolute master of billions of lifeforms. You will spend your life suffering for this insolence. I will destroy you!" it bellowed, rage, frustration and arrogance blasting clearly throughout the tone.

The beast's struggles were yet effective, and it managed to slip its arm and shoulder totally free. It lunged forward, the chains straining to pull it back as the giant pink hand rushed forward toward Sou. Some invisible force stopped it merely a foot from the boy, and the hand visibly struggled against it. But the hideous crimson chakra that made up its body began to leak slowly, deliberately from the pores on its skin. It started to sizzle against the invisible force, and the beasts clawed hands began to pierce through it, inching ever closer.

For the briefest moment, the beast managed to touch Sou's chest. It was only for an instant, but in that time images flashed through the boy's mind. Images of torment, suffering and pain. Images transmitted at the speed of thought, shown quickly one after the other. Then the arm was jerked back as a new group of chains wound their way around it, hurling it straight back into the slab with such force that the handle of its own bident pierced its shoulder leaving it pinned even further.

The sound of a vicious roar pounded throughout Sou's mind as the disgusting, draining feeling of coming into contact with the beast caused him to lose consciousness once more.

[Sanjuro]

Sou had expected one of two things to happen when he shattered the glass. The first, and the more optimistic, option was that when the glass shattered so would whatever illusion he was in and he'd wake up back in the real world. The second, admittedly far more worrisome, option was that Konegu would turn around and use his demonic powers to tear Sou limb from limb. What he hadn't expected was for the entire room to shatter like it was made of the same glass he had broken. The blond stared out into the empty void, looking down at his feet and finding he was standing on nothing. It felt solid but there was no visible platform or floor. It made the pit of his stomach drop.

He looked around, seeing nothing but the eternal expanse of darkness, until the stone slab appeared. It was eerily similar to the one he now remembered laying down on when the sealing process had started, though it was at least twenty times the size of it. And like Sou was in the real world strapped to the slab, so to was the true form of Konegu bound to his altar. When the beast's voice echoed in his mind while it screamed in rage, Sou's eyes widened in horror. He would have this voice in the back of his head for the rest of his life now. This creature of malevolence and arrogance, always whispering to him, always tempting and taunting him and tormenting him.

Just what had he agreed to?

Sou didn't dare move when the beast managed to get one of its arms free. He was scared, he would freely admit that, but he also had no idea if the invisible platform he was standing on extended any further than where he was standing. Seeing the clawed hand stopped merely a foot from his chest sent a shiver down Sou's spine before he visibly relaxed. He didn't notice the chakra bubbling up until it was too late. One of the phantom beast of hell's claws reached out and touched the centre of his chest, injecting a portion of its blood red chakra into his system.

The first thing he saw was his mother and father, standing in front of the rest of his family, shielding them with bodies and fear in their eyes. They died, ripped apart in brutal fashion, limb from limb in a spray of gore and blood, but a pair of white hands dipped in crimson. The next image was that of his older sister, frantically trying to reason with her attacker, pleading for her life, only to be stabbed through the chest with a glowing red bident made of chakra. And then it was Sou's older brother, his face a picture of rage and sadness, sword in hand and trying to fight his attacker. He too fell, forced to his knees by the blood red chakra, tortured into insanity by the mere touch of it. And finally his younger twin sisters, huddled together, crying and screaming for their parents to save them. Their attacker stalked forwards, passing a mirror on the wall. What Sou saw wasn't Konegu, nor was it the Phantom Beast. What he saw was himself. His skin bone white, blood red spikes sprouting from his back and face and arms, hands covered in the blood of his family.

He had killed them. He had tortured and killed them all, one by one, because he had denied Konegu.

As the roar sounded in his mind, Sou screamed so loudly he tore something in his throat, blood coming up in his mouth and spraying over the mirror as the image faded and the new Jinchuuriki fell into unconsciousness.

[Nafan~]

Sou awoke some time later in a hospital bed. An IV drip supplied him with fluids, while his entire torso and arms were covered in bandaging. To his right were a bouqet of flowers, with a note from his mother reading simply 'Get Well Soon!' in traditional cursive, only the 'love mum' written by her own hasty hand. The room was quiet, and rather dim with the curtains drawn so firmly shut against the daylight sun.

"You're up. I wasn't sure if you'd wake. Can you remember much?" Said the shabbily clothed figure at the end of the bed, his signature straw hat giving away his identity. Banri sat in a chair, three empty bottles of water and an empty plate at his feet. It was clear he had been waiting quite some time. "Allow me to refresh your memory a little. Three days ago we sealed a genma inside of you, me and a team of 11 others. There were, however, complications in the sealing. The beast struggled at a point where we weren't expecting, and while I tried to cover the gaps one of our suppressors were slain. As a result of the beast's defiance and our incompetence, I fear it has also caused a slight.. Change in your physiology. Your arms, to be exact. Do not attempt to cut the horns off, we have already tried and they grew back rather quickly. I'm afraid they're a part of you now." Banri explained, slowly and deliberately so as to give Sou some time to process each and every sentence. He had just, after all, told the boy that his life was changed forever.

[Sanjuro]

The first thing he felt was pain. Nothing so severe as what he had gone through what felt like moments ago, but a constant dull ache that seemed to throb throughout his entire body. Blearily he opened his eyes, the first rays of even the dimmed light causing him to close them again as it seemed to intensify the drumming going on in his skull. His tried to speak but found himself with a severe case of cotton mouth, like his mouth was made of sand paper. His awakening however seemed to draw the attention of someone else. When the gravelly voice sounded, Sou forced himself to open his eyes as wide as he could manage to stare at the shabby form of Banri. At the question of whether he remembered much he could do little more than nod his head.

Oh he remembered very well what had gone on inside his own damn mind.

"Thr-" Sou stumbled over his words, his throat sore and his voice harsh from disuse. "Three days?" No wonder he felt like shit. He finally looked down and saw the bandages covering a good portion of his chest. He wondered why his blanket felt so tight. He leant his head back against the pillow and let his neck roll slightly, leading him to see the get well flowers. He chuckled and winced, lifting his arm to press against his chest.

That's when he saw them.

Just as Banri began to describe them. Spikes. Three bright red spikes were poking out of his elbows. Slowly, he reached across with one hand to touch the spikes on the other. There was no sensation to them, but he could feel the weight of them. Like fingernails except coming out of his damn elbows. "W-what is this? What do you mean?" They couldn't get rid of them?! Why the hell couldn't they get rid of them!? What had gone so wrong in the sealing that this monumental fuck up had happened!? Exactly how was he supposed to keep the fact he was the new Jinchuuriki secret if he had bloody spikes coming out of his arms?

And then it clicked. What Banri had said.

Someone had died.

Someone had died to seal this monster into him, to change him into a living weapon. "Someone died… for me to become... this." Sou stared directly at Banri. There was no sadness in his voice, nor in his eyes. There was no hatred or remorse. After what Konegu had shown him, after seeing what would become of his family should he ever let the beast free, he knew that the genma could never be allowed to go unsealed. If not him then someone else would have been in this position and whoever had died still would have died. "… What happens now?"

[Nafan~]

Banri stood and approached the side of the hospital bed, looking down on the incapacitated boy. "What happens from here is mostly up to you. You'll return to what is mostly your normal life, except your missions will be a lot closer to home, and you will never spend another second alone until the day you die. Even if you don't see them, someone will always be watching you." He stated, inclining his head out the window as if to imply somebody was watching them even now.

"Don't worry too much about them. They're always from a group of shinobi trained especially to watch, guard and suppress the Genma. It would be best if you pretend they don't exist until they approach you. You'll also be unable to tell anyone about the Genma until you receive permission, it is still too early in the piece to reveal you as Jinchuuriki. However.." Banri paused, reaching into his top and producing three cards of paper. He placed dropped them in Sou's lap, clearing his throat as he did so. "I am about to tell you the hard truth about the next six months of your life. The council, the Raikage, and many of the elite shinobi of the village are already aware of who you are. This means you will already be a target for political scouting. You're a valuable asset to every player now, Sou, including myself. These three cards represent the three main people who will attempt to 'recruit you', I suggest you chose one of those rather than waste your time with others. The King is the Raikage. He will tell you little, but teach you much. To him you will be a powerful weapon, but little more. I think you've already had a taste of how he will treat you. The Jack represents Ote Syaoran. You've probably not met him, but I don't doubt he'll be in touch once you've trained up a bit. The Joker is myself. I have no doubt that you will be approached several times in the coming months by people you don't know, assume they all want to influence your decision. In fact, people you do know will even try and influence you. Whether or not you follow that influence is up to you, but this is the next stage of your life. If you chose to select one of us three, I request that you tear the two cards that were not chosen. Where or how you do it is unimportant. Know that should you ever wish to seek me out for counsel, or any other reason, you need only say my name in a public place and I will be in touch." Banri then turned, and strode out of the room. He stopped upon reaching the doorway as if he had forgotten something, and then turned back to Sou.

"Oh, and don't let the beast kill you or drive you insane." And with that, he was gone.

[Sanjuro]

Sou leaned back in his bed, staring up at the ceiling. For the rest of his days he would be constantly watched, not a moment of privacy. Great. Just great. When he heard Banri move, he shifted in the bed again to look up at the man only to have his attention drawn to the three cards that had been dropped into his lap. Painfully aware of the arm spikes and how awkward they made movement, he shifted the cards again. They looked like nothing more than playing cards. The King, The Jack, and The Joker. He arched his eyebrow towards Banri at the man's explanation of what the cards represented. Somehow it didn't surprise him that Banri was the joker.

Before he knew it he was alone with nothing but his thoughts. This was his life now. He would have to constantly worry about not letting people know about his new status who weren't already in the know, and he needed to worry about the people that were in the know making a play for his loyalties, and on top of that he needed to worry about who he would choose as a mentor.

Oh, and then there was the whole having an ancient malicious spirit constantly in the back of his mind trying to manipulate him as well.

Gingerly picking up the cards, he shuffled them together and placed them face down across his lap. That's what his choice was right now. A blind guess. He had no idea who would be the better mentor. Banri had kept him alive during the sealing but he had no doubts in his mind that the man didn't actually care about him. He doubted Banri cared about anyone in particular. From what little he knew about Hayate and the only time he had directly interacted with his Raikage, the man was shrewd but in a strange way. Like he cared about his people but cared about his ideas more. Sou had the feeling he would serve as a means to an end for the Raikage. The true wild card was Syaoran. He knew next to nothing about the council member, just that he had run the village in the absence of a Raikage during the civil war in Lightning Country.

With a huff, he flipped over the middle card and found himself staring at the Joker.

It seemed fitting. This entire situation was a great big bloody joke.

"Ugh." Flopping backwards, he stared up at the ceiling once more and resolved to go back to sleep. Maybe with some more rest things would become a little clearer.

'Hello, Sou.'

… Son of a bitch.