Starring:
Kuoroke, Yuuto, Nanashi (under the name Keiko)
Date: October 21, 2014
Summary:
Kuoroke calls Yuuto in to help him fashion a new life for the sealed away Keiko.
Poster's note: foul language filtered in obvious places.
"The Unknown Reflection - Fog in the Mirror"
Land of Wind - A Hospital
After he was called by Yuuto, Kuoroke organised for a meeting… which had to be rather urgently rescheduled, but then on the bright side a sudden change can help shake off any potential pursuers. Specifically, he's asked Yuuto to come to a hospital, the same one where Keiko was rushed to immediately after her injury. He's had her put under careful observation as well as sedation while it's being figured out what will happen to her, and so he waits beside her bed for Yuuto to arrive, as he hopes, subtly.
Versus his old demeanor that Kuoroke once argued with him about, the darker, much more calculative Yuuto arrives at the hospital like any other patron or visitor. Adored in a simple black haori outfit, the Uchiha steps throguh the halls of the hospital toward where Kuoroke summoned him to. Though most wouldn't be able to tell the difference, even the knock he gives is very precise in its heaviness and tempo to let the Councilman know he's arrived for the meeting.
Kuoroke gets up from his chair and opens the door. He quickly glances to the sides. "I trust you weren't followed." He says. The latter isn't a question: Kuoroke is just mentioning the rock-solid trust he has in his operative. "Or recognized. I heard you needed research files. I have them with me." He promises. "But I need to do some research of my own and I believe you can help with them." The Kuroki quickly turns away and moves to the window, looking out. A security precaution: even an Uchiha he trusts, he won't look in the eye. A very astute observer would notice the seal tags hidden away in the corners of the room. "Tell me, Yuuto, how far have you progressed in your ability to see into and alter people's inner world?"
"Of course," Yuuto says, nodding simply as he steps innto the room, peering over at the woman in the bed then looking back to Kuoroke as he speaks. The mention of the notes is given a nod, though he cants his head slightly at the mention of helping with something else. "I've progressed quite far. As long as I can make eye contact, my Genjutsu is rather powerful, though perhaps not yet rivaling some of the more legendary members of my clan."
Kuoroke motions to the body in the bed. "We have here a… potentially valuable asset." the Kuroki explains. "Her memory was just sealed away. While we decide what to do with her, we're going to need to have her pliable. Could you engineer something for her mind to hold on to?" He pauses, thinking. "And make it a… happy memory."
Pondering that over, Yuuto looks at the body in the bed, eyes narrowing a bit as he thinks it over. "So basically give her some kind of memory of being fond of Sunagakure so she doesn't do anything harmful until a decision is made?" he asks, casting a glance at Kuoroke then stepping over to the bed to open the woman's eyes and look into her soul. "Any preferences on name, age, or other details, or do you have an idea of identity in particular you'd like her to assume?"
Inside the woman's subconscious, the Uchiha would appear in the midst of her being, glancing around and examining what's going on…
The place Yuuto would find himself in is rather dark, a sand covered floor that even rises into dunes in some areas. One particular area is completely dark, shrieks of rage and the sound of fists beating against metal ringing out from there in frequent rhythms. The most ostentatious thing perhaps, however, is the One Tailed Beast known as Shukaku, who is bound by large sand-covered gates decorated by various seals to keep him in place with a large mass of chakra hanging high in the air above him, a likely sign of a battle for dominance between the woman and the beast.
"If you can, try and provide something that would fit her… subconscious traits. Something that'd feel natural, for now." Kuoroke answers. "The fewer questions she has about herself, the better. And perhaps…" the Kuroki pauses. "And something that'd give her a reason to be wary of the beast within. The less she wants it to get out, the more she'll fight the voice of her sealed-away self."
"Her subconscious traits are currently screaming and punching things," Yuuto comments, lifting an eyebrow faintly and looking over at Kuoroke. "I'm going to need something more definitive if you want this to be believable without her collapsing and going on a tirade in public." With that he'd look back at Kuoroke, saying, "She's going to have questions either way, and, judging by the state of her subconscious, she's going to know there's a beast sealed inside her. Perhaps some sort of story about suffering an injury and the beast being sealed in her to save her life at the time of the last Jinchuuriki's demise? It will at least sort of fit what's happened since the person she was will have been locked away and will remain that way until it becomes more cohesive to the person you want to build out of this shell, I imagine."
"I'd rather not have her feel like she owes the beast her life." Kuoroke answers. He considers for a few seconds. "Rather, she allowed it to be sealed within her to protect her loved ones. Unfortunately, the beast resisted sealing, and in the final moments not only injured her, making the sealing more difficult, but managed to kill aid loved ones… Make it few loved ones. Just a grandmother, for instance."
"Very well," Yuuto says with a nod. "I know what to do." With that he'd look back down at Keiko, pondering a moment as he places his hands on either side of her head to open her eyes again. "Do you want her to have been a part of a clan? Any specific name or person she should've been? This is basically a blank slate you can use to create or recreate anyone you want, or I imagine it will receed back into a chaotic state of trying to figure out who or what it is. But it needs to be decided now because I'm not sure if that seal has a reset capability to start over again without its creator's help once I do this."
"Hmmm… No clan, it'd give a hassle convincing the clan, plus I don't believe she has any bloodlines. Miyato, I suppose, is a fitting name. As for her family, just tell her she lived alone with her father, and said father died." Kuoroke proceeds to give a vague description of Masao. "Suggest she wanted to become a ninja and spent a long time training on her own. That'll explain her limited memory of the village and her being unknown in the village, as well as her existing abilities. When the One-Tails attacked and we came to help, she volunteered to be its vessel in a hope to stop it. Keep all of this somewhat vague: the injury and shock of the sealing should have affected her memory. Give her some doubt: we can use that to give her the idea that she has a chance to realise her dreams, and yet become someone new, by serving Sunagakure. The more she's focused on becoming this new person, the less she will be focused on remembering who she was."
Yuuto takes in all the information given, memorizing every part before finally locking eyes with Keiko and entering her subconscious once again. This time he appears in front of Shukaku, looking up at him directly and purposely locking eyes with the beast to assert his Sharingan dominance as his eyes take on the full spiral of his Mangekyou Sharingan. "Hear me now, and heed my words. This host of yours is going to be given a new personality to work as a Sunagakure shinobi. It is by the grace of Sunagakure that you have been allowed to live through this rather than killing you, so you are expected to not interfere and go along with this new story that is her new life. Do what's been asked of you, and you'll be allowed to live as part of the village in this new mind of this Jinchuuriki. Cause trouble for us, and I think you'll find we have seal masters capable of adding to the binds that are holding you down here."
That said he'd flicker over to the darkest part of this place where Keiko trashes and bashes against the cell. He'd hit the gate one time to get her attention before locking his eyes onto hers to capture her with his Genjutsu. "My apologies, but it appears your will cannot be your own for a while now. I know what it is like to have a broken mind, so heed my suggestion and take this opportunity to live through the eyes of the woman that is about to be born of this jutsu for a therapeutic journey for yourself. It may not be easy or enjoyable, but it is a chance for you to mend yourself. Take it while you can."
Inside the subconscious of Keiko, Shukaku glowers down at the young man who appears before him, none-too-pleased at the audacity of this boy. "Sunagakure? What the reflection is that dump doing with an Uchiha?" He then growls out a bit, trying to trash against the sealed gates binding him, but finds himself unable to lash out at the Uchiha. "I'll do what I need to survive… for now, Uchiha brat, but don't think I'll forget about you when the time comes."
The beast doesn't have much more opportunity to talk, as now Keiko is faced with the Uchiha as she bangs on the cage over and over again in her fury. His own rap on the metal, however, distracts her just long enough for her to be captured by his dojutsu prowess, forcing her to stop and stand still. She tries to struggle against it, growling a bit as she tries to push a hand through the cage for his throat, but to no avail. "You have me trapped like this…. but… you're… all… monsters… just the same as me…"
Watching the woman struggle against the Genjutsu, Yuuto shrugs at her words, uttering simply, "I know." He then moves to the side of that gate wherre a delayed seal was placed by Masao, placing his hand on it and focusing chakra through it per the instructions below it to activate and create a barrier that locks Keiko off from view of the rest of this area of her subconscious as the Genjutsu starts to take full effect in her mind to begin fabricating the false memories in her dreams as designed by Kuroke's words. The sand of the battle between Keiko, Nanashi, and Shukaku is whisked away as if it were never there, creating a clear space where Miyako can commune with the captured beast in her new life…
After about an hour, Yuuto's eyes would finally leave Keiko in the outside world to look back to Kuoroke. With a simple nod, he says, "It's done. The former personalityis closed off completely, and the new person is written. Do you need anything more of me?"
Keiko can only look up in sadness as the wall forms in front of her to close her off, unable to fight against it at all in her weakened state. Outside, her body would at last show the signs of the sand jutsu that forms it once again, reshaping itself to the new body of the girl described in the dream life created by Yuuto's Genjutsu whie she yet sleeps…
Kuoroke looks at the body. "I'd much rather have her real personality convinced to cooperate with us…" Kuoroke says. "But that's not something we can do right now and right here. Still, thank you, Yuuto." He walks over to the girl and puts his hand on her shoulder. The other one takes his glasses off, between his little and ring finger, and massages his nose between the eyes tiredly. Then, the brief display of weakness is over. "Now, for you: how have you been? And your… allies?"
"Perhaps I'll be able to help more with that once I've further advanced my skills with the dojutsu," Yuuto says with a nod. "And it's my pleasure." He blinks a bit as he watches Kuoroke go over to the bed, a rather interesting sight in itself. At the next set of questions, he answers, "Things are going well. The Yakuza that are under one of my men's command have been doing well at spreading propaganda, and rumors of my own strength and actions in defense of the village are spreading quite well. It's only a matter of time before we are able to complete our plans and take control."
"Good. I'm glad the mission is going well." Kuoroke answers. He produces a pile of papers. "Your father's research. I hope it'll make your progress faster." He pauses. "Actually… I meant you, personally. Believe it or not, I value our shinobi as more than just assets. I know there've been a few difficult events for you while I had you out in foreign land. How are -you- doing?"
Accepting the papers, Yuuto glances through them and smiles slightly before tucking them into a pocket and looking back to Kurooke. "There have been some difficult events, yes, but I've worked my way through it. Through this research and what I'm going to collect from his labs that I've destroyed and those I plant o destroy, I'm going to learn exactly how my brain was affected. That will help me tremendously… Not only that, but I'm also going to master his crafts and add them to the ever-growing list of jutsu I am mastering. The old fool will become just another milestone in my service to Sunagakure."
Kuoroke nods. "Good. Unless there's anything else you'd like to talk about, you're dismissed." He gives the Uchiha a bow. "Be well, Yuuto. And be careful." The Kuroki finally sinks back into his chair, looking at the figure beside him occasionally.
"You as well, Coucilman," Yuuto says, offering a bow in return to Kuoroke. "Farewell." With that he'd turn to make his way out of the hospital to head back toward the Land of Rain and the Akatsuki Hideout.
