Name: Ashuri
Aliases: Sawako, Kuroyuki
Gender: Female
Age: Appears 11-ish
Height: 4'2
Body Type: Skinny.
Eyes: Emerald Green.
Hair: Jet Black.
Rank: Genin
Skill: Steadfast, Revenant
Description:
A child with the resilience of a monster? Or a monster in the guise of a child?
This emerald-eyed genin appears frail, with skinny limbs and an ivory complexion, as well as stitches that dominate her body. She carries only minimal equipment in a few small pouches. She had been forcibly modified to become inhumane shinobi capable of withstanding nearly any form pain and punishment, including many injuries that should very well be outright fatal. The price for such unearthly recovery, however, comes at the curse of requiring her to nourish herself through cannibalism; with failure to do so promising that her regenerative powers become degenerative.
Personality:
Inquisitive. Nihilistic. Timid. Analytic. Apathetic. Deranged.
A stoic genin that constantly views the world with intrigue, desiring to know the workings and logic behind everyone and everything. Despite her curiosity and desire to understand, suffering through years of horrendous experimentation had damaged her psyche to the point were she is unable to truly form empathetic links to others.
Her nihilism leads her to believe that life has no significant meaning beyond the individual, and finds concepts of idealism and grandeur to be foolish at best. And yet, she finds herself inexplicably drawn to those who possess those very traits; perhaps in some small hope of having her own emptiness be proven wrong?
-Likes: Power, small animals, the concept of Death, having her head pet, poisons and medicine, night, storms.
-Dislikes: Shoes. Being stared at. Loud people. Deep water. Not getting her way. Being tricked.
-Quirk: Unable to sleep. Ever. She's always watching.
Backstory:
Chapter 1 - The Fallen
Once upon a time, there was a young girl who dreamed of growing into a reknown kunoichi of the stone. As the child of loving merchants who had recently settled to the village of stone, the girl had no expansive heritage to fall back upon unlike those born into the more traditional shinobi clans, and thus she dedicated her days to rigorous training and her nights to intense studies. She vehemently thrust herself into the ideals of a shinobi, and as a result of her perseverance, this young girl managed to graduate as a genin in one of the highest rankings of her class. From the moment that she had first earned her genin medal, she had shown signs of great promise. Her family could not have held more pride for their daughter, the first shinobi of their clan.
Unfortunately, that promise was wiped away when a tragic accident brought the joy of multiple families to a halt, claiming the lives of several of the top ranking students only days after their graduation. The promising girl included. It was a freak accident that took all those involve by complete surprise, leaving the families to fall into despair over the loss of their youth. Some families recovered, others were never to smile again, but eitherway it had been a tragic day for the village.
But as time moved on, new students moved to the ranks of genin, filling the positions and the void left by their deaths. The event would eventually become a forgotten dark subnote in the village's history vaguely remembered, and even more rarely spoken about.
Chapter 2 - Kuroyuki
In a different time and a different place, before a certain young girl met a tragic fate, there have existed several powerful Youkai that formed together under a common leader in a skirmish against the Kami. Of the ten Yami no Taishou -powerful youkai-, there was a certain one by the name of Kuroyuki. Kuroyuki, like the others, became captivated by the charismatic power displayed by their leader; a certain Yami Tsuyuri.
However, her respect and admiration for their leader was only rivaled by her love for a fellow Yami no Taisho, Oni. It was this love that eventually sown the seeds of envy and jealousy towards their leader, desiring to be viewed with similar respect and admiration that they had for their leader.
Those feelings would reach their boiling point when, during a battle against the Kami, Oni happened to fall in battle. But rather than counter and avenge their fallen companion, their leader gave the order of a ceasefire in an attempt to avoid an all-out war that would heavily impact both sides.
Engulfed by the pain of seeing Oni fall, her lust for vengeance at the Kami and her dissatisfaction with their leader's decisions, and Kuroyuki abandoned the Yami no Taisho to pursue her own vendetta against the Kami on her own. She had heard rumors of her past allies falling one by one, and eventually she too met with a similar fate at the hands of the Kami; her soul was torn from her body and sealed within an necklace that would be lost within the world.
Yet, her legacy was not finished here; Youkai were a persistent sort. Even after her soul was severed from her body, bound into an amulet and lost into the world, she continued on. Years. Decades. Nearly a century passed as her spirit slumbered until one day she was discovered. And the human who discovered that cursed treasure become coaxed by Kuroyuki's honeyed words and promises of power, of beauty, or wealth.
And thus, the first of Kuroyuki's incarnations was born. It was through this avatar that the once-Yami General had been able to manifest her spirit in the world. She soon discovered a flaw to her fortune; the power of her spirit was volatile, and incompatible with a physical form that was not her own. Those she possessed had their lifespans cut short and their bodies deteriorate gradually.
To counter this, she acted through the body of her first host in order to form a small group, a cult that worshiped a youkai by the name of Kuroyuki. She started a cult worshiping herself, to ensure that even if she returned to slumber once again, a fresh sacrifice would be available for her rebirth. Not only that, but there was a secondary goal; if a suitable host could not be found to offer to their idol, the cult would go through the effort of creating a suitable vessel. One that could withstand the powers of Kuroyuki.
The youkai had went through several bodies and slumbered for some time, awaiting the fruits of her cult's efforts.
Chapter 3 - Within the Grave
On that day many years ago, several new genin had lost their lives...to the outside world.
In truth; no deaths had occurred on that day. Unbeknown to the world, it was a meticulously played out event enacted by a cult in order to capture several promising specimens for their own twisted devices. It was the girl's own aptitude which ended up cursing her to draw the eyes of the cult upon herself.
The fate that awaited the captured genin was a cruel one; one involving unholy rituals, invasive medical practices, and complicated seals. Their very bodies were gradually broken down and rebuilt from the smallest bits over the course weeks, then months, and even years. All in an effort to make them better. To make these chosen genin stronger.
To remove the weakness of their humanity and forcibly evolve them into some stronger form of life.
To lock these modified shinobi in a dark cellar deep within the earth, deep enough that even the most inquisitive of doujutsu or sensitive of sensors would not have the slightest hint as to what horrors occurred beneath.
To pit them against each other until only the finest remained as the sole victor, the only one allowed to see the light of day once again.
...But the genin refused to turn against each other. They would not raise their hands against the ones that studied techniques together, who had graduated together, who had suffered through horrible rituals together. Even if it meant turning their backs on the promises of freedom, they were genin of the stone village and would not strike out against their allies. And so, they sat in solitude, wishing for fate to spare them from any more suffering.
But fate was cruel. Hours passed by. Days. Weeks. One Month. Two....How long had time passed? Far too much for anything called human to survive without any kind of sustenance. No heroes had ever arrived to save them. And the worse part? Even after their minds lost the will to live and welcomed death's embrace, their immortal bodies still forced them to continue on.
Whatever unholy practices had been performed upon them that denied their bodies the right to die was only just working; when the genin looked upon each other they could no longer see the faces of their friends, the visages of those that had practiced shinobi arts together with. Without nourishment, they were surrounded only by corpses that only would occasionally move or speak with vaguely recognizable voices. Surrounded by corpses that of which, they themselves were one of.
And as their tenacious bodies wilted, so too did their minds. Trapped in a dark dungeon for countless time, frightened, cold, hungry, until the first of them inevitably lost their way;
"...Home...I just want to go home..." A voice groaned from within the darkness. Moving with the voice, a husk of a body began to stir and shamble towards the nearest thing that still somehow managed to be considered alive, the nameless young girl. Her dim eyes vaguely caught site of the makeshift weapon held by the living corpse, a bone of some sort being wielded by its original owner, as it surely wasn't in the room when they had first arrived.
The girl reached out in vain, only to realize that the arm she raised did not exist.
She attempted to crawl away, but it was difficult for one who possessed only a single leg as well.
Both were sacrificed days ago (or was it weeks?) in a fruitless attempt to end her suffering prematurely.
"Noooo!"
Splat. Splat.
"Aaaaahh!!!"
Splat. Splat.
"....Stop...it..."
Splat. Splat.
"....rk...."
Splat. Splat.
"....."
Splat. Splat.
She was being murdered by a decayed corpse that had once been her friend. She truly believed that. It was an endlessly traumatic experience,
But her body would not die. Even wasted away and cut apart as she was, her lifeforce refused to seperate itself from the husk of her body. Of course, every nerve in her shriveled frame still registered the pain of the first stab. And the second. And the third. And the ninth. Even after the attacks ceased upon her body, the pain continued. She was only vaguely aware of something moving around within her, her body attempting to retain itself.
"...So warm...The blood's so warm..." her attacker's voice seemed to trickle out much like the crimson fluid of her body.
It would be nice to say that at this point help came to save her, but what followed wasn't anything so kind. No, it was like dominoes; when one of the genin fell into insanity, the other shriveled counterparts quickly followed suit. "...I want to be warm too..." "Help me." "It isn't fair..." "It hurts..."
There was no distinction being made amongst themselves. There were no teams, no turns, and no sides. It was a grotesque free for all, with each forsaken soul desperately trying to claim what little warmth remained buried deep inside the bodies of the others.
Of course, the girl would retain no recollection of these events. But if she did, she would be able to recall the pain of her body being ripped, the ferocity as her teeth and remaining arm returned the favor to another, the bliss of having her starved body finally receive the nourishment it craved. Like herself, the others had similar bodies cursed with remarkable fortitude...tearing each other apart was no quick process.
It may have simply come down to luck, but when their/her captors returned to examine the scene, there was only one thing that remained moving within the dark, silent dungeon. It had seemed that once again, the once-promising girl had emerged atop her peers. She no longer had the company of her fellow genin with her.
And her body no longer possessed a resemblance to a corpse, but now looked like that of a girl once more. The lost limbs her body had been missing? She wasn't aware of when, but they had seemed to have been found...or at least, she thought they were hers (or at least would have if she could, there were no thoughts within her damaged mind).
Her tattered once yellow-gold dress was stained into a new crimson color.
Chapter 4 - Rebirth
Physical trauma inflicted upon her body would always recover. However, the mental trauma would not...but this was of no concern to the cult of youkai worshipers, for after years of preparation they had finally obtained that which they had desired; a suitable host to serve as the incarnation of their enshrined idol. A youkai who required a physical vessel to manifest into the world, yet who's spirit would drastically reduce the lifespan of those it merged with, deteriorating their body.
This girl, the result of countless rituals and experiments, would serve as the perfect host; she would be an unbreakable vessel for the youkai's next incarnation.
And so, the ritual began. The silent, empty girl was locked within an underground shrine. Her broken mind was only vaguely aware of her surroundings; candles adorned the floors and walls. And there were chimes and bells. Lots and lots of chimes and bells. Chimes and bells that seemed to grow louder with each sound, coming from all directions, reverberating within her head. In time, even the countless candles seemed to flicker in synchronization with the perpetual chiming.
She didn't mind though. She kinda liked it.
Most interesting to her though, was the statue of a woman posed in the center of the shrine, standing tall and proud. To the girl's dead eyes, the figure seemed...strong, elegant, despite having been depicted with only a necklace adorning her feminine body. To her, she was beautiful.
She couldn't help but reach out her small cold hands to touch the statue, touch the features of it's face, the curves of its breasts, the shining necklace upon its chest. The statue's presence seemed to command all attention from her, to the point where even the constant bells and chimes seemed to drown out as if they were far away echoes. The candles around her seemed to be casting shadows rather than light.
And then, her throbbed with a soothing voice.
(You have been through much, young one.)
"...?"
(Much pain. Much suffering. But you have endured. And now you stand before me.)
Confusion, or perhaps realization began to peek through the girls empty gaze. She understood that this voice must have belonged to the statue. Or rather, the one that this statue was dedicated to.
She felt neither awe, nor curiosity, nor amazement. Simply acceptance.
(Come. Accept me. Be embraced by my power.) The voice commanded.
And her hand reached out, touching upon the statue again. Was the statue moving? No...she realized that that was her hand trembling. Trembling with fear? No, she felt no fear.
It was sorrow. It was despair. But most of all, it was hope. It seemed she wasn't so empty and hollow afterall, and still possessed some emotion.
"....Help me..." Her voice spoke in the smallest whisper. The only words she had uttered since she had emerged from the hellish pit.
"You have suffered enough. From this moment on, you will have my blessing. I will protect you. Rest now, my dear."
She wasn't sure if the voice spoke in her head, or if she herself had spoken. Perhaps it was both.
But she felt light. Relieved. Darkness engulfed her and her eyes closed into a slumber. Whenever they reopened, they would once again contain the shine of life. Her horrors would be forgotten.
The ritual was complete.
Epilogue
That day, shortly after her graduation...That girl's life did end that day. The girl that remains breathing and walking shares nothing more than the forgotten face of a once-prodigy.
That girl's memories no longer existed; the earliest she could recall was awakening somewhere in Arcadia beneath Iwa. There was nothing to weigh her down or hold her back from experiencing the thrills of life.
Whatever her name may have been before was irrelevant. She did not know. For now, the only clue to her identity was the Iwa headband she had found in her pocket, a treasure she had managed to retain despite all that she had went through.
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The (Mental) Dairy!
Located deep within her mind for safekeeping.
*Will try to keep this post updated as topics are completed*
Affection
♥ = Needs to die | ♥♥ = Disinterested in | ♥♥♥ = Okay/Acquaintance/No Strong Opinion | ♥♥♥♥ = Likes/Interesting | ♥♥♥♥♥ = Complete Loyalty/Respect/Love
Located deep within her mind for safekeeping.
*Will try to keep this post updated as topics are completed*
Affection
♥ = Needs to die | ♥♥ = Disinterested in | ♥♥♥ = Okay/Acquaintance/No Strong Opinion | ♥♥♥♥ = Likes/Interesting | ♥♥♥♥♥ = Complete Loyalty/Respect/Love
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Rp Topic Tracker, in chronological order
- [Topic] - Brief description [Status]
