The Sound of Determination [Solo]

[Enatsu]

The trio entered the compound brandishing two burlap sacks full of valuables. Roku had even been wearing a silver medallion he'd gotten from destruction site that had a garnet stone engraved with runes in the center. Some would greet Koga but he'd utter no response. Instead he was focused intent on one thing which was moving forward but he would have a smile plastered on his face. It was just not too long ago that he figured out a way to enhance his sound far beyond normal measures. They'd enter the throne room, coming to find Mayuri and Inu awaiting them. Mayuri was the first to speak up in an irritated tone. "You self mutilating, blind idiot! Don't you come in here laughing and smiling like you just did a good deed. I have a mi-" Koga would motion for Gohma and Roku who would dump the sacks contents all over the ground. There were cracked gems, fine metals like steel and copper. Some intact jewelry, pieces of expensive decorations. They had even found a few scrolls among the rubble. "Awesome you got a pile of junk." Roku would pick up some of the downed goods defending them in a childish tone.

"Oh come on Mayuri don't be such a sour sport. Not all of it is broken and even the broken ones were apart of something important. it means they can be refined or melted down and we can still catch a nice price. There are some really expensive scrolls in here too. Like I even found one about dark blood rituals. Religious nuts may bargain their souls for these. Plus we didn't go out to that damned district for nothing." Gohma would cover Roku's mouth and begin to speak in his stead. "Look Mayuri I know some people who are scraping to get their shops funds. No one is safe and they need protection or protection money. Either we barter for goods with these, or we get into protection. If we try the protection route we'd be screwing ourselves over. This is a legitimate way to make money or at least secure equipment." She would sigh and look towards Koga who wasn't even looking in her direction. Instead he was focused on trying to find his seat. She'd throw her hands up helping the blind lion to his "throne" as he finally had time to get in his say.

"Roku take Gohma's contact book and start getting in touch with food stands and pharmacy. Present what you have and try to get us a good fetch. Also look for any possible jobs out there, not everyone is broke in this wild place." Roku would sigh and trot off as Inu would close the door behind him. Mayuri would hand Koga a book and a scroll placing his fingers in certain places. "This is Braille and be very certain that you take the time to get familiar with it. On the left is a letter that you can trace your finger over. It's bumped like Braille but written in common tongue. This way you can identify the letters or words and on the right is their braille counterparts. It's a self taught book and you should be able to pick up on it quickly. While you do that I'll go help Roku and let Inu explain those scrolls you had me look for. Your welcome by the way." Mayuri would leave the room as well closing the door on her way out.

Inu would clear her throat and open her notebook reading what things she took from the scroll. "Alright this scroll the one you wanted on sound ninjutsu, lead me to another. The Hashigaki clan, a drifting nomadic clan of shinobi. They range from being blind from birth to having poor eyesight or needing to close their eyes to focus their abilities. They have enhanced hearing, to be honest it's like having a doujutsu but in your ears. Suna keeps a fascinating history on all shinobi ancestral clans and their backgrounds. Although the information is obscure it's very clear about their superb hearing, ability to control the soundwaves around them and lulling their opponents with Genjutsu sung through their voice. There are some other instances of their incredible abilities but it's very hard to find. You so far meet some of their standards to learn their skills believe it or not. For one you are blind and with training your other senses along with consistent and constant use of your Sound Element you could have hearing on par with the Hashigaki. At your current mastery you'd probably only be able to hear about half as well as them but it's better than normal human's hearing that's for sure. Your mastery over the sound element would need fine tuning and you'd have to rely on it. Much like how you were willing to cast aside your bone mastery for better control of the Byakugan you must incorporate sound vibrations into every technique. Never think for a moment that the vibration of sounds cannot be used. As I said the Hashigaki are born with the gift, you were fortunate to be born with gift of sound. It's odd seems like you were closer to this way of life all along. Anyways their other talent they are renowned for is the ability to use genjutsu through their voice. They don't explain this technique in the scroll but I'm theorizing that you'd have to use your sound element to accomplish such a feat. Like channeling the power of the illusion through your sound and then funneling it through your voice. However the closest to an instructor you can get from that is Gohma. He has the talent of passing Genjutsu through his fist, which is quite abnormal. Either way you'd have to learn Genjutsu first and foremost. That's about all the information I could find Koga, what do you plan to do with it. It's not something you can transplant into your head like the Byakugan, it's something you're going to have to work hard at and break yourself into."

Koga would grin responding to Inu. "Don't get all doubtful on me Inu. It's as you said I'm not implanting anything in my head. I'm only foregoing everything I've learned about these bone abilities and instead focusing purely on my skills for sound. I've never been in this predicament before I'll tell you that much, but there's no time like now. If I'm to be blind I'm not going to be defenseless. The sound element saved my life today and I'm grateful that these bones will always be my weapons as well. Gohma come here will you." The calm Ikoji walked forward kneeling in front of Koga who would usher him to stand up. Instead Koga would kneel before him saying the most outlandish words a Clan Head has probably said to a subordinate. "Can you please take me under your wing and teach me the ways of channeling Genjutsu."

 

[Enatsu]

-Later that Day-

I've been running through the clan house for hours on end. I don't know what chamber Gohma opened but that creature was not normal. Koga was bloodied and battered bruised from some encounter. All he could remember clearly was his cousin accepting his offer and then bringing him to a chamber in the throne room. He said that it was here Saizan Koga's own father taught him how to use Genjutsu through his fist. It was a skill that he never knew the man had but at the very least he wasn't surprised. He said that Saizan's genjutsu's felt like they'd come to life while using this room and that he would bring Koga's power to light. In order to channel Genjutsu one had to face their inner darkness and all it's demons. One had to bear fruit to the thing that made them weakest and fight it like titan. When the creature was slain you were supposed to absorb the monster unleashing what it held deep within. However something went terribly wrong with Koga's creation.

He remember Gohma placing his hand on Koga and punching him ferociously harnessing every bit of illusionary power in him to bring forth Koga's "demon". When the creature was released it looked like a dying lion with a lizard like humanoid body. It's face was turning into a skeletal remnant, and black blood seeped through the monster's very pores. Shadows overtook this creature giving it true form and that was when things went south. The same tainted runes that appeared in Oto's tomb appeared on the creature. Gohma began to get frantic for whatever control he had over the beast was diminishing and in a haste the beast unleashed a wave of energy that blew them both away. The last view he had of his cousin was his limp body being dragged back into the throne room. There was an unsettling feeling in the air but Koga could not shy away from the sounds he was hearing.

It sounded like muffled whimpers, or yelps for help. As he walked he could hear all of his most inner thoughts. "You're nothing but a shame... A stain on the existence of this clan...Your weak and nothing can change that fact. You think you can master this? You believe you can overcome this? Don't make me laugh your nothing but a joke..." The words pierced him, the tone resembling someone who was putting nails to a chalkboard. Covering the ears didn't help, the noise was piercing him, but he couldn't falter not to this creature. He'd be steadfast in his movements never missing a step. However when he came to the room, he heard nothing but those in pain. The creature was scurrying around the room he could hear those scaled steps. His feet dabbled in something wet and warm, this was blood. Everything around him pointed to a death but the only thing keeping him from seeing the scene was his lack of eyes.

The beast would toss something at him with great force. Even though he caught the object it sent him hurdling on the ground. It was a head, with long hair draped in blood. Koga's head would slump as he slowly realized this thing was slaughtering his people now. "Hahaha... You and your weak clan. You could't even protect the children. Do you know what I'm going to do to them? No that eyesight saves you of these horrors right? .... I will force your Inu to give you sight back... And then I will torture them for your first sight will be their faces being mutilated it will be grand!" It was then that the world around him began to crumble. Koga's body began to catch heat and the chakra within him began to burn. His mental state was falling to rage and the true beast within him began to awaken. Scaled armor would begin to cover his body, and his bones would extend, while scales literally formed over them. His hair would grow changing color to red and gold highlighted by an assortment blue colors. His shape would slowly turn into that of a lion, and the metamorphosis became complete.

"Enough.... I can't take it.... Every time I try to progress I'm met with destruction and failure... For every one you hurt I will inflict the same pain by ten fold.... Prepare to be slaughtered."

-True Time (13 Minutes Later)-

It was then that Gohma appeared grasping the bridge of his nose. Koga would feel chains pulling him down and then they'd transform into a bone cage to surround him. It was the famed Kaguy seed fern technique. "If your dramatics weren't so dangerous I swear they would be inspirational." Slowly the world would crack around them as the true appearance of the room became apparent. They were back in the throne room, Inu using a wave of energy to calm him while Unagi was holding her hands into the ground controlling a small scale of Bone Trees to bind Koga. Gohma was scratching his head as the transformation began to release itself form Koga. "What is going on..." a chuckle would leave his comrades as Gohma would begin to explain. "Idiot, you were in a Genjutsu. You literally broke the thing with that form of yours I guess your rage overpowered any other feelings you had. It was so strong you began to change in here and actually pounced at Inu and myself. We had to move, around you luckily Unagi came at the right time and bound you. Jeez teaching dangerous noobs the way of Genjutsu is a bigger risk to my health than I thought... Luckily it's not all bad you managed to not let it overcome you. I do however think we'll be okay without another one of those crazy transformation of yours. Black skulls and then you turned into a lion. Just what's with you." Unagi would begin to release her jutsu as she looked at Koga in anticipation of his words. Inu would release her calming wave so she could punch him in the head instead. "Ow... dammit I'm new at this."

"Too bad you're gonna need to pick up on this faster jerk. Come Unagi, Gohma you're on your own." The women would leave them alone as Gohma could only chuckle. "You just know how to piss everyone off these days huh? Oh well as my student I will not let you leave until you have the fundamentals of understanding a Genjutsu down to it's very feeling. That's the most important thing about channeling genjutsu. It's not about how well you can cast them, it's not about how well you can detect it. It's a healthy combination of the two, guided by who well you can truly understand them. What does this Genjutsu mean, and how does it affect one in the physical plain. When I touch others to induce a Genjutsu on them I have to constantly be aware of how this needs to be perceived. I need to understand what I'm transferring down to it's very core. So we'll do something easier this time, but focus on what these mean to you. Focus on your hearing to try and weave through it and your sound to break through. No more crazy transformations okay?" Koga would nod, ready to begin the next lesson.

 

[Enatsu]

-The Faithful Tutor and the Awkward Student-
Theme Music​

"Mother look upon your son now. I almost lost myself in a dredge for power. However with the help of the family I've always had I found myself once more. The spirits, though how little I've thought of them have always been by my side never leaving me. Their power is stronger than that of our bloody ancestors. It seems as though I had forgotten the truth in them but all is not lost. Though my eyesight is gone, I have begun to see the world from a new light. My hearing has become more sensitive, more precise and also a weakness. Gohma has been exploiting that forcing me into a massive genjutsu session. He used a jutsu known as Mental Kombat to put my mind into a state where I would be doing battle with him, but none of it was real. I had to focus on what the genjutsu meant to me, how it worked. It's a fabrication to trick the mind into believing your doing battle, but instead of rejecting I fought back with my sound jutsu. I couldn't rely on the normal Kaguyan standard, it was as if I was stripped of everything I had come to rely on and only had the ability of Sound as my weapon. He even went as far as to hurt my ability to hear, forcing not one but two audial genjutsu. I remember them so vividly, it was dad's voice. I could hear him telling me that I'd never get far, and that I should just die. Repeatedly murmurs of his death wishes were put upon me, and I heard something else. I think it was your voice but I can hardly remember. It was whispering for me to give in and use the cursed bones but I couldn't do it. I remembered no matter what the dream said I was to only fight back one way which was to rely on the power of sound.

Genjutsu is so powerful I never knew the uses it truly had until now. The weight of the illusion feels heavier than it should at times, but it literally changes your mind. The chakra flow in the brain is far powerful than some would believe. I'm learning to control it, how to think the genjutsu into existence and how to channel it through my voice. I'm not a very good singer but I try to imitate the hymns you'd hear in the temple prayer. I figure those melodies will get me headed in the direction I need to manipulate genjutsu. The Hashigaki manipulate genjutsu combined with sound vibrations to channel the illusion into the ears of their opponents. It's a complicated procedure but Gohma believes the Mental Kombat training technique has been helping allowing me to practice unconstrained by time. I've had to literally run sound waves through my body every waking moment even when I'm inside of his Genjutsu. We believe it's only a matter of time until I gather the basic forming of Song Illusions.

However in focusing so much on these techniques it seems that my body's slowly forgetting everything about the bone manipulation. While I'm still able to create a light layer of bone armor, gauntlets and greaves I cannot project them as well any longer. I've been fine with this rather than focusing on how deadly they are I've been infusing them with Sound chakra in order to cause disruptions in my foes. I'm learning to use these more diversely than any Ikoji, before me. We plan on doing another hour of training, but in the Mental Kombat realm who knows how long that truly is.

I don't know why I'm recording this honestly, I guess without Saizan around and all my mistakes I have no parental guide to turn to. You even though you're gone mean so much to me. I feel if I disappointed anyone by the man I was becoming it was your memory. This is my prayer and report to you, hoping that you look down on me smiling at what I'm trying to achieve here. I love you Ringo and may your soul always be at peace."

Koga cradled a chakra crystal in his hands moving his lips away from the device. He channeled sound waves through it recording a message of some sorts. Every minute that passed was precious and he had nothing more important than to hone his abilities. He was sickened with the greed and lust for power, and now he only sought tools of survival. It was out of necessity that he had to train his body to work in a new fashion. Being blind was troublesome but it brought him a brand new vision of the world. The esteemed lion would raise from his silent confine making his way back to Gohma leaving the chakra crystal hidden under his bed. The day was far from over and he still had much to learn.

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