[Graded]Taming the Demon

[TyDie]

First his father to the war, and now his mother to the sealing of the new jinch... Hiruko hadn't been himself the past week, his mother and father both dying within months of each other, both in service to the village in one way or another. If not for Naoki and Ageha telling him they'd come after him if he tried to go missing, he would've already left by now. His mind the past few days just... wasn't there. His body was hardly there either, he hadn't eaten or slept much at all, and hadn't said a word to anyone outside of those he had to speak to in order to get his leave. They said he'd have as long as he wanted to to get back to normal... he wasn't sure any amount of time would be good enough for that. But even in grief, Hiruko just wasn't the person to sit around and wallow forever; he wanted to just stay in his house and wallow, but after a week and a half his body almost forced him to act. He had to do something, anything... and there was only one thing he could think of. If he was going to overcome this grief, he needed to meet it head on and confront the core issue...

He needed to meet the Jinchuuriki that he was going to watch over.

He already had the information needed to track the hell genma's new jinch down, supposedly he was a chuunin by the name of Sou. But rather than go searching for the host, he decided to send a scroll to him through the appropriate channels so that they could meet somewhere neutral; The academy training grounds. Maybe it was due to his incredibly fast advancement through the ranks, or maybe he just liked to see other people train, but whenever he needed to get away from things he would go here and read while watching shinobi hone their skills. He had a book with him like always, but he wasn't reading; instead he just sat on a bench, giant dark bags under his eyes and paler than normal skin, even for an Ishiguro. His hair was in all manner of disarray and he looked thinner than normal, likely due to lack of eating much the past week and a half. It was plain to see that he was just a wreck, both physically and mentally... but he'd never recover if he didn't man up now. So he sat and waited for the man known as Sou Nukegara to show up. He hoped he'd be able to carry on a normal conversation with the man... He kept trying to remind himself that it wasn't the host's fault, that these things can happen when a spirit of immense power like a genma is sealed in a new host, that his mother died in service to the village she loved...

It didn't help much.

[Sanjuro]

For the last week Sou had been under the watchful eye of Banri and his team of sealing experts to make sure the seal was stable and that he wasn't about to go homicidal on the first person he saw. Apparently that was a risk when then genma was sealed into an older host, not that anyone had thought to tell Sou that before he agreed to the procedure. The blond poked at the spikes coming out of his left elbow as a sealer watched him from the other side of the small room. They were strange, more like fingernails than limbs. There was only a bit of pressure at the base where the spike met the elbow when he moved it.

Having to wear his jacket sleeves rolled up was kind of annoying as well.

There was a knock at the door and both the bored guard and the even more bored jinchuuriki looked up in surprise. The heavy stone door slid open, grinding along the ground, and in stepped a young man with a scroll in hand and orders from Banri. Sou was to be released, though he would be watched from afar, in order to meet with his 'handler'. Sou almost scoffed at the thought; he was under constant guard already, why would he need yet another babysitter? Still, he wasn't going to argue against a chance to see the light of day for the first time in a week. He had kept quiet about his enforced imprisonment for the sole fact that he knew it was for the best.

Didn't mean he didn't miss fresh air.

Pulling his jacket on and making sure the sleeves were rolled up to avoid shredding them on his new spikes, Sou was escorted out of the hidden complex behind the temple and led out into the refreshing light of day. The feeling of the warm sun on his face brought a smile to his lips and he ran his fingers through his hair as the wind picked up around him as if welcoming him back to the real world.

'I will so miss that feeling.'

Sou growled and rubbed at his temple. Konegu, the phantom beast of hell, had been thankfully quiet ever since the sealing. Banri had warned him that eventually he would regain some of his strength and be able to converse with Sou. Sou had not been looking forward to that. Not daring to respond, Sou started making his way towards the academy training grounds.

---

Stepping down the steps that led to the academy district was like stepping down into waves of nostalgia. Sou hadn't been here since before the civil war had started. A lot of shit had happened since then, not the least of which was his new status. He subconsciously reached up with one hand to touch the spikes on the elbow of the other arm, wondering just how he was supposed to explain them to anyone that asked. With a shake of his head, he put that out of his mind for the moment and took off at a light jog for the training grounds. He was already running late for this meeting as it was.

By the time he got there there were already several groups training, some academy students being led in taijutsu exercise by their instructor, a few chuunin sparring, even a jounin or two practicing some new high level jutsu. Sou watched each of them as he passed, realizing it was now on him to control this beast and use it to protect them all. It was a little daunting.

Coming into range of the bench he had been ordered to, he saw a lone soul sitting there, staring off into nothing. There was a book hanging loosely in his hand, unopened and unread, like it was there simply to have something to hold on to. Sou frowned a little. Was this Hiruko?

"Uh, hi?"

[TyDie]

Hiruko sat almost motionless, book in hand but unopened as his eyes gazed out into the training ground, watching the various shinobi practicing their various arts. A couple of chuunin sparring, a few academy students being taught the basics of taijutsu encounters, all was pretty normal for a day in the academy training grounds... all except Hiruko of course. Though his eyes gazed out, he was hardly paying attention to anyone. His thoughts were running rampant on the encounter he was about to have with the host he was supposed to be looking after, the host he was supposed to guard and protect... the host he was supposed to rein in or, if it came down to it, put down if things got too out of hand. He wasn't even close to ready by the time Sou came into view, Hiruko's eyes just barely shifting in their ocular cavities to watch the man walk up.

His eyes scanned him up and down, noting what appeared to be a similar physique to himself; lean muscle, nothing too bulky but plenty strong enough to get the job done. He seemed to look rather calm, almost bored as he made his approach. He almost wondered if this really was the new host, but then he saw them; the spikes on the back of the elbows. The telltale signs of the Hell genma's influence, at least that was what he was told when he asked about the genma he was watching over. As he broke the ice with a simple, uneasy greeting, Hiruko let out a small sigh and shifted on the bench to make room for Sou. "Take a seat." was all that came out of his mouth, and he waited for the man to comply before he spoke again.

"Glad you could come out to see me... I'm sure we've both been going through hell the past week or so. I'm still on leave technically... bereavement and all that." Hiruko paused for a moment, trying to make sure he didn't say something stupid on his first time meeting with the man he was supposed to be watching out for. After taking another breath he started again. "Obviously you know that I know what happened... but I look at my duty as more than just watching over your new buddy. So let's start from the top; I'm Ishiguro, Hiruko. And I know from the information I've been given that you're Nukegara, Sou. Why don't you tell me a bit about yourself... before your body became home to two." He made sure to look around and quietly speak the last bit about him being a host so that no one else in the area could hear. After all, only a handful of people were aware of the presence of a new jinch in Kumo, and the higher ups wanted it to stay that way.

[Sanjuro]

When Hiruko finally looked up at him, Sou was almost taken aback by the dead look in his eyes. Sou didn't dare speak, simply sat when he was told to, more out of shock than anything. What had happened to the guy that made him so… hollow? It was more than a little disconcerting. And then he went on about how they both knew what had happened but Sou was as clueless as any random stranger. Had the two of them met and he simply couldn't remember it? And what did he mean by he was on bereavement leave? It would explain the dead look in his eyes if someone close to him had died, but Sou didn't know what that had to do with him though.

Running his fingers through his hair, Sou acknowledged Hiruko's introduction with a grunt before letting out a soft sigh. Before he got too involved in this whole 'getting to know you' situation, Sou had to know what Hiruko was talking about. "Look, Hiruko was it? I don't mean to be rude but I honestly have no idea what you're talking about. I mean, it's clear you lost someone, and I'm sorry for your loss, truly. But what is it that I am supposed to know has happened?" He hoped that the Ishiguro didn't take any offence. The last thing he needed was for his handler to despise him for something Sou had no idea about.

Even as he was speaking, he could feel the rumblings deep within the back of his mind that suggested Konegu was paying attention to the conversation that was going on. The blond mentally frowned and wished he knew how the sealers had put the monster to sleep the first time so that he could do it again. The last thing he needed to be dealing with was a voice in the back of his head during the first time he was meeting the person who was supposed to control him from going completely mental.

[TyDie]

Rather than answer his question, the man responded with one of his own... one that caused Hiruko to seize up a moment before letting out a small sigh and breaking eye contact, looking down at the book in his hand instead. "Banri didn't tell you huh? Lovely... shows how much he cared about her." He continued to look down, his ragged hair falling down over his face as he played with the book nervously, thinking of how best to speak. It was obvious the boy either didn't know who the female sealer was, or wasn't told about her connection to his handler. This might be just as traumatic for him as it was for Hiruko... and the last thing he wanted to do was upset a newly sealed host. He didn't exactly have the capacity to deal with a full scale outbreak of the genma right now.

"Ishiguro, Hisako. My mother. She passed away about a week and a half ago... while performing your sealing ritual. I wasn't given the full details, but there were apparently complications during your sealing... complications that caused my mother the ultimate price. My mother died sealing one of the genma in your body, so that you might turn it into a weapon to bolster the strength of the village... seems like a shitty trade if you ask me. But what do I know right? I'm just a shinobi who does his duties until my time is up. Doesn't help that my dad died in the final attack of the war, and me and my friends were almost killed in that same war. Things... just aren't going my way lately." Normally he'd be crying by now, as any man would, but he had cried all he could over the past week and a half. He was done crying.

"Sorry, I shouldn't have been so blunt. If i'm being honest, I want to blame you for it... I want to blame somebody for it. But I know my mother wouldn't approve. She died serving the country she loved, the village that was her home. And in honor of that wish i'm staying true to what I promised her and serving the village too." Hiruko paused a moment before looking at Sou, his bloodshot, exhausted eyes honing in on the eyes of the new host. "As part of that, either by fate or as some twisted joke, I've been assigned to be your handler. So if you don't mind, i'd like to try and make the best of it. So why don't we try and start off on good terms hm? I've had enough negativity for one lifetime..."

[Sanjuro]

Oh this was a twisted sense of irony.

Sou honestly thought he was going to be sick when Hiruko started talking. The more he went one, the worse Sou felt, until he was huddled back into his jacket as far as he could and had pulled his hood up over his head to shadow his face. He had been unconscious for the better part of the sealing, and what little time he had been conscious he had been in so much pain he had no idea what was going on. The newly made jinchuuriki looked down at his hands as his mind, or Konegu, he couldn't be sure which, superimposed an image of pure white hands stained with blood over the top. Bile forced its way up his throat, burning and begging to be released.

Because that would be such a good idea right now.

Clenching his hands closed into fists, he sucked in a deep, shuddering breath through his nose and forced the bile back down to whence it came. Even with the threat of throwing up gone Sou didn't dare open his mouth. What the hell was he supposed to say to a man who had lost his mother because of him? He was right. It was a shitty trade. The entire purpose of being a jinchuuriki was to serve as a shield for the village, and in the process of becoming one he had caused a woman's death.

Sou shook his head. "I wouldn’t blame you for blaming me…" he muttered, "I know I do. I- I don't think I could ever say anything to express how sorry I am that this happened to you." He shrugged his hood back a little, wishing more than ever he could cover the spikes on his elbows. He could hardly believe he thought they looked kind of cool when he had gotten over the shock of having them. "For what it's worth, I'll do everything I can to keep this bastard from hurting anyone else."

'Sou, don't be like that. We could be friends, you know. My power is absolute, it could keep everyone safe if you just let me take over.

'Like it kept this man's mother safe? Like hell.'

He heard a pleasant chuckling in the back of his mind as Konegu laughed. 'I was simply trying to protect what was mine; in that case, my freedom. She was going to take that away from me. I'm not evil, Sou.

'What I do know is that you're a prisoner. So shut it.'

'Tch.'

[TyDie]

Sou's reaction to Hiruko's mother's death proved two things; that he truly wasn't aware of the pain his sealing had caused Hiruko, and now that he knew he felt an incredible amount of remorse. Hiruko shook his head and chuckled a bit, the closest thing he had to a laugh in over a week, and placed a hand on Sou's back in a sort of reassuring way. "I said I wanted to blame you Sou, never said I did. I'm just mad at the world right now... It's not your fault that she died at the hands of the spirit. It was just an unfortunate accident. But i'll tell you how you can make it up to me if you really feel that badly about it." Hiruko looked at the man, or at least at his hood, and ran his fingers through his hair to push it back into place, revealing his face more clearly... and the small smile that was on it.

"Don't just keep that bastard from hurting anyone else... put him to work. Use his power for the benefit of Kumo, turn him and yourself into the ultimate defense. Be the best damn host you can be Sou; that's how you can make it up to me." The young jounin leaned back against the bench and let his face look up to the sun, which was just breaking over the mountain peak to shine down on the academy grounds. "Oh... And throw in a drink or two. Maybe we can go out sometime in the next week or so, get some drinks, try and put all this disturbing business behind us." He knew it would never be truly gone... he knew the man would probably blame himself for the rest of his days for what happened to his mother. And he wouldn't be wrong to do so, at least not in Hiruko's eyes... he'd probably feel the same in his shoes. But he had to move forward. They both did.

"I'll bring you to her crypt in the Ishiguro compound later if you want to pay respects, but we'll leave that for another time. For now, let's discuss what I asked you out here to discuss; what were you like before the event?" he purposely kept his words broad in order to mask the truth behind what they were talking about, just in case any of the people on the training ground got curious about the two sitting on the bench instead of just training. Most people knew that Hiruko liked to hang around the training field, even if he wasn't training himself, but he usually did so alone. Anyone who knew him might think it was rather odd for him to be sitting and talking with someone, especially if they knew that his mother had recently passed away. It was just best to air on the side of caution... especially since Hiruko could see a couple of new faces off near the entrance to the training field. Faces looking directly at the two shinobi on the bench... likely people watching Sou to make sure nothing went wrong.

[Sanjuro]

Sou reached up to rub at the back of his head, letting out a soft sigh at the idea of learning how to wield the beast's power. Banri had mentioned much the same as had the Raikage, Hayate, but he been given a week to recuperate before he would begin his official training. He had no idea how to draw on the power of the seal, let out wield it well enough to turn it into the ultimate defence. Just the thought of wielding Konegu's power had the beast chuckling in the back of his mind, though Sou was quick to try and shut him out. At the mention of drinks, Sou chuckled a little. There was no humour to it, more a gesture than anything to fill the silence. "Hell, I used to work at bar before the civil war for a bit of extra cash, I'm pretty sure I can get us more than two drinks."

He didn't say anything at the idea of going to see Hiruko's mother's burial site. He didn't think he could stomach that any time soon. So he focused on the easier question and let everything become background noise for now, something to be dealt with later when emotions weren't so raw. "The sealing didn't really change much. It was only a week ago, so I'm still getting used to it, but I don't feel very different." He shook his head and sighed. Even if he didn't feel different there were some obvious ones. "Before all this I was the one that looked after my family. I made sure my older siblings didn't work themselves to exhaustion, made sure my kid sisters didn't cause too much mischief. I guess it's a good thing the girls are going to be Genin soon, because I don't think I'm going to see them much for a little while."

He subconsciously touched his spikes, something that was probably going to become as much of a habit as pulling his hair he imagined. Only select people were allowed to know about the sealing. Of his family only his parents and older brother were made aware of the situation. To avoid any potential danger until he had the beast completely under his control, he wasn't allowed to go home. "The idea of not seeing them every day is… I don't know, it kind of makes me feel sick in the pit of my stomach." He was talking more to himself at that point. Obviously he had left home for missions and the like but he always knew he would return to his family. Now, he would be returning to a carefully watched and guarded underground temple where there would be no mischief filled smiles or unruly man-hugs to greet him.

Sou swallowed hard. Gods, he was turning into a bloody woman. Shaking his head, he forced the thoughts from his mind and turned to look at Hiruko. "What about you? Before… everything, I guess."

[TyDie]

Hiruko's ears perked up as the man mentioned working at the bar at some point for a bit of extra cash... and a bit of light hearted laughter broke the man's lips. "Hahaha, no kidding? We might be better friends than I thought. I mean, i'm no drunk, but me and my team go out for a drink every week if we're not on mission. So yeah, you might have to hook us up with a night of fun... and join us in that fun of course. You could probably use the escape just as much." The funny and entertaining sounding plan suddenly took a harsh turn back to reality towards the end when he mentioned the escape... man, he couldn't even use the idea of drinking to get away from all the depressing stuff. He decided to leave it where it was and hope that Sou's explanation of his time before the genma would help.

It didn't.

He had led a pretty average life with his siblings beforehand it seemed, a life that would be changed drastically by the introduction of the Genma in his life. Hiruko shook his head as he heard all of Sou's words... wasn't there a better candidate for this? someone, anyone? This man seemed like he had far more to value in his life than a stupid spirit. Rolling his eyes at his own thoughts of idealism, Hiruko took note of what he wanted to know and moved on. "Huh, my turn hm? Alright, i'll bite. Before the war, I was just some happy go lucky 16 year old. Me and my team just dealt with a big mission, apparently there was a sect of cultists who were husking themselves with the help of a missing ninja from another country. If not for my birthright, we surely would have died... but thank the gods my mother was a sealer huh?" Hiruko smirked before realizing that Sou might not realize what he meant.

"Oh, right. My mother used the art of Shizumeru to aid in your sealing, you might have recognized the chakra chains and such she used. y'see, she had to learn how to use that art, but I can do it naturally. They say that my mother's contact with spirits while she was pregnant with me gave me the genetic ability to interact with spirits or something... who knows the truth. All I know is that's why I was made your handler; I'm an Oshigurama or something." Realizing he had gone off on a bit of a tangent, he chuckled to himself and scratched his head before starting again. "Heh, sorry. Anyways, life was good. My team and I have been together fooooor 9 years now, we're the best of friends. My teacher is one of the strongest and kindest people I know... It all went south around the start of the war to be honest."

Hiruko began to hesitate as the topic of the war came up... no, that was probably best left for later. "Long story short, I was pretty normal up until the war. the past 2 years or so has been really rough for me... But enough about my boring life." Honestly, for such a short life compared to others, Hiruko's life was anything but boring so far, but he waved it off nonetheless. "I wanted to know what you were like beforehand so I would be able to tell if the spirit's influence was becoming too much... but you guys are actually a lot alike from what you've said so far. I mean, he's an eternal being of power and you're not, but personality wise you're both very protective of those around you. Just... don't let that protectiveness consume you and prevent people from being who they are. That's the point when I need to slap you and bring you back to reality, understand?"

[Sanjuro]

'See, even the human thinks you should give in to me. We're alike.'

Sou subtly growled but didn't respond to the voice in his head, simply levelling a cool glare at Hiruko. "Never compare me to that monster again." His voice was harsh and the words were ground out like he was struggling to keep form screaming. The last thing he needed was to be told he was a lot like a monster that killed without remorse and happily showed Sou visions of himself torturing and butchering his own family. "It doesn't protect anything. It just has to always be the one in control." Sou stood up rather abruptly and jammed his hands into his pockets, balling them into fists.

'That hurts, Sou-kun. Calling me a monster… That cuts me deep.'

'I'll bloody well call on you when I want your power, otherwise just shut the hell up. I don't need your bloody running commentary, got it?'

'Now, now, Sou. No need for cursing.'

While he was having his mental conversation Sou didn't realize that he had begun to angrily pace back and forth and was grinding his teeth loud enough to be audible. It had also apparently drawn the suspicion of his watchers, who began to slowly approach him from the other side of the training grounds. When he realized what they were going to do, Sou ceased in his pacing and took a long, slow breath to calm himself back down. Like hell was he getting thrown back in that dark room so soon after being let out. Turning back towards Hiruko, he offered his shoulders in a shrug. "Sorry. Just the idea of being anything like that thing is enough to make me lose my cool."

[TyDie]

The man suddenly took great offense to what Hiruko had said... rightfully so given what the jounin handler had said to him. Of course, Sou took it out of context, but Hiruko should have known better than to have even mentioned the possibility of the genma and him having similar personalities. Still, that didn't change the fact that Sou was beginning to get upset, and a newly sealed host who got this upset this fast could mean trouble. Without even thinking an aura of maroon chakra surrouned Hiruko as he prepared to use a technique on the man, but he refrained from actually doing so unless he had to. "Hey, keep it together man, we're all friends here. It was a poor choice of words on my part I admit, and I apologize for that, but you gotta keep it cool Sou. I don't want to have to do something on our first meeting..."

Hiruko looked back at the watchers as they began to make an approach and gave a shake of his head, as if to say "i've got this, don't interfere yet". Whether it was Sou's calming down or Hiruko's signal that did it, they seemed to understand. With Sou calm now, Hiruko once more motioned for him to take a seat. "I only meant to say that the spirit's influence on you will be hard to discern. You have a natural desire to protect those you love and care about, as do I given what I just told you about nearly dying for my comrade in the war. Konegu has the same desire, but his manifests in controlling, evil ways. Don't let yourself become that... That's all I meant by that. Sorry if it came out wrong." Hiruko scratched his head with embarrassment as he realized he almost set of the genma bomb in less than 2 weeks after it was sealed... that would have gotten him in more trouble than he could have possibly imagined, not to mention how many people would have hated him for it. They probably would have thought it was on purpose, a sort of vengeance for his mother's passing at the hands of the beast...

Hiruko let out a sigh before speaking again. "I don't know if you've been debriefed on the details of what our relationship is supposed to be, but i'm not just the guy that keeps you from going batshit and leveling a village. I'm also supposed to oversee your growth and help you get better at controlling the beast, so to speak. Sometime after today, when you're given the okay to roam the village again, we'll have to go to a hidden location somewhere so we can work some stuff out. And at some point... I want to have a little chat with you and Konegu. But for now, I just want to know what to expect. Not from Konegu, but from you. What's your preferred method in a fight?"

[Sanjuro]

Sou arched his eyebrow at the maroon chakra that surrounded Hiruko. Was this guy really planning on using a jutsu on him? For getting a little annoyed at being compared to a monster? Oh this was going to the start of a great working relationship. Blowing his fringe out of his face with a huff, he threw himself back down onto the bench and schooled his face back into a mask of nonchalance. "Until I start threatening you with bloody torture in order to get you to do as I say, I think we're good, yeah?" What did this guy think he knew about Konegu's desires? He didn't have the monster in the back of his head, constantly whispering in his mind.

Leaning back, he folded his arms behind his head, suddenly not caring so much that he was displaying his spikes for all to see. At first he had been worried about keeping the secret and then he didn't want to flaunt them in front of the guy whose mother had died sealing the genma. But then he had threatened him. Maybe not verbally but that chakra was obvious enough. So quite frankly Sou couldn't give a damn what this guy thought about Sou's spikes anymore. Staring up at the sky, he let out a long, soft sigh. This was something he was going to have to get used to, he reckoned. The constant mistrust. Genma and their Jinchuuriki were nothing more than weapons, according to Banri. But apparently until he showed he had control over the beast he was going to be treated like a ticking time bomb.

Lovely.

He turned a little to look out of the corner of his eyes towards Hiruko when the man started talking about training. Great. More hidden places, probably as dark and uninviting as the bloody cave he was living in at the moment. "Hit and run." Sou explained with a simple shrug. "I'm not exactly the strongest person around. I believe the technical definition is 'painfully average'." He explained with a chuckle. "But I'm fast enough and my technical skills are good. So I use nintaijutsu to get in a deliver a couple of quick hits before I move out of range again. I'm also pretty handy with a kunai or shuriken when I need to be." He turned back towards staring at the sky. "What about you, mister 'rise-through-the-ranks'? I'm sure you've got a fancy trick or two up your sleeve."

He rolled his neck along his hands until he heard a satisfying pop. He didn't know how long he could keep up this cool and collected act considering how pissed off he still was, but it was better than being threatened again.

[TyDie]

Hiruko seemed to miss most of the body language Sou was putting forth and simply smiled as the man mentioned the point when Hiruko would need to step in. "Haha, yeah I think that's a good point to start being concerned. After all, you know him better than I do... I only know what I've been told." Hiruko paused for a moment as he seemed to finally catch on to Sou's annoyance... likely at the whole 'him almost using shizu on him on their first meeting' thing. "Yeah... still sorry about that threat mate. It's weird, I was told to treat every moment with you as one that could result in me having to restrain you, but I hate thinking of it that way. I want to believe that you have it in you to succeed where others have failed... why would the village have chosen you if you couldn't do it y'know? So yeah, unless you're about to level a town or murder a bunch of villagers, don't expect that from me again... unless we're training of course. Gotta be ready to deal with it when other people try to use it against you."

The jounin gave a bit of a nudge with his elbow as he mentioned the idea of training with Sou... He hoped being a bit light hearted about his earlier threat might help make the situation between them a little less tense, but he took into account the man's fighting nature and gave a few nods before he answered Sou's question. "Clever use of ninjutsu actually, I might have to take that from ya. As for me, not really much to say honestly. I'm an Ishiguro, so I've got Denjiton at my disposal... really helps to mitigate the damage of ninjutsu. Shizu helps against summoners, or in one really bad situation, a bunch of husked cultists that wanted to 'convert' a nearby village... Fuuton makes for a strong offense, plus I can use it for Empathy Sensing. And of course I have a good deal of hand to hand knowledge, which is something my clan usually lacks. Like you, my strength isn't exactly anything to write home about, so I make up for it by being fast. In fact, i'd say i'm a bit below average in terms of hand to hand, at least compared to other Jounin I've sparred with. But I make up for that with my extensive ninjutsu knowledge."

With his summary of his skills complete, the man thought to comment on his r'ise through the ranks' as Sou put it. "No, no tricks... just a lot of near death experiences that turned out for the best and my teacher's good word that I was ready for it. If you saw my body you'd see more scar tissue than skin, I've been put on death's door more times than I care to admit. Luckily that door never opened for me, so here I am... I don't really feel Jounin material to be honest, but my teacher seems to think otherwise, and the village evidently agreed so who am I to complain right? But I mean, you're still older than me bud... maybe you can teach me a thing or two huh?"

[Sanjuro]

Apparently he wasn't as good an actor as he thought he was if Hiurko was so quick to pick up on his annoyance. Still, it was to be expected he supposed. Banri wouldn't want some halfwit watching him, it'd need to be someone that could read him and judge if he was about to blow or not. Not that he particularly enjoyed the thought of being constantly observed for the rest of his days but it was what he had unwittingly signed up for. Why had the village chosen him? Most likely because he had plenty of ties to the village to keep him under control in the form of his family, probably.

Okay, that was a little pessimistic.

He shook his head when Hiruko went on about how he got promoted. "So that's how you get a promotion after the Chuunin exam eh? Explains why I'm still a Chuunin, I suppose. Not a scar on me." He seriously questioned the decision to put someone younger than himself in charge of his safekeeping. That doubt was more pronounced by the fact that said handler didn't apparently feel ready for the rank of Jounin. Then again, Sou couldn't be sure if he was being honest or simply being humble. Not that it mattered, the decision had been made. "Somehow I doubt that. We're only a year apart and I'm a Chuunin for a reason."

With a heave, he pulled himself up out of the chair and tucked his hands into his pockets, staring out across the training grounds. "So what now? We've met, we've shared some deep and darks, we've given a general overview on how we fight, which honestly sounds pretty similar." He turned his head ever so slightly to look at Hiruko out of the corner of his eye. "That about covers the meet and greet. Want to go get a drink before they haul me back into solitary?"

[TyDie]

Hiruko couldn't tell if Sou was always this way or if this was the effects of recent events, but it seemed he didn't want to beat around the bush much more. But that was fine, and he could see why he wanted to move on from all this talk; after all, he'd been dealing with the genma for a week now, he probably wanted to do something to get his mind off of it. Hiruko could sympathize... he had a lot he wanted off of his mind too. "Yeah, I suppose a drink couldn't hurt. Assuming your buddies over there don't try and stop you that is..." He looked back to the guys that tailed Sou here... he didn't recognize any of them at first glance, which considering the overall size of Kumo's population and their affiliation with spirits was pretty rare. He had no idea how they'd react to Sou wanting to step off for a drink.

He didn't see any issue with it though, so after standing from the bench and finally putting his book away Hiruko popped his neck a few times and offered to help Sou off the bench, extending a hand to him. "Let's blow this place. Screw my teammates, you and me can hit the bar and you can hook me up with their share of alcohol. Hows that sound?" He was by no means an alcoholic, the entire thing was a total bluff, but he was just trying to throw a little humor out there. After all, with the way their first meeting had gone so far, he just wanted to make sure they were friendly with each other by the end of it.

[Sanjuro]

Oh Sou could definitely do with a drink or two given the conversation they had just had. He didn't even pause to think about the fact that he had minders watching him and what the alcohol could do with his freshly sealed genma. Of course, he didn't need to think about that. Either his minders were listening in or they simply decided he had been out in public for too long because they decided to appear beside him in a cloud of smoke faster than Sou could blink. The blond stared at them before letting out a harsh sigh, hanging his head in defeat.

"You know, if they had told me I wouldn't be able to drink after becoming… this," Sou began, looking up from under his bangs to Hiruko. "I would have definitely said no." Reaching up to scratch the back of his head, the teen offered a slight shrug of his shoulders. "Maybe next time. I imagine it won't be long before I get released into your custody full time." His annoyance at being a prisoner in his own home came back with a vengeance. Logically he knew it was for his and everyone elses protection until he showed some semblance of control over his new abilities.

Didn't make the pill any easier to swallow though.

"Come up to the temple on the mountain tomorrow if you get bored. You're probably one of the only people on the outside I'll be allowed to talk to for a while." The look he got from one of the watchers had Sou sighing and shaking his head. "You know as well as I do he already knows where I'm staying." He motioned to his silent watchers, the one who gave him the look a second ago was beginning to tap their foot in impatience. "I could use the company." Hiruko had threatened him, yes, but right now Sou saw him as the lesser of two evils. The blond didn't mind a bit of solitude but constant silence in a darkened room in some hidden base behind a shrine wasn't exactly his idea of a fun time. "Anyway. I'll see you around, Watcher."