Naruto SoundITP IC 1: A Melancholy Song of Hope To Come

[Rater202]

"...That does not add up. Forgive me if I overstep my bounds here. I'm somewhat of an investigator myself but...For one... Hisaki-san, why would you have had any reason even to draw a kunai at the hospital?"

"For two, during the incident, the rogue shinobi would have had the chance to cut my throat but actively avoided harming me. If their goal was to reignite conflict between The Leaf Village and the Sound Village, making it look like Hisaki-sn and I killed each other would have been better since I would not be alive to protest my innocence and provide a contradictory statement while also giving the Sound village a fair reason to make war themselves rather than having the tensions be one-sided..."

Senko is now 100% convinced that the Hokage sent an assassin after Hisaki and then killed them when they failed.

"Ah, apologies, I should give my statement first. I am a sensor type. After a... confrontation with Hisaki-san yesterday, I became familiar with his chakra. This morning, I realized he was following me and confronted him again, but also sensed a... It is hard to put it into words, but... An unnaturally cold chakra. Like... You are familiar with the nonsense about how a proper Shinobi must kill their heart and become nothing but a tool? As if that as something you could actually do, as if succeeding in doing that to yourself would do anything but make you the sort of psychopath who becomes the worst kind of rogue ninja? It felt like someone tried really hard to make that person into nothing but a tool. My... Mentor, who helped me cultivate my sensing abilities, could probably have gotten more information but... I do not believe that is something that someone could have done to themselves, barring the side effects of some really ****ed up kinjutsu and the assailant seemed in all other regards to be an ordinary chunin."

"I intervened because, personal conflicts aside I do not approve of needless homicide, and as I said earlier during the fight the assailant went out of their way to avoid harming me. Eventually, we were able to render them unconscious just before they performed what I believe to have been some sort of suicide technique."

[Lord Raziere]

The Police Station:
Shizan sneers at this.
"Are you accusing the Hokage? Hah! Good luck. His escorts and the medic-nin overseeing it saw the whole interrogation with him, and he didn't lift a finger and SOMEBODY'S kunai was there, and its not as if one of the elite jounin he had would be so incompetent as to leave their kunai in the man's reach. It must've been Hisaki, he's always trying to claim credit for policework he didn't do, many suspect him of tampering with evidence at crime scenes to get the convictions he wants so he can look like someone who caught a big criminal, he's been caught slacking on his daily patrols or even drinking some sake now and then, things like that. Whats more plausible that this screw up took out his kunai for some reason and somehow left it there, or that somehow someone more competent was at fault?"
Hisaki winces at all the things he did wrong were listed off. Clearly there was truth in him being considered one of the worst cops on the force. He isn't even defending himself.
"I...I....just wanted to show everyone I could be a great shinobi...."
"Well then sucks to suck my idiot for a cousin. Get outta here, no one wants you."
Hisaki will trod away.

Shizan takes your statement and wonders aloud
"As for your statement...yeah hm, weird. Thats definitely an indication that something's screwed up. I guess it might be kinjutsu? The autopsy didn't find any seal that would shut off emotions, only keep him from speaking, which was dispelled by the Uzumaki in charge before the interrogation started. The main question is whether they're using a genjutsu or a medical jutsu to alter the mind. The difference between this is the difference between software and hardware. Genjutsu manipulates people like software using Yin energy and thus is easier to implant, but also easier to get rid of. Medical jutsu manipulates people using Yang energy, its effects more permanent but also harder to get right with a lot more potential for permanent damage. It is theoretically possible for a genjutsu to alter someone's mind permanently to achieve such an effect, but it'd be one of the most powerful genjutsu to ever exist. Meanwhile a procedure to permanently alter someone's brain physically using medical jutsu would be far more plausible for something like that, but to achieve the specific effect of shutting off emotions would require incredible amounts of skill- your talking about a shinobi neurosurgeon or something, those don't grow on trees. Either way, this Moeruki group would need to have some incredibly skilled and rare shinobi in it for that theory to work. Why would they waste such a technique on a random Chuunin? You theory's not implausible but it'd take a special set of circumstances to make it true."

[Rater202]

"Of course I am not accusing your Hokage of anything, I am simply noticing inconsistencies in the statement. Even if Hisaki did draw and drop a kunai, well... Again, why would the assailant have gone out of their way to avoid harming me? As I noted, killing me and then Hisaki and framing our bodies so that it looked like we killed each other would have done a much better job of reigniting conflict between Leaf and Sound than killing Hisaki but leaving me alive would have."

"If I may? Emotions are more important than people give them credit for. Without the ability to feel, you literally cannot ascribe value to something and thus cannot make decisions. You would have no determination, you would only be able to do what you were instructed to"

"Even without a seal keeping them silent, they would not have been able to speak if they were ordered not to, and they almost certainly had a designated handler giving them instructions.'

"Most likely, their handler is in the Leaf village as we speak. It is entirely possible that, if a handler was able to infiltrate the leaf village that they could have gotten in or out of the hospital unnoticed and given instructions to give a false story after some time under interrogation and then kill themselves with a planted kunai. Hisaki-san's reputation would lead people to assume he'd dropped a kunai while handing..."

"Granted, I have no hard evidence of that having occurred, but it fits with the facts of the case as I know them and personally I find it more plausible that someone who qualified to be a chunin drawing a kunai for literally no reason, setting it down, and then forgetting about it."

"...This will not be the only incident I fear. If the assailant was telling the truth, as unlikely as it may be, there will probably be other incidents that try to make it look like somoene from my team attacked a Leaf Ninja or, conversely, tried to make it seem like a Leaf Ninja attacked one of us..."

"If it was a lie, however... Well, I can only speculate as to the motives of why someone would want to kill Hisaki but avoid harming me."

Senko blinks...

"Darn it, I did it again. I apologize, I am a researcher by trade, and putting facts together to form reasonable conclusions is second nature. Deductive reasoning is also a valued skill back home and I have been called for criminal investigation myself. I am having a bit of trouble adjusting to the fact that I have no formal jurisdiction in such matters here, I do apologize again if I have overstepped my bounds."

"If I sense a chakra similar to the assailants, or if I suspect another incident to have occurred, I will make contact but if there is nothing else I should probably take my leave..."

[Lord Raziere]

Police Station: Finish this up already
Shizan says, narrowing his eyes.
"....Your....speculations are noted, Senko Senju of Otogakure. You may leave."

Unless you want to do something different, we will proceed onto:

Senko and Kitsuki:
You will of course meet Kitsuki in the evening at the the agreed upon meeting place of your hotel if I remember correctly, whatever other place you specify if not. Kimiko will offer to be here in case you want her to look at the Nine-Tailed Foxes seal. If you say yes, she will be there leaning in a corner waiting for permission from both you and Kitsuki to examine it. If not, she will be in her room.

Regardless, Kitsuki will say when she comes in
"Hi Senko! So uh.....why'd you want me here? Is it uh....to talk about space? I like space, did you know there are eight planets in our solar system? Suisei is the closest to the sun, Kinboshi is after that, Chikyu (Earth) is us, then we have in order: Kasei, Mokusei, Dosei, Tennosei, and Kaiosei. There's also our Moon its called Tsuki, they speculate that other planets also have moons but we've only seen through telescopes so we don't really know. I want to make a rocket to blast off to see all the stars and planets and whatever other weirder things are out there! The wars really uhh.....don't allow for space travel to really flourish since everyone is making weapons instead of....ah I made it about politics sorry!

Uh.

Hows....the climate? I know we're more south than Otogakure so I hope you don't feel too hot or anything uh....I've never been very far north and...."
The Fox within will speak to her, still not conversing with Senko:
<Stupid Girl. Your trying to avoid this conversation. You know full well why your here and why she wants to talk to you.>
<Shut up, evil fox. your the reason my life sucks.>
<Oh yeah sure, I'M the reason, and not literally everyone else. Because then you'd be admitting the truth, can't have that.>
<Or maybe you refuse to admit that your evil. Because you are, Fox.>
<What a great argument, the classic "No you" rebuttal. I swear I'm so done with your stupid species...>
There is a visible pause where Kitsuki frowns as she mentally argues with the Fox, by the way.
<Why do you even want me to do about this?>
<Ripoff your seal and let me go to town so I wipe this village of the map, do the world some good for a change.>
<See that is the exact kind of action that is evil, Fox.>
<Only if you like authoritarian military dictatorships>
<Yeah but all my friends and family are there, so for the thousandth time, NO>
<You don't know how screwed up and sad it is that you consider them that.>
<Oh your evil, who cares about what YOU consider screwed up?>
She shakes her head and says
"Oh uh sorry just.....uh....zoned out a bit there! Teehee, silly me always having my head in the clouds, always thinking up zany inventions like any Uzumaki! I came up with uh......a robot that makes and serves only ramen! Isn't that wacky and silly?"
She lies, thats actually something one of her uncles is planning to make, for real, she's just taking the credit to play up the stereotype.
"Boy do I sure love playing in the zero gravity room one of my aunts made, crazy what you can do with the right seal set up right? heheheha..."
<You know this won't distract her right? She is a pretty focused person and practically unphasable.>
<Shut up I can try, you don't know, maybe she'll find such stuff interesting>

[Rater202]

The hotel is probably the best, since Kitsuki's Anbu exscort can't legally come in without invitation and if they got coughtinfiltrating the leaf village would get in a great deal of trouble. So, inviting Kitsuki to visit is the best bet for privacy...

Having Kimiko exam the seal would probably be a bad ida at this stage though.

So...

'I have the ability to absorb chakra. A little bit ago, I absorbed some chakra from a man who had framents of bone harvested from the gold and silver brothers implanted in his arms, which allowed him to produce their chakra... Chakra which was mutated by eating the flesh of the Nine Tailed Demon Fox after they themselves were eaten alive in an attempt to capture it for the Cloud Village."

Senko is simplifying, of coure, but her intent is not to deceive. She holds up a hand and, just for brief moment, allows a small bit of the Nine-Tails chakra to flow over her hand before extinquishing it.

"The results were interesting. I know. I knew the second I saw you, and I can hear him. I was not going to say anything, but... Then Menko overheard your outburst, and... As someone who has spent a great deal of time training to control her emotions, it is pretty clear to me that you were trained wrong in that regard."

"...And the least few minutes have made it clear to me that the nine-tails is an idiot. He knows that even if you did let him out he would almost imedidately be ganged up on by the Senjus and Uchihas to surpress him and then your clan would trap him in a mayonaise jar unil they had another Jinchurki ready, right?"

"Anyway... Like I said yesterday, I simply want to offer you the chance to learn what I know just because... It would upset me to learn that something bad had happened to a girl who offered frinedship to people she just met becuase she lost her battle with anger at the wrong time or place."

[Lord Raziere]

Kitsuki:
"Noo!!! You know! No! your not supposed to Knooooooow!"
Kitsuki says looking around worriedly and fapping her arms
"By the sage, I've screwed up, nonononononononono.....I was hoping you didn't know! No one is supposed to know! I'm a failure as a ninja!"
<Tell her I would aim my Bijuu Bomb at them first! If I do it fast enough, they'll die before I get caught, easy. I got unlimited tries for this, you don't.>
"No! You tell her yourself, stupid Fox!"
<Why would I speak to one of those Senju hypocrites! Just because she is an Otogakure off-brand doesn't mean she tastes better!>
"No! I am not being a messenger!"
<But hey as long we're talking about better plans: Kitsuki you should quit Konoha and join Otogakure. This girl clearly cares about you more than your family and they won't have any ninja capable of sealing me. We both will win if you think about it. And as a bonus, villages will go to war and screw themselves over by doing so. It'll be progress on all fronts.>
"Wait.....I could leave?" Kitsuki says her eyes shining with the prospect. "Wait no, your just trying to trick me."
<Come on, we both know you hate this village just as much as I do, the only difference is that I don't deny it.>
"I'm not denying anything! I love this village! totally!"
<Oh yeah, the girl whose dream is to run away to space and leave everyone behind totally loves it here! I don't believe that! Not for a second! The Truth is? You hide. You mask. You Lie. Like everyone else on this goddamn rock. You lie and you lie and you lie and run away, and no amount of self control will let you acknowledge how you really feel, not even whatever she's offering. Listening to her won't help in any way.>
"Oh yeah!? We'll see about that! Senko, whats this self control training? I want prove a stupid Fox jerk wrong. Don't listen to him by the way, the Fox always lies."
<Pff. You'll lose control someday. Its inevitable. The right moment, the right trigger and it'll be downhill from there. Then I'll pop out and start blasting all those ninja who will come to seal me again. Real stupid of me, I'm so reckless and in need of correcting by a smart intelligent person, I'm so wrong about things.>
A few seconds later and he is already baiting Senko to try and tell him how his plans could be improved more. Instead of getting mad at her intelligence, he is seeking to use it by making her fall to the urge to correct and explain things to him.

[Rater202]

Senko blinks at Kitsuki's first outburst.

To clarify, I have been hearing his voice for over a month. There was literally no way I would not have figured it out upon meeting you, which would have happened sooner or later since we are both in the exams."

"Ergo, my knowing is of no failing on your part."

Senko considers the fox.

"...I bet the Sage of Six Paths is rolling in his grave at how you turned out. After all, if he was in favor of mindlessly rampaging kaiju he would have left the Ten-Tails alone."

Back to Kitsuki.

"The first step is to accept that anger is natural. There are people who tell you that you should never get angry, but these people do not really understand how the mind works. Anger, much like pain, sadness, and fear, serves an important role tht provides context to the mind and helps with decision-making and survival. Becuase of this, it never really goes way unless resolved. It needs to be... directed. Otherwise, it festers and boils, and eventually... Boom."

"The second step is to understand that emotions are complex. You can be happy about something, but also sad about it. Even with all my searching into such things, I am still not sure how I feel about my uncle dropping everything and coming to the Sound Village to help me master my bloodline, nor the lengths he went to do it... also not looking forward to learning how to be a clan head."

What Senko isn't saying is that it is entirely possible that Kitsuki can love the village because her friends and family are here but also hate it for the burden that was forced on her.

"The third step is to understand that your feelings are not nessesarily rational. The primitive brain that still thinks that we are apex predators sometimes sees threats and challenges where there are none, especially in complex situations."

Taken together, the key to better self-control, especially of one's anger, is to understand your emotions and use them constructively, rather than letting them rule you or trying to ignore them. Are you with me so far?

[Lord Raziere]

(OOC: I'm going to assume you actually thought that at him unless you didn't? sorry if I got it wrong.)

The Fox: Outrage
Kitsuki (and maybe you) clutch at her/your head(s) as the Kyuubi mentally shouts back at the comment about the Sage of Six Paths, going on a big tirade.
<.........I do not know how came by this knowledge, but it matters not. BRAT!!!

How Dare you! HOW DARE YOU! YOU DO NOT GET THE RIGHT TO SPEAK OF HIM! YOU DO NOT KNOW OF HIM! OF ME! YOU! KNOW! NOTHING! ROLLING IN HIS GRAVE AT ME!? TRY THE ENTIRE GODDAMN WORLD YOU IDTIOIC REPROBATES. TRY WATCHING PEOPLE FOR A THOUSAND YEARS TAKE EVERYTHING HE EVER TAUGHT, STOMPING IT INTO THE GROUND AND BURNING THE REMAINS IN THEIR PETTY STUPID JOCKYING FOR POWER AND LITTLE MEANINGLESS COINS! TRY WATCHING THE SAME STUPID PATTERNS PLAY OUT OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN KNOWING ITS ALL THE SAME STUPID DANCE, SAME STUPID MOTIVATIONS, ALL OF THEM THROWING OUT LIES AS PROMISES, AND BACKSTABBING EACH OTHER LIKE CRABS IN A GODDAMN BUCKET, DRAGGING EACH OTHER DOWN SO NO ONE GETS THE HELL OUT, IN STUPID ENDLESS WARS THAT ONLY MATTER TO STUPID FEUDAL OVERLORDS.

BUT WAIT, YOU SHINOBI COULDN'T LEAVE WELL ENOUGH ALONE COULDN'T YOU!? YOU JUST HAAAAAD TO INVOLVE US IN YOUR STUPID CONFLICTS TO SOLVE THEM, AND NOT EVEN BY ASKING OR ANYTHING! NO YOU DECIDED TO GO AND CAPTURE US, AND WHO HAD THAT IDEA? OH YEAH. THE PERSON YOU CALL A FREAKING "GOOD PERSON" AND "PARAGON OF MORALITY" NAMED HASHIRAMA SENJU. COOL STORY. OH AND LETS NOT FORGET OL' MADARA UCHIHA. REMEMBER HOW HE MIND CONTROLLED ME INTO MAKING ME HIS SUMMON!? I DIDN'T GET THE CHANCE TO STRUGGLE AGAINST BEING SEALED, MADARA JUST CALLED ME UP, MIND-SLAVED ME AND THEN MADE ME STAND STILL WHILE I WATCHED THEM PERFORM THE PROCEDURE TO BE SUCKED INTO THE FIRST UZUMAKI GIRL.

BUT THAT DIDN'T REALLY SOLVE IT, NOW DID IT? STILL GOT THREE WORLD WARS OUT OF IT! EXCEPT NOW EVERYONE IS AFRAID THE NEXT BIJUU BOMB'S GONNA GO OFF AND DESTROY THE WORLD AND WHATNOT! CONGRATULATIONS HUMANITY, YOU PLAYED YOURSELF! WHAT NEXT ARE YOU GOING TO MAKE? WHAT OTHER NEW IMAGINATIVE WAY ARE YOU GOING TO COME UP WITH TO DESTROY YOURSELVES? I CAN'T WAIT TO FIND OUT! FACE IT, YOU ALL HAVE STRAYED FROM THE SAGE'S TEACHINGS, FROM HIS GUIDING LIGHT AND NOW I'M HERE TO BE THE WRATH OF THE KAMI IN RETRIBUTION, LIKE A GREAT TSUNAMI HERE TO WIPE AWAY ALL THE TRASH AND GARBAGE UNTIL ALL THAT REMAINS IS PRISTINE SHORES SO THAT A BEAUTIFUL GODDAMN FOREST CAN GROW FROM THE ASHES OF THE INFERNO OF MY JUDGEMENT!

ALL THE WHILE I AM CAGED HERE IN MY STUPID CHILD PRISON, RATTLING THE BARS BECAUSE YOU WARMONGERING PIECES OF DIRT CAN'T JUST PUT ME IN A POT, NOOOO YOU HAVE TO MAKE A PERSON USE ME A WEAPON FOR YOUR STUPID NONSENSE, AND THEN BLAME ME FOR IT AS I'M SOMEHOW AT FAULT WHEN WE DIDN'T DESTROY ANYTHING UNTIL YOU STUPID MONKEYS IN UNIFORMS STARTED MAKING US. AND YOU COME IN HERE EXPECTING ME TO BE "WISE" AND "MATURE" ABOUT ANY OF THIS!? **** YOU. WISDOM ISN'T REAL DUMBASS, ITS A FAKE CONCEPT INVENTED BY OLD HUMANS TO MAKE THEM SOUND SMARTER SO PEOPLE LISTEN TO THEM. YOU WANT MY COMPASSION, ITS NOT BLOWING UP THE TOWNS WHERE NO MILITARIES ARE. THERES YOUR STUPID COMPASSION. I AM THE CLOSEST THING TO A GOD WALKING AMONG YOU HUMANS, NO ONE MORE POWERFUL THAN ME AND MY DECREE IS THAT A GREAT CHANGE NEEDS TO HAPPEN SO THAT THIS STUPIDITY NEEDS TO STOP! THAT YOU NEED A NICE HARD PUNCH IN THE FACE AND SOMEONE TO SAY "HEY IDIOT, STOP DOING THIS STUPID THING!" AND SOME DAY, SOONER OR LATER I'LL GET OUT, I'LL FINALLY GET OUT AND FINALLY MAKE THINGS RIGHT. THE OLD MAN WILL STILL BE SPINNING HIS GRAVE BUT HE'S BEEN DOING THAT LIKE A HYPERSPEED TORNADO IN THE UNDERWORLD DRAWING ALL THE FELLOW GHOSTS UP IN HIS WAKE, SPINNING ITS WIND CURRENT SO THAT ALL THE PEOPLE JOINING HIM BEGIN SPINNING THEIR MINIATURE TORNADOS IN RESPONSE SCREAMING "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!?" IN A PHANTASMAL CHORUS OF DESPAIR AND RAGE AT THE WARS ABOVE! A LITTLE WIPING THE SLATE CLEAN WON'T MAKE MUCH OF A DIFFERENCE TO THAT, BUT IT WILL AT LEAST MAKE SURE SHINOBI CAN'T SCREW THINGS UP ANYMORE.

AND TO THINK, ALL THIS STARTED BECAUSE ONE IDIOT SAW HIM BUILD A BRIDGE AND DECIDED WHAT WAS SPECIAL ABOUT HIM WAS THAT HE HAD CHAKRA AND NOT THAT HE WAS THIS SAINTLY PERSON WHO THOUGHT BUILDING BRIDGES FOR PEOPLE AND HELPING THEM WAS THE RIGHT THING TO DO. YOUR SPECIES IS SO STUPID I SWEAR.>
"Ow! Stop! Stop I never heard him rant like this! Normally he just grumbles! Why are doing this Senko!?" Kitsuki says with a >_< face. "Wait, you almost sound like your holding the Sage in some sort of reverence or something, didn't you get imprisoned by him or something? Shouldn't you hate him?"
<OH GODDAMMIT. WHATEVER RELATIONSHIP I HAD WITH THE SAGE OF THE SIX PATHS IS ANCIENT HISTORY. IT IS OF NO RELEVANCE TO YOU LITTLE GAKIS, ESPECIALLY KNOW IT ALL LITTLE GIRLS WHO APPARENTLY SOMEHOW JUST KNOWS THAT OUT OF NOWHERE. IT IS PURELY MY BUSINESS TO DISCLOSE ANYTHING ABOUT THAT! ALL YOU HAVE TO KNOW ABOUT ME IS THAT I AM THE KYUUBI NO KITSUNE, HATRED INCARNATE, THAT I AM NO PATHETIC HUMAN SPIRIT BUT THIS WORLD'S ONE TRUE GOD AND THAT MY WRATH, LONG DELAYED WILL BE ONE THAT SPANS THE ALL THE WORLD FOR YOUR TRANSGRESSIONS AND THAT YOU SHOULD DESPAIR AND AT MY INEVITABLE COMING, BECAUSE I AM INEVITABLE, UNSTOPPABLE AND ETERNAL! I DEFINITELY DID NOT THINK OF HIM AS ONE OF YOUR HUMAN FATHERS IN ANY WAY SHAPE OR FORM, NOR HOLD ANY LOVE FOR HIM IN THAT MANNER!>
The Nine Tailed Fox is ranting at you. the Sage of Six paths is clearly a sore subject for him. No one is happy with this.
"Aaaaaaaaagh, this is so ridiculous and overblown, I don't care how tsundere you are about the Sage of Six Paths! Senko now he's talkative and ranty why did you make him talkative!?"
<UGH NOW THIS STUPID TSUNDERE TERM. I SWEAR, KIDS THESE DAYS, ALWAYS COMING UP WITH NEW TERMS FOR ROMANCE AND GARBAGE. NOT THAT I EVER GOT THE FEELING MYSELF IN THE FIRST PLACE, BUT BACK IN MY DAY, THE LITTLE HUMANS JUST LIKED EACH OTHER AND IF IT WAS MUTUAL THEY DID IT AND LOVED EACH OTHER, IT WASN'T A BIG ORGANIZING THING WITH TERMS AND PUTTING PEOPLE INTO BOXES, IT JUST HAPPENED AND PEOPLE WERE CHILL WITH IT. WHY DO YOU ALWAYS HAVE TO RUIN THIS AND THAT I SWEAR...>
"....Okay hehehehehehee....maybe your less evil and more just....a bitter old man, cause now your just yelling at clouds."
The Fox sobers up.
<What. No. What is this.>
"Bitter Old Fox! Your just complaining for complaining's sake! Because that is all you CAN do."
<Shut up. Stop this. I'm a Tailed Beast, I command it.>
"Yeah I understand now, your just like this angry grandpa fox who says a lot of rude things that people don't like but your so old you don't care anymore."
<I hate you. I hate you both. I liked it better when you feared me as an all powerful Kyuubi No Kitsune.>
"Old Man Fox! Old Man Fox!" Kitsuki says teasing him.
<Graaaaaagh! I'll have my revenge for this someday, Senko Senju! I'm still the dangerous Tailed Beast who can wipe out cities you know!>
"How would you even get your revenge?"
<I don't know, maybe I'll come up with the best insult to describe her or something. It will be so soul-searingly true that she'll be like "damn, I can't come back that" and just live the rest of her life knowing she got what the lightning-rappers refer to as "dissed" by the Kyuubi No Kitsune itself.>
"...Anyways. You were saying, Senko?"

The Actual Lesson:
Kitsuki listens attentively, taking notes and nodding.
"Uh huh, Anger is natural.....emotions are complex and contradictory.....and not rational.....understand emotions and use them constructively, got it! So if I get angry again, I should channel the anger to construct something? or oh, you meant more than literally. Uhh.....I should channel my anger to destroy my enemies constructively rather than....destroy them......destructively? That is pretty different from just being told to suppress it all to be happy. I guess I do have a lot of......complex emotions like that....

Hm.

Okay whats the next part?"

[Rater202]

Just according to Keikaku

To the Fox

"Nice to know that you are a person underneath all of that malice. And thank you for confirming the validity of the legends, as well. My goal in life is to recreate the power of the Sage of Six Paths and the art of Ninshu so as to finish what he started. You just gave me the last bit of proof that the old legends are literal, so I know that I am on the correct path in doing so..."

"...Do you have a name?"

To Kitsuki

"The next step is to avoid allowing your anger to become blind hatred. The urge to destroy the target of your ire at all costs. The answer to the problem of blind hatred is empathy. Understanding of others, their perspectives, where they are coming from."

"For example... You understand your head guest a little better now, right?"

"After that, comes mindfulness. The ability to stop, center yourself in the moment, and assess your situation... Admittedly, this is difficult. I myself still have trouble with it."

[Lord Raziere]

The Fox:
<Grrr......Well. I've been alive long enough to know that everyone gets outsmarted sooner or later. Yes I have a name. Whether your worthy of it....is another matter.>
"What do you mean? You can just tell us, why would want to be called Fox?"
<Because, I don't want to share it. I'm imprisoned, much injustices have been done to me and mine. Furthermore, what little power I have consists of the information I can give you. You may have tricked me into revealing some things in my rage but.....I have to be tight lipped. Since you insist upon treating me as a person unlike everyone else, an equal relationship has to be established. A form of exchange. Therefore I propose.....A Question for a Question. After all, I do not expect either of you to ever free me of your own volition....given that will invariably involve your death, Uzumaki brat.>
"Okay then-"
<Wait! Not done. There is a few special rules to my questions for both of you, as a form of...equalization to make up for my imprisonment:
1- You may not ask me my name. I only share it when I feel comfortable doing so.
2- There is no time limit on how long it takes for you to answer my questions. You may not answer immediately, and may in fact take all the time you need to make sure the answer is completely accurate, even if it takes years, decades or your entire lifetime.
3- However given this lack of time limit, you may at any time say you give up on answering my questions, in which case I will not answer any of yours until you decide to answer them once again. I am trusting you to seek out the answers honestly and give them an honest effort.
4-Your question-debt can rise as high as you want, and if you come to me with an answer, I will ask whether its your final one to give you a chance to back out and find out more.
5-In contrast, my answers to your questions must be immediate and truthful. You simply have to trust me that I am telling you what I honestly know. Of course, if you do not make an honest effort to answer my questions in the spirit of how they are asked, I may decide not to give an honest effort answering yours. Trust is a two-way street after all.

Are these terms acceptable?>
"Hm. Seems reasonable but you can just ask us questions that might lure us into dangerous situations or something."
<True. But my great repository of knowledge is of high value, unlike any other in the shinobi nations. I can assure you, the risk is worth the reward, and I am an immobile imprisoned fox, unable to do a thing but knowing much, while your spry young girls with mobility, good minds and a lot of energy and power, all I have to give is what I know, and all you have to give is what you can do. I'm sure you can handle it. Think of my questions as.....quests. Odd how related those words are, aren't they? almost as if one led to the other.>
"Your not denying they could be dangerous"
<I am indeed, not denying that, would you rather deal with a liar who says that it won't be?>
"Okay, but what do you gain from like, us doing anything if we're not freeing you?"
<Stories. experiences. Tales told. As a giant fox, I can't own anything you'd want to trade to me, its all too small to be useful, and even if I could, my current imprisonment would prevent me anyways. I know far more than you do in all probability about things your interested in, so I doubt there is information on the past that you can tell that I don't already know. Therefore, what information is valuable to me....is what happens next. To you, your lives, things like that.>
"but wait, don't you hate us? Why would want to hear about our lives you hold so much malice towards us?"
<To an extent I hate humanity, to an extent I hate shinobi more, and to some measure I hate Senju and Uzumaki clans more than that, but most of all I hate the Uchiha bastards who with their red eyes, take away me free will. But it is one thing to hate something in the abstract and to another to hate a person. And I'd be bored indeed if I turned down such opportunities because of mere feelings.>
"Okay....First question then! What is Ninshu anyways?"
<Heh, I have a chuckle every time you modern shinobi wonder what it was, thinking it was some big arcane secret that was lost to time. When really? Its nothing special. Not really. Its practically a basic emergent property of chakra. When two chakras of roughly equal force or power mingle together, memories, feelings and such are shared, basically. Ninshu was just a way to induce that effect on a low level by holding hands, and the resulting after-effects would be a feeling of understanding one another and happiness from being connected, comparable to a feeling of friendship, community or family. You shinobi technically already know about it even! If you ever heard any legend of high level ninja understanding each other through battle or being rivals and understanding one another on a mystical deep level, thats probably because their chakra attacks clashed a lot during repeated fights, inducing the effect in mid-battle. In theory when enough chakra among both parties mingle roughly equally, more is shared and understood and more positive feelings are produced from the interaction. To clarify, when I say "roughly equally" I mean that if there if there too much chakra imbalance towards one person or the other during a clash of jutsu, the Ninshu effect won't occur, as Ninshu only occurs when people are meeting each other on equal or relatively even terms. To dominate and overwhelm another doesn't cause the effect and would be against the Sage's teachings anyways. Since you shinobi are constantly engaging in tricky shogi games to evade such fair and even clashes, through deception, evasion and so on, the ninshu effect gets rarer as people fight smarter.

Given how regularly the Sage's followers used Ninshu with each other and the positive feelings it induced...I'd say that any modern scientist would probably characterize using it that way as a form of addiction or taking a drug. This explains why such rivalries clash repeatedly and why the people involved didn't just kill each other- they not only understand each other but get somewhat addicted to fighting that person specifically, the positive feelings from such fights mix with the adrenaline rush, and thus they mistake the bond they have and focus on the fighting aspect of it rather than reaching out to talk with them, seeking the next hit from fighting them rather than just ending it. Ironically I don't think the Sage himself really had a full understanding of Ninshu's effects on people either: he discovered it, saw it as way to fix the world, a purely positive force, yet if that were true, why didn't it work for when disagreements arose what direction to take his teachings? Why didn't it stop Indra from starting the conflict that would ignite 1000 years of war? The people involved understood each other, used Ninshu regularly, and everything still went south-My own speculation is that despite all the understanding, all the empathy and hearing him out did was allow him to air poisonous ideas of force that allowed him to convince more people to his side. After all, it is possible through this unintentional application of ninshu, that conflict might've actually been perpetuated rather than ended, as warriors and shinobi began to create this image of a warrior traveling the land, understanding other warriors through the art of the fighting and being rewarded for it, while rivals were given incentive to extend conflicts just so they can duel one another at their strongest while a friendly spar would not give them nearly as great a high.

I won't say that its impossible to end conflict with Ninshu, but I'd hardly call it a perfect solution. Ninjutsu and Ninshu are ultimately just tools like everything else and whether they're used for good or ill is up to the person wielding them. But to make use of Ninshu in battle you'd have to be some foolish stupid stubborn knucklehead willing to take ridiculous amounts of punishment and never give up despite ludicrously impossible odds, and what're the odds that someone like THAT would ever arise to save the world?>
Meanwhile, somewhere in the cosmos Naruto sneezes. Moving on, Kitsuki asks
"Okay but then why-"
<Ah ah ah. Your question, has been answered. It is my turn, to ask my own back.>
"Okay, lets hear it"
You somehow feel the Fox grin as he asks Kitsuki:
<What does it feel like to kiss your one true love?>
"Eeeh!?!?" Kitsuki says blushing "But! but but! I've never-I don't even know who they'd be!!"
<Exactly. Remember Rule 2? No time limit. You have your entire life to find out the answer. I'll be waiting. But remember Rules 3 and 5, or I won't answer any!>
you hear mischievuous fox laughter. Kitsuki's eye twitches and she says in annoyance
"This is your plan. Make me try to figure out who my true love is. Really."
<Hehehehehehe, I may not have the urges you small beings possess, but a millennia of experience has taught not to underestimate the effects the force of love can have for good or for ill, or how highly valued those feelings are to you. Love after all, is a force that destroys nations and dynasties, that makes princesses forsake their positions to marry paupers and make people abandon what is for what can be- what other feeling would benefit me and my goals more? Not all my questions are so personal but, you can't blame me for having a little fun can you? After all, if I'm stuck within you, I might as well have a bit of entertainment while I do so.>
"This seems like a way to manipulate us into doing things we wouldn't normally do."
<True. But its also a way to keep my answers informative, relevant and to the point, gaki. Knowledgeable and old being that I am, I tend to rant and ramble, so if I just talk it could go all sorts of directions without really informing you anything of interest to your situation or what you want. This way, you get what you need, and I get some fascinating stories to witness and/or listen to. A mutually beneficial arrangement to my point of view.>
"....But wait what if we wanted to free you without killing me?"
<I'd say that is impossible or at least not proven to have ever been done before and while it would be worth a lot of questions, that and I wouldn't want to bind you to such a goal when it would set you against all shinobi nations and a Yamanaka could interrogate you and see you agreeing to such a thing. Answering questions on the other hand well....there is nothing saying that you necessarily have to do anything illegal to answer them no?>
"....I guess not."

Kitsuki:
"I see....so the real way is to keep calm, listen, understand others and the situation. I guess I do understand him better now. Maybe this is what the Sage should've been teaching?"
Kitsuki wonders to herself, absorbing the lesson.
<I would caution you that there is a dark side to this however: sometimes understanding brings people closer to together but....sometimes understanding someone just means you understand how much they suck. There is understanding that leads to reaching out, connection....and then sometimes there is understanding where you realize someone is just a garbage human being and needs to not be given any benefit of the doubt. That is why I theorize that Ninshu isn't necessarily perfect: if you understand someone and decide you don't like what you see, what then?>
"Hm. So you need a measure of judgement to figure out which situation is which, I see."

Spoiler: OOC: Kurama Question Log:

Show

Kitsuki:
1-What does it feel like to kiss your one true love?

[Rater202]

Senko chokes down a bitter laugh. If the Fox is telling the truth, then...

Her Kekei Genkai meant that there was constant senjutsu chakra and natural energy in her system. That added a whole extra dimension of complexity to her chakra, matching it perfectly would be tricky and... commingling her chakra with someone else's directly ran the risk of mutating them or turning them to stone, unless they were a sage as well.

So... practically speaking, the only way she could use Ninshu would be in combat...

...Well, she already had a healing factor and a high pain tolerance and both would improve greatly if she got her way. She could be that knucklehead.

"...Is the Rinnegan real? My theory had been that the Sage merely had some sort of prototype dojutsu that mutated over the generations to become the eyes of the clans that claim descent from him, with stories of the Rinegan being exaggerations of its abilities or misattributing his other abilities to be products of his eyes. My uncle's research, meanwhile, suggests that he Sage possessed the Sharingan. But I've since learned that the legends are far more literal than I initially thought and now I am curious."

"...Also, I have money riding on it."

"Yes, sometimes all taking the time to assess your feelings does is tell you that your feelings are rational and all understanding people's perspective does is tell you that you are correct to hate them. But still, that is important information to have."

"The final step is the hardest: Letting go of irrational emotions. This... This is the hardest because... I mean, for some things it's pretty simple bit for large things..."

'...There is one person in the world who I hate more than anything. But... It is not right to hate them. It is not fair to hate them, hating them does nothing but harm me, hold me back. I know this. Intellectually I know tht my hatred of them is irrational, but just letting go is hard."

"The key to his, is once again, mindfulness. Some friends have turned me onto some meditations and yogic exercises that help. Every day that hatred cools a little bit and, eventually... I can teach some of them to you, if you would like."

[Lord Raziere]

The Fox and Kitsuki:
He considers his answer
<Is the Rinnegan real? Yes.>
There is a pause.
<So my question in return->
"HOLD ON!"
Kitsuki says angrily
"You just gave a really short and curt answer to that, when you went into detail for me!"
<You asked a question that required me to go into detail. What Ninshu is requires you to understand the misconceptions you have of it and thus is longer because of that. "Is the Rinnegan Real?" is technically a yes or no question and thus I can answer it like that and be truly honestly answer it. If she asked some a bit more general about the Rinnegan, I would need to go into more detail>
"Your rules lawyering like my cousin Shioko does when she wants to a win game. Thats not very nice or fair of you"
<I'm an old mean Fox who hates the world, what you do want from me?>
Kitsuki crosses her arms
"Go into detail, or I'm not answering your questions!"
<Ugh, fine. I'll get more specific. Yes the Rinnegan is real in the sense that is a unique trait that Hagoromo Otsutsuki, Sage of the Six Paths, attained and used to fight Kaguya. Unfortunately the specifics of his time doing that are one thing I cannot recount firsthand, it was all before my time. I do recall that Hagoromo talked to Indra when the kid awakened his Sharingan that he once had the Sharingan before the Rinnegan, that it awakened when he his first love died, and that it later advanced to Rinnegan when he near-fatally injured his brother. Hagoromo warned against the power he attained through these methods as they involve great emotional loss, didn't consider the power worth it. But I guess the warning fell on deaf ears and Indra thought the whole idea was awesome, considering what happened next. In retrospect....I wouldn't be surprised if his attempts to kill Hagoromo and Asura weren't attempts at awakening his own Rinnegan. But.....it never happened. Hagoromo died when Indra started the war, and Asura died when Asura later gave up his life to protect his offspring, all three of which ran and swore vengeance upon Indra who only ever achieved the Mangekyo Sharingan. Indra then passed on his quest to his son, Uchiha Otsutsuki who in turn would achieve the Mangekyo Sharingan by killing Indra through betrayal, starting a tradition of seeking power by killing one's loved ones in the Uchiha clan. So...the sharingan connection is the right idea. Not that'll do you any good, even if you succeed, heheheh.

As I have no knowledge of how genetics work for obvious reasons, I can't really say what Indra's missing ingredient was. Maybe there was some factor that the old man neglected to mention, maybe Hagoromo was just that enlightened, I don't know or care enough to figure it out. Personally I don't feel positively about humans getting the power of the Rinnegan again so people having no idea how to get it again is a personal win for me. But I guess if your this committed to peace, I guess there is some slight, 1 or 2% chance that you getting it might lead to something positive, rather than zero.>
"Your really pessimistic"
<You get that way when you see humans fight and kill each other for 900 years then see three world wars. Never said that I'm an unbiased, objective source or anything. You don't live this long without introspection and becoming aware of your own flaws. But then I was never an extrovert.>
"Wait- if the Uchihas Sharingan works like that then...do they still have that tradition??" she says worried about Satomi
<Careful. That sounds like a question. You know the price of those, and I still haven't asked mine for Senko's yet! Wait your turn at least.>
"...Okay."
<As I was saying: My question to you, gaki, is: What is the full truth of Himitsu Shimura, Fourth Hokage of Konohagakure? to clarify, I don't want accusations, or whatever you speculate or suspect of him. I'm sure your clever little brain can come up with something not too far off the mark but.....I want the truth, or at least the most accurate truth you can compile of him.>
"what? why would you suspect the Fourth Hokage of anything? he is known as the Peacemaker, he literally ended the third shinobi war through nothing but negotiation, complex difficult negotiations, he is lauded as a man who embodies Konoha's ideals."
<He is a politician and that is reason enough for me to suspect him.>
"Suspect him of what?"
<I don't know, he's a politician, he's probably done something. You live through enough history like I have, you start to get a read on people.>

Kitsuki says in response to Senko's offer.
"I would love to learn such exercises and meditation, Senko!"
kitsuki suddenly hugs Senko overcome with how much she wants to help
"Your so kind and helpful Senko! It sucks your chakra control is bad like mine, you'd make a great medical nin I bet!"

[Rater202]

Senko considers what the Fox says. She feels like he's said more than he intended to.

She is then taken aback by Kitsuki's hug. Despite Menko's best efforts, Senko still isn't used to affection.

"...Yeah. It is something that I have considered. Now, to start sit down, close your eyes, and take a breath."

Senko will then begin guiding Kitsuki through the more basic forms of meditation.

[Lord Raziere]

The morning:
After Kitsuki learns to meditate and such, you will have a nice night of rest

Kimiko will ask Senko after breakfast
"This is the day we meet the shinobi you want to meet together, I'm pretty sure, hyuhyu"

With Team 7:
Kitsuki will meet up with the rest of team
"Hey Kitsuki, how'd that session with Senko go?" Satomi asks
"Great! She helped me, I already feel better and ready to go!"
"Great!" says Gisei "C'mon, lets go Find the first Exam."
He will charge off to do so.
"Hey Satomi, a question for you."
"Okay shoot." she says
"Satomi.....if you had choose between me or sacrificing me for power....what would you pick?"
Satomi raises an eyebrow.
"Huh? What kind of question is that?"
She asks as if confused, not wanting to reveal her clan's dark secrets....or her own dark desire for power to her friend.
"Please....just answer it." Kitsuki says with a worried expression.
Satomi considers this, clearly this needed an emotionally satisfying answer.
"Kitsuki I assure you, I'd NEVER kill or sacrifice you for power, we're friends remember?"
Satomi says in all honesty. She was indeed a friend and besides, it was a bad idea to mess with the Tailed Beasts for many reasons, personal, political and physical. If there was one person in all the world she DEFINITELY was not going to kill for the Mangekyo Sharingan, it was Kitsuki. It would just be incredibly stupid.
"C'mon, lets go we got a First Exam to find, no time for hypotheticals"
"....Okay lets go!" she says, her worries dispelled.

[Rater202]

"Yes. S.Y. The transhumanist with interest in the snake contract... Did your note give a time to meet? mine did not."

[Lord Raziere]

Kimiko:
"It didn't give me a time either. I'm guessing it means they're available whenever? I know who it is actually, just from the initials. They're Kiri Resistance, so I doubt they're out and about since they'd be considered a rogue shinobi. At least....not without being in disguise. They must be hiding there quite consistently."
She reads the note and begins walking out
"I'm just going there immediately then. If you want to come...."

Suzume's Warehouse
You will soon go to the Warehouse specified, out at the edges of the town near the walls of Konoha, away from the gates. When you walk in it is....cold. Colder than usual in the hours of the morning. Walking forward you see something near surreal: an elegant pale lady with a blue kimono, dark blue long hair incredibly straight in a hime cut. She has set up this makeshift table and is drinking tea from it, sitting in traditional japanese style. She sets down the tea cup on the table and turns with elegant smooth movements almost like a swan to regard you
"Kimiko Ishikawa of the Ishikawa clan and Senko Senju of Otogakure. How pleasing to met you......yet how disappointing. You did not bring me your red-eyed stalker with you. Did you lose him? Oh well, there will be other opportunities. How are you doing?"
"We're doing well, Suzume Yuki of the Kiri Resistance, I presume?"
"You presume correctly, Kimiko-san."
"What was that with the red-eyed stalker you were talking about?"
"Oh don't mind that, I'll get to it, whats important right now is you two. Your potential. My sources of information have informed me of two very important details: you Kimiko Ishikawa want to achieve all jutsu and you Senko have signed a contract with the Snake clan. and that you both have quite sharp minds between you two. I think you both would be very much interested in my offer."
"Lets hear it then, hyuhyu."
"Its simple. I am Suzume Yuki, the Swan Sage. I am known as one of Kirigakure's greatest geniuses, for am I a great medical nin, a user of Swan Sage mode, a master of the Ice release of my clan. For my own reasons I want to learn all jutsu and achieve immortality, quite ambitious goals yes? I've figured out how they are possible through my research but one thing struck as I've researched and studied more and more into it: I would be alone if only I achieved it. When humans are social creatures you see. Even those at the top must have their companions to be their equals or at least near-equals to understand them to sharp their blades and keep them company. When I heard you two I figured, you both seem to have potential and one of you even has the same dream as I.

Therefore I offer to take you both under my tutelage to expand your knowledge, help with your goals, so that you may help with mine. The reason I called you Senko in particular is that you have the Snake Contract and thus the Power of the White Snake which is important for at least one method of immortality I am strongly considering. Furthermore your going to want my help-I know of another shinobi who is interested in such a power in Konoha, named Gekateki Kaizen. A rival medical nin, about just as powerful as I am. I have no doubts that Gekateki-san has already heard of you and will work against you sooner or later. You will want my help against them. Gekateki-san is quite amoral in their methods and I doubt they'll take you snatching their chance at immortality away from them.

And of course, Kimiko-san, don't you want to connect more with your Kirigakure heritage? And your not a good medical nin yet yes? Whats your chakra control?"
"Very good" Kimiko boasts "pretty much perfect really, hyuhyuhyu."
"Then you'd be perfect for medical jutsu. Do you not want to unlock the potential of your own body to its fullest potential or even to modify it to be better? The secrets I could teach you would change how you go about your quest for knowledge. How our bodies process and use chakra is an integral part of learning about it. If I'm not incorrect, you Senko-san also have a really unusual bloodline as well, no? With my knowledge and experience I could help you greatly with figuring it out and bringing out its full potential.

So....what say you two? What do you think of my offer?"

[Rater202]

Senko smiles.

"So... Here is the thing... I already have someone who cna help me bring my bloodline to its full potential. I am actually pretty close. I already have multiple someones who can help me learn medical ninjutsu once I have enough chakra control, and as for modifying my body..."

Senko closes her eyes. When she opens them, the Reizagan is active. A spike of bone appears from her left wrist, and she holds up her right hand and forms an ice crystal around it.

"I already have that figured out too. And a way of learning Ice Release. From where I am sitting, it seems that I have more to offer you than you to offer me."

[Lord Raziere]

Suzume Yuki:
"Really? What a bold claim little Senko-san. Oho, What an interesting response! your not intimidated by the vast gap in skill and power, your making demands! Fascinating so fascinating."
Her voice is calm as she says this, cold yet oddly modulating.
"I hope you live, it'll be interesting to spend eternity with you. A meek immortal would be so.....boring....

So.

What are your demands? If you have so much to offer me..."

[Rater202]

"Power, maybe. For now. Skill? Your note implied that you would have needed Hisaki-san's body to claim the secrets of his Sharingan. All I would have needed is a single hair. Not, of course, that I intend to steal the bloodlines of our gracious hosts. It would be so very rude."

"As you have said, you desire the secrets of the Snakes... The power of the White Snake... Presuming that they would even grant it to the sage of another Animal Clan, I will have to consult with the Great White Snake Sage on that later, your only means of getting it would be through me. Or I suppose you could kill me, as you have warned that others might, but then negotiating access to their sage arts would be even more of an uphill battle than it already is and should I be killed the Leaf village would likely send out potential Snake Sages in mass to claim the contract back as soon as word got out."

"In short, you have given away the game and revealed that I hold all the cards. While I am certain that I could learn something useful from you, if only by examples to improve my own techniques, I do not really need it. Meanwhile, I am your only option for getting what you want."

"As for demands... There is another rogue Shinobi who has contacted me, who requested my help in finding her long-lost sister who was captured by the Leaf Village when their own village was crushed underfoot. I am not so certain that I can benefit from her tutilage, either, but... If her sister is alive and in a position where she could be safely returned, then the chances of her attempting violent revenge on the Leaf Village, and thus the odds of further, needless blood loss and suffering, decrease."

"As I detest pointless homicide, I feel somewhat obligated to help but... My best chances for finding the relevant information would be breaking into the Leaf Village's archives and trying to find copies for mission logs relating to the Imaeda Clan or Nikkogakure but... I am only technically a proper shinobi. Stealth is not my forte. I would certainly be caught and given what I am supposed to be in the village for the consequences to myself, my team, and my village would be dire."

"...But it would be no problem at all for a more experienced Shinobi."

[Lord Raziere]

(OOC: sorry sorry, I don't know why this took me so long, I had a good idea then for some reason procrastinated on this)

Suzume:
She thinks upon this proposal, nodding politely and simply says
"....When do you expect this job to be done? Do I have a deadline?"

[Rater202]

(OOC: sorry sorry, I don't know why this took me so long, I had a good idea then for some reason procrastinated on this)

Suzume:
She thinks upon this proposal, nodding politely and simply says
"....When do you expect this job to be done? Do I have a deadline?"

"I was not given one myself. I suppose it depends on how well my team does in the exams. So anywhere from till the end of the weak to a little over a month from now."