Trials of the Mind (Open, NK)

Things were moving so fast. Shou not only gained so much power, but he also joined a total stranger in taking over a village... What was all of this? He questioned if he should have even answered his summons. Despite all of this, he needed a change, a new identity, a new face. Shou found himself walking among the training grounds, wondering how to begin training and improving his new self.

"How can I go about changing my appearance.. It's not like I'm changing who I am, rather than what I look like... I'll need to find some books on physical enhancement to further study this subject..." He thought to himself, pacing back and forth along the paved stone. "The archives should have something... Maybe it can teach me how to better understand powerful jutsu, and to teach me how to use them.. Maybe while I'm there, I can look into altering my physical appearance through jutsu..." Shou decided his path, and made his way to the village archives. The building was impressive, housing many different scrolls and books, containing all sorts of information on jutsu, shinobi, history, et cetera. Shou spent what seemed like hours in the archives, looking over the tomes and documents that could potentially help him somehow. While there weren't many books having to do with what he had set out to do, he did manage to find a book that explains how to better grasp the knowledge of powerful jutsu, and how to harness the power, despite one's current level. Cracking open the small book, he began scanning over useless information, such as the basics of jutsu knowledge. He knew quite a bit already, but he needed to know more along his current skill. He flipped the pages near to the end of the book, eventually finding a chapter that covers advanced jutsu knowledge; this could be what he was looking for. As he followed the words on the pages, he absorbed all of the information he possibly could so that he would be able to practice them in a meditative state, in his inner mind. "So, this is it... Okay!"

Shou had borrowed the documents and sat down on a wooden bench, reading over everything he possibly could, "The only problem I see is how I would be able to test it in the first place... I have no knowledge of any super powered jutsu, other than my kekkai genkai... But.. Maybe I can create one in my head... I don't precisely need a real jutsu to test it out, do I?" Shou rubbed his chin in slight confusion, trying to grasp the concept of jutsu knowledge altogether. He folded the documents and put them in his satchel. With a sigh, Shou stood up and stretched his arms and legs, cracking his knuckles and neck. "Heh... Look at me, getting ready for a fight, even though I won't be fighting..." He chuckled under his breath before setting himself off to the middle of the training grounds...

The training grounds looked like the perfect place to meditate and improve his knowledge of jutsu. Naturally, he would have to be much more powerful for him to easily learn a powerful jutsu, but with this knowledge, he only needed a bit of practice, and he would not need to wait. He looked around and saw no one. Perhaps everyone was still afraid of him and Roland, so keeping one's distance wasn't all that odd. He sat down where he would be sitting for the next few hours, making sure he was comfortable enough. Shou placed his hands on his legs and sat in a traditional style. "A few years ago, I would have laughed loudly, had I thought I would be meditating to become more powerful... I'd probably just kick myself in the shin and go prank the townspeople..." He realized that he was procrastinating, and simply thinking and reminiscing about when he was younger. He shook his head and began to clear his mind. He began to block out even the sound of his own breath, and focus on the subtle and gentle sounds of nature. Within minutes, he was not only able to block out most distracting sounds, he was able to listen to the earth itself, hearing the worms under the earth burrow and eat their way further under. He was in a tranquil state.

Shou suddenly found himself standing in the void that he calls his mind. He knew this place well, as he creates it to his understanding. He places his hands together and begins to form random hand signs; he would bring forth an imaginary jutsu that was far beyond his capability; to do this, he would summon pessimism, doubt, and a feeling of weakness to this power. The jutsu manifested itself into an earth-shattering comet, capable of smashing deep within the earth and crushing a village. The comet would begin it's descent onto his person from the sky, which was covered in dark blue clouds. The comet, parting the clouds, would look as though it were descending slowly, but in reality, was coming down more quickly than the illusion would seem. Shou began to focus on absorbing the power of this giant devastator, hoping to force it back into the clouds, and out of his sight. As he raised his hands to tame the manifestation of chakra, he felt a sharp pain in his arms. The skin began to peel back, blood trickling down his arms. The pain was sudden, and broke his concentration. This wasn't all, the more he tried, the more wounds were inflicted. If this were done through his kekkai genkai, he would surely die. He held back the pain and tears and continued to focus on the comet. The speed wasn't letting up, not at all, much to Shou's fear. What was he doing wrong? Wasn't he supposed to push it back? What was he supposed to feel?

As Shou continued to make his attempts, more and more of his skin began to peel off. His imaginary clothing had been destroyed and his hair had burned away. His eyes burned, his ears rung, his lips chapped and bled, his chest was bare of skin, it would be safe to assume that he would be sterile, or castrated as well, but with fire and skin-tearing energy. His legs felt weak as they buckled under his person; he couldn't do this for much longer, and the comet was descending faster and faster... At this rate, he would waste away, and would wake up from his meditation, having to start all over again. "What is it that I'm not seeing...? Why can't I do this??" It took the very feeling of doubt before he finally realized: He doubted himself, he feared for the worst, and he gave the jutsu power over him. This was why he was failing. He summoned the jutsu with fear, doubt, and feelings of dread, but didn't tame it with bravery, will, and strength. With that, and a mere flick of the wrist, the comet stopped in it's tracks, a gust of wind literally blowing Shou away, many hundred feet at the sudden halt of the massive ball of chakra. He stood up and gazed up at the sky, this was his current limitation. He could stop it, but not control it... "Baby steps..." he thought to himself as he sat down and pondered what more he could do. "What else am I missing? I have the power to overpower it, doesn't that give me the power to use it?" He sighed and folded his arms, staring up at the swirling ball of chakra, "I don't understand..."

"I don't... Understand...?" Something inside of Shou made his heart jump. Like his subconscious was trying to tell him something, "Understand?" There it was again, what couldn't he understand? He gazed at the comet for minutes on end before standing to his feet, "That must be it... I don't understand... I don't know what it is or how it works, I only know how to stop it... So... How do I understand it?" Shou, still fearing it's capability, floated up to the surface of the comet. The surface was hot to the touch and even being so close to it made him feel full of chakra. It felt like he was a balloon, being filled with more and more water all at once, and felt as though that he would pop if he had continued to linger. "I see... This is why it burned away my flesh... I tried to stop it without understanding it, and I paid the price... It's not that I'm weak, or unable to control it, it's that I didn't understand how it worked, how it felt, how it responds..." A smile crept over his face as he dropped himself to the ground. "Go home now..." Shou raised his hand and with that, the comet began to reverse it's previous direction of travel, eventually disappearing behind the clouds and far out into the endless space. "Heh... From here, it looks like a moon.." Shou then realized that he was in complete agony, having lost all of his skin, nails, and hair. His smaller appendages, such as his nose, genitalia, ears, lips, had been skinned and burned away. "I... Guess I didn't realize how painful this was after I realized my capability..." He frowned and sat back down, scanning over his charred flesh, "Thank god I didn't use my kekkai genkai..."

Shou decided that he would recreate himself here... First though, he would have to recreate his flesh. With the snap of his fingers, his previous form had been restored, his skin, appendages, and even his clothing had become apart of him again. "Now... I suppose I'll have to use my Kekkai Genkai to make this world for real..." Shou would focus on himself. Was it dangerous to use it on one's self? He was about to find out. Shou felt chakra filling him and his appearance change to that of his Kekkai Genkai form. Even in reality, his appearance had changed to that of a red beast. His long, black hair now blood red, and his face marked with the markings of his clan. "Now..." Shou opened his eyes and looked over himself, "I've always wanted to have a reddish-blonde hair..." As if a command, his hair had been changed to a beautiful, chin-length blonde, with a hint of red. "Now, smaller body frame..." With this, his bones began to crack and rearrange. This was extremely painful, and unexpected. Seeing how it not only affected him in his mind, it also affected him outside. The pain was excruciating and unbearable, but despite this, was able to visualize himself in a new form. Pretty, rounded nails. Long, slim fingers and toes. Gentle, soft hands and thin wrists. Hourglass figure with, naturally, a flat chest. Plump yet thin thighs, leading down to long, slender knees, with small, smooth kneecaps. His feet became silky soft and petite, slightly smaller than his previous ones. His hips widened, his neck extended a bit, his eye shape and color changed to two separate colors in both eyes, the top of the pupil was golden yellow, while the bottom was that of a deep, ocean blue, blending perfectly together. His teeth sharpened a bit and were polished, his tongue was smaller but a bit longer and thinner. His lips were plump and succulent, smooth to the touch and shiny to the moonlight. His face began to crack and change. What was thin became a tad bit wider and heart-shaped, becoming somewhat more feminine. His ears and earlobes softened, his nose became smaller to fit his androgynous face, and his rump had plumped up a bit. His voice had become beautifully vocal and light, slightly more feminine than before. His scent changed to that of magnolia and rosemary. What else had changed would be private, and left unsaid. Shou knew that the transformation was complete. He knew it was finished. What seemed like hours was now finally over. He needed not see himself in his mind, as he knew he felt different outside. It was time to leave.

Shou's eyes fluttered open, but his eyesight was completely blurry. He held his head and noticed many changes. His hair was much, much shorter than before, and his hands were extremely soft. He began to feel himself all over without trying to look like a weirdo in public. "It... It worked...?" Shou stood up and closed his eyes, "I think.. I may need glasses..." Shou sat back down in a daze and decided to wait for a sign of humanity to call out to. Deep down inside, he felt accomplished.

2126 Words

Claiming 1k for Jutsu Knowledge rank-up to S
Claiming 1k for Physical Enhancement rank-up to S
Storing spare 126 for later.

Underwent permanent appearance change.

Masa Yoshi had run out to the training field to get a bit of practice in. While she was still an academy student, she knew that she would need some practice if she ever wanted to become a powerful Kunoichi! When she arrived, she mentally listed off the three Jutsu mentally... and decided to try and learn none of them and practice her Taijutsu forms. She knew she had to practice the other jutsu to graduate, but they seemed so... boring to learn. And not as useful.

So, she would begin to practice her forms. She knew that, even being as weak as she was, she could take on Civilians as old as 18. How would she know? She saw one bullying a much younger boy, and she intervened. For the sake of Justice, she would help all those in need! 'Dwarven Vow #2! Never abandon someone in need!' she thought to herself, as she took up a stance. She practiced some of the standard Kirigakure style kicks and punchs, fixing whatever she saw that needed to be fixing.

A little bit in, she saw a man walk into the training yards, and begin to train. Well, she thought he was gonna train, but he didn't. He just... sat down? She paused her movements, and slowly made her way over to him. She examined him, sitting down in front of him, and looking at his body. 'Did he just come out here and die?' she asked herself, as she reached over and checked for a pulse on him. After a moment, she felt his heart beat, and sighed to herself. Didn't want to have a dead body on her hands, after all.

So she just looked at him, eyes darting to the slightest of movements. She would occasionally poke his forehead. She couldn't sense another persons Chakra yet, so she couldn't check that. Strange. The longer she stared at him, the more she thought she was seeing him change physically. After a moment, she realized he WAS changing physically. She let out a god-awful shriek as she watched his bones change shape in front of her. She knew the kaguya clans compound was forming here, but this was absurd! She jumped, and ran around behind the man, to see if anything was happening to his back, and sure enough his spine was shifting to

After a moment, it stopped. Masa had stopped yelling, and just began to observe, with a stupefied look on her face. He watched him move his hand to his hand to his head, and begin to say something to himself. Masa slowly made her way over to him, watching as he began to touch himself. When he sat back down, Masa patted his shoulder, and asked "U-um, s-sir? Do you need any help? her voice came out shaky, like a little girl who had just seen a horror movie. Which was kinda what happened, only a bit more real

It didn't take long for Shou to come to his senses, "A-ah.. I c-can't see..." He growled softly and began rubbing his eyes. Did he mess up on something? Maybe it was only temporary... Despite going through emotional trauma, he wasn't worse for wear. He did feel somewhat exhausted, however. Shou was now notably much younger, and softer at that. Shou looked around before spotting the blur of another human being, "Oh, hi... I don't mean to trouble you like this, but... I can't exactly see right now..." He gestures towards his eyes, "I don't know if the jutsu I just performed did it, or if it's only temporary.. But I'd need to go to a clinic, but I won't be able to find my way, so..." Shou wasn't used to asking for help, but being nice was the only way he could think of to survive at the moment.

Shou simply looked up at the blur with a sad, pitiful look.

"Will you please help me?":

Masa would listen to this boys plight. So it was a Jutsu? Wow. The things a Ninjutsu could do... or would this be Medical Jutsu? Masa had no idea. She'd need to read up on this. In the mean time, she would give a quick moment to let his request process, before she gave him a smile. "Dwarven Vow number two! Always help those in need!" Masa would preach, as she bent down to help the boy up. She wasn't strong enough to, say, lift this person, seeing as she was only 14, and this guy looked no older than 16. No way such a small person would be able to lift him.

So, she would assist him up, and let him use her as a crutch. She would make it so that his arm was around her shoulder, and he could put his weight on her, just in case his legs were injured or he was still wobbly. She would smile to him, and say "My name's Masa Yoshi! It's nice to meet you!"

Yutaka was walking to the training grounds when he heard a loud shriek let out by what sounded like a girl. Yutaka really didn't want to involve himself in anything today but he guessed he had to, he couldn't just hear someone scream practically and move on. Yutaka started running to the training grounds and jumped into a tree and observed the area. He saw two younger people, one standing up and one sitting down. Nothing seemed to be wrong, so why did the girl let out such a loud shriek?

Yutaka made his way to them and said, "What seems to be the problem here?" He was wondering what in the hell was wrong. Did the guy sitting down hurt himself, did the girl get scared? Maybe if the guy was hurt it'd give Yutaka the perfect opportunity to train in the Purification arts he had discovered not so long ago or maybe he could try to use Alkahestry? Yutaka really didn't care what he used, he just wanted to see how fast he could heal someone and if he'd actually be useful on the battlefield.

Shou stood up perfectly fine, but still accepted her help. He wasn't injured at all, but nearly blind. He was sure that glasses would fix the problem. "Thanks! I'm not hurt or anything, well, not anymore. I can't really see much though. I can make out blurs, shadows, and buildings, but not much else. I think I may need some glasses in order to see again... This jutsu really did a number on me, but thanks to it's effect, I was able to change myself permanently- Well, until I decide to change my appearance again.. Though I'm not keen on the idea..." He frowns to himself, "This is who I am now. My name is Shou, by the way. Shou Kurama." He would stretch his arms and legs before looking around curiously, "So where is the nearest clinic?" Before they could continue, the man interjected and wondered what was going on. Shou would let him know of what went down.

"Oh, nothing! I performed a new jutsu that I created and... Well.. My sight is very bad now... I need to head to a clinic to get some spectacles to see. The jutsu itself, however, changed my overall appearance, age, voice, and scent to my liking." Shou freezes for a moment. What if something went wrong? What if he were ugly, but couldn't tell. What if he messed up, "A-ah.. I'm sorry but... How... Do I look? I mean, I'm not... Ugly, am I..?"

Shou looked to the both of them, unable to see how they really look either.:

After the explanation of what happened, Masa let out a sigh. It was good to hear that she wasn't hurt badly, but he could only wonder why he would need to change his appearance. That was good, since Masa Yoshi didn't want to see someone de-formed right in front of her eyes. "Maybe we should get the clinic people to check to see if anything went wrong in the Jutsu?" Masa asked, with her head tilted in a manor only a young girl could do.

"It's nice to meet you Shou! I like your name~" Masa began, fawning over his name. She really did like the name. "The nearest clinic should be a block away. Not to far, I don't think." She informed as she began to lead him out of the training grounds. After only a few steps, she heard someone land close by, and ask what was going on. She looked around Shou to see who it was, and instantly noticed the Kirigakure Hitai-ate. He was a Shinobi.

Masa was about to speak up and explain what happened, but didn't when Shou began to explain. It didn't cover why she screamed, though. She would say if he asked, though. When mentioning the clinic, Masa smiled, and said "I'm helping him to the Clinic, Shinobi-san!" Masa's voice resonated pride. She was helping someone out, and someone else was here to see. She was just naturally happy, she supposed but she let not her pride consume her.

In the mean time, it seemed that Shou was wondering about his appearance. Well, he certainly wouldn't be getting any girls looking as feminine as he did now, but that's besides the point. In any case, Masa would smile and say "You look like a really pretty boy!" it was the honest answer. She would not lie, as that would be breaking Dwarven Vow #11.

"No need to go to the clinic at the moment, maybe I can see what I can do with my medical ninjutsu." Yutaka looked at him and then suddenly he asked about how he looked and Yutaka answered after the girl did, [color=blue]"You look perfectly fine, although I wouldn't know why your vision would be bad after a jutsu that just changes your appearance. Well anyways, I'll just attempt to do something to help your eyes." After Yutaka had said that he began to use the Mystical Palms justu, he didn't know if it'd work but it was worth a shot. After at least 10 minutes went past Yutaka asked, "Are your eyes getting any better or do we have to visit the clinic and get you some spectacles?" Yutaka would be curious if medical ninjutsu also worked like this, but if not he'd assist Shou to the clinic. Suddenly, Yutaka forgot that he never introduced himself and started scratching his head. "By the way, my name is Yutaka." Such a stupid thing to do especially after it took him 10 minutes to state his name after Shou stated his, but the girl didn't really seem to state her name either so maybe it wasn't a big deal.

WC: 211
[Purification Arts: 211/2000]

Shou had allowed the man to perform on his eyes. After all, what's the worst that could happen? He was almost completely blind. As a glow took over, his vision began to slightly come back to him. It was still fuzzy, but he could make them both out, "Oh! That helped some! I s'pose I'm near sighted now.. I still think glasses would help with a perfect vision though.." Shou chuckled heartily before he noted that the clinic wasn't far. It would help that it was nearby, but he's still feel like he would need help getting there, as he cannot read signs at this point. At least he didn't have to feel along walls and such, just to find a mere building. He reached down and took her wrist so she could lead him, "Thank you for your help, Yutaka. My name is Shou, by the way. Shou Kurama, of the Kurama and Inuzuka clan~ I like dogs!" He chuckled and jested at his secondary-clan's obsession with canines. Shou looked to the girl and lit up at her answer. He must have succeeded in his jutsu!

"You mean... It worked!? I must have succeeded!":

Masa watched in aw as the Shinobi, Yutaka, use some jutsu. It wasn't even the fact that it was a Medical Jutsu, just the sheer fact that she was witnessing one! She was an academy student, so she didn't usually see any Chakra-based techniques, so the fact that she was seeing someone using Chakra made it a great day! "Wow! What was that?" Masa asked, starry eyed after the glow from Yutaka's hands died down. She was ecstatic at seeing it, and openly shown it.

Masa looked to Yutaka, and gave a bow, saying "I'm sorry! I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Masa Yoshi, and I want to bring Justice to the world when I become a Kunoichi!" Masa would stand back, her smile large enough that even Shou would be able to see how happy she was based on just her facial expression. Masa would then ask "Yutaka-san, would you care to join us?"

Yutaka looked at Shou and listened to him tell Yutaka the effect the medical jutsu on him. Yutaka then became ecstatic when he heard that the medical ninjutsu helped, even if it wasn't much he was glad he could help. Suddenly he heard the girl ask him what it was and replied to her, "That was the mystical palms jutsu, it's considered to be a C-Ranked medical ninjutsu." Then Yutaka listened to Shou speak and said, "It's nice to meet you Shou, I'll try to heal your eyes fully if I am able to. I just need to learn the newest form of medical ninjutsu I discovered!" Then straight after he heard Shou speak he listened to the girl speak and learned that her name was Masa.

"Masa" what an interesting name, Yutaka thought. He then heard Masa offer to allow him to join them and he replied, "I'd love to! I need some people to train with anyways. So, I'm assuming we'll be off to the click first correct? Then maybe we can get some training into this, aye?"

Shou smiled and nodded to them both, "I'll be sure to go easy on you both if we do spar. I can't use my kekkai genkei on either of you, or my genjutsu would kill you.. So if the chance arises, I'll try to use non-lethal means~" Shou giggled and shook his head, "I wish I wasn't so lethal.. Sometimes, I'd like to just subdue someone, rather than hurt them entirely.." He folded his arms but then nodded to the girl, "Well, lead on. We can chat while in the waiting room. I don't know many people here, but as as one of the new leader's hands, I'm going to have to get to know people.."

Shou nodded to Yutaka and smirked, "You're good. Keep working on your skills. I'll let the new leader of this village know of your gifted talent for medical jutsu."

The Mystical Palm technique, hm? Well, it sounded like an interesting Jutsu to say the least, but not one Masa herself would use. She didn't have a clue how the body worked, save for say Chakra points, though even then, the only ones she knew off the top of her head were the 8 Gates... "I don't know much about the body" She began, blunt and to the point "But I do know the 8 Gates off by heart! They are; Opening, Healing, Life, Pain, Limit, View, Wonder, and Death! They're 8 tenketsu that regulate your chakra, and prevent your muscles from overloading! I even know where they're located! In order, they're located in 2 parts of the Brain, 2 parts in the Spinal Cord, the abdomen, 2 in the stomach, and just above the heart! They don't teach it in the Academy, which is why I'm proud of knowing it! but I don't know why they don't teach it..."

Masa smiled as wide as she humanly possible when she heard the two say they would spar with her. She could practice her Taijutsu with them! She was yet to even try Ninjutsu, so she wouldn't use it, but her developing style was coming in strong. Well, it wasn't hers, but she had been learning the basics somewhat... Either way, she would smile to the pair. She didn't care if Shou's Genjutsu was lethal or not. "Ok! Off to the Clinic!" Masa would begin to almost drag shou along, but she wasn't nearly strong enough to resist his strength if he were to resist it.

Yutaka looked at Shou and said, "That sounds great Shou and thanks for the compliment, I don't get many often." He then looks straight at Masa when she mentioned the eight gates and when she finished speaking he looked at her with a worried face and said, "You be careful if you're ever going to learn that. It's a dangerous jutsu that can damage your body and sometimes you can't fix it." Yutaka wondered why she'd take such interest in such a thing, something that could endanger your life so quickly...

Yutaka shook it off and said, "Now, lets go to the clinic shall we?" He then started walking off in the direction of the Clinic slowly making sure that they can catch up. Maybe Shou could get his glasses quickly and we could skip straight to a quick little spar. He'd get to know their skill level. Then he remembered what Shou said about his genjutsu that can kill you and slightly gulped, speeding up his walk to the clinic slightly.

As they walked, Shou kept his grip on Masa's wrist, not enough to hurt her, but not light enough to slip away. He peered about at the blurs and colors. He had not seen the world like this before, and it was frightening. Hopefully a pair of glasses could fix it. If not, he'd have to rely on surgery. Shou was fast enough to keep up with her pace. What was going through Shou's mind as well was how he was going to get Roland to identify him. And who IS Roland? He didn't know much, but he could sense his immense power when around. Maybe he could mentor him if he asked nicely?

"Maybe I could enhance the glasses with chakra at some point.. Or have someone do it. Glasses could be a nuisance in battle if you're not careful, so maybe I could have a pro that balances out the con?"

[Shall we continue the RP? It seems that Taika has left the site due to its downfall.]

(ugh.. what a downer.. Sure. Let's pretend she wasn't here, and you're leading me by arm)

(I'll post tomorrow or something)

Yutaka quickly led Shou to the clinic, he wanted to get straight into the spar. Once they reached the clinic Yutaka led Shou to the front desk and said, "Shou we're here." Yutaka then waited quietly for Shou to speak, he couldn't see out of Shou's eyes so it really wasn't like he could tell the clerk everything that was wrong with Shou.

[Sorry for the short post]