It was a little warmer today than it had the past few months, albeit that statement meant little with how bitingly cold it remained. The trees, trapped deep in their long winter slumber, still rustled in the breeze and alive with the wildlife it housed. Hidden deeper in the woods than should be allowed, a woman—a mednin—travelled at a slow pace with a destination of solitude in mind.But it was not the woman, Shinrya Kahako, who walked this trail. It was her body, her uniform, her messy shoulder-length hair… but ‘Shinrya Kahako’ was not the soul in control on this cold afternoon. Stepping out of the tree-line, Ketsueki Sukino carried her satchel to the edge of a boulder of a babbling stream and sat down.
Four hours passed, and still Kahako had yet to return from her unconscious state. She exhausted herself that morning, attempting to find the limit to how much chakra she could use before Sakana could make a decent attempt at taking control. It took a good few minutes to reach it, but once found, Kahako’s situation turned scary as she had to force Sukino into control of her body with no warning.
At first Sukino waited at the Shinrya compound. Many times her state of control would last only a few minutes and she would be back within Kahako’s mind, the ever present sentry to Sakana’s cage. But as thirty minutes turned to an hour, and an hour into two, Sukino grew restless and Kahako’s body grew hungry. Deciding a change of scenery might help relax her, Sukino grabbed cold leftovers from the kitchens before taking a path into the backyard and onward towards the forest. The forest always brought her a sense of peace. Even in this cold climate, the sound of nature around her brought a form of peace that she could not find in this strange time.
And so, she sat in this remote location, eating what Kahako’s son once told her was a hamburger, and staring absently into the distance with her bare feet dipped into the frigid water. Goosebumps dotted her legs, as the water was much too cold to be doing such things, but Kahako’s body always responded better to her presence when she was near the mednin’s natural element. Looking down into the stream, Sukino could almost feel the water as if it was an extension of her own body. The temptation to simply pick it up drove her into a longing she never imagined possible
But the waters would not stir for her. When she was once alive, never did Sukino feel this kind of presence from within her. She knew it was this ‘chakra’ that made shinobi who they were. And she had never been a shinobi. But she could still feel Kahako’s chakra all the same. If begged for her to call it. Her soul linked to it in such way, that the soul could never be separated from Kahako without Kahako forever losing her ability to be a shinobi.
Between bites, Sukino sighed and closed her eyes. Never had she felt so helpless than in moments when she thought about it. It made her head spin and got her nowhere. Already frustrated, Sukino set her sandwich down and hopped of her perch into the water. The edge only came up to her shins and she shivered in the cold. She didn’t know the first thing about being a shinobi, but it was too tempting for her not to try to call the powers that Kahako housed within her.
Closing her eyes, Sukino focused on the power within, gently coaxing it to her fingertips. Holding out her palm over the water, she breathed out deeply. With a quick motion, and what she assumed was the release of chakra outward, she lifted her hand to pull the water from the stream.
Nothing. Frowning, Sukino tried again. And again. And again. After the tenth time, she kicked the waterbed in frustration. It was a stupid move on her part, because as soon as her pads hit the riverbed, her toe scraped painfully against the jagged rocks underneath. “God dammit,” Sukino cried out before quickly limping to the water’s edge. Sitting back on her boulder, she inspected the tiny wound. It didn’t bleed, but it was red and smarted.
Kahako Split Personality Sukino and Sakana:
There are two ‘souls’ residing in Kahako’s mind. Two entities separate from her own sitting resolutely on opposite ends of the moral spectrum. Kahako theorizes that the souls are leftover chakra signatures that Ketsueki Satou’s demon consumed when it killed its prey. As to why the demon does this, Kahako has no idea.
Some overused cliché about Ying and Yang could be alluded to the souls, but that would insinuate both sides were in balance—striking even blows for control. This could not be further from the truth, as Kahako had to sacrifice her duty and dreams as a shinobi to keep one side under control.
The first personality, Ketsueki Sukino, is more so benign that she is benevolent. Since she already lived and died, Sukino was content with spending the rest of Kahako’s life being nothing more than a fly on the mental wall. As she was a peasant when she was alive, the spirit often told Kahako she felt as if she would be a hindrance in Kahako’s duties. This soul accepted its violent death, and only manifested itself when Kahako was in the presence of her once husband, Ketsueki Satou. Even then, it was just to the surface of Kahako’s consciousness so that it could look upon his face and see if he was okay.
However, that changed when Kahako consumed the second soul, Tokugawa Sakana. Daughter to a lord from a land whose borders were removed from even the most ancient of maps, this soul was corrupted by Satou’s demon blood, becoming demon-like herself before dying by his hands. It hungers for Satou’s power, and delights in telling Kahako the new and creative ways it will use Satou to torture those she cares about should it ever break free.
As a result, it is not content on living out its days in the recesses of Kahako’s subconscious. With the combined efforts of Sukino and Kahako, Kahako can keep Sakana under control. So long as Kahako does not actively use her chakra. For any sort of mental fatigue will break the barrier keeping Sakana dormant.
724/1500 words (Excluding split personality explanation)
There are two ‘souls’ residing in Kahako’s mind. Two entities separate from her own sitting resolutely on opposite ends of the moral spectrum. Kahako theorizes that the souls are leftover chakra signatures that Ketsueki Satou’s demon consumed when it killed its prey. As to why the demon does this, Kahako has no idea.
Some overused cliché about Ying and Yang could be alluded to the souls, but that would insinuate both sides were in balance—striking even blows for control. This could not be further from the truth, as Kahako had to sacrifice her duty and dreams as a shinobi to keep one side under control.
The first personality, Ketsueki Sukino, is more so benign that she is benevolent. Since she already lived and died, Sukino was content with spending the rest of Kahako’s life being nothing more than a fly on the mental wall. As she was a peasant when she was alive, the spirit often told Kahako she felt as if she would be a hindrance in Kahako’s duties. This soul accepted its violent death, and only manifested itself when Kahako was in the presence of her once husband, Ketsueki Satou. Even then, it was just to the surface of Kahako’s consciousness so that it could look upon his face and see if he was okay.
However, that changed when Kahako consumed the second soul, Tokugawa Sakana. Daughter to a lord from a land whose borders were removed from even the most ancient of maps, this soul was corrupted by Satou’s demon blood, becoming demon-like herself before dying by his hands. It hungers for Satou’s power, and delights in telling Kahako the new and creative ways it will use Satou to torture those she cares about should it ever break free.
As a result, it is not content on living out its days in the recesses of Kahako’s subconscious. With the combined efforts of Sukino and Kahako, Kahako can keep Sakana under control. So long as Kahako does not actively use her chakra. For any sort of mental fatigue will break the barrier keeping Sakana dormant.
724/1500 words (Excluding split personality explanation)
