Name: Toraono Reikiko
Nickname: Rei
Age: 12
Gender: Female
Main Branch/ANBU/Med-Nin: Main Branch
IC Rank: Genin
---
Character's Physical Description:
http://oi61.tinypic.com/25oxduu.jpg
Character's Mental Description:
Multiple Personality Application:
Due to being possessed by the ancient Sandwyrm Kousotsu, Reikiko is what the people of Sunagakure often call 'Wyrm-touched', This condition pretty much has Reikiko serve as the symbiotic host of the aforementioned creature, While one might doubt how such a insanely huge creature would fit into such a small girl, Rumors say that those creatures are capable of reducing their form to the size of a small worm-like creature that is then capable of entering the hosts body, There are various reasons why one might become Wyrm-touched, Some might desire the unique abilities those creatures can bestow upon their hosts, while others might literally be used as living prisons to contain those dangerous creatures,
Nevertheless, a Wyrm-touched person is able to have their consciousness temporarily overtaken by that of the creature, This change is pretty easy to notice, mostly because the chakra of the person seems to change temporarily and subtle physical changes are noticeable, In Reikiko's case both her irises turn into their crimson-red color and her speech seems to grow more confident and slightly more old-fashioned compared to the usual girlish tone she uses,
Kousotsu has shown to be a calm and calculating entity, While he seems to hold no ill intentions toward Reikiko, actually going out of his way in an attempt to help her, it seems that his concern and affection for the human species is merely limited to her, likely due to how she is the offspring of the woman that has been his host for so long, Due to his age and history he is confident and holds a certain sense of pride in him, However, it seems that generations of inhabiting Reikiko's ancestors has led Kousotsu to become far more sociable than one might expect a Sandwyrm to be, Something he occasionally jokes about by stating that any man would change after being stuck inside a woman for so long,
Character History:
Nickname: Rei
Age: 12
Gender: Female
Main Branch/ANBU/Med-Nin: Main Branch
IC Rank: Genin
---
Character's Physical Description:
http://oi61.tinypic.com/25oxduu.jpg
The first thing one might notice when they first set their eyes on Reikiko is likely the fact that little seems to betray the fact that she is the vessel for a dangerous creature, Standing at a mere four feet and eight inches tall she is considered quite small for her age, almost petite even, This, alongside her thin and childlike frame often make her be compared to a precious doll rather than a tomboyish teenager, to her own annoyance, While her skin seems soft and free from most blemishes, likely a fact attributed to the sheltered upbringing and overprotective nature of her caretakers there is one remarkable feature that one can almost find impossible to not notice, should Reikiko remove her attire, or have her stomach exposed, This detail comes in the existence of a peculiar cross-shaped marking around that specific area, While some might associate this marking with a lasting scar, the truth is that it's actually related to the parasite that inhabit her body,
Either way, to go further into detail about her appearance, Her facial features seem to share that same youthfulness that children slightly under her age tend to have, and of course a certain feminine innocence to it, Her dark-green colored hair is usually left in the same hairstyle throughout the years, a stylish and well-maintained crop that is shaped akin to a pair of feline ears, even decorated with a set of ribbons, A final, perhaps more noticeable feature might be her dual-colored irises, Fascinatingly enough she seems to possess both a gray-colored iris and a crimson-colored one, While one might consider this a form of heterochromia, the fact that the gray iris seems to turn into a crimson tint at select times seems to hint that it might be related to the parasitic creature that inhabits her body,
On terms of outfits Reikiko seems to favor a simple miko garb, one that was tailored to resemble the outfit her mother used to wear, and while surprisingly comfortable it also has the mobility to allow her to move quickly in times of need, Still, the interior of the robe seems to contain a large assortment of secret pockets and other methods to conceal potential weaponry inside, And as expected a pair of sandals finish her outfit,
Either way, to go further into detail about her appearance, Her facial features seem to share that same youthfulness that children slightly under her age tend to have, and of course a certain feminine innocence to it, Her dark-green colored hair is usually left in the same hairstyle throughout the years, a stylish and well-maintained crop that is shaped akin to a pair of feline ears, even decorated with a set of ribbons, A final, perhaps more noticeable feature might be her dual-colored irises, Fascinatingly enough she seems to possess both a gray-colored iris and a crimson-colored one, While one might consider this a form of heterochromia, the fact that the gray iris seems to turn into a crimson tint at select times seems to hint that it might be related to the parasitic creature that inhabits her body,
On terms of outfits Reikiko seems to favor a simple miko garb, one that was tailored to resemble the outfit her mother used to wear, and while surprisingly comfortable it also has the mobility to allow her to move quickly in times of need, Still, the interior of the robe seems to contain a large assortment of secret pockets and other methods to conceal potential weaponry inside, And as expected a pair of sandals finish her outfit,
Character's Mental Description:
To describe Reikiko is akin to describing the act of peeling an onion, Every layer tends to display a different story, On the surface Reikiko appears as a slightly withdrawn and timid child, While she has a certain air of maturity and seriousness to her that seems a bit misplaced for a teenager of her age, it is undeniable that she carries within her a deeply ingrained sense of devotion, and the ability to pull forth an incredible sense of effort to accomplish the things she desire, Surely she might sound polite to others, perhaps a little bit too polite for a child, the politeness also seems to carry a certain distantness in it, almost a cold feeling that tries to make her distance herself from others,
To go further beyond that what appears on the surface, to those Reikiko has grown to trust enough to call them friends: Reikiko appears to hold a certain urge to suppress her true feelings around others, Perhaps to protect herself, or maybe out of distrust, but to those she opens up to Reikiko shows a more cheerful and easygoing nature, a friendly and almost bubbly attitude that tends to be flavored with a naive little bit of innocence in it, She also is prone to be a bit more playful around those she has grown to trust,
Nevertheless, even the purest lakes can conceal darkness, and Reikiko is just the same, Reikiko is often clingy, borderline possessive of those she care for, A great example of this is her affection for her father Kuro, Due to having lost her mother at the time of birth Reikiko became incredibly dependent on her father, While as a child this was even more evident, Reikiko never truly knew the existence of a 'family' outside of her relationship with her father, Having grown up in a way where her origins often cause some of the people within the village to look at her with distrust or even fear, whispering in hushed voices it left Reikiko to feel distant toward anyone else even within the Toraono clan aside from her father, Yet, whether this might change or not is something that is yet to be seen
Finally, on terms of her existence as a kunoichi, While Reikiko's personality seems to suggest she is way too gentle to actually commit the act of killing something or someone, past reports state that the girl is able to harden her resolve and kill her emotions for the sake of a mission, but it seems that something 'strange' happens to her during those moments,,,
To go further beyond that what appears on the surface, to those Reikiko has grown to trust enough to call them friends: Reikiko appears to hold a certain urge to suppress her true feelings around others, Perhaps to protect herself, or maybe out of distrust, but to those she opens up to Reikiko shows a more cheerful and easygoing nature, a friendly and almost bubbly attitude that tends to be flavored with a naive little bit of innocence in it, She also is prone to be a bit more playful around those she has grown to trust,
Nevertheless, even the purest lakes can conceal darkness, and Reikiko is just the same, Reikiko is often clingy, borderline possessive of those she care for, A great example of this is her affection for her father Kuro, Due to having lost her mother at the time of birth Reikiko became incredibly dependent on her father, While as a child this was even more evident, Reikiko never truly knew the existence of a 'family' outside of her relationship with her father, Having grown up in a way where her origins often cause some of the people within the village to look at her with distrust or even fear, whispering in hushed voices it left Reikiko to feel distant toward anyone else even within the Toraono clan aside from her father, Yet, whether this might change or not is something that is yet to be seen
Finally, on terms of her existence as a kunoichi, While Reikiko's personality seems to suggest she is way too gentle to actually commit the act of killing something or someone, past reports state that the girl is able to harden her resolve and kill her emotions for the sake of a mission, but it seems that something 'strange' happens to her during those moments,,,
Multiple Personality Application:
Due to being possessed by the ancient Sandwyrm Kousotsu, Reikiko is what the people of Sunagakure often call 'Wyrm-touched', This condition pretty much has Reikiko serve as the symbiotic host of the aforementioned creature, While one might doubt how such a insanely huge creature would fit into such a small girl, Rumors say that those creatures are capable of reducing their form to the size of a small worm-like creature that is then capable of entering the hosts body, There are various reasons why one might become Wyrm-touched, Some might desire the unique abilities those creatures can bestow upon their hosts, while others might literally be used as living prisons to contain those dangerous creatures,
Nevertheless, a Wyrm-touched person is able to have their consciousness temporarily overtaken by that of the creature, This change is pretty easy to notice, mostly because the chakra of the person seems to change temporarily and subtle physical changes are noticeable, In Reikiko's case both her irises turn into their crimson-red color and her speech seems to grow more confident and slightly more old-fashioned compared to the usual girlish tone she uses,
Kousotsu has shown to be a calm and calculating entity, While he seems to hold no ill intentions toward Reikiko, actually going out of his way in an attempt to help her, it seems that his concern and affection for the human species is merely limited to her, likely due to how she is the offspring of the woman that has been his host for so long, Due to his age and history he is confident and holds a certain sense of pride in him, However, it seems that generations of inhabiting Reikiko's ancestors has led Kousotsu to become far more sociable than one might expect a Sandwyrm to be, Something he occasionally jokes about by stating that any man would change after being stuck inside a woman for so long,
Character History:
There is a story, a legend even among the people of Suna that is often spoken about in hushed whispers, While many remember the stories of the legendary Barynx, she was neither the first nor the last creature to threaten the Sunan people, It was said that long before her first defeat by the hands of the forces of Suna that a second creature, just as large and as fierce as Barynx had appeared before them, His name was Kousotsu, and the people of Sunagakure later came to call him 'The Armored Warrior', The stories all used to go the same way, and perhaps its for that reason that the tales of Kousotsu are always spoken in hushed whispers: The bravest and strongest warriors of that time often would band together in an attempt to stop the monstrous creature from causing chaos and destruction in the desert, However, no technique or weapon seemed fierce enough to land a proper damaging blow on the creature, and the only thing the Sunan people could do was fight off the trashing creature until exhaustion forced Kousotsu back into the wilderness, In the end it was after seemingly countless clashes with the Sandwyrm that shortly after the first battle with Barynx that a shinobi clan, whose name has faded away in the passage of time declared there was only one way to deal with Kousotsu,
With the knowledge that Suna wouldn't survive a battle with both Barynx and Kousotsu the shinobi clan proposed a rather daring, and perhaps even borderline insane idea, The shinobi clan, who had been specialized in sealing techniques had declared they possessed a technique to properly seal the large sandwyrm inside one of their own, It was a ridiculous suggestion, but for the sake of Sunagakure's survival it might had been the only choice left for them to pursue,
In the end a plan was formed, and with a small group of Suna's strongest shinobi having gathered together, the group attempted to bait out the large Sandwyrm, It didn't take long for Kousotsu to answer the challenge, roaring from the sandy abyss, While records say little about the battle that unfolded, those who survived stated several shinobi had perished during the battle, and in the end when the Sandwyrm grown exhausted the kunoichi appointed for the ritual proceeded with the forbidden sealing technique, Yet when this story was supposed to end, a startling revelation was made,
The initial plan was for the user of the sealing technique to kill herself, so that the Sandwyrm would perish alongside her, but before the ritual could be carried out the Sandwyrm revealed to possess the ability to control his very host, taking control over her body as he revealed to had played along with their scheme: He allowed himself to be sealed, because he was intrigued by those tiny beings that had survived such a deathly encounter with a monster like Barynx, It was undeniable that those 'humans' must had possessed some untapped potential, and he wanted to see it for himself, However, in return for granting them the respite of dealing with him, the Sandwyrm had claimed the future of the bloodline that sealed him, From parent to child he would dwell within the shinobi clan, until the day he found the answer he desired, However, any attempt to kill him by assassinating the host would force Kousotsu to unleash his wrath upon the world once more, for he didn't need the host to survive,,, he merely needed them to be able to mingle among humanity,
In the end the people of Suna were forced to accept this bargain with the Sandwyrm, and Kousotsu's existence had faded from a threat that had nearly consumed Sunagakure into a tale only spoked about behind closed doors, However, Kousotsu's existence would resurface in one of the most unexpected ways in the present time, It was twenty years ago that the existence of Toraono Kuro's first wife became revealed, While on the surface she appeared to be an ordinary priestess of Suna, those with the influence to obtain concealed information had figured out the true identity of this woman, Her name was Mayumi, and she was what the people called Wyrm-touched, Not just touched by any Wyrm,,, she was the daughter of the previous vessel of Kousotsu, and as one might had expected the current host of the ancient Sandwyrm,
While details surrounding her relationship with the Toraono clan are skeptical at best, it's said that the relationship between herself and Kuro was one that fostered over years, and yet their time together came to an end fourteen years ago, when the embodiment of their love brought forth a disaster for the two of them, Kuro's existence had always been a peculiar something, to the point that scholars often enjoyed debating about whether Kuro was truly human, or some sort of mystical entity that walked among mortal man, However, after what happened fourteen years ago those debates became even more intense, Most people within Sungakure likely felt the surge of chakra that burst forth from within the sacred grounds of the Toraono clan, It was almost akin to an earthquake, a sign that heralded the birth of the young Reikiko,
Still, as mentioned before the birth was considered a disastrous event, and the reason for that was because Kuro was forced to face an ancient nemesis of his ancestors, all for the sake of his daughter's survival, Indeed, while the birth itself came without complications Reikiko's constitution was fragile at best, her breathing weak and her heartbeat sporadic, It appeared the baby's fragile body couldn't handle the amount of energy that coursed through her body, energy she received from the blood of her father,
It took only a few hours before Reikiko's condition became critical, and with their daughter steadily approaching death's embrace it was an unexpected voice that reached out to Kuro,
“You look pathetic son of the Kaibudo, Is this the limit of humanity's ingenuity and stubbornness?”
When Kuro heard the voice the gaze that met his own wasn't that of his wife, No, the crimson-colored irises that gazed at him, and that confident and proud tone was that of the beast within her, It was the ancient Sandwyrm Kousotsu,
“Then again, perhaps this was inevitable, Despite your love for those little ones, neither you nor your kin are able to be defined as 'ordinary', To expect this child to survive the burden of such a power is the truest definition of naivety,”
Kuro could only watch with a sense of distrust as his possessed wife approached their child, and as she stopped right beside the small bed he continued speaking,
“Then again, perhaps we are one and the same, Once we were monsters, but mingling with those 'little ones' has given us an insight and perspective onto things we had never known, It is for that reason I have agreed to answering Mayumi's plight,”
As the Sandwyrm released his hold on the woman's body Kuro finally heard from his wife the tragic plan she had in mind, While right now it would be unavoidable for their daughter to perish, there might had been a way to save her, with some outside help, The Sandwyrm within Mayumi had offered to watch over their daughter, His personal interference would ensure the ancient powers of the Toraono clan wouldn't consume Reikiko, However, there was a tragic consequence to that, Leaving Mayumi would kill her, and Reikiko would surely become the new target of scorn from those who knew about his existence, In the end not everyone had forgotten the bloodshed and disasters that Kousotsu had caused, But in the end they had no other choice, Either Reikiko would die, or Mayumi, and with Mayumi's plea for Kuro to save their child,,, it was a choice he had been forced to make,
During the night of the day she was born Kuro had hired the aid of a trusted companion of his to help with the surgery, In the end he had to ensure the symbiotic relationship between Reikiko and Kousotsu was flawless, Not only was this going to turn Reikiko into a Wyrm-touched, only a few would be crazy enough to lend a hand in a medical procedure like this that surely would be considered a taboo,
Fortunately Toraono Kuro's companion his talent in the medical field was just as impressive as his creativity in the madman science, and the procedure was a success, Still, a heavy price had to be paid: for Mayumi died from the transfer procedure, and some said that the last words Mayumi spoke were ones that caused Kuro to break out in tears beside his wife,
The years that followed were difficult to say the least, Despite the healthy state of the child, Kuro had always been forced to remain watchful of Kousotsu's existence, Not only did Reikiko show similar abilities as most Wyrm-touched, for example the conjuration and manipulation of insect-like creatures from a species that only seemed to linger around Wyrm-touched, the girl seemed to had slowly grown aware of the peculiar situation she was in, She often questioned Kuro about the absence of her mother, having only been told that her mother died at the point of birth, but the reason behind her death was never explained, She also seemed aware of the suspicious stares she occasionally received when accompanying her father into the village,
However, it was only at the age of ten, two years ago that the girl learned the truth of everything surrounding her birth, It was akin to struggling against the crashing waves of a tsunami, for no matter how much Kuro tried to conceal the past, when Reikiko was forced to face the harsh reality right before her eyes,,, not even the kindest father could conceal the truth,
While Reikiko knew she was slightly different from the other children of the village, for example her tolerance for poisonous substances or the unusual insects that liked to find their way to her,,, The girl didn't understand the importance of that unique nature of her, When an assassin with a long-lasting grudge on the Toraono clan tried to get to Kuro by poisoning those dear to him, the assassin made the fatal mistake of targeting the worst potential choice for such a scheme: Little Reikiko,
To poison the child was simple enough, She had shown a rather carefree and slightly gluttonous attitude when it came to food prepared in the household, and it was for that reason that the assassin had easily been able to disguise themselves as a servant, and after poisoning some snacks made his way to Reikiko's room to see the result of his scheme, The end result? Disastrous,,,
While Reikiko had rather eagerly devoured the snacks, the moment the poison triggered within her, and her body started to struggle with the ancient plague trying to overwhelm her enhanced resilence toward poisons the child tumbled backwards onto the ground, grasping for breath as her face turned paler by the moment, The assassin revealed his true colors, grinning in confidence as he believed the poison was ready to kill the child but then,
“How amusing, to think you'd try to poison the one person who is most likely to survive this assassination attempt,”
The assassin's eyes widened in surprise as he watched the child crawl back onto her feet, dusting of her lap as if nothing had happened before gazing at the assassin, her eyes glowing a crimson color, With a single sweeping motion of her sleeved arm a torrent of scarabs flown out of the sleeve, and while the assassin tried to draw forth a kunai a sudden sting on his arm made him lose any sense of strength in his body, toppling on the ground with a loud thud,
“Y-You,,, No Toraono is supposed to be able to survive that poison,,,”
While within the back of her mind Reikiko was still able to watch the spectacle, she was no longer ignorant to the presence of another being, She could feel it, a large and powerful entity that had coiled around her, almost like a snake,
“Do not be afraid Reikiko, I am a benefactor,”
At the same time those words were whispered to her, she felt her body returning to normal, able to regain her control over it and while she coughed loudly, a nauseating feeling rising in her chest the door slammed open as Kuro rushed inside, He had seemingly sensed something was amiss in her room, and came in there to save her, Nevertheless, it seemed she was no longer in need of a savior, When the girl revealed that a mysterious voice took control over her body and prevented the poison from affecting her, Kuro's face turned into a grim frown as he understood that with Kousotsu's decision to directly intervene in his daughter's death the time for secrets had come to pass,
He revealed everything: About the tale of Kousotsu, of how he had met her mother who was the host for the creature, And of how her mother had sacrificed herself in the hope that Reikiko could grow up experiencing a happy future, blissfully ignorant of the cruel burden her ancestors forced them to bear, In the end the only response Kuro received that day were the bitter tears of his daughter and the sorrowful cries of having learned the harsh truth, For her to be able to live, another had died,,,
Over the span of two years little had changed, Reikiko seems to have retained a slight distant nature toward anyone aside from her father, and after complying with her request to formally be trained as a kunoichi the girl's bookworm like intelligence and aptitude for learning through effort has granted her permission to graduate as a Genin, But with no ambitions or dreams of her own,,, it will have yet to be seen where Reikiko's story will take her,
With the knowledge that Suna wouldn't survive a battle with both Barynx and Kousotsu the shinobi clan proposed a rather daring, and perhaps even borderline insane idea, The shinobi clan, who had been specialized in sealing techniques had declared they possessed a technique to properly seal the large sandwyrm inside one of their own, It was a ridiculous suggestion, but for the sake of Sunagakure's survival it might had been the only choice left for them to pursue,
In the end a plan was formed, and with a small group of Suna's strongest shinobi having gathered together, the group attempted to bait out the large Sandwyrm, It didn't take long for Kousotsu to answer the challenge, roaring from the sandy abyss, While records say little about the battle that unfolded, those who survived stated several shinobi had perished during the battle, and in the end when the Sandwyrm grown exhausted the kunoichi appointed for the ritual proceeded with the forbidden sealing technique, Yet when this story was supposed to end, a startling revelation was made,
The initial plan was for the user of the sealing technique to kill herself, so that the Sandwyrm would perish alongside her, but before the ritual could be carried out the Sandwyrm revealed to possess the ability to control his very host, taking control over her body as he revealed to had played along with their scheme: He allowed himself to be sealed, because he was intrigued by those tiny beings that had survived such a deathly encounter with a monster like Barynx, It was undeniable that those 'humans' must had possessed some untapped potential, and he wanted to see it for himself, However, in return for granting them the respite of dealing with him, the Sandwyrm had claimed the future of the bloodline that sealed him, From parent to child he would dwell within the shinobi clan, until the day he found the answer he desired, However, any attempt to kill him by assassinating the host would force Kousotsu to unleash his wrath upon the world once more, for he didn't need the host to survive,,, he merely needed them to be able to mingle among humanity,
In the end the people of Suna were forced to accept this bargain with the Sandwyrm, and Kousotsu's existence had faded from a threat that had nearly consumed Sunagakure into a tale only spoked about behind closed doors, However, Kousotsu's existence would resurface in one of the most unexpected ways in the present time, It was twenty years ago that the existence of Toraono Kuro's first wife became revealed, While on the surface she appeared to be an ordinary priestess of Suna, those with the influence to obtain concealed information had figured out the true identity of this woman, Her name was Mayumi, and she was what the people called Wyrm-touched, Not just touched by any Wyrm,,, she was the daughter of the previous vessel of Kousotsu, and as one might had expected the current host of the ancient Sandwyrm,
While details surrounding her relationship with the Toraono clan are skeptical at best, it's said that the relationship between herself and Kuro was one that fostered over years, and yet their time together came to an end fourteen years ago, when the embodiment of their love brought forth a disaster for the two of them, Kuro's existence had always been a peculiar something, to the point that scholars often enjoyed debating about whether Kuro was truly human, or some sort of mystical entity that walked among mortal man, However, after what happened fourteen years ago those debates became even more intense, Most people within Sungakure likely felt the surge of chakra that burst forth from within the sacred grounds of the Toraono clan, It was almost akin to an earthquake, a sign that heralded the birth of the young Reikiko,
Still, as mentioned before the birth was considered a disastrous event, and the reason for that was because Kuro was forced to face an ancient nemesis of his ancestors, all for the sake of his daughter's survival, Indeed, while the birth itself came without complications Reikiko's constitution was fragile at best, her breathing weak and her heartbeat sporadic, It appeared the baby's fragile body couldn't handle the amount of energy that coursed through her body, energy she received from the blood of her father,
It took only a few hours before Reikiko's condition became critical, and with their daughter steadily approaching death's embrace it was an unexpected voice that reached out to Kuro,
“You look pathetic son of the Kaibudo, Is this the limit of humanity's ingenuity and stubbornness?”
When Kuro heard the voice the gaze that met his own wasn't that of his wife, No, the crimson-colored irises that gazed at him, and that confident and proud tone was that of the beast within her, It was the ancient Sandwyrm Kousotsu,
“Then again, perhaps this was inevitable, Despite your love for those little ones, neither you nor your kin are able to be defined as 'ordinary', To expect this child to survive the burden of such a power is the truest definition of naivety,”
Kuro could only watch with a sense of distrust as his possessed wife approached their child, and as she stopped right beside the small bed he continued speaking,
“Then again, perhaps we are one and the same, Once we were monsters, but mingling with those 'little ones' has given us an insight and perspective onto things we had never known, It is for that reason I have agreed to answering Mayumi's plight,”
As the Sandwyrm released his hold on the woman's body Kuro finally heard from his wife the tragic plan she had in mind, While right now it would be unavoidable for their daughter to perish, there might had been a way to save her, with some outside help, The Sandwyrm within Mayumi had offered to watch over their daughter, His personal interference would ensure the ancient powers of the Toraono clan wouldn't consume Reikiko, However, there was a tragic consequence to that, Leaving Mayumi would kill her, and Reikiko would surely become the new target of scorn from those who knew about his existence, In the end not everyone had forgotten the bloodshed and disasters that Kousotsu had caused, But in the end they had no other choice, Either Reikiko would die, or Mayumi, and with Mayumi's plea for Kuro to save their child,,, it was a choice he had been forced to make,
During the night of the day she was born Kuro had hired the aid of a trusted companion of his to help with the surgery, In the end he had to ensure the symbiotic relationship between Reikiko and Kousotsu was flawless, Not only was this going to turn Reikiko into a Wyrm-touched, only a few would be crazy enough to lend a hand in a medical procedure like this that surely would be considered a taboo,
Fortunately Toraono Kuro's companion his talent in the medical field was just as impressive as his creativity in the madman science, and the procedure was a success, Still, a heavy price had to be paid: for Mayumi died from the transfer procedure, and some said that the last words Mayumi spoke were ones that caused Kuro to break out in tears beside his wife,
The years that followed were difficult to say the least, Despite the healthy state of the child, Kuro had always been forced to remain watchful of Kousotsu's existence, Not only did Reikiko show similar abilities as most Wyrm-touched, for example the conjuration and manipulation of insect-like creatures from a species that only seemed to linger around Wyrm-touched, the girl seemed to had slowly grown aware of the peculiar situation she was in, She often questioned Kuro about the absence of her mother, having only been told that her mother died at the point of birth, but the reason behind her death was never explained, She also seemed aware of the suspicious stares she occasionally received when accompanying her father into the village,
However, it was only at the age of ten, two years ago that the girl learned the truth of everything surrounding her birth, It was akin to struggling against the crashing waves of a tsunami, for no matter how much Kuro tried to conceal the past, when Reikiko was forced to face the harsh reality right before her eyes,,, not even the kindest father could conceal the truth,
While Reikiko knew she was slightly different from the other children of the village, for example her tolerance for poisonous substances or the unusual insects that liked to find their way to her,,, The girl didn't understand the importance of that unique nature of her, When an assassin with a long-lasting grudge on the Toraono clan tried to get to Kuro by poisoning those dear to him, the assassin made the fatal mistake of targeting the worst potential choice for such a scheme: Little Reikiko,
To poison the child was simple enough, She had shown a rather carefree and slightly gluttonous attitude when it came to food prepared in the household, and it was for that reason that the assassin had easily been able to disguise themselves as a servant, and after poisoning some snacks made his way to Reikiko's room to see the result of his scheme, The end result? Disastrous,,,
While Reikiko had rather eagerly devoured the snacks, the moment the poison triggered within her, and her body started to struggle with the ancient plague trying to overwhelm her enhanced resilence toward poisons the child tumbled backwards onto the ground, grasping for breath as her face turned paler by the moment, The assassin revealed his true colors, grinning in confidence as he believed the poison was ready to kill the child but then,
“How amusing, to think you'd try to poison the one person who is most likely to survive this assassination attempt,”
The assassin's eyes widened in surprise as he watched the child crawl back onto her feet, dusting of her lap as if nothing had happened before gazing at the assassin, her eyes glowing a crimson color, With a single sweeping motion of her sleeved arm a torrent of scarabs flown out of the sleeve, and while the assassin tried to draw forth a kunai a sudden sting on his arm made him lose any sense of strength in his body, toppling on the ground with a loud thud,
“Y-You,,, No Toraono is supposed to be able to survive that poison,,,”
While within the back of her mind Reikiko was still able to watch the spectacle, she was no longer ignorant to the presence of another being, She could feel it, a large and powerful entity that had coiled around her, almost like a snake,
“Do not be afraid Reikiko, I am a benefactor,”
At the same time those words were whispered to her, she felt her body returning to normal, able to regain her control over it and while she coughed loudly, a nauseating feeling rising in her chest the door slammed open as Kuro rushed inside, He had seemingly sensed something was amiss in her room, and came in there to save her, Nevertheless, it seemed she was no longer in need of a savior, When the girl revealed that a mysterious voice took control over her body and prevented the poison from affecting her, Kuro's face turned into a grim frown as he understood that with Kousotsu's decision to directly intervene in his daughter's death the time for secrets had come to pass,
He revealed everything: About the tale of Kousotsu, of how he had met her mother who was the host for the creature, And of how her mother had sacrificed herself in the hope that Reikiko could grow up experiencing a happy future, blissfully ignorant of the cruel burden her ancestors forced them to bear, In the end the only response Kuro received that day were the bitter tears of his daughter and the sorrowful cries of having learned the harsh truth, For her to be able to live, another had died,,,
Over the span of two years little had changed, Reikiko seems to have retained a slight distant nature toward anyone aside from her father, and after complying with her request to formally be trained as a kunoichi the girl's bookworm like intelligence and aptitude for learning through effort has granted her permission to graduate as a Genin, But with no ambitions or dreams of her own,,, it will have yet to be seen where Reikiko's story will take her,