[Private - Shin] The Music of The Spheres?

[Tagiushi Moro]

Moro sat nervously in a waiting room near the top of the Torre, a pathetic threadbare moleskin folio in his lap. He was here for one reason: to present to the Raikage himself why he, at the order of his Sennin, was requesting not only permission to learn the Classical variant of Ancient Kumo, but also requesting access to the cordoned off section of the Bibliotheca Conscientiae, information that was labeled so dangerous that one needed the permission of the Kage himself to view it. The wards and traps around that area of the library rivaled those of the entrance to the Sileo itself.

He hadn't seen Hayata Shin since Makoro had died on the rooftop of this very building. By all accounts the Kage appeared fine at the death of his only remaining family, if a bit more reclusive than usual, which was already one of Shin's most notable traits. Under no circumstance would the ANBU forget himself and actually inquire to his Kage's disposition, but he wouldn't be a very good shinobi if he didn't at least worry in secret.

 

[Shu]

The receptionist area was relatively quite after the defeat of Makoro. It was the late afternoon, probably an hour past noon, the sun had cascaded underneath the clouds. The ray managed to leek into the towers through the collapsed windows thanks to the sound barriers that shatters the window from the battle prior. Small specks of dust could be seen fluttering through the beaming light like floating pollen against the immediate dimness of the office. Torre Celeste was still in reconstruction and with the lack of lighting the surroundings gave an eerie disposition, despite the gracious light from the outside. The only thing that could be seen was the dimmest of the lounge area, the head of the receptionist near a desk lamp, and the illuminated hallway at the far corner.

After a few moments, the screeching silence came to a halt as Moro could hear staccato footsteps creep toward him from the hallway. A shadowy man with dark glasses emerged from the corner of the wall. He walked toward Moro and his identity was clear -- Hayata Shin. His face was solemn but esoteric to hide his emotion. "Moro-san, it is good to see you." Shin said as he offered his hand of greeting.

 

[Tagiushi Moro]

He wasn't waiting long at all before he heard soft, quick, rhythmic footsteps, Hachidaime Raikage Hayata Shin offered his hand and few unexpected kind words, a somber yet unreadable look on his face. Moro took Shin's hand in his own with only a moment's hesitation. A brief thought that the Raikage had forgotten Moro's station, but just as quickly Moro realized it was simply the man's nature to either not differentiate or not care. "It is a pleasure and an honor to be able to see you, Raikage-dono, in good health and so soon. I don't want to take more of your time than absolutely necessary, shal we?" Moro bowed deferentially and would wait for Hayata-sama to lead the way.

As secure an area as this was, Moro would not wait to start his presentation unless warded by Shin. "By order of Regent Commander Santaru Rin-sama, I am formally requesting your permission and blessing to learn the Classic variant of our mother-tongue, and also access to the Restricted Section of the Conscientiae, specifically the areas that contain creation myths, general mythology and early civilization, astrology, and possibly even astronomy." He would pause to lay out a few pieces of paper from the folio, including a detailed report of Moro's acquisition of the Box and the Mark, upon which was a clear indication that the field operative, Moro himself, was present and had the corresponding Snapshot jutsu on hand. Next was a rough, hand written outline of what Moro mused he could glean from each restricted section of the library in terms of his current assignment. It was a dizzying flowchart; whorl and loopdeloop of intertwining lines to specific sections previously mentioned, almost all of which doubled back and the delta of lines became a ocean of arrows pointing at astronomy, the clear last resort. Last was the same map that Rin had shown him in his briefing, a large graveyard circled with a thick black line, and two derelict properties outlined in red in the ancient forest.

"The little we do know is the largest reason why I am here talking to you now. In a previous field assignment in a part of the Aesculapium originally thought lost-my small understanding is that it was part of Sennin Karubin's wing-I entered a demon's lair-a prison, really. It could not escape before or after my arrival-and retrieved a music box, and a 'mark'." Moro laid down two photos, one of a gilded music box that he had hand delivered to Rin, and the other of the wound on his neck, shortly after it begun to fester but far from the grotesque, goiteresque proportions it was just a few short days ago.

"The current situation is as follows: at a certain date and time in the ancient forest, myths speak of a 'fountain of wisdom' that appears, somehow related to the box and the mark. The mission is on a high-priority timeline and deadline because of the unique nature of the fountain appearing, and also because of the mark on my body. While its symptoms have subsided for now, experts at the Aesculapium in demons and dark element chakra have assured me that if nothing is done about the mark...well, to put it simply I'm on borrowed time. That is why no one else can take this assignment, and why I need to do as much research as humanly possible before the fated day. With such a wide area to cover and such a small window, my decisions need to be as educated and iterated as possible to avoid failure." Moro looked up at Shin, to answer any questions.

 

[Shu]

Shin did not speak a word for a while. The only sound that was invited were the cold whispers of the wind that momentarily flew into the room. Shin's tinted lenses were fixated on the written documents perusing each one before approaching the two distinct photos. His mind was garnishing the possible reasons for these strange phenomena. It had been several years since the demons made their indelible mark on the nation. They massacred and pillage everything towns from all across the country. He still remembered the curling screams of women and children that had to face these creatures. As a chunnin he did not understand but as Shin grew in rank the nublious confusion began to unraveled.

Shin placed them down raising his head to faced Moro. "This is disturbing but not surprising. I examined such anomalies in the past few days. specifically, I encountered a man named Ketsueki Satou who shares a similar demonic heritage as yourself. I made an attempt to seal his dark chakra from his body but was not able to." Shin sighed. His austere eyes glanced at the ANBU. "Even if I were to pursue the matter further I would have gain nothing but unexpected results. The only logical reason I can assume at this point is an enormous dump of unrestrained chakra into the body. It is possible that the demons are using humans with a demonic heritage as a medium to enter the physical realm. The process would be slow but more effective compared to their last attempts. Could you brief explain the symptoms that you are having?"



[Apologies for the really late post. I should get you out of here as soon as possible]

 

[Tagiushi Moro]

The Raikage never broke his focus, never betrayed any sense of inner turmoil, portraying only serenity in the face of disturbing and perhaps inexplicable news. It was this 'solid' quality that he exhibited that so many in the village, including Moro's superiors, so admired. For whatever reason, stability in a leader was almost impossible to come by in the shinobi world. Moro knew he was right in coming here first based on Shin's reply. "If things do not...go as planned, it is likely I will need to seek out this Satou-san myself. Rin-sama tried her best to purge the demonic influence from my body, but she was the first to admit it was a stopgap measure at best."

Moro clenched his teeth as the Raikage continued. The Hitokage using demonically inclined shinobi as hosts was unthinkable. More so than any other profession or bloodline, shinobi Moro had encountered over the years-his friends and comerades-shared demonic traits. For some, or Raiden forbid, all of them to be compromised not only endangered Kumogakure, but if their village were to fall, there would be almost no chance of the other hidden villages faring any better. Time and space were of little concern and consequence to a being that had lived literally eons.

"As of now, it feels more like a flu that is on its way out than anything else. Headache comes and goes, muscles feel tired and achy, almost stretched. Before the...purging, I had trouble keeping any sort of food down. I was constantly drenched in a cold sweat, nightmares and night terrors so severe and frequent that I often woke up on the floor. Forget headache, my vision was constantly swimming between my ears, and concentrating for even the briefest of moments was nearly impossible. At its worst, I could have sworn that tiny invisible creatures were clawing and scratching at my skin. I could hear whispers in a chorus of different voices. Shadows would skitter and dance across my vision at any given moment..." He trailed off, finally aware that he was ranting, even if it was in disconnected, overly analytic tones. His only recourse was that these things were now only memory.



[ooc: no worries]

 

[Shu]

"Yes, demonic influences is not a simple task even for those who are highly trained in Fūinjutsu. You statements are interesting, nonetheless." Shin said. Moro's detailed symptoms could be easily be related to a person suffering with several degrees of insanity. He could recall many patients in Aesculapium describing a feeling of an insect crawling inside of his/her head nibbling every fiber like a caterpillar devouring a leaf. However, Shin was certain that the ANBU was not deceived. Shin's gray eyes glanced at the young man eyes filled with vigor and versatility. He turned toward the lit candle sitting at the side of his desk. He noticed the intensity of the flame began to weaken as the careless air around them whipped its power away. Shin's hand caressed the flame like a child deflagrating the weak flame to its former glower. The great light revealed the curiosity staining Shin's face as he began more interested in the case.

"There are fringe cases in which people can exhibit these symptoms similar to people who do not get enough REM sleep. For instance, hallucination and night terrors can be seen by a person who suffers from insomnia. Even for a busy ANBU as yourself, I assume you have enough sleep. No, the issue lies elsewhere. At what times during the day do you experience these complications. Right after you wake up or during a long afternoon? Any sleep walking? I would suggest doing some test on your mind to see if there are any sudden electrical stimulates in your brain that could be causing this."

Shin began to shuffled into his desk as he pulled out a parchment with scribbles of estranged writing. It look very much like Ancient Kumo. He removed a white quil pen from a small container before dipping into a open ink canister.
"I will approve your request but I would like for you to consider my suggestions. I will be contacting the rest of the shinobi who share similar demonic heritage. I require a full report of your findings." Shin said as he continued to scribbled word onto the parchment. Eventually, he removed the damp pen from the paper and returned it back to its container. He raised one of his fingers up into the air as it began to burn caustically white. He pressed his finger against the center of the page embedded a distinct symbol. He handed Moro the completed document.

 

[Tagiushi Moro]

The Raikage's assertions tickled something in the back of Moro's thoughts. He pondered in silence for a full minute before responding. Even reporting to Rin-sama Moro would have strongly considered holding back what he was about to say, however, there was something in particular about Shin that was alluring to...Truth, even comforting. Moro felt as if he was not there to judge, he was only there to assist in solving the problem.

"Well...You see, the migraines and malaise are constant. It ebbs and flows like any sort of long term muscle or joint pain. The-for lack of a better term-night troubles were more recent. As the other symptoms reached a sort of climax, they emerged. After a night or two of ending up on the floor, I began to become incredibly concerned about what could happen, my station, my career, if this was discovered. So, I tied myself to my bed. I certainly considered the possibility of sleepwalking, but I felt the consequences were simply unacceptable. Because of what was happening to the rest of my body, bruises on my wrists and ankles were easily overlooked and unquestioned.

"If what you were saying is true, Raikage-dono, that it is a possibility that I'm not alone in this...If there is a chance that demonic influences can take control of a body unable to defend itself during sleep, could we even rely on sealing jutsu in that kind of circumstance?" Moro was unable to keep the doubt and fear from creeping into his voice, exchanging a look of sheer concern with Shin.

"I will undergo any kind of testing necessary to give us the tools we need to fight. Succumbing in sleep...Fighting ourselves...I won't have it."

He accepted the parchment from Shin with a deep bow at the waist. "Of course, Raikage-dono. I will come straight here after I debrief with Santaru-sama. Hopefully we will both have more to tell the other at that time. Thank you for allowing me access to the forbidden texts, I will take my leave if there is nothing else..."

He would wait to be dismissed, exiting with an even deeper bow "Domo arigato gozaimasu, Raikage-dono."

[TLUS]

 

[Shu]

It was quite clear that the general symptoms that Moro was describing could be relating to a flu or an acute illness; however, the fact that his problems were amplified considerably during sleep concern Shin even more. The ANBU had more physical problems than the seldom mental problems that Shin was assuming. Moro could simply be afflicted with a simple virus or an unknown ailment but without any thorough test he was simply making wild guesses. It was obvious that after speaking with Moro the raikage would have to meet with the rest of the sennin, especially Kushin and Rin. Shin remained in deep though for a while returning his gaze toward the images on his table.

"If what you were saying is true, Raikage-dono, that it is a possibility that I'm not alone in this...If there is a chance that demonic influences can take control of a body unable to defend itself during sleep, could we even rely on sealing jutsu in that kind of circumstance?" Moro said unknowingly shocking Shin out of his thoughts.

"Yes, any seal can be broken regardless of its complexity. The purpose of the seal would be to detect signs of mental attacks rather than to prevent. I understand your fears and I appreciate you telling me this as soon as you did. I would not want to see our shinobi attacking on another but we must assert the possibility of failures and react accordingly." Shin said.

Moro accepted the parchment and gave his regards before leaving Shin's presence.

[Leaving Topic ....]