Aria of the Soul

The end of the Chunin Exams...

Everything was blank, dark, calm, and restful. He felt his body heavy and unwilling to move but not in pain. Just tired. So tired. He was asleep for some time, his consciousn3ss going in and out of awareness as he slept in the dark. He felt out of place, exhausted and strained. He had never used that much chakra before in his life. It only now drew its toll... especially after what happened.

The flashbacks...

The clash with Enishi, the chunin exams, the fight, and finally, the awakening as Zeo unleashed his dormant abilities in the form of his Persona-- and the mysterious black starry eyes. The manifestation of He Bo, the God of Rivers...

The moment faded in and out of time as if Zeo was reliving pieces of the battle out of order. He felt tired and torn between restlessness and exhaustion. It lasted for some time, till his head began to feel lighter and he felt himself start to stir...

... but he didn't wake up, as he found himself in a new place altogether. He soon woke but found himself standing. His weight felt off as the ground itself shifted. He soon grew to some sense of awareness as he looked around-- to find himself in a different place entirely.

The surrounding was aglow in a dark blue surrounding, almost violet in color. He slowly looked around, to find himself in a very narrow location-. The tilt of his surroundings seemed to grasp his attention as he glanced to the side, to soon see out an open archway or window-- that water was on all sides of him.

He was on a boat of some kind. Despite the boat, the decore was completely separate from a simple ship or vessel. It was more like a luxury barge or liner. Cherry Blossoms floated through the air like snow, blowing in from the night air-- indeed it was a night from the way he saw the moon reflected on the water and the chill to the air. The boat had a series of curtains drawn back, all the same, blue color, with a table of fancy drinks and decore on one side. Much likely rice wine and other things. The seats were oddly cushioned as if a boat reserved for an emperor. However, what drew his attention most of all-- was that he was not alone.

At the far end of the deck, he saw them. Two people were there and were in attendance as if awaiting him. One was a creepy-looking old man in a suit, with big, wide eyes and a long nose. The other was a beautiful woman with blonde hair that ran down her back. She was dressed in a similar blue kimono with light yellow or white flower vines around it.

The man, sitting at a table before him, opened his wide eyes as he looked to Zeo, acknowledging him.

"Welcome, to the Velvet Room, my dear young man," the creepy man said.


Zeo wished to speak, but his voice failed him in the state of the dream.

"What a unique guest who has graced us with his presence. Introductions are in order. I am Igor, the master of this place. It is a pleasure to meet you," he continued.

It was then that the woman in the kimono raised her head and greeted Zeo as well. "Welcome, my dear. My name is Iris. It is my duty to assist you on your journey." she said calmly with a beautiful tone of voice.

Journey? Zeo thought. He wanted to talk, but something prevented anything to happen to him.

A chuckle escaped the long-nosed man, Igor as he waved a hand. "How very curious. It is indeed rare to meet a visitor like you, from a world so... different, than our other guests have been. You have quite an unusual destiny that awaits you," he explained as he slofly drew his hand over the table. From it, he magically produced a deck of cards, with a mask on it. "Allow me to explain. This place exists between dream and reality. Mind and matter. Only those who have signed a pact or contract can enter this place."

Pact? Zeo thought, but soon remembered. The voice of He Bo back during the battle. He heard him and offered his assistance. His vow. Was that it?

"From this point on, you shall be welcomed in this room should you need guidance. You are destined to hone your unique abilities, and you will require our help to do so," he explained, and with a wave of his hand, the cards spread themselves out along the table. With a flick of his finger, the top-most card flipped itself over, revealing a vision of "The Fool" tarot card.

"We look forward to seeing how far you come, and shall be eager to help you along your journey." Iris added as she nodded serenely to Zeo.

It was then Zeo felt himself grow light-headed as if he was fading from this 'dream' again...

"Till we meet again, my dear young guest..." Igor said as Zeo's vision faded to black, blissfully drifted back to slumber upon the dreamy river...

****

After what felt like forever, Zeo felt his body-- and the aches that came from it. It took him a bit of time to regain his sense of mind. The glare of light from the sun pierced through his eyelids, preventing further sleep. Slowly, he opened his eyes to see a white ceiling. His mind was blank for a moment, but it soon came back. The Chunin exams, the end, his failure. His eyes drooped a bit in disappointment as he realized where he was-- and felt the strange sensation on his body. The feel of bandages around his body, especially over his forehead. That, and the feel of the sheets tucked around him and the slightly elevated bed.

He was in a hospital.

The reality that he lost to Enishi was all too obvious. After all the faith, encouragement and even teaching him rare jutsu from the village, he failed to rise higher in the exams and lost in the first round of the third exam. True, he made it far but in the end, up against a fellow ninja of his own village-- he fell short.

While disappointed, he also remembered what happened. The change in his chakra-- his "Persona" that emerged from within him. And unless he was mistaken, the change in his eyes. He saw the entire world differently as it changed right before his eyes. He had a Kekkei Genkai... he never knew about or that existed.

He looked up at the ceiling blankly, unable to know how to respond to that realization. Still, for all that realization, he didn't know how he would face the rest of the village after his failure. He glanced out at the window, seeing the blue sky and sunshine. Things seemed to be normal now. All he could do was sign.

"Oh, you're awake!" a voice said in surprise.

Zeo turned his head slowly, to find a nurse with pink hair soon approaching him with a clip board in hand. "Good Morning, Mr. Kamigawa. How are you feeling?"

"Um..." Zeo breathed, unsure how to answer that. "How long have I been asleep?"

"Oh, my. Well, you been recovering for a bit. You were asleep for at least two days," the nurse said, which was a surprise to hear. "You really pushed yourself in the exam. You shouldn't do such things so recklessly you know? "

Two days? The fact was a surprise to Zeo. He was speechless in that fact.

"You exuded an awful lot of Chakra at once. Chakra is a vital energy for Shinobi. Expell too much and your very life will be at risk. Surely, you knew that, didn't you?" she asked.

He knew. But at that moment, refusing to surrender, was even worse to Zeo. He simply didn't want to lose, or let the village down... He didn't answer that to the nurse.

"Either way, we been keeping you under observation after your treatment. You were badly hurt at the end. "

WC: 1368

“I hate hospitals.” Said Dusk, who did not share Ayato’s concern for visiting. “The way they smell. It’s as if they’ve drenched it in chlorine to hide the sickness.”

“Then wait outside for me.” He said and walked through the glass door.

Ayato believed in the little hero. In the stories, the little hero would fight against all odds and emerge victoriously. A story he had dreamed of living once, and he had. Originally outshined by the Genin of his generation, Ayato surpassed all of them without taking a single shortcut by sticking into the things he knew. 

The Kage tried to put on that dream to someone. To trust them with it, his Genin. The fine young men and women would represent the village and its people and bring to Hoshi great glory. However, all dreams end when the dreamer awakes.  They all had passed the first two parts of the exams with flying colors. But the last part of the exams proved to be a different story.

Yamaguchi Kouma, the young puppeteer, was defeated by Ayato’s cousin from Suna, Souji. Yuuma Fujiwara, who secured an assuring victory against Gonk from Kiri, bowed out of the finals for personal reasons. The bastard of the Hoshimura went toe toe toe with the eventual winner of the tournament Gin Akimichi. This battle ended in a draw, but only one participant was found unable to continue.

Zeo Kamigawa and Enishi Kurosawa met with each other, and after a lengthy battle, Enishi won by the skin of his teeth and passed in the final. The champion’s trophy went to Kumo, and they had the fewest participants while Hoshi had most. Despite this, Ayato sticks by his people in both victory and defeat. And as far as he was concerned, they all did their best. They were meeting expectations and more. Today he was here to see one of them.

The Hyuuga’s steps grew faster with every second. He would run if he could, but he was the Kage, which required him to keep up appearances. The boy had awoken from his coma two days after the tournament. He was Yasha’s relative, his trusted Nova Corps companion. The martial arts master had developed Ayato’s fighting style to what it was currently.

“Lord Seventh! We were expecting you.” A pink-haired nurse said when she noted the sigil on his white Kage hat and sleeveless surcoat. Underneath the surcoat, Ayato wore long-sleeve elaborate robes as black as the night sky. The robes tied with a purple linen sash around his thin and free of muscle fat waist.

“Please follow me.” She led him to the room where Zeo Kamigawa was recovering. The drapes were open, with morning sunlight spilling into the floor and walls.

"Zeo Kamigawa, I hope your treatment is going well."

WC: 467

Zeo sighed as he sank into the cushy mattress of his bed. He was propped up a bit but stuck there, with nothing to do and was left with his thoughts. He was disappointed-- he lost, and was probably viewed as useless by the rest of HOshi after all their faith in him. He tried not to think of the worst-case-- the idea of them tossing him away after taking him in. His logical brain knew they would never do that. He did his best, but still... he hated himself for failing, even if it was to one of their own. Why did HE have to be his opponent?

On the other hand, his brain reeled by not only the dream he had, but the fact he was now aware of what happened. The fight, the eyes... his Persona. It was real. What was once a dream or fantasy, was now proven real to him. He had one. A kekkei genkai, a genetic ninja trait that gave the person superior power. However, he was completely oblivious to it till now.

He gazed up at the ceiling as he looked pathetic, arms to his side in the stupid hospital bed without even a book to keep him company. A sigh escaped him as he realized the situation he got in.

However, his sharp hearing soon picked up on the nurse as she spoke and greeted none other than the "Hogokage" himself. That actually got Zeo's curiousity as he tilted his head up. "The Hogokage is here?" he asked to himself, wondering why. He figured it had nothing to do with him, and more or less drifted off a bit more.

Before those same annoying thoughts came back, the door soon opened. Zeo looked up to soon find the nurse leading in a man with black hair and black robes-- and the same hat marked with the star kanji---The hogokage himself, Ayato Hyuuga.

Zeo's mind went blank as he soon sat up from where he was, trying to be somewhat respectful. "L...Lord Hogokage..." Zeo said in soft awe, unsure what to do or say now-- not that he could do much stuck in bed.

Was this it? Was the Kage going to scold him for losing? He bit his lip nervously, unsure what was his fate now. Finally recovering some nerve from the surprise to find the seemingly kind man, he gulped down his nerve to speak up. "Um... not sure. I beg your pardon, but why are you here, sir?" Zeo asked, unsure what the visit was for.

WC: 428

Zeo Kamigawa acted as if he had seen a ghost. The uniform of Ayato, signifying his shinobi station,  seemed to bring the young Genin such unease to the point where he would question his superior's presence in the room.  

"Relax, Zeo. I'm not a hallucination." Said Ayato, not unkindly. "Albeit if I were, you wouldn't know." His gaze shifted from the boy to a wall painting. It portrayed in vibrant colors a waterfall and a school of koi fish ascending it. Koi is a legendary fish. Graceful, vibrant, and one of the most recognizable fish globally, Koi was well-loved and respected, but Ayato did not look at it for its real-life qualities. That painting symbolized something more.

“I have one of these in my office. In fact, I was the one who asked the board of this hospital to put it in all the rooms."Ayato imagined the Kamigawa scion might have been familiar with the legend of the koi fish’s claim to fame. Regardless, he would proceed to give him the play-by-play. 

"An ancient tale tells of a massive school of golden koi swimming upstream the river. Gaining strength by fighting against the current, the school glimmered as they swam together through the river. However, when they reached a waterfall at the end of the river, many of the koi turned back, letting the river’s flow carry them away. The remaining koi refused to give up. Leaping from the river’s depths, they attempted to reach the top of the waterfall to no avail. Their efforts caught the attention of local demons, who mocked their efforts and heightened the waterfall out of malice. After a hundred years of jumping, one koi finally reached the top of the waterfall. The gods recognized the koi for its perseverance and determination and turned it into a golden dragon."

Ayato turned to meet the injured tourney warrior, his thin lips forming to what appeared to be a smile. The myth drew parallel to many of his struggles after being raised in the shinobi system. As a boy, When he was a boy, it was hard to think about it without getting emotional. However, he was the brave Ayato Hyuuga, a boy no more but the Kage of the Hidden stars. And thus, he continued.

"I'm not here to give you an analysis as to why you lost in the Chuunin Exams. You fought at your best and had a phenomenal performance. This time your best wasn't enough. We read about the great shinobi in history books and overlook that they had a journey to get there. There is glory in victory but even more so in overcoming defeat. It's about time you become a dragon Zeo, a golden dragon."

WC: 462

Mid Thread claim 929 to Disruption Field Mastery for half handseals [929/ 3750]

Approved

Zeo kept quiet for a bit as the sassy hogokage responded to his bewilderment. Clearly lucid enough to realize he was awake and not dreaming, he sat up a bit-- abiet a bit painfully due to his exhaustion and broken bones. He approached the koy fish painting on the wall and began to openly muse about the history behind it. Despite how whimsy the Hogokage appeared to him, there was something about the wonderment in his words that compelled Zeo's attention. He never actually met the kage in person. The story he told was how hard the fish climbed up the waterfall, up the river and was rewarded by becoming a golden dragon.

A good story, one that Zeo felt oddly familiar with. Perhaps cause he grew up near a well-known river, or he may of heard it when he was very young. Either way, he understood the moral to that story well this time around. As Ayato turned to him, he explained it fairly. Zeo fought hard, but lost-- and it was time to pick himself up and keep trying. Still...

Zeo looked at him, a pained look on his face. "I thought you'd be disappointed in me. You personally gave me a village jutsu, one I couldn't use against my foe due to the situation. I would imagine you'd be insulted to have a person you promoted so much fail like that? Though... " Zeo realized he did come farther than others. He made it to the final exam-- the tournament, and aced the other parts with success. Was it simply that he was disappointed in himself? Either way after all the effort and faith the Kage put into him for the exam, he couldn't help but feel he personally let him down.

Zeo bit his lip as he tried to make rightt the words he wanted to tell the Kage. "I am grateful, for all you have done for me. All I want is to help our village become as great as it has been for me. It gave me hope where I thought I lost everything. So to disappoint you is personally upsetting for me. If I have disgraced you, I am sorry. " he said.

Still, Zeo looked up. "But I swear to you, I can and will... grow stronger than I am now. I promise," he said to the hogokage with a sliver of confidence showing on his face.

WC: 406