Path of Umbral Devotion [Tutor|Private]

[Uzu]

Memories flooded through the hundred-year old’s mind. How long had it been since he had conducted training on someone not of his bloodline? Sixty years, at the very least. He could not remember Kitani’s face anymore, but he could still hear the unbearable screams of pain of his first love rending the stale air of his clan’s home; his own were right behind that mnemonic sound.

Despite this the older man continued to rig the old device up in the center of the dojo. The labor of such made his clothes cling with sweat. Deep circles had developed under his eyes and his flesh taken to an unhealthy pale tone, which to say a lot; being that Uzu and bloodline kept an unnaturally light complexion despite living in the desert. Two large jars of black fluid, his own blood, hung around the edge of the dojo’s arena suspiciously as he continued to acid etch a sealing ninjutsu into two thick logs that had been bonded with iron bands into an “X” shape. From an outsider’s perspective it looked like the fat old shinobi was about to literally crucify his new apprentice.

“There…” he mumbled beneath his mustache. The weariness of molding chakra long enough to etch out the seal, while working with only a quarter of the blood a human normally would be running, had clearly taken a toll. Weight was clearly burning off due to the feat quickly, as he had taken to suspenders to continue holding his pants up. It was the Uzu’s first time doing it as well, which he summed up probably wasted more chakra than Tama would have; but Toushin refused to give the idiot any more due than what he already owed.
“Now, the final step…”

Toushin stepped back from his clan’s old initiating device and preformed a series of handseals to send a jolt of chakra to his new apprentice: Akari. It would be like a smack to the back of the head, and then a tug on her neck; rude, unapologetic, and antagonizing. This was on purpose, hoping to rile the fury of the young female. The ritual required strong emotions to complete, and like pig iron Toushin had to melt out the impurities before he could make a proper blade out of the AiT. Another jolt, this time a question spoken without words, “Return?” It was an old ninjutsu that the ANBU Captain had surrounded his makeshift dojo in, one that allowed those who stepped in to traverse space and time in moments to reappear. It was fantastic for safehouses and protecting lower rank goons - but did little for the old assassin himself. Maintaining it was all he could do with it via the limitations of his own chakra.

Tired as Uzu was, he still greatly looked forward to seeing how Akari would bloom during the ritual. She already had a bloodlust to her that was unmistakable. Both of the two girls Shin appointed to him did. He saw those two going a long ways ahead of even himself in time; it was his job to ensure they stayed loyal to the right cause.

 

[Kamiya Akari]

Akari was far from a mindless fool. And even though she had never undergone a long-standing tradition passed down throughout the familial generations due to personal circumstances, the blonde could easily comprehend how difficult and strict such things would be. Particularly those clans higher up in the village hierarchy and she imagined Uzu's clan once ranked within the upper echelons, considering his own ranking and in spite of his appearance, though she still was quite convinced it was a false front and she would not be caught unaware and underestimating him because of it.

He had told her to enjoy the night before, but in truth, she spent it preparing herself, mind and body for that which was yet to come. Contemplating such possible scenarios as she could muster in her limited exposure to the village before passing them over in favor of physical training and preparations. It was thus the reason sleep did not withhold its embrace from her when when the kunoichi chose to accept it. The night passed in the blink of an eye, a dreamless sleep and morning presented itself to which she welcomed it. Traditional morning rituals were also finished before she prepared her meal. Perhaps she woke up a bit too early as she awaited a messenger to deliver a letter, as had been done in the past with both the ANBU captain and Kazekage.

One thing she did hope was that the bespectacled man would address the fact that the small child skipped right over her to full ANBU despite not having graduated the Academy properly while she was forced to test for that privilege and then again for the current position of ANBU-in-Training, which came with the unpleasant sensation of being drugged...such which only increased her distrust and paranoia of others. Still, this burning desire for an answer scratched away at her own sanity to whatever small extent she would allow it, unable to be banish it entirely.

It was then that a new sensation was experienced, an unearned slap against the head came from nowhere, something she confirmed after scanning the environment with her crimson hued eyes. A large, unseen hand gripped the nape of her neck and began to pull at it, like she were nothing more than an infantile beast. The actions irritated her, but she refused to allow this to be seen. Too many years of being a wanderer during both the end of her formative span of life and beyond had etched that lesson into the walls of her mind. It was a weakness to allow those feelings to surface and could prove the end if another learned of such strong emotions and was able to calculate potential thoughts and plans. So, with a deep breath, she buried any emotions, even as she could feel the cold grip against her skin only to soon be coupled what felt like a familiar presence posing a question.

Akari acquiesced to this inquiry and stepped forward as surprise consumed her while the walls and, indeed, the very fabric of reality shifted to place her into a new location entirely as the man, and whatever machinations he had constructed, now were presented before her, both seen and invisible. Though a bit disorientated, whatever lingering emotions from moments before had dissipated entirely due to the nature of the...strange sort of teleportation technique that had been employed, however, even then, she shifted entirely in order to present a calm, collected and pleasant front. "That was quite the technique, Captain. I assume the odd sensations just before were your doing as well? Quite a fascinating ability, indeed!" she said with a slight, unassuming tilt of her head as she rested a finger upon her chin in quiet contemplation to be coupled with the gentle grin that pulled at her lips. He might have much greater experience and, understandably, far greater power, but she would not be read as easily.

[WC 655]

 

[Uzu]

The first sight of her master was not one most would be caught dead in. Leaned against the wall, pale, and weakened from the jutsu he used to pull Akari into his makeshift dojo. Cold sweat beaded his brow in little dots. His vision was blurred and it felt like he might have a heart attack, despite the fact he was exceedingly healthy, (belligerent to the fat hanging on his frame).

What was that?!

Shadow Bridge was a ninjutsu that utilized the Uzumoreru Blood Techniques to mark a temporal space with the clan’s unique chakra; size of space depended on the user. When someone walked into the marked area, a little marking of the clan - a dagger piercing a black ball with Runic Terran circling a spell around it - appeared on their body. From that moment on the user of Shadow Bridge could move anyone marked in or out of the space at whim. Doing so put a small toll on the user, and moving a person away was always far easier than back in. However, never in his entire life of using the jutsu had he ever felt such…turbulence. It was akin to the feeling of drawing a Toraono into the circle, but far more raw. Demonic, for sure, but it’s power equated to the assassin’s own, or stronger. Akari had been the more unassuming of the two to the Uzu, but it was clear he had made a mistake in guessing who would be more powerful by the time everything was said and done.

She might even be his ticket into securing the office he wanted. If her training turned out to be as fruitful as hoped, he could pull some strings and get her as candidacy for ANBU Captain training - literally putting Akari in the same level of political pull as himself. Of course, she still had to prove herself to the rest of the military, but without a clear guidance in ANBU and Wei badly running everything, Toushin saw opportunities to mold the Spec Ops of Suna’s military to his whims.

“S-Shadow Bridge,” he said through a racking cough before he finally caught a second wind, “It is one of the many ninjutsu I may be able to teach you. But first, we must go through the process of ‘awakening’, your latent potential.”

The fat old man stood back up straight before moving with a grace across the room the belied his size and clear current weakness. Pride was in every step, clearly trying to uphold something left of his shattered will. The stride to the other side of the dojo was to get out of the way completely to present the demoness the Uzumoreru’s prized device for an ancient ritual.
“We don’t have a name for the device itself, but the ritual is called the Sanguine Pact. Forged originally between my ancestor and Primus, this ritual is used to forge a link between Master and Student, and to imprint techniques into your body. I’ll restrain your body against the device, and it will draw out the pure chakra essence of my blood in those jars right there. It will then inject your coil with the Uzumoreru Chakra directly. From there you’ll be imprinted with certain techniques, depending on what you’re capable of, but we won’t know which ones until training begins. And yes, the process can be quite painful, though I have known some to go through without even so much as a blink.
“Now, also, there is something of a caveat to this that I may have tried to force, to no avail it would seem. In order for the chakra in my blood to react, you need to be in a state of raw emotion. Sadness, fury, love - it doesn’t matter which. However, without that key ingredient, the ritual won’t function. I was hoping to stir it myself instead of rely on your own will, but it appears you have a much stouter persona than I had originally given you credit for.”

Toushin waited for the odd girl to reply and accept her fate at his hands or try to refuse it. He assumed that she was willing to continue on, but the rest really depended on her own strengths - just as it had for Chiyoko. His daughter ran across a stump in her own training right here, because she was something of a happily spoiled child. Love couldn’t cut it; it was too innocent. She didn’t know what it was like to be truly sad. Toushin had to force anger out of her by making himself the bad guy; forever ruining their relationship…but it had created one Suna’s greatest secret allies. He had high hopes for the Akari, and ideas flowed already on how to temper her strength now that he had felt it himself…

 

[Kamiya Akari]

It certainly took the young woman by surprise see the older man in a fit of coughing, his skin seemed almost as pale as her own, though still retaining more color than hers. She might not have shown it, but there was a tad bit of concern as to whether or not HE would be able to handle the very training he was about to administer. Akari had been molded by a lust for vengeance and personal survival and, thus, was very much built for anything that would require long stamina and speed. While, the ANBU Captain before herself, the blonde pondered, was likely riddled with a great many health problems, if his physical appearance were to be accurately judged without the assumption that it was all a ploy and he was using transformation jutsu. However, he seemed to pull himself together a few moments later.

It was nice to know he trusted her with the name of such an unique technique as what he had used, being alone for so long, she often was used to people guarding such secrets close to their chest, so she hoped this meant his desire to make her stronger was, indeed, genuine. "Shadow Bridge? This does sound....rather tailor made for myself..." she stated, her bloodline abilities being that of the Nara clan. Still, only time could tell. An awakening sounded....compelling, to say the least. She did not speak another word, but listened to him instead. The bespectacled man spoke at length about the process of her "training" which, quite honestly, felt more like a science experiment than teaching through speech or through actions.

Of course, she was born from several experiments herself, starting with the ones her mother subjected herself to in order to have children...and then the ones she subjected her unborn child to within the womb that created Akari to be like this. The faintest trace of a twitch in her eye, almost undetectable by an untrained eye, was done against her personal will, but she compensated by spreading her lips to a greater extent, to appear almost excited to be undergoing this training. It wasn't the pain that she feared, but simply the mere thought of being strapped down and worked on.

"It sounds like much more of an...experiment than training that I would have imagined. I was only aware of a single person conducting such procedures for power. However, please, perish the thought that I would ever back down from such a minor thing as a little pain. From what I have seen during my short few years in Suna...those privileged to have grown up here are much...softer I could have imagined. Handed things on silver platters that they haven't earned, but perhaps the old ways were much different," she stated, no doubt in reference to being passed over for a promotion in lieu of a small child. If she had thought Ranran was truly superior to her, she probably wouldn't have minded it as much, but Akari found nothing but contempt and ineptitude in the girl from both short encounters that she had endured.

Uzu continued on to confess that the slap and other experiences the blonde had encountered were, indeed, a result of his own actions and gave the reasons for them. Her grin, filled with anticipation, lessened to a soft smile as she tried to search for ideas to compel herself to indulge in her own emotions which she had forced herself to kill when she took the lives of her parents. "Captain, if it is, indeed, necessary to proceed as you describe...I shall be putting a great deal of trust in you. Emotions are dangerous. They leave you vulnerable, open to attack and manipulation, it's why I make sure to stay a step ahead and make the world keep guessing with a pleasant smile," she stated, accentuating her point but highlighting her own grin with an "U" like motion over the lower portion of her face. "But if they are necessary, as you say," pausing once more as her fingers began rapid movements. They weren't performing any traditional ninjutsu signs, but instead, almost like a magic trick as a small knife, one that looked rather old but well taken care of, as if a family heirloom, appeared in her hand, gripped by deceptively strong fingers. "Then I shall have to acquiesce to your request in my own manner. I truly hope you do not betray such trust, however. Know that I have my own goals and I won't let a little thing such as...pain or blood hinder them. Whether it be my own or another's, I refuse to fail..."

It was then that she brought the blade down, reaching across her chest and striking her self repeatedly in the shoulder, cutting through fabric, skin, and into her muscles as blood splattered each time she pierced flesh. Pain, normally, wouldn't have been enough but this wasn't the first time she had felt this pain as it was with this knife her parents, deranged as they were, stabbed her thanks to the experiments Akkuma had subjected them too and it was with this knife, that she slit their throats. The thoughts flooded back and for a flash of a single moment, it was almost as if her eyes glowed in their crimson hue and her teeth sharp, demonstrating the very powerful emotion he had hoped for, though she did not cry out in agony in the slightest, the only noise was that of flesh being sliced and blood splattering, song of the knife as it cut through the air.

Her breath was heavy and she sliced the knife downward, still gripping it, so blood would be flung to the floor as she stared up at the man with a smile that might even seem all the more unnerving after the scene that was witnessed. With the exception of that one second, even though emotions still surged powerfully within her, her face seemed undisturbed, as if chiseled in stone. If anything, it seemed her smile was even brighter than before.

[WC 1011]
[TWC 1666]

 

[Uzu]

“Emotions are dangerous. They leave you vulnerable, open to attack and manipulation, it's why I make sure to stay a step ahead and make the world keep guessing with a pleasant smile," Akari’s words struck Uzu to his core.

Over a hundred years ago, there had once been a young assassin whom had fallen into the pitfalls that emotions in his line of work. Aside from occasional anger at the most heretical of actions, the Uzumoreru were meant to erase every feeling to ensure they could kill anything. Toushin’s failure to adhere to that caused the downfall of his clan, leaving only himself and his daughter as the last of their bloodline. Yet, the Uzumoreru’s coup had also been dashed to pieces because of that single fault of love for a woman outside the clan; which left the last Uzu pondering on a lot. In the end, he surmised that while it was essential to know how to kill one’s emotions to preform such a death heavy job as assassination, it was also just as important to retain an iota of humanity to continue blending in, at the very least.

Toushin’s golden eyes watched unflinching as the girl repeatedly stabbed her arm to evoke emotion. If he was at all disturbed, it didn’t show in his features. He did wonder why she needed to reduce herself to such flagellation to become angry, though. There was absolutely nothing on Akari in the ANBU files except her birthdate, birth parents, and the words “Normal Suna Citizen,” sprinkled throughout; and all of it, was sloppy redaction work. The parents names? Fake. The hour of birth? Wrong. Date? Also wrong. The only thing about the file on Akari that was right was her name. Which left Toushin a lot to expect out of the first completely mysterious person he had run across in years.

Once the girl had finished, and flashed a smile with emotion whirling beyond her eyes a pit opened up in his stomach. Not one of fear, but one of small pity - enough to recognize the pain of someone experimented on. It was the same trace madness he saw sometimes when Toushin looked at himself in a mirror, knowing his body was not his own anymore...and that his original corpse was a rotting husk of bones and and cobwebs by now.

“An interesting pair we make, Akari,” the old man muttered beneath his mustache before slapping his hands together in a single seal. She was ready.
“Blood Rites of Prime: Ascension.”

Chakra lit up the runes scrawled into the iron and wood, causing the binding parts of the device to snake out towards Akari with ghostly chains attached to the iron clamps. The would catch her arms, covering the fresh wound, her thighs, and one around her neck. They would then drag her back towards the device to place her in a “X”. Toushin walked across from her and sat down, without a word or response as he reformed the same handseal again. Behind the broom-end mustache he was muttering the ancient words to a spell in Runic Terran. It was the old way shinobi used Ninjutsu, before they learned to translate chakra into their hands to direct the energy. The room quivered as a black chakra poured out of Toushin, and slithered across the floor to pop open the glass containers with his blood.

A sheet of sweet was already across the ever paling man’s body. It was clear that the ritual was taking a huge toll on him, and that it had been some time since he had used such excessive amounts of his own coil’s strength. Even as weakness showed, there was a furrow to his brow and a ever increasing rigidity to his form as he barreled pass the clear pain and fatigue to continue chanting. The black chakra slipped inside of the jars. The blood within, hued to the same vantablack colors as his chakra, shot to the ceiling on either side of Akari before shifting around to make a circle of blood above that dripped gently against the dojo floor. They then widened into walls, and collapsed in on her.

It would feel like a being thrown into a pool of water. Her chains, the iron clamps binding the demoness, would be gone. Her senses would be under the surface of the water, with no light or direction to swim except the way she felt was correct. This was the test, where she chose which way to ascend while blind within the drowning depths of darkness the dead assassin clan once drew their power from. Would she try to find a way to see? Would she swim blindly after choosing a direction at random? Would she drown in the crushing depths?

 

[Kamiya Akari]

The thick, red liquid trickled down her arm relentlessly as the older man watched without even a twitch of his whiskers, yet her expression did not change throughout the ordeal. The glare upon his glasses made him seem all the more mysterious, finding it hard to pinpoint his thoughts with the metaphorical window to his so impeded. Just what thoughts did he conceal about the girl before him, could he see through her, into her past from this display? Would he decide this training was too dangerous and instead, betray her trust in order strike her down while she was helpless. Not that it truly mattered. He craved emotion, or the experiment did, at least, and this was all that she could give as it took a plethora of factors to draw out what otherwise was dead and buried.

There was something mumbled, but the shadow nightmare couldn't completely make it out, but clearly it was a jutsu as wood and iron would spring to life, circling around her and drawing her back. It stretched out her legs and arms into an X-shape. Not much emotion was displayed, but there was a look of surprise upon her lily-white features as her eyes grew wide and the smallest gasp, from both the pain of the cold, iron links wrapping around her body and, most importantly, her fresh wound which coated the chakra infused chains with her own life energy, but also the suddenness in which she had been taken captive and the surge of emotion she had brought forth intentionally which had yet to be beaten down.

A flicker of anger flashed through her mind, having been ripped off her feet and sent hurtling backwards, having at least expected to be given the option. It wasn't the first time she had been strapped down like such, nor forced to be in such a manner, but those generally never ended well. Her bloodline always gave her an advantage due to its ability for possession and, should the portly ANBU Captain care to notice, he'd see shadows beneath her moving erratically, as if uncertain whether to use it to attack or not. But his physical state appeared just moments away from passing out...perhaps another illusion or perhaps he was truly as weak as he presented.

More inaudible nonsense spewed from his mouth, words that she could neither catch nor comprehend as Uzu began to look as if he took a new step towards Death's Door with each passing moment. The kunoichi couldn't even tell if she were in pain, not truly, having expected such a feeling but soon she noticed the jar that he had pointed out, the one said to have been his blood, transform into the blackest of black so that even Night would feel jealousy. It blasted towards the ceiling and slowly started to seep onto the floor, the world transforming, collapsing around her in an instant.

A life within the unforgiving, arid desert meant that the touch of water that now surrounded her was practically foreign. No more chains, no more forced into poses which might entice others. All was gone, all was black. She could see nothing, hear nothing. The only thing that remained as her sense of touch, for she dare not open her mouth. In truth, she disliked being enclosed in water, preferring to trickle down her skin in a temporary embrace rather than it encompassing her own body. This moment was so foreign to her, it felt like it burned rather than soothed. Perhaps that was the effect of what felt like water entering her lungs, however, despite the fact that she held her breath desperately. A truly wretched feeling that so many people willingly endured for the sake of activity or entertainment, but it was a skill that seemed forever out of the blonde's reach, for good reason owing to the fact that most sources of water were barred from swimming due to them being important resources for life, whether drinking, bathing, or growing crops.

For a moment, the teen struggled in an unfamiliar environment out of a pure instinct of survival, but to no avail. Her cheeks puffed up, trying to keep control and daring not to drown. But a desire for life was greater. There was no source of light to create a shadow, but fingers wrapped around her shoulder. A hand, much smaller than the elderly ANBU's, touched her. If someone could see into the black void that the mysterious girl found herself in, they would see a creature of shadow which towered several feet over her lean close into her from behind. Eyes of red which looked to glow, piercing the darkest corner of existence and teeth sharp as blades. The being was proportioned exactly like it's mistress, but seemed much more diabolical as it appeared to whisper something to her and Akari's own eyes shot up knowingly.

Common sense stated the world didn't just dissolve into water or blood, this had to be an illusion, despite the overwhelming power that surrounded her at this moment. Swimming in general was not an option, particularly since there couldn't have been any real water...and she would not be a victim, it wouldn't matter where she went, she was trapped in her own mind. It certainly had to be apart of the awakening he had mentioned earlier, though her subconscious still dared not open her mouth to test it just yet.

The shadow creature expanded and she reached in to the void in order to retrieve small kunais of dark creation. Once more, the creature leaned forward to whisper words unheard, the corners of her lip were pulled upwards and she let loose her blades, flying in various, seemingly random directions with a twisted grin, almost anxious to see what would happen next. Perhaps having given up already on life and the words she heard were nothing but the last, desperate thoughts of a mad woman.

[WC 992]
[TWC 2659]

 

[Uzu]

Outside of the crushing walls of blood that surrounded Akari, Toushin began to mumble Runic Terran to reduce some of the weight the ritual was having on his body. To him, all he saw was a pillar of black marble that encased the device. The spell would divide her chakra among fears and elements, each one asking a question that had no wrong answer but also, a single correct one as well. The library of techniques the Uzumoreru could imprint on her coil was numerous but only their strongest generally opened up to fellow members of the bloodline. An eyebrow quirked when the first test finished, and a single long crack appeared at one of the corners. To display such a strong resilience already impressed the ancient assassin far more than he cared to admit. It wouldn't be the first time the clan brought in an outsider that proved to be just as talented and willed as the Black Blooded kin themselves. Kitani had nigh managed to overcome all but a singular fear of a certain death. Moot point, the old man thought to himself. She went rogue soon after and returned to her husband, carrying a number of techniques imprinted but never trained to be passed down to the twins that left her womb - one of them being Toushin's daughter. It was the singular reason why, that when Uzu attempted to preform this ritual on Chiyo it simply gave her a singular mark of power instead of subjecting the child to the same torture everyone else goes through.

Within the ebony cube, Akari struggled against the weight of something nigh alien to a native of the desert; but only for a moment. Within her mind laid another mysterious ego that lifted itself up to lend aid to her embattled mind. She drew from the watery shadows weapons of death, and returned them back into the depths from whence they came. As they pushed back into the inky pit, the world around Akari seemed to ‘stretch’, and pull apart. Despite there being no light to see with, the weapons showed clear boundaries of her prison that they then suddenly pierced through. Like a tapestry the black veil was torn through and the feeling of "weight" and "wet" vanished as if they never existed to start with; not unlike a Genjutsu that had been outwitted.

Yet, the light pouring in from all directions, and the weight of water and shadow replaced now by the forces of air and sun begged Akari to wonder what kind of Genjutsu this might indeed be. To break one spell and be thrown into another was rare for an Illusion, especially one strong enough to simultaneously make them believe to be crushed by an ocean followed by...
Once her eyes readjusted to the sudden light she would find herself far above their desert world; nearly enough to see even the borders of their giant country. The sky was full of turbulent winds, battering the girl from all sides. Sometimes all at once, sometimes one after the other. The only other sensation aside, was one of falling, her eyes catching the ground ever inching closer between gusts of air. The technique had removed Akari from one deadly situation and tossed her into another.

However, Genjutsu or not, there was already a simular theme needling through both situations....

[MFT]