[Graded][Closed] Enjoying the View?

[Willoria]

How long had she been gone? Nakajima Kyo had spent so much time under genjutsu as well as various forms of duress and torture that the woman had absolutely no idea just how long it had been. She only knew now that she was home, and it felt both amazing and strange. She stood on a higher point of the village, staring down into an active marketplace as she watched people go about their lives. She was close enough to see them but far enough away not to interact directly as well as keeping them out of reach of her strange ability and seeping chakra. Her dark brown hair glinted in the light of the barely risen sun, her light brown eyes sparkled with their own mischief as she watched things below her. Her red scarf was resting in her left hand, a sigh falling from her lips as she closed her eyes and relaxed. It wasn't often she could do this, not within village limits anyway. She typically kept the scarf on to keep her strange ability from affecting those around her. But here she was alone, and no one would be affected. As far as she knew anyway.

She wore her typical garb, belly and shoulders exposed through her layers of clothes. At some point she shifted and sat on the ground, folding her legs underneath her and closing her eyes as if to meditate as she felt the breeze kick up and toy with her hair. It brought a smile to her lips, that feeling of home. For a moment it was as if she could forget the horrors she had been exposed to.

But those horrors were never gone. No already she had twisted many into her own genjutsu, choosing that one day she would visit such things upon her enemies rather than let her nightmares go to waste. Indeed it was already true that those she had seen since her return had no idea the woman suffered nightmares of any kind. It was true, she had come to enjoy them in her own way as she saw them as inspiration for her genjutsu. Even now as she meditated she focused on a recent nightmare and worked within her own mind to figure out how to visit it upon others in a genjutsu. A new technique was in the works in her mind. It was a work that was only stopped as she thought she heard something behind her, or rather felt eyes upon her. Her light brown eyes opened gently and she sighed as she turned to see who it was. "Hello then."

[Sanjuro]

'This will be our kingdom, one day. None of my former hosts have shown as much aptitude for wielding my power as you have. Soon, they shall all feel the touch of our embrace, the safety it brings so long as this listen to our rule.'

'You're delusional, Phantom Beast of Hell. Most of them shall never realize what we are if I have anything to say about it. We will protect them, yes, but we will do it from the shadows, without harming them or submitting them to your influence.'

'I can feel your resolve weaken by the day, my container. You realize that my way is better. That with my influence we could control their foolish human impulses. You simply refuse to admit it to yourself. I am a patient creature, I have lived for centuries and I shall live for centuries more.'

Sou sighed and opened his eyes, looking down on the village he loved through a haze of red chakra. Up here he was safe to sink into Konegu's power with fear of repercussion or inflicting the beast on others. No one came this far up the mountain, not when there was a much easier path that took villagers to Akino Peak. The Jinchuuriki had surrounded himself in the aura of his beast, letting it hold him suspended in the air as he folded his legs and meditated. It had scared him, at first, how much he had grown used to this feeling. He wouldn't say he enjoyed it but there was a certain comfort in being surrounded by power. As his link with Konegu had matured, his comfort with drawing upon the power he now wielded had increased. Nowadays he felt more than human but less than a beast. Something in-between.

His musings were interrupted by… whispers. Soft, almost silent, and yet somehow penetrating. Noise was dampened through his shroud, like listening through water, and yet he could hear whispering like it was right next to his ear. Drawing his aura inwards, his body seemed to shift as several spikes shrank into his skin and his whiteish complexion gained a slightly tanner look. He found that it affected the noise not a whit. Blue-green eyes searched the surrounding area and spotted a woman making her way up the mountain side.

'Chakra… she radiates it, I can practically taste it. She is like your precious thief, the one who calls himself the Lightning Shadow.' There was a growl in Konegu's normally royal tone. The beast loathed Hayate who wielded an aura as well. Sou simply watched as the young woman made her way to a ledge as he himself began to move down the mountain to get a closer look. As he approached the whispers seemed to grow louder before settling once more. 'Have a care, my container.'

She spoke as he finally reached the ledge she had stopped on, one lower than he had been using to meditate, and he stared at her eyes when she turned to look at him. His eyes never wavered from hers, blue-green boring into brown. "Not many people come up here." Sou tucked his hands into his pockets and slouched a little. "Looking for a training spot or a place to escape?"

[Willoria]

A small smile came to Kyo's lips as Sou spoke to her. She saw the way his eyes stared into hers, unwavering, it took a confidence few had to do so. Her own chakra was not far from her mind and she was certain he was feeling the effects. The way he stared into her eyes made her think that just as she searched his for an inclination of his thoughts, he searched hers for an indication of her own. That smile remained as she brought her red scarf up and wrapped it around her neck carefully, allowing the cloth to fit loosely but feeling the restriction it put upon her and her ability. "The latter, certainly." she remarked with a sigh, turning to look down into the village again. She watched the people go about their day, some part of her saddened that already her moment of freedom was interrupted.

'I'm losing my touch... was he here the entire time and I didn't even notice him? I am freshly home, maybe its not unusual for me to be a bit out of touch with my own home, and my surroundings.' The woman sighed again as she moved to bring herself to her feet before turning to look at Sou once more. "I am Nakajima Kyo." she said, introducing herself and almost flinching at her own family name. She hated to use it, hated the memories that came with it.

She hated moreso that she often forgot one of the family ties that came with it, the Raikage. It was still odd to think of her cousin in such a position, she had never thought anyone in her family would ever reach such a point given their own history. "I am sorry if my whispers disturbed you." she remarked, referring to the ability, or curse as she saw it, that must have caught his attention.

[Sanjuro]

Sou cocked his head to the side as the whispers vanished when her scarf was put on. He felt Konegu 'shift' in his presence, suddenly right there in the forefront, looking through Sou's eyes. While Sou smiled, a small lop-sided barely there thing that wasn't really meant as anything, he was feeling Konegu's curiosity. It wasn't often that their chakra was affected by outside sources but whatever this woman did was powerful enough to bypass his natural mental defences and that seemed to intrigue the beast he held.

"Sou," he said in way of a greeting. "Of the family Nukegara." He offered a courteous bow of the head before once again adopted a more neutral stance with his hands in his pockets; a sign he had no intention of using any kind of hand seals. "Nakajima, huh? I guess that explains some things. Any relation to Lord Raikage?" Konegu often complained about Hayate's presence as well, how his chakra seemed to leak out and fill the room constantly, something which annoyed the beast to no end as Sou refused the beast access to their final form that would let them take control of the raw chakra.

At her apology Sou offered a genuine, if wry, grin. "Voices in my head is nothing new, Nakajima Kyo. A few little whispers won't scare me." He stepped up beside her and looked down at the market below that she had been watching prior to his interruption. "It's nice up here. Quiet, peaceful, and you can see a bit of the village. So, what're you running from? Pressure of being a Nakajima too much?" He knew the reputation of the family. It wasn't a pretty one. The fact that Hayate was the Raikage would've been shocking if the man wasn't so damned powerful.

[Willoria]

There was a slight shift in Kyo's brows as Sou introduced himself and for a moment she found herself unable to figure out why the name seemed familiar. 'Nukegara Sou... hm... is it the family or individual that I could swear I know?' she thought to herself as she stared down at the people below. "He's my cousin." she admitted as Sou mentioned Hayate and the woman couldn't help a chuckle. "It's still odd to hear him called that... not sure I'll ever get used to hearing it." She added, memories from her childhood arising. She remembered the name well, but in truth she hadn't seen Hayate in person all that often growing up. Of course given the status of their family there was no real way to avoid him, but her mother had been in such fear of bringing Kyo around anyone related to Kyo's father that she didn't see him often.

As Sou mentioned voices in his head, it was then that it all clicked into place. "Ah yes... that's why your name is familiar." she remarked idly. "Jinchuuriki." she added, nodding a moment as she processed the information and turned to look at him a moment again. "That must be what seems so odd behind your eyes then." she added with an oddly kind smile before looking down below. When he mentioned her reasons for escape she couldn't help a chuckle. "No for the first time in my life my family name has been the last thing on my mind." she replied, sighing as she sat down once more with her feet crossed beneath her. She reached over and patted the patch of grass beside her. "Join me?" she asked. "I suppose I'm trying to escape the village itself in a sense... I've only just returned and its all just... a bit overwhelming." She turned to look at Sou a moment, still smiling. "And you? Just trying to keep a day off from what I assume must be an over-bearing Sensei figure or is it the more obvious?"

[Sanjuro]

"So you're either a high-ranking Jounin sent to watch me or someone who likes to stick their nose into files they shouldn't be looking at." Sou stared at Kyo with his eyebrows raised, one quirked higher than the other, and a grin touching his lips. Officially speaking, now that he was a Jounin, he was considered capable of looking after himself and in turn his status as a Jinchuuriki wasn't officially an eyes-only secret amongst the council and his minders. But it wasn't like they had announced it to the world either. "That or your cousin has a big mouth. And I'll have you know I was born with strange eyes, thanks."

Sou sat beside Kyo, accepting the invitation, folding his legs so that he was sitting on his ankles while staring out at the village. "It's a big place… Now that the entire country is run from here, civilians are pouring in from all over and half of the ninja have gone off on missions that could take months or years, building new schools and enforcing the new law of the land." He let out a sigh and shook his head. "You chose an interesting time to return. Surprised you haven't been redeployed yet, actually. Only reason I'm not out there is because of… well, can't let a walking weapon of mass destruction just casually roam the land building schools, can we?"

'You are no weapon of mass destruction. Merely the outer shell.'

"Like I said, this place is quiet. I don't have a sensei anymore and I'm not really using it as an escape." He shrugged, turning to give Kyo a more serious look. "More of a precaution, really. Safer up here."

[Willoria]

The woman merely chuckled at Sou's remarks. Fact was she only knew who he was because she was a tenku user herself. But one of the things she had been taught when she learned it was that it wasn't always wise to just outright tell a jinchuuriki that she was trained in it. She didn't know enough about Sou to know if it was an okay subject to bring up or not. As the subjects changed and the conversation moved forward, Kyo nodded and sighed as she looked down at the village. "I heard... seems a lot changed while I was gone." she remarked, shaking her head. It still didn't quite make sense to her, no matter how many times it had been explained to her.

But a smirk came back to her lips as Sou mentioned her redeploying and the woman looked over at him. "They don't tend to send out someone whose sanity they're still questioning." she told him. "I wasn't willingly gone, Sou. I was taken while on mission, which is why I have no idea how long I was gone. There's a black market trade out there on shinobi... a group that specializes in taking us and selling us to the highest bidder. Still can't figure out how they nullified my chakra to do it though." She explained, shaking her head and looking down at the village again. "I was rescued by Konoha shinobi actually, who returned me to my cousin."

She honestly wasn't sure she was supposed to be talking about any of this, but it felt kind of refreshing to the woman to talk to someone about this in a normal conversation rather than a return interview. She watched the village in silence for a moment before shrugging. "On the upside, it gave me some good inspiration for genjutsu...."

[Sanjuro]

"You… are an interesting individual, Nakajima." Sou muttered in response to her admission. "To take a harrowing experience and turn it into a potential strength takes a lot of guts. I'm impressed."

'Suppressed chakra? How? The blasted clan perhaps? Or maybe in the same way I have been sealed within you. Find out how, my container, so that we can devise a strategy to avoid such an encounter.'

'Sure, I'm just going to start interrogating the kidnapping victim. Because that's tactful.'

He knew of course that shinobi were a highly valued commodity, knew even that there were people out there that would attempt to enslave other people. He didn't think it was actually possible to enslave a shinobi though; shinobi were trained not to be caught and if they were caught it was usually for interrogation rather than being auctioned off. "I am surprised you were returned to the village. For Konoha to have a relation of the Raikage in their custody would have been a great boon to any negotiations… Not that I think it would've been right, of course."

Lightning Country would grow to be a major threat to the balance of power in the world. Sou wouldn't be surprised if a declaration of war came eventually. That or the other villages would follow Hayate's example and put their respective Daimyo's under the thumb of the resident Kage rather than the other way around. "How long… if you don't mind my asking? Were you here for the Civil War? You obviously weren't for the end of it if you're surprised your cousin is Raikage…"

[Willoria]

Kyo turned and gave Sou a genuine smile when he admitted to being impressed by how she had handled her experiences. She reached out a hand and touched him on the shoulder, giving it a light squeeze before removing it once more. "Thank you." she replied. "...and you can just call me Kyo honestly." she added. "I've only ever been referred to as 'Nakajima' in remembrance of my father's actions, and given recent events I am not sure I am fit to accept it as a Raikage now bears the same name." It was an odd situation she was in. Was she offended at the name because of her father? Or should she feel complimented because of her cousin? The only solution she could come to was not care either way, and only prefer her own name and to be herself.

She nodded only as Sou mused on the implications of Konoha having rescued her. Honestly she couldn't remember if she had even told them what her family name was, they would have had to make the connection themselves as she had no idea the Raikage was Hayate himself until she had laid eyes on him. When she had first heard it even she had giggled and earned a few startled looks in response.

What Sou mentioned next of course was a question she definitely had no answer to and the woman sighed and shrugged. "I have no idea." she told him. "I wasn't here for the war, I was a Special Jounin and I was bored. I begged to be allowed to go out on my own mission. I wanted to learn more of genjutsu... and so I set out to learn about the horrors of the world, and instead I lived them." She tilted her head as she looked down at the village and noticed the sun had risen enough to bring a comfortable warmth to her face. "Honestly they probably didn't even know anything was amiss, until I assume they would have tried to recall me with the war going on and couldn't find me." She turned to look at Sou again, taking a moment to study his eyes and see how well he might be absorbing the information as well as simply being curious about the man. "The man who took me knew genjutsu stronger than anything I had ever seen, and he subjected me to it night and day. There was no true passage of time, so I can't really answer your question honestly. I only knew what he showed me, and what he told me." She turned her eyes to the sun as those words flitted across her mind again and she spoke them. "As I lay dreaming, you shall go mad..."

[Sanjuro]

The blond shrugged and nodded his acceptance of her suggestion he used her given name. "I didn't want to presume. Despite the legacy tied to it, Nakajima is still your family name, I didn't mean anything by it in particular; just trying to be polite. I'll try to keep that in mind though, Kyo." Sou frowned a little at the hand being placed on his shoulder and fought the urge to shrug it off before she had a chance to remove it herself. The touch was light, nothing but friendly, and lasted only a fraction of a second, but Sou had gone a long time without human contact that wasn't violent in nature. Still, his jaw clenched, and he swallowed hard before turning to look back down to the village with a certain intensity that wasn't there before.

What was it with Nakajima's and touching him? Lord Hayate had that habit as well.

When the conversation continued, Sou listened and watched her out of the corner of his eye but kept most of his visual attention on the market below. "Just think, if you had been a few weeks later with your boredom, you could have seen all the horrors of the world right here." With a sigh, Sou wondered if perhaps that was a little much given what Kyo had apparently gone through. "Apologies, that was a bit harsh." He knew what it was too be tortured by false images. The early days of his relationship with the beast inside him wasn't easy. Shown his family and friends dying over and over, watching as he himself killed them, all in an attempt to get him to break and hand over control to the Phantom Beast of Hell. Still, he didn't think it was as bad as what Kyo had described.

"So, moving away from such a dreary subject, how long have you been back then?"

[Willoria]

She didn't ask about it, didn't say anything, but she saw it. She felt that sudden tension under her touch, watched the change in his face despite the fact that he seemed to be trying hard to hide it. Her own eyes returned to the village rather quickly, a smile returning to her lips as she watched what seemed to be children running between the adults in the crowd and chasing one another. It was good to be around such life again, and away from the living nightmare that had been her captivity. Even Kyo wasn't sure how she was able to simply move on from that. Was she just burying it? Or was turning it into her own genjutsu really the answer? Had she dealt with it properly? The woman wasn't sure.

As Sou spoke again, Kyo couldn't help a slight raise of her eyebrows as she turned to look at him. Though she chuckled as he apologized. "Oh if only I had known." she remarked. "Might've saved myself some pain, I'd prefer to see horrors in a way that I can stop them, rather than drowning in them." She chuckled to herself again as that question rose in her own mind that she couldn't answer. Was she really just okay with it all? Already?

"Hm." But thankfully Sou's next question brought her mind away from those nightmares and onto another subject. "I think I've been back a couple weeks?" she mused. "I spent time in Konoha healing up, took some time to be well enough to travel. Its probably been at least a month total." She turned and looked at Sou again a moment, shrugging as she thought it all over. "Tell me, since I'm still a bit behind, how is my cousin doing in his new role? Be honest."

[Sanjuro]

Sou thought about it. He had never really stopped and thought about his opinion on the current Raikage before. His life had become a blur of training, action, politics and schemes ever since the day he was chosen to become the next Jinchuuriki for Konegu. Hayate had a place in all of that which shadowed his opinion of the man in a somewhat more personal light. But as the Raikage? "Lord Raikage is… different. He has his own ideas about how the world should be and is willing to get his hands dirty in order to see those goals come to fruition." Sou paused and took a breath. "In that regard, I can admire him."

"However… Whether his vision is what is right for us, I can't be sure." The young man folded his arms over his chest and closed his eyes as he truly thought about it. "He used the Civil War as a staging ground to ascend to the position of Raikage. And he has since used that position to ascend to what is little more than an Emperor. He is the effective leader of the entirety of Lightning Country. As shinobi, we've always been mercenaries, information gatherers, protectors of the land but more importantly its secrets. What Lord Hayate is doing is tearing down those walls that maintain the balance of power in the world."

He sighed harshly and opened his eyes to properly look at Kyo. "Honestly? My genuine, honest opinion? I think he is going to bring about war. Not just a contained civil war but a Ninja World War. The other Hidden Villages won't stand for something like this for long. The secrets of chakra have been exactly that for a long time, secret. It is why shinobi still exist; if everyone is special, no one is. And if no one is special the other hidden villages have no reason to demand such high premiums on missions, the Daimyos could create a new order that disbanded them entirely." Looking towards the sky, Sou shrugged. "Whether that is a good or a bad thing, I don't know. He has a way with people, of convincing them that his way is the right way. Maybe it is, maybe it isn't. I do know that it is my duty to follow his orders. I am meant to serve as one of the checks and balances of power between the Hidden Villages as a Jinchuuriki but Hayate is throwing that all out of whack himself so… I guess I really don't know how I feel about it."

He didn't know why he was being so forthcoming. As a rule Sou held things close to his chest, especially nowadays. Maybe it was because Kyo had been so forthcoming about her own trials and tribulations first? Maybe it was just because Sou had bottled up his opinions for so long and was taking this opportunity to vent. Either way, he quickly realized he had said far too much to a complete stranger. Not only that but one that was related to the man he was sort of complaining about.

"Feel free to not repeat that. Ever. Please?"

[Willoria]

As Sou gave what was obviously his uncensored opinion concerning Hayate's rise to power, Kyo soaked it in. She didn't say a word, her gaze having wandered down to the village below once more as she listened to every word, not even nodding to show what pieces she found interesting. Fact was she found it all interesting, and there were many parts she wished she could disagree with but she honestly wasn't sure if she did. Hayate had brought the village to a precarious position and it caused a terrifying thought to cross Kyo's mind.

Was her cousin bad for the village?

She hated the thought. Her father, his father, and what they had once tried to do. She couldn't help thinking that history was recycling itself. In a lot of ways it sounded as if Hayate had just reinvented their fathers' attempted coup and brought it to fruition in another way. It seemed more had changed than she thought since she had left, and blood had been shed in abundance. Was blood going to just bring more blood? How much was too much? Did this mean that one day even the village itself might rise up against Hayate? 'This must be the tension I feel in the village...' She had heard whispers, but she had ignored them. Now she found herself soaking up the information, just in case the day might come that she couldn't turn a blind eye.

Her mind was brought back to Sou, as well as her gaze, as he asked her not to repeat the information and she couldn't help a smile. "It'll stay between us." she assured him. "Hayate may be my cousin, but I haven't turned a blind eye to family for a long time. I appreciate you being blunt with me. I need to be ready for whatever comes, whether its from the village, my cousin, or even you." She looked at him a moment and sighed. "I haven't lied to you yet, but I did leave something out earlier. You made mention of my having knowledge of who you are and who you carry within, and I let the subject drop. If you hadn't already guessed it, you should know, I was aware of you because I am a Tenku user." She offered a kind smile before stating rather, and oddly, happily, "You've been honest with me, I should be the same with you."

[Sanjuro]

There it was. That chill that ran down his spine every time he met someone new. He had thought it was just because of Kyo's strange aura and the whispers she had left in his head but there had been something else. Now that she had told him exactly what she was he recognized it. The same feeling of… fear that he got when around Hiruko, his old handler. It wasn't a feeling that came from him, however. It was a deeper, more primal feeling. One that told him to strike this enemy down now before they could harm him in any way, shape or form. That he had to do what was necessary to protect himself from this threat; even if it wasn't one now it would become one in the future.

It was from Konegu.

Sou shut his eyes and did his best to separate his own feelings from the Genma's. It was… difficult. For as much as it had influenced him, he had also influenced the beast in their time together. Often when it came down to the important things, their feelings were slowly becoming as one. It made it hard in situations like this. Konegu was pragmatic, he would eliminate any and all threats before they ever became one. Sou was more optimistic. Kyo had done nothing to suggest she was or would be an enemy, he had zero intention of attacking her and forcing that reality into being.

"I see." That was the extent of the response he could muster. Konegu may have been afraid and filled with loathing towards the newly revealed wielder of the one art that could truly stop him, but Sou was more… wary. She had been honest, yes, but she was still dangerous to him now. If ordered, she could very easily drag him wherever she pleased if she was skilled enough. She had also admitted to being away for a long time, being subject to torture, he had no idea if she supported the Raikage or Banri or even Syaoran. In all likelihood this was just a coincidence and Sou was being paranoid, but it came with the territory of being a Jinchuuriki.

'Protect us, Sou. Take a kunai and drive it through her heart. Better yet, infect her with our chakra, rule over her and turn the threat of her power into our protection.'

'You know damn well I can't and won't do that. She isn't a threat right now. We just need to be wary, that's all.'

'Your humanity is going to get you killed, my container.'

'My humanity is what keeps us in check. Now calm the hell down.'

[Willoria]

Kyo could practically feel the shift in Sou as the words left her lips. She watched his mind work in his eyes and even as he closed them his body language was still very telling. His words, or rather lack of, were rather telling as well. Before leaving the village on her ill-fated task, Kyo had studied his genma enough to know there was probably some kind of internal battle going on. She didn't say a word for awhile, allowing the two of them to sit in silence. She allowed time to pass for a bit that way, hoping she was allowing the two whatever inward discussion was necessary before she finally spoke up. "I won't ask what he's saying, but I'm certain someone of my abilities makes both of you more than a little uneasy." she remarked, turning her head to look at him once more. "I don't know if my promises mean much to you yet, Sou. But I do want you to know that if ever I am your enemy, you will know it. It will never be seated like this on a mountain side, I'm not going to try and surprise you or manipulate you. If that day ever came, I will be facing you, and you will already know my intent." With an oddly happy sigh the woman looked down towards the village and suddenly got to her feet.

Honestly it was almost a bounce to her feet as she turned and grinned at Sou. "You hungry?" she asked, extending a hand. "Personally, I'm famished. Been too long since I had a good meal here, you want to come with?" she added. The woman seemed to be in a good mood, and slowly getting back to her normal and rather warm demeanor after her time sitting on the mountainside in contemplation.

[Sanjuro]

"I appreciate you not asking." It was awkward enough, managing two conversations at once. He didn't feel like explaining that the second conversation he was having involved potentially killing his latest acquaintance. "And you've been honest enough, so I believe it when you say you've no current ill intentions towards me. I don't have any towards you either." It was true, mostly. He didn't. Konegu did. "If the day ever comes where putting me down is necessary, I trust that you will do what is best for the village." He offered a genuine nod of respect to the woman as she stood.

Sou remained seated, looking out over the market, looking but not really seeing. Part of him was thankful people like Kyo and Hiruko existed. No matter how strong he may be, no matter how much he believed he could tame and work with Konegu, there was always the fear in the back of his mind that one day he might become the beast he was sworn to keep at bay. If that day ever came and he was no longer able to protect his family from himself, people like Kyo and Hiruko would do so in his place. Sure, it unnerved him that people studied specifically how to put him down, but that was the price he paid for being a Jinchuuriki.

Kyo's request managed to puncture his train of thought and Sou's eyes snapped up to the young woman. He smiled politely but shook his head. "Thank you for the offer, I appreciate it, but I was up here for a reason. I should get back to it. Maybe next time though, huh?" Standing, he reached out a hand, an offer to shake. "Welcome home, Nakajima Kyo."