[Mikatakujira Hakurai]

What you hide in your heart
appears in your eyes.
motanai bijuu commentary	Hakurai waited, still. Arms folded. Eyes closed. He did not like to wait much, that he had made very clear to his new apprentice. He had allowed the previous one far too much freedom and that was the result. He rarely made mistakes, but he also never made the same mistake twice. He would be fair but strict, both as clan leader and Shukan leader. It had been some time since the boy had bonded to Jioungu and so far it seemed that the conversion had been mostly succesful. The new entity spawned by the parasite seemed stable and had adapted to their new condition fairly well, all things considered. That would mean that it was finally time to start training the more peculiar abilities Isshiki now had access to. "I see you have arrived. Good." Hakurai stated, unmoving but aware of the approaching Shukan. His silent movement was flawless, as he had expected. He could only spot the approaching shinobi as his body recognized another instance of itself coming closer. Jiongu being aware of another part of him coming near. In the end the two were indeed parts of a whole, different enough but eternally linked. "I have reviewed your recent mission reports. You have done well, thus I have decided to start your proper training earlier than expected." The shukan leader would add, eyes locking onto the only other living being at the Shukan training grounds. "Before we begin, though, I would like to know how you feel. I understand the bonding process can be...traumatic and painful, but it is a necessary evil to become something more. From what I can gather, you have claimed your first heart as well, is that true?"

pyxis ★

[Deleted]

running up that hill

He tried to be as early as he could but time was always against the young immortal. A cheerful lilt to his walk as he entered the place that welcomed him. In front of his master. Down on one knee - opposite fist touching the floor in deference to his master.

"Thank you." the man's voice was toneless, a human male but not characteristic of anything - it could've been anyone's voice. Isshiki pulled at the mask on his face, going from his kneeled position into a kneeling position on both knees. The ANBU mask kept in front of him. "I was doing paperwork." a post-mission necessity. His face, half burnt and full of life.

Hakurai asked how he had been - a wonder of his own. How did it feel, turning into a demon? He cheerfully smiled. "It hurt like hell! I have no idea how I ended up with the second heart, but you should've seen the other guy." he hadn't known pain like it since his burning accident, feeling something burrow into you and being able to feel every trickle of agony. Hakurai would have enjoyed his flat truth - an honest one. Hakurai was his superior by clan and by earth grudge fear, as he had learnt in recent weeks. Learning how and what to do everything was new to Isshiki. Everything from eating - not needed. Water- not needed. Sleep? Not really needed.

Oh, how that pleased Isshiki. More time for chaos.

And living with something that pulled at his own consciousness, filling him with urges beyond what he felt himself? He always knew, for instance, pregnant women craved the very strangest things. So when he was on a mission and blacked out in raw hunger beyond what he usually felt, it had taken some time after for lucidity to return to him. A bit more in control and still alive, though.

[Mikatakujira Hakurai]

What you hide in your heart
appears in your eyes.
motanai bijuu commentary	Hakurai signaled the other shukan to stand up. It was fine to show reverence, however it was largely unneeded. He knew Isshiki was loyal and dedicated, otherwise he wouldn't have allowed him to become one with the parasite. "Controlling yourself and being aware of your actions is paramount to your success. Not to mention that the pleasure of assimilating a new heart is a reward of its own, one you should be able to experienced without being blinded by your Hunger. I will not suffer any firendly casualty due to lack of control, thus if you wish to keep on wearing that outfit and mask I expect you to be always in control of yourself and aware of the things you kill." He mused, remembering the first time he had eaten the heart of his first kill. There had been many more occasions, but the first one always felt greater. More vivid. In any case, that was a lesson for another time. First of all, his new apprentice needed full control of his body. "The objective of this training session is thus: allow you grater control over your body, as well as your Hunger. You will find that the gnawing lust for more hearts can be used to your advantage. As Shukan, our job is to hunt traitors. For others they are just prisoners or assasination targets. For us specifically, they are prey and can thus be hunted as such." Hakurai reached for his back and pulled his whip out from its harness. He would walk over to the table on the side of the training field to settle it down alongside some other instruments. "Before that though, I will go through the basics of what makes us us and how this affects you directly. I gather you already are aware you no longer need to breathe, sleep or eat. That is just the first of many advantages of becoming one with Jiongu. Perhaps the most useful trait is that our body is formless and can thus be manipulated as such." The shukan leader walked back to the center of the room. "If you are ready, I will show you what I mean in a more practical way."

pyxis ★

[Deleted]

meet a monster

Isshiki was going to stay deadly still until otherwise mentioned by his master of two fronts. Not without reason - this was going to be a fantastic day, and Isshiki left his mask on the ground as he placed his hands in front of him, clasped between one another: another show of deference that he was keeping his hands occupied with themselves as opposed to trying to draw a weapon to attack Hakurai with it. All a show. As long as he could carry on doing what he was doing!

Fortunately, Isshiki understood to a great degree what it meant to exert control. The man nodded, his voice a little less jovial and a little more subservient. "Understood." There were serious elements to being a SHUKAN: and he would not be deprived of it if he had any control.

But, it would be harder than the suggestion - even before he had been infested with a parasite, he had already had some relatively strong proclivities. All it did, if it was the best word to describe Jiongu: was enhance those urges a great deal. Because of his recent acquisition, the urge was more less than a need and more as a want. The constant drum made him feel fidgety.

But, Isshiki did not need to have the benefits of being a SHUKAN reiterated to him, even by his master - it was what allowed him to maintain control in his life outside of being a war dog. As Hakurai moved, Isshiki turned - Hakurai was confident enough to keep his back to him as he walked. And even though his senses knew better, the thing occupying his body was having a sort of... prey drive. It wanted to bite, sensing something to feed on nearby.

Like he had said, his memory of how he had come to acquire a second heart was limited - he was on a mission, someone had started running. A ninja who seemed scared, and it clicked something in him and that was it until he had become lucid again in a pool of blood and a mess that used to be a Shinobi. That had taken him ages to clean off.

But there were other benefits on top of the lack of basic human needs? "Fantastic!" He hadn't yet learned how to do any control at all of the vines inside him. But, he certainly would learn. Isshiki understood a little. Formless; vines, as he remembered every bit of being taken by it and consumed. So this was a symbiote, and he could have it do his bidding? That was...

Interesting.

"How is it we can still feel pain in spite of not having any organs? At least, I don't think we have organs, besides hearts." Was it because the parasite could feel it, and they were connected? That was a good guess, but he would hopefully have that answered for him. He hoped that would have been a non-issue, but it was what it was.

[Mikatakujira Hakurai]

What you hide in your heart
appears in your eyes.
motanai bijuu commentary	Hakurai chuckled at his apprentice's eagerness. It was a far cry from his previous apprentice's demeanor. There was a question being flung at him, a fair one give the boy had just bonded with the parasite. "You and I, by all intents and purposes, are dead. The original Hakurai no longer exists, same for you. We are different instances of the same living being, that being Jiongu. We work differently from humans as we are no longer such. The quicker you cast aside your old self the more control you will be able to exhert over your body. We feel pain because Jiongu feels pain. We hunger because Jiongu hungers. We are it and it is us and that is all that matters." He stated, his right hand hypertrophying as a bulking pulsating mass slowly migrated from Hakurai's chest to his limb. It wouldn't take long for the Shukan's whole arm to just unravel into a miriad of black tendrils, the whole thing contracting a few time as it expelled a writhing mass of black goop on the ground, something that would easily be recognized as one of Hakurai's hearts. It would soon grow into a humanoid monster that stood beside the elite jounin. "Outside our hearts, our whole consciousness is made by a colony of near-nematode organisms, wearing a deceased human skin and assimilating a deceased human's mind. This can be used to your advantage in a multitute of ways. We are formless, we can move as we wish. Give me a hole as big as a heart and I can fit to it. OR-" Hakurai's noodly arm lashed at the apprentince, vines wrapping around Issiki's body and restricting movement. "You may use yourself to restrain targets much more effectively than fuuinjutsu. If you'll master yourself as I have..." The shukan leader let the other go and reformed a normal hand, which he would use to weave a series of signs in a blink. The grudge beside him writhed, exploding into a mass of threads which latched onto the jounin, merging with him, adding to his mass and shifting his form slightly. Isshiki would have probably seen or heard about that side of Hakurai, the jutsu that gave him the nickname of "tailless bijuu." The black mass condensed into a silhouette much like Hakurai's own, but completely black and mostly featureless. It sported clawed hands, feet and when the creature grinned it showed a large mouth full of fangs which looked disjointed and oversized, a long pointy tongue to top it off. Hakurai inched closer and closer to the apprentice, looking down on the younger shinobi. As he was right then, the other shukan was even more insignificant than before. "There is a catch, though. Giving in to the Hunger strenghtens you. It gives you power like no other, but it also makes it harder to keep control. Our Hunger needs to be used as a weapon against the traitor and the enemy. This form here is but one of the many ways you can truly unlock the monster in you, let it evolve and ascend. In time you will find your way. For now, learn to harness your Hunger. And consider yourself lucky. Most people who see my true face don't live to tell the tale. Perhaps we should go on a hunt after our training is done. I am in the mood to eat a heart or two."

pyxis ★

[Deleted]

meet a monster

Sure felt like death to him. The human part had been disintegrated and all that remained was skin, teeth and - wait. How did hearing work? Oh yeah, symbiote. He was putting together all of the understanding with some crude, or rudimentary guessing. Isshiki stepped back when he was given the first demonstration, while his own fingers wiggled. A reaction internally to seeing the action take place? This was a symbiote at work. Inside it: he recognised the familiar iron smell and slight pinkish organ between it before it faded. All for demonstration purposes. Yes.

But, this was a boon he had no idea about, so this? This was fantastic. He was given background, and he listened intently and allowed the man to talk. Even as SHUKAN leader he had always been helpful to Isshiki even if tough and stern at the time. This was just a new level. Inside him, he felt the similar sensation of wanting to burst free. That wasn't it - one of the two hands by his front would be grabbed at, and then he would be trapped.

"What a fantastic assassination tool." Isshiki was absolutely gleaming, grinning from ear to ear. The concept of using these tendrils? They were like controllable senbon! He didn't feel human from time to time, so this was little change.

There was a mix between abject horror and unstifled curiosity as Isshiki watched the third demonstration, and transformation. Yes, there was discomfort - but the abject horror was nullified by the knowing that if Hakurai had wanted Isshiki dead, it would have been done and there was nothing he could do about it. It was true, he did look like a beast. Isshiki knew of Hakurai's tailless beast nickname and now he understood why. It had always been because of Jiongu.

Isshiki had seen a lot on the forces with some of the things he had had to do, but he couldn't help but feel excitement for himself, concern for his welfare, and concern at learning how to control these strings.

"Always in the interest of Takigakure no Sato," he knew how to represent his home land. "I can't keep doing what I love if I displease others." Obviously, he meant Hakurai. Legal killing was the name of the game here, SHUKAN would always have his heart in the interest of his own predilections: Hakurai might've even chosen Isshiki based on that.

[Mikatakujira Hakurai]

What you hide in your heart
appears in your eyes.
motanai bijuu commentary	The monster snarled a chuckle through its fangs, pleased by the eagerness of the apprentince. He had to admit Isshiki's glee was slightly rubbing off of him. "Good. Good. You will find this line of work...extremely rewarding. From this point onward, you will be exclusively conducting assassination missions under my guidance. Unless otherwise stated, I expect all of your marks to be killed off. I have little care on how you go about it, you are free to maim and butcher as you see fit. Likewise, you may do with your prey's hearts what you wish, but the bodies must be brought back to the village, even in pieces. I will not suffer Takigakure's secrets to fall into other's hands." He stated, his monstruous form unraveling before the other shinobi and reforming into the same old Hakurai most people knew. "Every time a certain number of targets have been eliminated you shall be granted access to higher end shukan tools and more Jiongu specific techniques. However, if you manage bring back any intel from your targets that leads to the capture/elimination of another traitor,  I shall share with you one clan jutsu that is equal in rank to the target you helped eliminate." The Shukan leader would then wave at himself to point out the outfit he was wearing. "In any case, by virtue of being my apprentice, you are cleared to use the enhanced version of the Shukan outfit as I do, as well as the Shukan Sting should you feel inclined to use a whip weapon, redundant as it may be. The outfit itself may be more use to you given it completely silences your movements, but as usual I leave gear as personal discretion." Once again, the Mikatakujira moved to the table and picked up a pill. He tossed it at Isshiki and instructed the apprentice to consume it before wearing his shukan mask again so that they may begin training. They would begin with a simple jutsu, the one Hakurai used to immobilize Isshiki. "That pill there is a strong stimulant. Taking it will fully awaken Jiongu, which should help you become aware of your body's true nature. What I want you to do is demonstrate you are able to control the parasite by unraveling your dominant arm into its component threads while keeping the rest of you solid, much like I did when I summoned my Grudge."

pyxis ★

[Deleted]

meet a monster

Isshiki grinned from ear to ear at Hakurai's order - he could not have heard anything better in that moment. Sometimes there were more sneaky missions - destabilise this, steal that. Just murder? That was good. "Hai," even if there were stipulations. His master had returned to a somewhat more normal form, helping his own stress reduce slightly even in spite of the warming notes of confidence being held in Isshiki.

He would be rewarded from killing more? That was more than ideal to Isshiki. Learning how to use this... new and unique ability would be needed. "Thank you," He was grateful for the gift. Anything to enhance the kill. Anything that allowed him to better understand the intricacies of Earth Grudge Fear. He felt his equipment was good enough, but to add anything else that helped the assassination was a helpful addition to his toolkit.

Isshiki was given a pill, and without even being asked it put it back. He wondered how it would take affect, given the organs they held were non existent - he thought they couldn't be poisoned. Was this to target the symbiote? Well. Not symbiote? 'Them,' the thought was completed. Isshiki noted internally the strangeness of that thought even though it was completely his thinking, it didn't seem placed well.

"How long will it take to work?" Isshiki queried Hakurai. While one arm remained by his side, the other arm lifted up as though allowing Hakurai access to draw blood from his forearm.

His right arm focused: just like in the many chakra control exercises he had done. He had of course made sure he could perform techniques when he first obtained it, he had not yet tried to make it move to his bidding. Unfortunately, nothing was happening just then. It was because he still felt as himself; not as his... they - as one. In his mind, they were still separate. But, he understood what Hakurai meant but didn't understand what it meant.

It was harder than anticipated.

[Mikatakujira Hakurai]

What you hide in your heart
appears in your eyes.
motanai bijuu commentary	Hakurai couldn't help but chuckle at his apprentice's question about the stimulant. "Oh do not worry. You will feel it." He commented, stroking his chin and shifting his weight to his other leg, his tabi boot squeaking lightly as he did so. It would only be a matter of minutes before the guy would feel a burning sensation spread all over his body. Hearts would quicken their beating and heat could be felt not long after. Then, suddenly all of that would subside and leave behind a weird sense of numbness. Before long Isshiki would feel his body pulsating, while the overencompassing feeling to feed and find more hearts started to gnaw at him more and more. "Word of advice, you should stop thinking and just start doing. Moving your body the right way should be the same as breathing. You can visualize your end goal in your mind, but you should let your instincts take over. You're no longer bound to human restrictions outside your preconceptions stemming from the life you had before." The Shukan leader would then wave at himself to point out the outfit he was wearing. "Reach out to your inner demon and let him take over, let it become you and make its powers yours. Unravel your arm." Hakurai waited. He didn't want to give out too much help, not straight away. He wished to know if Isshiki had the ability to grown on his own, figure things out his way. They may be similar and parts of a greater whole, but there was still a shred of individuality to contend with.

pyxis ★

[Deleted]

meet a monster

And right he was, learning precisely what it meant to be a monster.

And in time, the same described affects took place, it was burning and squirming on all forms. Even though he were a SHUKAN, an operative - he was still meant to be some semblance of a human. He did not like it, squirming in his stance and looking uncomfortable: he was not. While they were waiting for the effects, which weren't taking long - Hakurai explained himself.

It all made sense, but he had to believe it was true. That was harder said than done - he trusted but his senses, and they no longer made sense either. He would take a breath, even though he didn't need to - it was just his general humanity. "Hai," The squirming was more obvious now. The palpitations wherever his two hearts had placed themselves to be were currently thrumming around his body, filling him with a feeling similar to what he had when he killed.

Which he liked. Not so much the fiery part. Isshiki had instincts. He had this. He held his forearm out - willing it to move beyond its boundaries and human husk. Isshiki had the drive to get it done himself, but there was no budging on it. "I've got it," He stated plainly as he continued concentrating on his arm. But there was no drive: the vessel and he both wanted it to work, and the muscles rippled across his forearm - only it wasn't muscle, bulging beyond realistic proportions.

But nothing. Isshiki's face faulted a bit, but his jaw clenched and he kept trying.

[Mikatakujira Hakurai]

What you hide in your heart
appears in your eyes.
motanai bijuu commentary	Hakurai had to admit he had little memories of his first time in his new form. It had been so long ago by now he was simply used to how his body worked. Perhaps he was being a little too stingy on his new apprentice. A good teacher knows when to help the student grasp the meaning of the lesson. He should find a way to encourage him. The Jounin turned around and walked towards something on the far left. By now the stimulant would have taken effect and while it wasn't exactly pleasant for the most part it helped when it came to deepen the bond with Jiongu. "Here. Extend your arm towards this target. Try to grapple it without moving from the spot you are." Hakurai stated, settling down a mannequin a few meters from the other shinobi. If he couldn't access his real body by just visualizing in his head, Hakurai would give him something tangible to work on. "Think of it like grabbing someone, only that you can reach for them if you desire it hard enough." The shukan leader quieted down and was once more waiting to see if the young boi would finally find what he needed to unravel his body into the black tendrils EGF was known for. "If you feel like you still can't do it, you make take a second dose of the stimulant. Be warned though that it will most likely cause you to lose control of your body if you take too much of it, so do so at your discretion."

pyxis ★

[Deleted]

meet a monster

Be that as it may, he was not going to give up that easily. "Hai." He would continue to work, the noise and movement inside his body was doing something, but he wasn't quite sure what yet. Hakurai suggested that they used another stimulant if it wasn't working.

"I should be fine. Thank you, Sensei." Isshiki would not do it unless he absolutely couldn't, and that was saying something. He wondered how, or if, Kunikunosaku had had difficulty doing it or if it seemed easier. But, he held out his hand- toward the mannequinn and outstretched fingers, he was clearly focusing on his subject.

His face of intent clearly portrayed the use of willpower and it did. The noise of - well, it was hard to explain the sound of melching noises as his arm detached, exploding outward and forward to wrap around the mannequin.

But, Isshiki's face was full of glee at the new toy. He pulled his arm back, honing in on that same feeling which led to the expulsion, and the arm pulled him forward; but he was ready, already innovating as he withdrew a kunai, pulling his arm back to him, and the mannequin, only to remove its head from the shoulders with his opposite arm - a fell swoop he would have guessed.

"Yaha!" A noise of exertion and happiness from him.

[Mikatakujira Hakurai]

What you hide in your heart
appears in your eyes.
motanai bijuu commentary	Hakurai observed the handywork of his new pupil. Good. It seemed he had figured out how to control his body the right way. There was room for improvement, but he actually got the practice down relatively quick after getting the stimulant through his system. "Very good. For now you should focus on honing this power of yours until you no longer need to think about it nor use a stimulant. It would also be useful for you to learn how to unravel your other arm as well. The other techniques I can teach you all require perfect control of your new body." Hakurai concluded, taking another glance at the dismembered targets. "Our nextmost imminent course of action is to work on honing your Hunger. Since you have ingested the stimulant I gave you it should have made your desire for hearts more apparent. That desire is a weapon. It is your sixth sense, so to speak. Learning to master your craving for human hearts is paramount to using everything I teach you regardless of your ability to see your target. You do not need eyes if you can percieve things in a different way and hone in on your prey from places they do not expect you to be in."

pyxis ★