Seem to be doing a lot of tours lately. [Sara]

[Osuteno]

Osu sat at the check in desk with a prosthetic arm he had made. He wasn't quite to his teacher's level of realism but it looked and felt like flesh if one wasn't paying too much attention. Little things gave it away like the lack of pores and the fact the bones felt too strong and the lack of warmth and veins but he was getting there. What was he doing with just a random arm? He was slicing it open and manipulating his blood vessels, capillaries to be precise, and sewing it back up. 8 micrometers, that was the thickness of the tendrils he was using to sew the arm up, thinner than their thinnest needles. He was also practicing dilating and contracting this thickness, across hundreds of little tendrils as they knotted themselves through the arm, quickly closing it up seamlessly... the disconnecting. The veins were fresh ones his body created, having touched only a few unique, specialized blood cells of his and simply disposed into the arm. Eventually they would break down. But in a real human the body would heal faster than it normally would and break down the extra material on its own time.

He never would have been able to do anything like this before. let alone manipulating his own veins like this he wouldn't have even been able to perceive such small details without a microscope or hope to have the cognitive ability to manipulate so many at once. But there were advantages to not having a central organ brain. His brain was now countless specialized blood cells moving through his body and micromanaging the other cells and functions around them. It was because of things like this that if he separated his hand from his body it could move and act and "perceive" on its own. However it has taken three years of living with his father's blood in his body for him to have finally wrestled this much control over it. He remembered for that entire first year he was bedridden and experimented on while the veins tried to kill him and whoever else attempted to control them, how they destroyed most of his body except the parts it needed to keep him alive so it could live. It took another year to simply remaster moving without skeletal muscles or bones in this body.

And now he was doing things like this, earning nervous glances from the surrounding nurses that used to dress him up when he was much younger from bunny hoods to nurse outfits. They still treated him kindly even after he disappeared for a few years, but they were also unconsciously nervous around him as he signed documents and approved procedures with his hands while countless red strings danced around his body performing many many more tasks.

His not quite human status as a result of that despicable Jashin aside, Osu was also on the lookout for a visitor. Apparently the new head of the Hidden Leaf village's medical branch was coming for a visit and he had been put in charge of guiding her. From what he heard she had started he medical career as young as he had and since he did basically know how to run this hospital from front to back, from surgery to tech maintenance, from general medicine to lab work, and was the only one capable of working on 20 different forms at once, he was to answer any questions she had on the job on that front despite him only being a chuunin by rank.

To be fair though there were many among the staff confused as to why Osu was still simply a Mednin. Many expected him to run the branch itself eventually considering that he was the main assistant to two former med sennin, basically raised by one of them, and cousin to a rather famous (or infamous) medical sennin. Some claimed his young age, though others refuted that by mentioning he had been a Mednin rank going on 5 years now. Some hit closer to the truth, Osu felt no need to rise in rank. If someone wanted him to take a higher rank all they had to do was ask him to. Otherwise he would go ahead and do the work he would be doing at a higher rank anyway because he was simply capable of doing so.

Thinking very little about any of these issues himself, the 16 year old, extremely feminine, flowery yukata wearing, stunningly slim doctor looked up again for the guest he would be guiding today. Still a bit before the scheduled time, but there is always the chance they would show up early, so he had been waiting here for two hours before the scheduled time to meet and just had been doing paperwork the entire time.

Whenever the guest did arrive Osu would retract his tendrils, stand then great her properly with a slight bow in respect to their rank. "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Medical Chief of Leaf" the young woma- young man began gently. "My name is Chigokai Osuteno, Mednin of Cloud. It is my task today to guide you through our facilities and provide answers for questions you might have. Don't hesitate to ask questions concerning the operation of the hospital itself since I have been informed you were interested in how our facility is managed. While my status as a combatant is lacking, when it comes to the day to day tasks of managing staff, time tables, operations, general medicine, pharmacy, resource management, budgeting, electrical and mechanical maintenance, data management, morgue management, patient relations, ethics board policies, lab work, research and development and above all else paperwork, I am considered more than adept. I am also an alright doctor," Osu finished with a small joke... He did seem to end up with so little time to help patients during his shift these days do to... well keeping the hospital running smoothly that people came to his home after work for medical advice. It rather annoyed his wife but he couldn't really turn people who need his help away.

"Is there anything you would like to ask before I start the tour, Sara-Sama?"

 

[Yaku]

Contact was made with Sara, a day later then she had wished. The young girl was asked to come to the Aesculapium, the place that she had been just the two days before. She would have preferred if they were a little more quick in the response but she filled her prior day. She had visited the facility two days prior, just cruising, seeing the advanced equipment and protocols they had, right up until she saw the boy that was apart of that group that had escorted her squad to the city. He was in pretty bad condition, and was slightly surprised at the lack of care he had received, taking it upon herself to help him out with a quicker recovery. Then yesterday she had to watch that stupid match that her companion decided to initiate, just in case he needed medical care. So in any instance, she had mildly filled her days. But now, finally, they were getting to the business portion of the reason she was here. She hadn't any knowledge of the procedures the village had, but she felt it would be harmless to help the boy out. He still needed some time, but her chakra was still within him, helping his natural healing ability by putting it in overdrive. They most likely left him in that state because it wasn't extremely critical, and he was a genin.

The girl in white strolled into the hospital, an hour or so early, and strolled around seeing the barely dressed female nurses helping patients. Whom ever designed the uniform for this place obviously had some issues. It must have been a guy, probably...it was that Sennin guy. She would have to watch herself around him, whom knew what kind of stuff he got off on. After all, he was the one that spoke about that other Sennin girl she met at the gates to Kaji. He might have been a sick man that got off on his power within this village. Not a good sign in her book..

Sara passed for a third time the check in desk where again she saw a fair skinned man working on something like an arm. That wasn't the strangest part, at least not in her book. Rather, it was rather everything else around him. She easily recognized the prosthetic arm as being such, though quite remarkable compared to the girl she knew back home. That entire lifeless chakraless looking thing like appendage. It was the things he was using to do everything including working on the appendage. She watched from a distance, sitting down in a chair and looking elsewhere. It wasn't a difficult task to appear as if she wasn't watching, being able to see everything everywhere with ease. And with her increased vision, she could see the tiny tendrils working around the arm, his chakra acting in quite the unique manner. It was less of a system then it was a mass. A mass made up of several others. There almost didn't seem to be a pattern to it, but she could see a few central spots here and there.

She eventually looked at the message that was left for her and realized he was the one she was meant to meet. Though...she was hesitant for the moment. The nurses seemed off put by him, like he didn't belong, or ... She wasn't sure why they avoided contact with him, maybe he wasn't here all that much? The tendril like things moving about, the scantly clad nurses.. Something was off about this place.

After the young girl had enough of watching him for 20 minuets she walked towards him with a a feminine swagger she had been working on as of late. An innocence to it to off put the true dangerousness that was she. She always tended to draw attention, seeming to have a slight glow about herself. Her eyes like that of a nocturnal animal, aglow, an incandescent shine to them even during the day which gave her eyes that distinctly Sara purplish mixed with blue iris that almost hid her pupil and made it appear larger. Her skin, seeming to put off a faint light, and given the manner in which she was of current, was soft and almost bluish like what one would expect an angelic figure to have. She put her arms on the table and leaned in. "Hello, I think I having a meeting set up with you?" She spoke quickly, attempting to be cute. "My name is Sara Yaku." She bowed her head slightly after she said it giving him a smile. It was difficult, trying to be cute in this odd situation.

The man introduced himself, starting with the reason he was to meet with her. He was very cordial and businesslike. Again a striking trait within this village. In Leaf, people were much more familiar with one another. And in Stone, they were either rough and callous, or uncaring and distant. Though he said something quite odd when he first started to rattle off his qualifications. He spoke about his lack of ability in combat. Why would he start with that? His list was quite something, most being skills she herself hadn't a need to dabble in.

She didn't really catch his joke at the end, thinking he was being serious rather then joking with her. "I can imagine. With all those other roles ya do, you don't have much time to work with patients and practice your more physical medical skills." She said it bluntly, almost with callousness in her words. "Though why did you start off with something you weren't so skilled in? Status as a combantant? Does Kumogakure place great importance of such on medical personal?" Where the hell did that cuteness go? If she sensed any displeasure from him in her words, she would apologize immediately, and beg him for forgiveness, to a degree, making sure he understood she meant no offense. But until then, she kept pushing the subject perhaps softening the prior. "I mean, just look at what your working on. It's amazing. What are those things?" She pointed to the tendrils lofting around him. If one had been within arms reach she would have tried to touch it if it was pointing at her. Hopefully they weren't reactive to radiation.

 

[Osuteno]

Osu was a bit surprised by the quick change in attitude the young lady demonstrated and her missing his little joke. The feeling lasted only a moment though, he was more than a little familiar with such literal personalities. Rather than try to correct her understanding on that front it would be far easier to let her see him work at some point and make her own judgments if they ever had the opportunity. After all it wasn't his job to try and impress her, simply to guide her and answer her questions.

"Hmm, don't interpret this in any sort of personal fashion but most shinobi in our age group... and a bit older, tend to be very focused on strength and comparing that strength with others. Actually some never grow out of it. It is mostly out of habit these days that I try to make it clear my main occupation isn't that of a combatant and downplay my abilities so no one drags me down to the arena to force me to spar with them when I have so much work to get done. I have a home I would like to go home to every day and hope to get at least enough rest to work the next day after all. That and I wouldn't really call myself strong anyway, I am just an unusual creature to adapt to. Which does come back to these doesn't it?" Osu said nodding his head towards some of the red tendrils that were currently signing off on some release forms held by a male nurse wearing a skimpy banana hammock. Really, he never really noticed it when he was younger but the nurses had this weird culture of dressing like exotic dancers around here. It just didn't really seem sanitary to him.

"To be honest I find it a little shocking you can't tell what they are, or rather that you don't recognize them," Osu said as a small bundle of them moved towards Sara. and unraveled to hover over her arm tracing how the blood vessels in her own arm would be shaped. If she moved her hand or fingers he would move the blood vessels to match just about what would be occurring internally.

"The short answer would be just to say they are the various kinds of blood vessels in the human body. Another short answer would be to say that if you stripped me of my flesh and left me as a collection of pseudo-cancerous Chigokai marrow, the thirty odd liters of blood that is my true body, some 360,000 miles of blood vessels containing that and my six hearts I would still be very much alive. Any answer longer than that is a very unpleasant and very long story. The extent of its usefulness is being able to do work as detailed as writing on a strand of hair and it certainly wasn't worth any of what led up to it or that which came after. Now, what would you prefer to start our tour with? A general look at our equipment? A step into the administrative offices? I could take you down to peek in the morgue or research and development but much of either will be off limits to you I am afraid. If you have anything in particular you wish to see or know about feel free to ask. I am here at your service," Osu finished still showing a welcoming smile that would have made most service industry workers jealous. Probably another reason Osu was doing this rather than someone else is that he regularly handled the most difficult individuals in the village in a friendly manner. After all it was easy for him to treat even the most eccentric people kindly and with acceptance when he didn't truly consider himself a person anymore. Even some of his superiors, including the Raikage himself, considered the fact anyone could remain with even a hint of sanity after what Osu had been subjected to as a sign that at best he might be a psychopath.

 

[Yaku]

"Well..I guess that is if you have something to prove to others then, huh." She began recollecting on the recent habits of her companions. "Or to a stretch...Perhaps to ones self?" She could understand such, but she had no desire to search out victims or rather patients. "It would seem those I travel with are among that group. Just yesterday one of them was at that arena of yours. Actually, I heard my Kage wanting to test his merits today there." Luckily he was supposed to be extremely skilled in medical skills himself, so he should be plenty alright. Plus, she was now working on the mission given to her by that man. "I am sure he didn't go through with it though...maybe. Hmmm. Well anyways, at least it sound like you have a good life set up for yourself. A goal at heart, a mission in mind, and a place to relieve yourself when needed. Sounds nice...But ya, what are those things. Do you control each of them independently?"

He started to move them around, at first in a chaotic fashion but then they took a recognizable form,. One she could see around her if needed from everyone in that room. "No...really? But how do you..."

She listened to his words, picking upon certain phrases. "Pseudo-cancerous Chigokai marrow? 6 hearts?!?!" She spoke with a vocal enough whisper. How can someone skip over such with ease? As if that were normal. "How do you manage to know what your writing on a strand of Hair? Do you have super eye sight too?" It would be hard to except that it was just from muscle memory.. Every time she moved her arm, flicked a muscle, the little tentacle like blood vessels would shift a little, pulsate. It was amazing.

He tried to change the subject matter, saying talking about himself would be difficult, or rather unpleasant. She scratched her neck and cutely laughed, slightly irritated she couldn't, or rather knowingly shouldn't push him on it. He himself was interesting enough to spend some time with. But then she did have another thought.."Well actually I would like...How about research into...Bloodines? Or Kinjutsu?" It was a matter that had been bothering her slightly since she ran into that boy whom said he was a Hyuuga, similar to what Kaji said she was.

 

[Osuteno]

"My eye sight isn't anything special, my strongest senses are hearing and touch. I can tell you the beats per minute of everyone in the room while standing here talking with you. But I can only hear blood and heartbeats that well, nothing else. Just the right frequency for me would be the best way to describe it. No I am capable of writing on a strand of hair the same way you would be capable of feeling out the edges of a piece of paper and writing your name on it... Though I have a bit more awareness than that since when I do write like that I have a bundle of specialized brain and nerve cells lined up single file in the capillary I would use to perform such a task." Osu hesitated for a moment before saying, "As for if I control each one independently... yes and no, leaning more towards no. I move all of them as a group to... well move, but I am capable of splitting my attention among them several dozen different ways and using them to complete complicated tasks individually... though after splitting my attentions say 15 different ways my motor actions become severely limited and after about 40 I would be laying on the ground doing so. Thankfully the majority of tasks can be completed with just one." To demonstrate Osu grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge behind the desk with an arteriole, closed the fridge, brought the bottle closer, twisted and unsealed the lid, took a sip, resealed the lid tight, held it over a potted plant and squeezed the bottle to the point the vessel cut through the plastic and the water poured out after an initial pop.

"As for bloodlines and kinjutsu... well I suppose I can share the information below certain classifications freely. But this is a talk best made in the morgue I would say. If you would please follow me."

Osu lead Sara to an elevator, and took her down to the morgue floor. "A couple of the morgues are off limits, but we can discuss a few things on in here," Osu said as he opened the door to the sorting morgue, also known as the general morgue. Osu nodded to the medic who was currently in the room who left with a quick bow. Osu picked up a few charts on the table and as he looked through them those red threads of his pulled a body out of its unit.

"You wish to know of our research into bloodline and kinjutsu, well it all starts right here," Osu said with a bit of flourish from his threads as the cadaver was placed on an operating table. "Here we have a member of the Santaru clan who has not yet been sorted into the bloodline collection. A chuunin with an excellent record and quite healthy, no vices to speak of. Died by dire bear attack while he was camping far too deep in the ancient woods," Osu commented pointing at the chunk of flesh missing between the man's hip and his chest. "A shallow bite which allowed him a revenge shot which blinded the beast in one eye and allowed him to blast himself back to the village. Served as a pretty good flare as well." The man had been drained of fluids and cleaned obviously.

"This shinobi will continue to proudly serve his village with the lung we harvested that was still in good shape, the marrow that was still fresh enough, some skin has already been collected for a burn victim, as research materials for both our studies on the Santaru bloodline, and possibly as a DNA source or component to make another shinobi stronger. In other words, material for a kinjutsu user. All shinobi of our village dedicate not only their lives, but their deaths to its strength and protection... So, what about bloodlines and kinjutsu would you like to ask?"

 

[Yaku]

It sounded like an overestimation of skill here. Sara had difficulties writing without looking what she was writing. Muscle memory not being a very important task to her. The fluidity of a situation always took precedence. Though, one might have to consider the source; an almost all seeing, all controlling, all knowing being as she. Fluidity allows for capabilities in such instances. Of course this would have been a lie, she still wasn't used to the drastic capabilities bestowed upon her, and she was quite a flake, swayed by the wind. "What..wait. Brain and nerve cells? That doesn't...Uh wa..did you just say you can hear peoples heart beats?" That would be quite the skill of control...almost akin to her vision problems. "Amazing you don't seek out solitude." She constantly had to avoid bright light, and then other people. It was hard for her to control her vision, seeing straight into most people, right into their chakra network. It took great deal of practice to see outwards appearances, and was impossible for...a median.


The young girl followed the young man down into the dungeon of death, for some reason this being a peak location for what she wished to know. A cadaver was pulled out by his infinite controllable blood toting strings and brought a body out. He gave a small insight into the life of the man, and then spoke about how anyone would lay there life down and allow for something akin to such. "That wouldn't be allowed in most other countries. People tend to have a right of choice for such, and choose against it. I am unsure if it is crude or overwhelmingly sophisticated. I most certainly can see the advantages. But still...experimentation on bodies as well...Would be hard for truely proud families."

He spoke about the Santaro clan, one whom she had no knowledge of, though she wasn't much of an expert of kinjutsu or bloodlines. "So does that mean that Santaro was, is a bloodline? Is that clan, family well known of? Would it be normal for one not of a bloodline of such to...well be capable of such as well?" A rather plain question to which she knew the answer to partially. But it would be a great attempt at some research akin to what she wished to know about. "What would allow for such from a none clan member." Is it genetics, predisposure, or otherwise possible? "What about other clans, like those of do..doin...um. Those with eye transformation based capabilities."

 

[Osuteno]

Osu smiled, "Indeed, most people in most countries have the right to choose how their death is handled. Even in our country. However, the shinobi of our village, with a few exceptions based on agreements made before any of us were alive, are expected to continue serving towards the strength and defense of our home even in death. Our hospital is never wanting for organ donors thanks to our advanced preservation techniques. The Santaru clan is a bloodline born to control storms, one of the three founding clans of our village. My own clan the Chigokai are adept at henomancy, blood magic some call it, and are also one of the three founding clans. Both of our bloodlines are very old and our clans a bit too proud if I had to give an honest assessment. But at the core of both clans is a pride of this village that has grown for a millennia. Besides, in our culture it is well understood that without knowledge, experience and skill, pride is a poisonous illusion and the clans are the ones that benefit most from our research into their bloodlines... I should probably make it clear that I am by no means remotely a normal example of my clan. The rest of them are normalish people with meat, bones, normal veins, skeletal muscles, a single heart and centralized brains in their skulls. Though all of us can hear blood and heartbeats quite clearly."

Osu thought for a moment then nodded to himself, "As for someone not of a bloodline being capable of similar abilities... well funny enough I wrote a research article about identifying such cases once. I can't share it because some specific details in it are classified, but generally it comes down to four possibilities. First what is known as a Chimera. We have a few here in Cloud I have studied to some extent. Basically they absorb the DNA of another person and gain much of their natural talents and abilities, including potential ones in some cases. The second case is when the body of a bloodline user has been linked with a Rikudou Sennin, of which we have several to study, reanimated by what is generally known as a dark sage which are unfortunately much rarer in our village, or repurposed as a puppet by those knowledgeable in such arts, which are extremely rare in our village but I have been lucky enough to have done some detailed studies. The third case is specific to the Sharingan and Byakugan of the Uchiha and Hyuuga clans respectively. With the proper knowledge it isn't terribly difficult to implant these doujutsu into non clan members though they perform much better for those of the proper bloodline. The final case is a bit of a catch all and I am sadly ashamed of the lack of detail I have concerning them. Simply put occasionally a mutation occurs in a family line or more often an individual that just so happens has many similarities to an existing bloodline. From what I have gathered this mutation could be due to any number of reasons and basically requires case by case study... unfortunately. The fascinating thing about them though is that often times they exhibit similar abilities in drastically different fashions."

Osu began working a bit through the man's chart, "Probably the strangest thing to you is our village's vast research and support for kinjutsu. Anyone who can pass mental evaluations and of significant promise to the village can gain the medical branch's support in attaining these strange abilities. Our general belief that after death the spirit and the body have nothing to do with one another means that unlike many cultures we don't see experiments on the body as anything other than using the resources we have on hand, avoiding waste. Yes that does contribute to why a number of people in our country, particularly a certain church, sees us as witches. The Old Ways of Raiden's followers are losing respect. But that doesn't slow us from understanding the nature of the world or ourselves. Our gods were not especially kind or sentimental people when they walked as mortals, they simply used their great power to protect our own by whatever means necessary. Not that we don't have respect for a good heart, but the survival of our people comes first. Our one solid commandment is to deliver the divine fury of Raiden's Storm upon those who threaten our home or its people. As wrathful as that is, it allows us to be more accepting. One does not have to be born one of us to be one of ours and we accept people... and not people," Osu finished while staring at his tendrils.

"Well that isn't to say we don't have our prejudices. Thanks to a demon invasion a couple decades back, many people have issues with those of demonic ancestry or jinchuriki still. We have done a fairly good job of preventing the younger generations of inheriting that distrust through education but nothing is perfect. I should also note that we do require kinjutsu users to register themselves and to document certain resources of their abilities in great detail. I myself have to list when, where, how, and from who my hearts come from. This is mostly due to having an awareness of potential health and mental issues of the individual and to make sure they aren't killing innocent people for their powers."

Osu suddenly gained awareness that he was talking quite a bit. "Uh, sorry for me droning on there. I spend a good amount of my time doing lectures and I tend to talk to much in normal conversation. I hope at the very least I haven't bored you. Do you have further questions?"

 

[Yaku]

"Interesting...' She couldn't think of much else to say about his statement. It seemed like a very advanced way of thinking, but coming from a country surrounded by religious thoughts, then one by subjective freedom, it seemed quite heavy handed. And to add on to the fact given about himself. A lack of bones, muscles...everything that allows a person to live or move of function...was quite hard to grasp. And to make it even better, he wasn't like anyone else in his clan. Why? Sara wanted to stick away from digging to deeply into his past, most certainly it was connected to that why. Maybe if she became friends with him he might reveal such?

---

Osuteno was laying it on thick with the information revolving around bloodline manifestation. The young girl was pretty sure she wasn't the reanimated corpse or a puppet, to his definition of course. Chimera was, a little more likely, though she hadn't absorbed her ability from anyone that she knew of and wasn't linked to a...riku..sennin person. Doujutsu, that was the word for it. Implantation of an eye from one of them...maybe? And of course, capabilities similar to a bloodline but slightly different. Those were the two most probable possibilities.... She didn't remember any surgery she had gone through, so that too was unlikely, unless it happened long long ago when she was but a baby. But why would someone do that? So mutation was the most likely possibility. But before she could get a question in, Osuteno went onto a different subject matter.

So they were an open nation, as long as you were loyal. beyond loyal. Though any ninja village would have similar requirements of it's people. It was just that Kumogakure asked for a little more. Or perhaps it wasn't asked, as more demanded? He did say they didn't respect the rights of clans, or rather rights given by other countries, or rather rights accepted.. "Politics?" That was the only thing she could say really. She shouldn't be one to question another countries views. Of course her villages were also much younger in the worlds view of shinobi. Kumogakure was quite an ancient village from her readings. Advanced Politics wasn't something she was prevy to. Though who knows, maybe with her new position she would have to.

Osuteno apologized for his long windedness, but Sara just held her hand up and smiled. "No problem, but..What is a Jinchuriki? I have never heard of that word? And that thing before. About all that magic sage stuff. Sennin something, Dark Sage? Chimera...I get what Chimera's can do..actually...I have seen one before I think. A friend of mine I thought was the only one that had these spider like abilities, but then during a village wide meeting something happened and a girl came about, touched him and was able to grow, well it was a bone version of what he was able to do. Much stronger actually. But those other things, can you explain them a little?"

Surprisingly enough, she had seen each of those things he described. Except for the Sennin one. Or at least, she had seen a singular body of one. But it was just a quick sighting, not close up or formally, so it was understandable why she couldn't remember such, except for those eyes... But she was more interested in the prior two subjects. Of course about the one on bloodlines, but then there was that Kinjutsu stuff..."I would like to ask you more about bloodlines..since you have done some research into it. And of Kinjutsu...implantation I guess would be the best way to say it. So for the bloodlines, or more about the mutation vs actual. Do you have any tests developed to know if one is one or the other? Or perhaps...Like your case. Why one would be different from another of the clan? An evolved form perhaps?" It slipped in, she didn't mean to ask about him specifically, but it fit perfectly with her situation as well. Maybe she would get lucky.

OOC: Do DNA tests exist in this world? Maybe just assume Leaf and Stone doesn't have it?
(you don't have to explain in any real detail about the Sennin/Sage stuff if you don't want to. Just a mild you mentioned it in non"" would suffice.)

 

[Osuteno]

Osu... well he couldn't help but feel a bit pleased when Sara raised her hand to ask follow up questions. He really did enjoy teaching after all. "Well a jinchuriki is someone with a spirit or supernatural creature sealed inside them, typically a demon. The host can draw on the power of the entity but also has to deal with its inherently chaotic nature. As for dark sages and sages of the six paths..." Osu paused for a minute and gave a broad overview of the non-classified information concerning both kinjutsu, mostly just the directly observable things without going into the understood details of how they did such deeds... Not that he was really 100% sure how they did either. He had educated guesses and research but he felt that before he could truly understand he would probably already long be one, but that was not the path of his life.

As for the subject of tests that came up Osu sighed and shook his head. "Oh don't I wish our research were that far along. There is so much left we need to understand about dna before I could hope to claim such. It is such a nightmarishly large task that unless I have a considerably group of willing chimera, a dedicated lab, an amount of resources that I doubt the board would ever give me and about three years of testing time... well lets just say for the next decade or two we will just have to be satisfied for knowing whether two people are closely related and identifying if the blood or hair at a location belongs to someone or not." It wasn't technically his department anyway but he had read more medical documents than... well everyone, and it frustrated and excited him a bit how much was left unknown. And then frustrated him a bit more when he already had experiment parameters that he was sure could reveal the very building blocks of what makes a person who they are in but a few years. But he would never gather a large enough group of willing chimera nor get the board to approve his use of that many bodies, so it couldn't be helped. They would just have to wait and do it the slow way.

"As for mutations... What happened to me wasn't natural at all. I was not born with it in my genetic destiny to become like this so I am not a good example. Mine is an example of an induced mutation. And I wouldn't personally call it evolved in my case either though I can see the argument. As for others there is still so much left to understand about bloodlines themselves that we are more likely to come to an accurate conclusion by hands on testing and observation than by examining DNA. Though generally if someone is of a clan, possesses a similar ability, but in a much different form, it is simply a genetic quirk. Those occur all the time in a way and is just more obvious when they happen to affect bloodlines. The far more interesting cases are when people not of a bloodline possess similar abilities, and says much about the genetic history of our species. I mean when you consider bloodlines as a whole, that with research some have such painfully obvious origins like the Kaguya and Chigo-" Osu immediately shut himself up as something extremely classified from his research was beginning to slip out of his mouth. A single bead of sweat trailed down the side of his neck.

"... But where was I before I started rambling again? I'm sorry what was your question again?"

 

[Yaku]

The sennin and dark sage sounded mildly familiar. The thing with a sealed creature though..not so much. She had seen a lot of weird things, and people transforming. So unless they were transforming into said captured creature, maybe she hadn't run into one of those just yet. She had a decent knowledge of sealing and such, but to seal a living creature within. Was it forceful or mutual? She had one way to find out, and this guy was it.

Osuteno continued on about the testing and also the mutation of a bloodline. It didn't really resolve her issue, though was interesting to a degree. Though as interesting as it was, it was just as disturbing. These people researched subjects against families wills. They themselves manipulated peoples chakra and bodies, implanting odd abilities. She just had to look at the guy before her. He wasn't like those of his clans, and as he said; his mutation was induced. Sara just assumed it was done by the villages will. And it seemed he held resentment towards such. She had to know.

With a raised voice, and some irritation, the young girl spoke with vigor, "I would like to know more about this implantation of abilities. You said they had to undergo a test of mental stability, and then a promise. Can you elaborate one such?"

She would wait for a response before containing on in the same tone. "How do you guys procure some of these, Kinjutsu? What sort of training is required to adapt such to others?"

 

[Osuteno]

Osu was confused for a brief moment concerning something about Sara's first question but then quickly realized what it was. "Well first what I meant was that we usually only dedicate resources to assisting promising applicants not that they make any particular sort of vow... though there is an implied understanding they need to act within the laws that already bind them. The mental exam isn't anything terribly special, some personality assessments, try to determine we are not giving someone on the unstable side more firepower though generally if they have made it as far as the interview process we would have determined if they had any criminal intentions or such. Better safe than sorry though. As for implantation... well it honestly depends on the kinjutsu. We actually don't know how some of them work enough to actually give them to people. For some it is more the type of knowledge one possesses. Others it is a simple concept such as... take for instance... a sharingan implant. the general overview is simply implanting the eye. It is much more complicated that a normal eye transplant but the basic idea is the same. On the other hand if someone wants to master the 8 gates it isn't anything we implant at all, but we can assist in the process if the patient is willing to go through some rather extreme training. But with both of those cases it is up to the shinobi themselves to actually master their capabilities. We can only assist so far and try to keep the process safe and the means legal."

Osu finally decided to pull one of the rolling chairs up from behind him and sit down since it seemed they might be here a while longer than he had expected. "As for how we procure them, well..." Osu gestured to the morgue around them, "A lot comes from the dead. Eyes for instance don't grow on trees. Much is due to knowledge gathered by our predecessors. Some is just plain experimentation and guesswork. Educated guesswork, but not a guaranteed thing... On the other hand some kinjutsu occur naturally or rather even supernaturally. And we study these cases to try an understand the nature of the power better. Everything we know about these unusual abilities comes from thousands and thousands of hours of study from our many researchers. We have to study every aspect of the body from anatomy to psychology, from the cells through our understanding of the human spirit, before we can begin to hope to understand how these abilities work, form, and affect us."

Osu looked at the ceiling light for a moment before looking back to Sara. She seemed rather grumpy to him, and it made him wonder if lunch should be next on their tour. "In that same vein... we take others who look into such research very seriously. Those who force their experiments on the unwilling or intend to use these techniques in illegal or hazardous fashion. Not to mention that without the shoulders of previous researchers to stand on... the experiments can be nightmarishly unpleasant. The same can be true for some who develop their abilities naturally on occasion, and frequently when forces beyond one's control takes your life into its hands... but to take a person who can think and feel and subject them to wild and unsafe experiments and mutations against their will is unacceptable."

A bit of tenseness had entered Osu's still quite feminine voice and upon realizing this he eased up. "With that in mind we are very secretive about the specifics, even inside the branch. In part because there are some things people need to figure out for themselves first and in part due to we don't know how a person may change in the future and we need to assess them as people. The knowledge on how to develop kinjutsu in people is even more dangerous than the kinjutsu itself."

 

[Yaku]

Sara really did expect him to say they farm the kinjutsu from outside the village, though he was much quicker then she gave him credit for, or perhaps it wasn't as bad as she thought?. She relaxed a little, though it was difficult while hovering over the body, but she was trying to keep from judging him so much. He seemed plenty alright in the room, and was now making himself comfortable.

As he spoke, she did wonder about the honesty of all the researchers. Certainly some were garnered as better then others. "Whom keeps all the researchers in check, looking over their work, funding, and making sure they aren't trying to make secret weapons for black marketeers or maybe empowering themselves?"He answered quite well, even keeping with those that aren't seeking help from the medics capable of such. The village kept there shinobi in check, but of course, there were always outliers, but it seemed they prided themselves on control, checks and balances as best they could.

It was still a little on the hard side to accept, but Kumogakure seemed to be pretty legit on the side of helping there shinobi be all that they could be. And it also sounded like that it was a free choice of to garner such power or to be free from it. Subconsciously she still thought there was more behind such, like push from the villages higher up in order to be of higher rank or status, but for now she was pretty well convinced of there harmlessness. That being thought, she still wasn't going to reveal to much about herself to him.

Sara looked down at the body before them. The young girl hid it well as he spoke, but it was getting a little creepy just talking over it. As he spoke, she would shift once in a while, slightly getting uncomfortable. She hid it well though, keeping up with all he was saying and staying in the conversation. Though he brought up an interesting subject about dangerous research. It reminded her of something interesting she had seen just yesterday. She spoke with a slight quickness in her words, "What about an ability that changes ones appearance, and grants them unique qualities upon activation. I saw a fuuinjutsu yesterday, two actually, that gave the fighters great strength, but it slowly seemed to be destroying there chakra systems. Do you have some knowledge about that you can show me. Maybe even an example?"

 

[Osuteno]

Explaining how they kept up with resources by strict budgeting, detailed requests forms, security and auditing was just some of the everyday things a hospital had to keep up with anyway. Inventory was checked frequently due to the medicine and equipment being quite valuable to both the hospital and would be thieves. It was a fairly quick explanation in comparison to how long Osu could normally drone on about bureaucracy. However after going through a bit more about operating the hospital they hit another topic that was considerably tiring to Osu.

With a reflexive heavy sigh he began nodding. Oh he knew a thing or two about fuuinjutsu.

Osu stood up and turned his back towards Sara, then he began loosening his yukata a bit. He slowly pulled down the top of his yukata exposing smooth and dainty shoulders that held an extremely feminine air about them and let the top of the yukata fall a bit further to reveal a cursed seal that looked much like a waning gibbous moon. The shadowed part of the moon was as dark a black as anyone would ever see while the border of the unshadowed part had countless small runes that seemed to be holding back the shadow from the rest of the moon.

Turning his head to where one eye met hers he explained, "It is one of my own design, though at the time I had to receive help since I hadn't yet mastered sealing. They are known as cursed seals for good reason. They are extremely rough on your chakra system whenever active, but they also can carry numerous... I don't want to call them benefits since most of them are not that intentional and come at a cost in some fashion... They can have very interesting side effects. Some people like me have them to keep something internal in line, whereas some crazier people want dark energies placed within them. Those who use them often exhibit great physical changes and they are horrifyingly unhealthy for you. We aren't even sure to what extent yet as each one is unique but what I can say is if someone came through that door and told me activating one for a minute took a month or more off your life span I wouldn't at all be surprised." Osu began pulling his yukata back up on his shoulders and fixing his outfit with his back still turned towards Sara.

"They also can't be used that frequently... well that isn't entirely true. Mine and the ones I can make can only be activated so often but there are individuals out there who can make seals you can use about as much as you want... though I would never recommend doing so as a doctor despite all the perceived benefits in battle. They do things to your mind, body and quite likely spirit. Personally when I release mine it feels much like I have a disgusting bit of poison in the pit of my stomach and roaches crawling under my skin for a couple weeks, but again mine is to keep something from getting out rather than letting something in... But if someone really wants one and proves they are not the sort to misuse one... the hospital will provide." Osu really had trouble understanding people who wanted one of these things rather than getting one out of necessity.

Osu checked the clipboard of the cadaver once more, wrote a few more notes and let the tendrils work on moving the body back into its container. "Any other immediate questions? I was thinking about continuing our little tour while lunch next, or is there someplace you would like to go to before the cafeteria?"

 

[Yaku]

"Blah blah blah blah, interesting side effects. Some people like me have them to keep something internal in line, whereas some crazier people want dark energies placed within them. Blah blah unhealthy for you." Everything after that she heard. For the first part, Sara had lost of feelings of time and space, fixated on the man before her, undressing himself. It was immensely unexpected, and the young girl was now an interesting shade of pinkish red. His white skin and slim features played to a desire which she hadn't intended, at least until he started to undress. She was extremely embarrassed, and everything was piling on at that moment. It would have been one thing to see him out and about without a shirt on, but he was here...alone...with her!!!! Undressing!!! For her!! It played into a subconscious desire that she actually didn't think she had, especially for a stranger from a foreign land. And adding in those already uncomfortable feelings about the dead body, and the odd manner in which those...thingies moved...

"I...I..want..um... I....where is...I um..." She was trying to speak words, but nothing was coming out, even some of the words she spoke were barely audible. He started to re-cloth and speak, the words seeming to just fade in the background as her train of thought just floundered. He spoke, the words registered, but no thought could be placed onto them. She only really had one right now...and she just couldn't get it out. After he finished, speaking, he started to again manipulate those tendrils with great strength and moved the body. Her breathing had picked up throughout it all, and then he asked if she wanted to go to lunch with her. "I...I...where is...restroom?" She needed a moment to gather herself. "I...I will find it." And she left the room in a blink of an eye.

The young girl took her moment, a very shaky moment. Sara regained some composure, her color returning to a more health pale peach. Seeing him move that body around with those things...Why was she thinking such unhealthy thoughts.. That is how she wanted to feel about it, with all her heart. Sara tried to think of him as such, she wanted to so so badly. But she couldn't. 'I mean...he is pretty, so very. Even with all his oddities. Multiple hearts, a lack of a central nervous system, able to hear blood and heart... Shit! Shit shit shit shit' "shit shit! Ohhhh..oh no, no no. Did..."'did he hear it?' Her heart was still pounding, and it just increased as she remembered. Again her skin took on that rosy color and she again was panicking. Somehow she had included into his skill set the ability to ascertain her thoughts from her heartbeat. In the cartoons she liked to watch, this would be the moment where steam would pop from the ears or neckline of one of those popular main characters, possibly a second time from the prior instance. She tried to calm herself, but it wasn't taking. She weaved her handseals and placed her hand onto her chest, releasing the sedative effects from her Tranquilize jutsu. It helped her regain her train of thought, but it wasn't doing enough. Her adrenaline was countering it to much. She breathed in deeply.

It took a few minuets but she regained herself. Knowing that he wanted to go to lunch with her. She thought to herself, trying to motivate her movement to continue. Then ill thoughts returned as she turned the handle of the restroom and walked out. How long had she been in the bathroom? And again, as she searched for him she was flush..

 

[Osuteno]

It was quite unusual how Sara's blood pressure started rising from nowhere. Was she that stressed by seeing the cursed seal? She seemed to be quite aware of it herself as she quickly excused herself to go to the restroom. As a doctor it was normally his business to pry a bit, but Sara was from another village and outranked him so he figured she could handle her issue without him becoming nosy.

He finished cleaning up in the morgue and waited out in the hallway for a few minutes while waiting for Sara to return. Upon seeing her again her blood seemed to have calmed yet she was still rather red in the cheeks. He gave her a smile to try and make her feel relaxed and began leading her back to the elevator. “I certainly do hope you are feeling up to lunch, we have a very nice cafeteria. It is rather large, but it has a pretty simple system. Buy a meal ticket from the ticket machine marked with the meal you want and hand it over to the lunch worker at the counter. Then you just wait a bit for your food.” Osu stepped onto the elevator and used his staff key to send the elevator up.

“Of course your meal today is on the house so feel free to have whatever you want. I personally would suggest the shashimi, it is a bit pricier since someone had to get live fish up the mountain, but it is quite delicious, especially with the pickled sides.” Osu was personally going to order such since the hospital was covering his lunch today and he wouldn't pass up on the treat. If one lived on the coast it would only be seen as a fine lunch, but this far inland and up the mountain of theirs, fresh seafood was a delightful treat.

One thing most people didn’t realize about Cloud Village in general was that since it imported most of its food, it had developed a very foodie friendly culture over the years. Upon arriving at the cafeteria Sara would see that the menu for the cafeteria today was quite a diverse set of meals. Once more Osu would emphasize that today it was on the house so to go for whatever she wanted. “Though be warned, when the lunch workers see how young you are they will likely give you a bit too much food. I can’t tell you how many times I was told that I was too small and that I needed more meat on my bones… This was back when I had meat on my bones… and bones… Anyway… There are cups and hot water over there and a fair selection of tea bags, all complimentary. You can buy milk or coffee and such if you want though.” It took a few minutes for the meals to be prepared and for them to sit down. Osu pressed his palms together briefly and then began eating. Was there a nicer thing in this world than fresh fish?

“I should really find out when the next time I can take a vacation is. This is fine fish, but it is so much more satisfying when I go fishing in Moon Country. Finding a secluded beach far from civilization, setting up a camp and making a raft, traps and cages, feeling the sun on your skin as you go a bit out into the water on your raft and fish, sometimes with a rod, other times a spear, even diving in yourself and going deeper when you spot a prize or to collect creatures that rest on the floor… A great feast of seafood from crabs to tuna as you rest from a long day of moving your body under that bright sun and resting with only a cloth between you and the warm gentle sand at night and only the stars above you with the warm ocean breeze dancing across your skin… But anyway I hope your meal suits your tastes. Is there anywhere you would like to go in particular for the next part of our tour or any questions I can answer while we eat?”

 

[Yaku]

It wasn't much of a search, as he waited for her outside in the hall where she had left him. He seemed to not dwell into the thoughts she thought he would have, and she just smiled as he spoke. "Oh.ohhh..." It was fairly anticlimactic, and it could be told in her voice. She was jumping the gun here, letting her imagination run a little wild. Too wild it seemed. He had no interest in her the way she imagined, though she was slightly hurt by such but she did feel the same way, it was just a momentary weakness. With that said, it would have been nice to just lie to her and say he was paying. The young girl shrugged it away, quickly regaining composure. 'The cafeteria. Well , that isn't any deal at all.' Though it would be a savings, she had just got the job after all, and was a little strapped. A free meal would be nice. "I have never had such, but if you say so, sure, lets head on over."

She didn't know what he told her to order and when it came, she was hesitant. It was sticky and fleshy. And as he went on, she quickly came upon what it was. Osueno seemed like quite the active person, fishing, hunting and trapping. She didn't catch some of his phrasing, and that might have been for her benefit. She was about to jump in with a statement about beaches as he jumped ahead and was heading more towards business. She eventually took a bite of the fish, and it was...alright. The young girl wasn't as gusto as he was into the food, but he apparently had it prior. But she still tried it anyways, while thinking of what else she wanted.

She tried to gain the courage to ask him to place a curse seal on her. She heard what he had to say about it, but the power of it was amazing from what she had seen. And they used it so cavalier, where she wouldn't. She wanted to understand what it was to a greater extent, but something, didn't feel right about asking him. It surprisingly didn't have anything to do with what he said about it, that wasn't stopping her to much. It wasn't about the fact he was from a different country. No, that wasn't it. As she imagined his own seal, she just couldn't put her finger on the why, but it did seem to be an enticing thought. It just didn't sit right for some reason.

She would have to come up with something else. Maybe eventually she would gain the courage if she knew him a little better? "How about...well this might be a little personal but.. How did you get to where you are now? How you are now? Um...well. You said something about induced mutation. And not like your other clansmen. I mean, it sounds like you spend a decent amount of time on your own as well. Personally I have never really left my villages except on missions. How..." She shouldn't be one to question though, as she had had a decent amount of free time in her life, but just never went anywhere really. Training usually in one fashion or another. "does one go about your route as you seem pretty happy where you are, but your...abilities seem higher then what is required I guess?" Had he lied to her perhaps? Maybe he was more like her, and trained on multiple fronts, with no clear direction. Maybe he was a skilled practitioner as well? With what she had seen, it didn't seem implausible.

She took another bite of her food as she listened, looking at him intently.

 

[Osuteno]

At the beginning of Sara's question Osu put down his chopsticks and simply closed his eyes while listening to her ask what she wanted to know. "I am like I am because a few years ago, right before I turned 13, I went on a fishing trip and in the middle of the night my ship exploded during an ambush, sank to the bottom of the sea and I was captured. I was subjected to... an incredibly unpleasant event of the occult variety. The blood in my body became quite different as a result and I spent the next year mutating and laying on an operating table having my bones and muscle removed by some small town doctor that was also kidnapped for this purpose. I didn't have control of my blood then so it kept trying to strangle him, and I had to stay awake and aware to try and prevent the poor man from dying. Removing my skull was probably the worst few days. Eventually the procedures were complete, the doctor was killed, and I was put in a glass cage. Eventually I received a helping hand from the savior of my life, escaped, and took another year just to figure out how to move my body across the entire continent before arriving home. Had to practice medicine on the way back to eat and regain motor control. A little after I turned 15 I was finally home, though officially I had died at sea since my ship had never been found. It has been more than a year now, and I have been a member of the branch since I was 8 so I would have to say it is probably either because I am still too young or the many uncertainties of my current condition and disappearance that have kept me at a position I might possibly be well overqualified for perhaps. So my happiness has nothing to do with the route I have been on, but what I have scavenged from it and I am rather protective of what little I have. It also goes without saying I hope that I do not support the idea of anyone else going through all that."

Osu voice and expression had lost his award winning warmness by the end of his explanation but wasn't scowling either, simply far more tired than anyone five times his age had any right to be. His life has had many tribulations already and the fact he was still sane had actually drawn comments of disbelief from his superiors. He was simply trying to hold onto a home, family and friends at this point. He worked long days and nights to support what little he had, and tried to live a peaceful life when he wasn't on an assignment that demanded otherwise... There were too many of those these days. He didn't pick up his chopsticks as his appetite had dulled.

Osu started smiling again though it didn't really reach his tired eyes. "So now that I have subjected you to my tragic backstory, any other questions or do you have a preference on where we go next on our tour? Or perhaps you might share the reason why you have seemed so keenly interested in particular subjects such as bloodlines and such? Happen to have one yourself? But no you have also asked many questions regarding mutations, so it is probably something like a bloodline but comes in a much different form. You are unsure if it is a mutation of a bloodline or some alternate case. You are either an orphan or have very little knowledge of your family background." Osu leaned back in his seat maintaining firm eye contact with Sara but not really displaying any ounce of hostility or ill intent, simply like someone describing the weather.

"How do you manage to know what your writing on a strand of hair? Do you have super eye sight too?" he mimicked from earlier continuing to stare right into her eyes. "The first thing you question wasn't my abilities of motor control or some such but of sight? Could just be a coincidence but just entertaining the idea that the rest of my statements have been correct perhaps you yourself possess some gifted eyes. Now what bloodlines have special eyes... technically for Chigokai like myself our eyes are quite different,"

Osu removed his contacts to reveal orbs that looked of liquid blood flowing around in a clear orb, "But that wouldn't fit at all and possesses no direct enhancement of vision. Tsuchimikado can see many things that others cannot but in a physical sense their eyes don't see any more clearly than mine. Possessors of the sharingan possess powerful kinetic vision and enhanced attention to detail so it is possible... But so are possessors of the byakugan with their omnidirectional vision that sees even the lines of chakra in the people and world around them... But I am not confident enough with what little I have currently to make more assumptions... Unless... when you heard earlier I can hear the blood flowing in the veins and hearts of those around me, once more you displayed an unusual reaction. Your immediate reaction shot to being surprised that I didn't seek solitude... But I would feel that not to be a strong enough piece of evidence to make a firm enough stance on."

Osu leaned forward across the table still holding a friendly expression and tired bloodfilled eyes that held some inquisitiveness and interest without letting her gaze leave his gradually drawing closer as he spoke until their noses were only a few inches apart. "So tell me Sara, if I may dispose of the honorifics since we appear to be getting to know much about one another... what can you do, be it bloodline, mutation or evolution? Ask me the questions you really want to know the answers to instead of this little dance you have been doing where you only get a piece of the knowledge you are after. I am a much better teacher if I have more context on what really needs to be taught, and if I don't have the answers I am very proficient in finding them... Or we can simply continue the tour and I can show you good organizational skills for managing a hospital or some facilities. Your choice Sara."

 

[Yaku]

Lunch time had become extremely quite between the two of them. The only sound was of Osuteno speaking, and when he paused, you could have heard a pin drop from the kitchen. Or at least that is what it felt like to Sara. She had a piece of fish in her mouth, and was no longer chewing it. The sliminess of it became fairly unpleasant but the young girl was to scared to even chew. She was panicking. Her heart beat was extremely fast right now, and all she was thinking was, 'No, no @#$% shit, no!'

She was already breaking down every possibility of a fight to escape from him. Could she fight her way out of here? What after that? The village? She would have to make a break for it straight and out. No stopping. Her allies, most likely screwed. She wouldn't even come back for them. She couldn't fight an army. Was that her best option?

'Maybe truth? Should I trust him? He seemed genuine in his remarks. Then again, he was plenty safe where he was. Osuteno could just be leading me on. But I am pretty sure he isn't. He didn't move his eyes or twitch oddly'

He was much more open about himself, a bad sign perhaps. So closed off before, but maybe it had finally come down to the end. Her knowing his secrets might have been pointless soon enough perhaps? Then he leaned in just inches from her face. 'What...what is he doing! Is he!!!', she thought in a panic.


Sara grew very red, feeling his breath on her face. She felt like she was about to burst. This was not turning into a good day. This trip sucked. All of her trips always seemed to suck. Monsters, in one form or another always came about, all trying to kill her or something akin to such. Maybe she should make a run for it. Ram her head forward, slam into his and take off. It seemed like the safest option!

NO!!!! His moves were to slick for such. She saw how those tentacle thingies moved, grabbed and twisted. She was fast, but not that fast. The exits were few, and she didn't know enough about him to call that shot. And she couldn't abandon her friends! What was left then? Nothing! Not a damn thi, "STOP, Please! I DON'T KNOW!" Sara begrudgingly said with a huge amount of frustration, possibly some spit coming out of her mouth and slamming into his face. Maybe, just maybe, a piece of fish still swimming in her mouth stuck to him. She didn't move from looking at his eyes, she didn't have to. From the stuff that happened the day earlier, she was hesitant to cross anyone from Kumogakure. It would be safer to just come out with it, he was already on the right track.

Sara relaxed, or came as close as she could have. She swallowed what was in her mouth, at least tried to as they sat for that moment. It was long moment.

"I...Ss..sorry...I didn't mean to be rude. It's just...I. I don't like to talk about it to much. It brings to many..unknowns for me. You see..." She trailed off for a moment, trying to gather herself. "I am not sure what I have, or am related to? Or...um. Ya. Well, my family isn't a ninja family. And to say that is understating. Never were a ninja family, I am the first, for hundreds of years. No background in it, or connections to. Ever, but..." Sara pointed to her eyes, her big shiny glowing eyes. "Somehow, I can see everything in this room. Magnified, detailed, and even inside. And not just some of the time like before. Always. Everything..everything." She pointed to him. "I know what makes you, you. I also know...what you...are...wea..nevermind" She blushed slightly.

Sara tried to shake it off, but now she couldn't look him dead in the eyes, glancing to the side slightly, to no avail. She then closed her eyes tightly. "No one in my village knows what it is, or what I can see. Like. I can see gods. And... You.. Could it be because I made a deal with one? I mean... You don't think I traded my soul in exchange for.."

 

[Osuteno]

Osu was rather surprised that his little questioning session had been so effective, while he still hadn’t told his whole story it was enough to make him quite uncomfortable and he had mostly been intending to get the guest across from him to understand what it felt like to have invasive questions piled up on a person… Well that and he had suspected he was actually pretty close in his assumptions. He sat back in a more comfortable position while cleaning his face with a napkin but not taking his eyes from Sara as she told him a more complete story. As for her actual sight… well that seemed both incredibly useful and well… “That sounds incredibly annoying to deal with. You were right earlier in assuming hearing blood and heartbeats can be irritating at times, particularly in crowds. Back on my clan’s main estate we actually have a large maze designed to inhibit sound so we can have some peace and quiet, and I will admit to taking paperwork down to the morgue to complete at times simply because my own hearts are the only ones I have to listen to there.” Rather… wait under his yukata was… well traditionally it is worn this way but... did she see… best not to mention that particular subject he thought while repositioning his legs.

[col3]*|*|*[/col3]​

Somewhere on the other side of the village Osu’s wife Chiai who had been cleaning dishes suddenly tightened her grip and the chef’s knife in her hand shattered. She had no idea why she suddenly felt so angry but the knife was a tragic loss, mostly because they were not cheap. “No, no, no… Not again dammit.”

“Dammi,” repeated one of the twins from the living room, causing Chiai to sweat a bit and try to pretend that the first word of one of her daughters was not in fact swearing. Dammi could be… a confused combination of daddy and mommy, yes that would be her story.

[col3]*|*|*[/col3]​

Back to Osu he winced and paled quite visibly when Sara mentioned seeing gods and making a deal with one, his own personal experience with such a meeting going very, very poorly though it technically wasn’t him who made the deal.


“That... “ While Osu himself prayed to Raiden he had never met him nor any other god he prayed to in person. Just the one that he would prefer never to have to deal with again though he wasn’t sure if he would be fortunate enough not to in the future. If it was only the odd mutation factor then he would rather enthusiastically ask her questions and give his insights right here but… He looked around and definitely felt this was not a conversation to have in public. Standing up without touching the rest of his food Osu grabbed Sara’s wrist in a soft yet firm grip. “Someone will grab our plates, doctors have to run out of here all the time. We are going to speak more about this in my office.” And then started pulling the girl who did technically outrank him right out of the cafeteria. He didn’t need to be so rushed about this conversation but in all honesty he had become quite nervous about anything involving gods after… what happened. He didn’t even notice a couple nurses who were giving the sight of him pulling a young lady who was just slightly younger than himself into his office a bit too much thought.

Osu’s office was a bit cramped due to him having more file cabinets than what the size of the room would really allow for and the random shelf of cleaning supplies the janitorial staff still hadn’t removed from when everyone thought he had died at sea and had turned his office into a janitor’s closet. It was starting to seem like a permanent fixture. The only way Osu had to get behind his desk was hopping over it and he did so after pulling a chair out for Sara.

But before he began to speak again Osu flipped a couple switches next to him on the wall. It wasn’t anything particularly special, just electrical switches that controlled whether or not power went to different outlets in the room. A noisy hot water kettle started up by the door, the overhead lights dimmed, some lamps from the side of the room came on, a wire that was oddly connected to a device on the side of the air duct above them sparked and it began releasing pulses that would taze a would be spy… okay so not entirely normal. Rather none of these measures were entirely usual. Even without his ability to hear blood Osu could now quite clearly see the shadows of people in front of his door which he flicked hard with a blood vessel to scare the would be eavesdroppers away from his door. Obviously they were newer staff if they weren’t aware he could hear even a trained shinobi if they were careless enough to get that close without a good deal of preparation. Even if they stayed they wouldn’t be able to hear a conversation at the desk over that kettle… plus he honestly wanted some tea in a bit.

“Sorry this must all seem quite unnerving, but I get a bit hesitant over disclosing any information about particular subjects… But I believe we might be able to provide each other quite a bit over a topic many would consider either blasphemous or nonsensical. I can take a look into studying your sight and if it is something genetic or at least naturally occuring I can probably provide you with some more direct answers eventually, the data there is payment enough for the work… But you mentioned a deal with a god… as someone who was actually a part of such a deal before I can perhaps provide some insight if you wouldn’t mind telling me more of that story, having been part of such a dealing before myself… though I was the payment rather than the beneficiary. If you are willing to tell me your story and answer my questions that follow I can provide you with answers to your own questions, a promise to research those I don’t know if possible or provide you with direction in your own research if you wish to know something I am forbidden to reveal or research on my own… Though for reasons you appear to be someone who wants to know stories as much as you would want more researched information… So I will provide a bit more of my own story as a sign of goodwill and upfront payment for your own tale. The god I had the great misfortune to meet was Jashin, the god of slaughter… whose ichor was forced into my veins and tore me apart from the inside and altered my body to where I would survive the torture for as long as possible, that of course being the induced mutation I spoke of earlier. Of course it appears Jashin was rather clueless with how the human body works so he both made necessary and, more importantly, possible for me to survive the removal of all my bones and skeletal muscles. Though since I had to be fully conscious for all of it I must say I wouldn’t recommend it, I doubt anything can be quite as painful as having your skull pulled from your head or the process of having your bones stripped down to preserve the marrow inside. Still it took me years to take enough control of his blood for me to be the dominant will in my body and to regain serviceable movement, particularly for my hands. I was worried for a while that I could never perform surgery again… Thankfully his blood wasn’t intelligent in the way a human or animal can be and only possessed a sort of primal and instinctual, though extremely strong, will. While there is more to that unpleasant story it is enough to give you an idea where my background in occult studies originates from… tea?”

 

[Yaku]

Osuteno grabbed her wrist forcefully and whisked her off down the corridors of the hospital. Sara thought about resisting, pulling her hand away from his oddly smooth yet given his features, rather masculine hands. She had no idea what drove him to this, well actually Osuteno seemed slightly distraught, or maybe disturbed? She couldn't quite put her finger on it now but it was changing her outlook. The redness from her embarrassment subsided slightly, though the thought was still on her mind. After all, she couldn't turn it off...

It took a few minuets to reach his office and as they entered they grabbed the attention of several more staff members. He pulled her into a tiny cramped room, filled to the brim with cabinets, a desk filled with paperwork, a coffee maker and cleaning supplies. It made her begin to wonder what his true motives were. He hadn't said a word the entire time he was rushing towards his office, the young girl in tow. A few nurses watched as she passed by, and headed out into the hallway from the rooms they were in and watched as they vanished around the bend.It appeared more so as a storage room then the mans office. He pulled out a small chair and motioned for her to take a seat before hoping onto his desk and then off and taking a seat as well. He flipped several switches and several things purred to life. Though for some reason he dimmed the bright white overhead lights, and turned on some dimmer yellow lamps.

She was REALLY receiving some mixed signals here. He seemed slightly worried, though what about she wasn't sure. And in turn, was now starting to feel this way. She had spoken about herself, saying she wasn't sure what her gifts were, and he suddenly pulled her away in a mad dash. What did she say that had him so hot and bothered? She thought he was worried at first, but maybe he was flustered? Something suddenly pulling him to escort her to his office and dim the lights? Seclusion? What was he planning? Her thoughts quickened. It was a rather large and ambiguous selection of choices.

He began to speak, now about wanting to perform some 'tests' on her. She had heard about some doctors, researches that were this way. They had a thing for doing weird stuff, calling it science. She shook her head a little, trying to get her mind out of the gutter. Then he spoke again, and she was slightly beginning to understand the reason for his insanity. She wasn't sure how to respond, confused for the better part of his explanation. Gods? Skull from his head? The tea kettle behind her started to rattle as it built up steam, and she was now able to easily hear the electrical current overhead from the ducts, which still was weird. He probably should have someone look into that air conditioner unit. Certainly it shouldn't be that loud.

As he finished his story, he asked if she wanted tea, and Sara sat there...dumb founded. "Um...I...yes?" She questioned him, trying to think everything through. It would take him a moment to get the tea, requiring he jump back on his desk, over her, and then to the machine. She thought while he did these actions, trying to sort everything out. Was he trying to get to...no. No no, that she realized was more one sided. He, well maybe not so one sided, but more frivolous on his side? Though what he was saying now, was familiar. Just yesterday, she was dealing with a similar situation. A man by the name Kaen had gone through a tragedy not to different in severity. Jashin, this was the second time she has heard of that, and only been outside her village for a few weeks. It must have been an epidemic cult outside of her village, villages rather. Not once had she ever heard of them, until she left Leaf. And now, two people, one from the Wind Country, and one from Lightning. This cult must have been quite powerful to have such a span of reach. And they apparently seemed to have no problem spreading horrid denounced gifts, in exchange for costly recompense.

'Wait...Wait a second.' She thought about Kaen now, and his sever servitude to that cult. He believed in it so hardheartedly, it was actually rather disturbing to hear. And now this guy had gone through similar with a group exactly the same? He wanted to know what she had gone though, so much so that he dragged her to seclusion. 'He...did he want to know if I was... Is he?' Perhaps he thought she was an ally. Perhaps he thought she had gone through the same. She spoke quickly, as he placed the tea before her. "I, um. No! No, no. I didn't go through something like that, just to let you know. Well...not..well lets go with no not like that. Mine had nothing to do with Jashinism, or anything..like that. I did have to go through a trial though. But it was either that or death.. She...she asked me to help her recover an orb from a demon that was keeping her locked up. It was quite the fight, but I did manage to survive it. The demon tried to eat me. I managed to destroy the orb that was keeping the god locked up and she defeated the creature. After that she...well she said that the gods would always watch over me and if I needed their help, they would come. After that...it gets extremely hazy. Somehow I ended up back home in Iwagakure. Oh I was in Kirigakure by the way. I remembered I had walked for days, and days...and then just ended up on the other side of the world back in Iwagakure. I...by no means suffered such as you. Just almost a year had passed and... I..ya. So I am not a member of the Jashinism cul...um religion thingy like...um...ya."

Sara was about to pick up her cup of tea. Her movements suddenly stopped. She now eyed that cup of tea, almost like it was a demon. Wait...was she being coveted? Maybe he wasn't looking for an ally, but rather.. She had gone though and started trusting the man, this guy Osuteno. Though the recollection of how Kaen was treated by Kaji and Yuii, by the village. She had crossed Yuii, perhaps slighting her a little. And now this man had pressed her for knowledge about herself, and figured out what her abilities were. She had slipped, and told him an extent to her gifts. And then after that he took her away, and mentioned wanting to experiment on her. She almost forgot that suspicion at the start. 'Had he figured out what I was? Was...Did...did he poison the tea?' She put the cup back down, and to her best tried to hide the suspicion. Her heart beat quickened and she breathed in, and tried to force it slower by holding her breath. She needed more answers first, how willing was he to talk?

"Actually, I do want to ask you about this Jashin god..person? Um, so whom turned you in to this god? Are you...no. I mean, um. I..sorr" She lost her train of thought. 'Shit! I should have paid more attention during those ANBU interrogation training courses!' She needed to think faster. Her breaths became shallow, she was panicking. No, no she didn't need to think faster. She needed to, "I know what you went through was hell, but...Do you pray to that god, Jashin?" It was a good first step. But the young girl needed to press it. "Are you one of his followers? Why did you want to know my story so badly?" Yep, she felt a little better, thinking she was doing a good job at questioning him. Fortunately this wasn't a test by an ANBU instructor, because she laid all her cards out on the table. "If you know what my skills are connected to don't hide it please. You can't hide anything from me!" There was force behind her words.

Delirium was starting to kick in. Her cheeks were getting a little puffy, and her eyes drowsy looking. "Is...Is this cup of Tea poisoned! I thought you were a little to interested in me...I mean..I thought you were cu..I...I..why is it so hot in here!" Sara stood up, and was wobbly on her feet. She fell towards the table and caught herself on it, pushing against it to get back to her feet. "I think cats are involved? For some reason..I.."