ICHI 01: Moonlight Summons

[Shu]

It was that time. That special little day that happened once every twenty-nine and a half days. The hairs on Shukaku's new body stood on end. The sand that made up his form began to shuffle, almost as if struggling to maintain the shape. A grin was locked on his face and his eyes fixated in the sky above. His blood drenched body shook in both glee and his own restlessness. It took everything in him to stay this calm, this composed, this focused.

For you see it was the night of a full moon.

"W-why?" the red haired man from the previous city asked through labored breaths. He laid posted against a tree, surrounded by three mutilated corpses of people that were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Unfortunately, his fate was not much better. Since his abduction he had become Shu's latest toy. His left eye had been removed, fingers from his broken hands ripped off, deep gashes all over his body and multiple bones broken. "Won't you...kill me?"

"I needed entertainment," the beast answered simply as he remained fixated on the moon. "Just until tonight though. I have something fun in mind~" he mused as his head eerily turned down to face the man, grin still present. "Do you want to die?" Shu tilted his head, like some sort of curious dog.

Bloodied tears rolled down the man's face as he started to sob. He did not want to die. But he could not continue living this tortured life as the Ichibi's play thing. "YES!" he wailed before a spike of sand pierced through his skull, pinning him to the very tree he was using as support.

"See, Gaara? I can still be nice," he said as his face grew more serious. Full moons had a way of bringing up unwanted memories. Nevertheless, he had more important things to concern himself with rather than thinking of the dead. Dropping to the ground he took on a meditative pose and allowed his consciousness to dive deep.

"WAKE UUUUP~!" he yelled out into the white void. "I know some of you can hear me. None of you could ever sleep during a full moon." There was silence for a while, but he knew that he was heard. "Or have the villages rammed a stick so far up your asses that you can't even speak when your brother calls?"

---

This thread is for the bijū and their hosts. If you have one feel free to reply. If you don't...well, you'll probably get a tailed beast ball to the face. So, yeah.

[Ro]

"What's the matter, Gyūki?"

Although Gyūki had always been restless on nights of the full moon, something in particular seemed to bother him. She could feel his agitation and his apprehension. 'Looks like Shukaku has something to say,' Gyūki replied. 'To all of us. Not sure I wanna go.'

At the mere mention of Shukaku, Ro dove into the same incorporeal space as Gyūki so that they could talk face to face. She stared up at him, and he met her gaze with his own. "I think you should," she advised. "We've never been contacted by the others before. I wasn't aware any other Jinchūriki had obtained the same bond that we have."

Gyūki grumbled; there was something he felt that he wasn't telling her, though she wasn't going to push for him to tell her. 'Yeah, alright. But you're coming too, got it? Shukaku's a little brat, and I don't know who else is gonna show up.'

"I had every intention of going," she replied. She couldn't hide that she was excited to meet with another Jinchūriki that had bonded with their Bijū. She was also curious about Shukaku, as Gyūki never really talked about the other Bijū often. At most they had discussed Naruto Uzumaki and his Bijū, Kurama.

In a mere moment, Ro and Gyūki appeared before Shukaku. And it was literally just Shukaku.

'Shut up!' Gyūki shouted upon their arrival. Ro stood next to him, quietly observing the area. She was hoping to see more, but it was still just a blank, empty white space. And still much to her shock, their only company was a monster made of sand; Shukaku. She saw no Jinchūriki.

"I was under the impression that Shukaku was sealed into a Jinchūriki in the Hidden Sand Village," Ro announced. She turned her attention directly to Shukaku then. "Where is your host?"

[Shu]

At the arrival of the Hachibi the sand tanuki's beady eyes lit up. It really had been too long since he had seen any of the other bijū. Had it been a decade? No. Definitely more than that. Gaara never saw much reason to see any of the other jinchūriki other than the Uzumaki brat, which meant Kurama. Needless to say that didn't produce much conversation. But now, standing before him was hopefully the first of many guests in this impromptu family reunion.

"Gyūki!" Shu greeted happily before noticing the dark skinned woman accompanying his brother. He had brought his ball and chain. It wasn't unexpected. Just unwanted. The meat bag even had the nerve to speak to him directly. "How kind! You brought a snack!" the sand monster said as his eyes shifted to Ro. He wanted to kill her. Shu didn't even attempt to conceal that fact. Sand began to pour from his face to the white floor, taking the shape of his human form. The clone eyed Ro down hungrily and smirked. "Kidding, of course," both beast and man said in unision, each looking directly at their counterpart.

"My host is dead," he summed up rather cheerily. The details of his betrayal didn't need to be brought to light. "Not that any of that really matters." The clone then leaned back against his bestial arm, observing how Ro would react to the news. "What's important is that I am free for the first time in decades!" the Shukaku continued to speak as one.

That wasn't his grand announcement of course. He had gained his freedom a month ago. Been living it up too. No, what he wished to share was far more important. He wanted an audience. No. NEEDED an audience.

...Or maybe a council.

[Sarutobi Sio]

Goddamn him....
Sio sat atop her roof, savoring the feeling of the chill wind blowing through her hair.
"What's up, Kurama?"
Shukaku...he wants to talk to me.
"That's good, right? Maybe you can talk some sense into him."
Not likely. But that was cute that you thought so. You'll see in just a moment why there's no reasoning with this guy.
"Wait...what?"

Sio did not even have a moment to process what Kurama had said. The world seemed to ripple around her as Konoha disappeared, leaving them in perfect, blank white. She had no idea what she was standing on...or in....or even where they were. But they were not alone here. The things that Sio saw here...she never would have believed in another life. Were she not a jinchuriki, herself, had she not seen Kurama, she might believe these giant beasts to be the result of having eaten too much before bed.
Standing before them would be a beast that she could only by default believe was the Shukaku. The color of sand, it was tall with a massive belly and a spiny tail that curved up his back and over his head. It's beady, emotionless eyes scanned the area, sending a definite shiver down Sio's spine.

The next creature on the docket was even stranger. It appeared to be some sort of bovine, or perhaps an oxen. At least in the front. In the back, it was most definitely and undoubtedly an octopus. All ruddy-red with a toothy grin seemingly permanently etched into its face, Sio felt like she should have been afraid, but was actually kind of endeared by him. Both the Shukaku and Hachibi had jinchuriki accompanying them.
Kurama stood firmly behind Sio, grinning toothily and wide at his siblings.
Gyūki! It's been too long! he said jovially. His expression darkened a bit as he then turned toward Shukaku.
And dare I ask what it is you want? You've stirred up quite a mess of shit with your antics.

Sio, meanwhile made her way over toward Ro. The other jinchuriki was a bit intimidating, but Sio wasn't going to let that stop her from seizing the moment she had been waiting on for so long. It was only just now that she realized she had been waiting for it.
"Hi." she said, waving to Ro. "I'm Sarutobi Sio. I'm Kurama's jinchuriki."
She then looked up at the enormous Eight-Tails.
"And...Gyūki, was it? I'm pleased to meet you, also. I'm Sio. I've heard a lot about you, from Naruto-sensei."
She still kept a side eye on the Shukaku. There was a man standing in front of him, but Sio already knew better. His host was dead. He was free. She had no idea who this man was, but if he was purported to be the Shukaku's jinchuriki, there would be at least two of them present who would not be falling for it.

[/blockquote][/blockquote]

[Itanai Sora]

Nice and relaxing, that's how things had been for Sora over the last few weeks. While he was the village's number one weapon he was far too valuable to send on the same missions that others his age and rank were assigned, and instead spent a lot of time cooped up in the village. No matter, laziness was his middle name... well, not actually but it should have been! From deep within the great tree of Takigakure sat the Chunin, a thick branch providing the perfect seat while the trunk proved an excellent back rest. He had been to this spot many times over his life and would have carved his name into the specific spot had it not been frowned upon by the elders. It was perfect in every way as the thick leaves provided enough cover from the heat during the day but were positioned in such a way to get a great view of the moon.

Speaking of, it seemed full tonight which only meant one thing. "How you holdin' up?" Sora asked to seemingly the air, but there was another in the vicinity and closer than anyone would realize. "Had better days, but I'm a good luck charm so nothing to worry about!" The beast responded having shown some of its legendary high spirited attitude. "However, one of my brothers wants to meet so... hold on tight!" A brow raised on the Chunin's face though before he could say a word the two had been transported to an all white plain of... nothingness. It was weird, and kinda trippy. "We're late. Hey guys, long time no see!!" Chomei exclaimed to the other three bijuu that had arrived before her.

Though she didn't really have eyes per-se the bijuu had taken note of the other Jinchuriki mingling with each other, all except for the Ichibi's, though that was probably for the best. "Hey hey, go mingle." She prodded at her host. "But I dun wanna, can't I just stay here?" Whined Sora in response, his well known laziness beginning to shine through. He had taken up residence upon Chomei's horn which gave him a great view of all the other bijuu and their hosts considering that the Shichibi was already hovering in the "air".

"Nope, can't let you be lazy today. Plus, I've got some catching up to do so go have some fun!" Chomei responded before shaking her head and flinging the boy in the direction of the two female Jinchuriki. Whatever this place was had an interesting relationship with gravity as Sora seemed to just float over to the other two and even had time to right himself before landing. Seemed like a good place to have some fun, or just be even lazier. Yeah, the second one seemed much better and there would definitely be some more trips taken here. "Sup guys, how's it hanging?" The Chunin greeted.

[Ro]

Ro didn't make an attempt to step back out of fear of Shukaku; she wasn't afraid of him. The most response he got from her was a facial expression resembling the idea of 'you wish you could'. Gyūki seemed bothered, but not entirely. He didn't seem to think he'd have a problem dealing with Shukaku if it came down to it, but then again Gyūki was always the one reminding Kurama that their strength didn't rely on their number of tails. Shukaku could've grown stronger in the past sixty years.

Before she could say anything, two other figures made themselves present. She instantly recognized the features of Kurama, the Kyūbi. The one she didn't recognize was the young girl. While Ro had been aware of Naruto Uzumaki's death, she hadn't known who the Jinchūriki replacement had been. She could honestly say that she was surprised to see the young girl, though she shouldn't have been. Ro had been made into a Jinchūriki at an even younger age.

'Kurama,' Gyūki acknowledged. Gyūki didn't say more, and instead listened as Kurama talked to Shukaku. It seemed that Kurama was well aware of the situation regarding Shukaku, whereas Ro did not. Did that mean Konoha possessed some vital information worth sharing? Ro decided that she would seek out D when he returned from Konoha. At the very least, she could tell him what she was learning now.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the young Jinchūriki of the Kyūbi, though Ro didn't fully mind. She knelt down after the girl's introduction and introduced herself, "I am Ro, of the Hidden Cloud Village." Gyūki also acknowledged Sio when she spoke to him, though non-verbally. He'd grown too interested in seeing what Shukaku and Kurama would talk about. That, however, was again interrupted by two more arrivals.

Chomie and it's Jinchūriki also appeared. Ro looked at the new child and sighed. Was she really the only adult Jinchūriki? She stood up, silently judged Chomie and it's Jinchūriki, and then prepared for the boy to be near them. She was not up for this babysitting bullshit.

[Shu]

Upon the arrival of Kurama both beast and clone smirked a little. Of all the tailed beasts there were none with a stronger sense of rivalry than these two. For centuries the kitsune boasted of his power, spreading the false belief that the number of tails equated to strength. However, his greatest grievance was that it was difficult to convince his pig-headed brother otherwise. See, even compared to the rest of their siblings, Kurama had a freakish amount of unbridled, raw, destructive power. Whereas Shu boasted to having the strongest defense of the bijū. But over the past half-decade Shu had come to relish the dichotomy of their relationship.

Seeing the small child accompanying him made him damn near giddy. Above anything this proved the rumors of the Hokage's death to be undeniably true. Which in hindsight was actually more detrimental to his cause, but Kurama's misery was a suitable silver lining.

"You heard about that? Did the catkage finally get around to telling people?" The Shukaku queried as they continued to speak in tandem, laughing a little at how little information was shared. His attention then turned as Chomei and her host made their appearance.

Shu withheld the desire to roll his eyes upon seeing his sister. He didn't have any animosity towards her or anything. She was just that person that had way too much energy no matter what time of the day it was. His attention then shifted to the gathering of the jinchūriki. It was infuriating having them here. Desecrating their space. Thoughts of killing them crossed his mind on more than one occasion. It would just be their minds that were gone. Then his siblings could just take control. Win-win, right?

"In any case, three of you is enough for me to start," Shu said as he addressed the other beasts, his demeanor had grown serious now. This was a side of Shukaku that many of them likely hadn't seen in centuries. "Once again targets have been placed on our backs by the humans. The threat we face is no different than the Akataski," he spoke with a raised voice, announcing it to his brethren that had yet to show as well as to those before him.

"They have already claimed Kokuō as their first victim. I've made efforts to find him, but I fear he might be dead." This should cause a stir. Each and every tailed beast was unique in their own way, sharing only their origins and a few abilities in common. But like any living being they shared a great desire to preserve their own lives. Even if they would come back it could take decades. It was the only fate worse than being sealed away. "But I do have a plan."

[Ro]

Ro's attention snapped to Gyūki. She could feel him getting restless. The idea of being hunted was a difficult one to grasp, but Gyūki had already been hunted before. He'd nearly been taken by the Akatsuki when Uchiha Sasuke had attacked her grandfather. She was sure that he was thinking of these things, and she needed to make him stop. If he grew too restless, it could be a problem.

"Gyūki," she said, looking up at him and standing close to his side. "Stay calm. We are strong; nobody will take you from me."

'You don't get it, Ro. You've never been-'

Gyūki suddenly stopped talking. Ro's hand was placed firmly on his side, and he chakra was flowing directly into him. The sedative qualities began working with an immediate effect on him. "Be calm, Gyūki," she said. "This is no time to become restless."

She turned to Shukaku.

"I do not care about your plan," she stated. "Tell us who these people are that seek us out, then ramble on about your plan."

[Sarutobi Sio]

Sio smiled at Ro, then looking up at Gyūki. There was something about the pair of them. They seemed...bonded. At ease with one another. The way she hoped she could be with Kurama one day. She felt as if they were already on their way there.
Another would arrive soon. A...giant bug...it would seem. It didn't seem to have tails. Sets of wings, though, it had in spades. Seven of them, to be exact, and so Sio was left to conclude that this was the Shichibi and its jinchuriki: a pink-haired boy who appeared to be about her age.
"Hello." Sio said, waving as he approached.

Chomei.

[/color] Kurama regarded her with a curt nod. Indeed, no one could have anything against Chomei. She was as nice as pie, but for some of the...gruffer Biju like Kurama and Shukaku, her energy could be a bit much at times. For now, though, she seemed fine. Kurama's attention would stay on Shukaku. He didn't trust this guy as far as he could pick him up and lob him in a general direction.
As Shu began to speak, Sio made her way back to Kurama, standing next to his enormous right hand. She carefully put a hand on his knuckle to balance herself, and this time, Kurama flinched but did not lift.
The words Shu spoke were nothing new to Sio and Kurama. They had gotten this entire rundown from Ojin already. Still, it made Sio no less sad to hear that he had been unsuccessful with getting in touch with the Gobi, Kokuo. She could shift a slight change in Kurama at those words, also. A touch of frustration, and a flare of anger. Sio felt the same, as well. Though she didn't know any of the other Biju, it saddened her to think that anything bad could happen to any of them for absolutely no reason at all.

This ought to be rich. Kurama said, tails starting to flare and arch. Everybody listen up...This guy right here has a plan. Because killing your host and rampaging around the countryside was such a genius move.
"Come on, Kurama..." Sio urged, her brows furrowing as she pushed Kurama's hand gently. "Don't..."
She didn't want Shukaku mad at them. There was something eerie about him. She didn't dislike him, but she certainly distrusted him. She wanted to hear his plan. After all, the Biju would be about self-preservation. He would not propose a plan that would doom them.
Kurama, at the urging of Sio, growled but settled, thrashing his tails like an angry cat but saying no more.
Don't get too caught up in anything this guy says, Sio.[/size][/blockquote][/blockquote]

[Itanai Sora]

The older woman didn't seem too pleased about more people showing up, or being here in general though the younger girl was fairly polite. Sora always knew that there were others like him running about the world but had never cared enough to try and obtain any information on them. As for the bijuu, Chomei had told him their names on a few occasions, but yet again the laziness bug struck and Sora couldn't be arsed to remember them. Unfortunate really, because for such interesting looking creatures they must have had cool names. Something indeed was wrong with the other guy, but the Chunin couldn't quite tell what it was. Perhaps he was just shy, or maybe antisocial. He would have never guessed that the "man" standing before them was but a mere clone and that the true host had died some time ago.

Sora's attention turned towards the one tailed fat badger looking thing as it started speaking. Apparently they were being hunted once more like so long ago. The Chunin gave a glance to Chomei though with the beast having no eyes it was hard to tell what all was going on, though seeing her spade like wings curl up a bit was a dead giveaway. While he didn't know much about these Akatsuki Sora knew they were the reason the previous host of the Shichibi, Fuu, had perished. Chomei spoke of her from time to time and she seemed like a decent, joyous woman; similar to Chomei herself.

The Shichibi whirred in disappointment upon hearing that one of her brothers had already been captured by this unknown force and wondered if her other siblings had came upon the same fate hence them not showing up. Neither the Kyubi nor the host of the Hachibi seemed too pleased with the Ichibi's words, especially the part about having some sort of plan, and it seemed kind of dickish to not hear him out. Sure, he and his host were a bit deranged looking in the face but it was far too soon to pass judgement.

"What do you have in mind, Shukaku?" Asked Chomei, who in all her days of life had been the one to give support to all of her siblings endeavors, or at the very least hearing them out. Granted, she knew that Shu was going to keep talking regardless but it never hurt to at least feign support if Kurama and Gyuki weren't going to. Sora chuckled slightly at the decision, she was always so nice and energetic, and as much as she wanted to be upset there was just too much positive energy flowing through her to do so. The other Jinchuriki had made their way back to their respective bijuu, but the Chunin would stay. He knew that Chomei would be alright, at least for the moment, and probably wouldn't let him sit atop her head if he wanted to anyway. It was a rare sight for the Shichibi to have so much control though she always had a way of influencing the boy when he was being particularly lazy.

[CHūNIN EXAMS PROCTOR]

'Kay, I really want to go see why my brother called for us.'

I heard you the first time, the ebony skinned woman said dismissively. Just hold on a sec.

'You said that ten minute ago...'

Sitting at the round table surrounded by ten other people, she groaned. She couldn't ever get a bit of free time to herself, it seemed.

Regardless of whatever Matatabi was going on about, she was busy and wasn't going to be disturbed until she finished this game she was. Looking at the cards that she held in her hand, she grinned, pushing the rest of her chips to the center of the table.

"I'm all in...!!"

A glare of confidence caused the other players to cower, causing them to either fold and leave the table or to bet the rest of their earnings too.

"So whaddaya got, boys?" she asked causally, smiling as everyone revealed their hands.

"BAM!" she exclaimed with a teethy smile. "Two 3's, waddup?!"

"You have the worse hand at the table, girlie." the bald, fat man that sat across from her stated, reaching to the middle of the table after flaunting his pair of Kings.

"Fucking n00bs," she groaned in disgust, rolling her eyes. "A pair of 3's beats a pair of Kings."

"What? No--" before the fat piece of shit could utter another syllable, Kayoi reached for her cleaver-sword and lobbed it across the table at the man's head. He ducked down, she barely missed by a centimeter.

"Okay okay!" the pig of a man said frantically, "You won you won!"

"I thought so," smiled Kayoi, raking her acquired winning into her knapsack. "I'll take this."

---

Matatabi, in the inner recesses of her mind, her voice rung like a bell. What the hell were you going on about before?

'Shukaku called called for my siblings and I.' the fiery cat said intently. 'I wanted to go and see what it is she wanted.'

You mean like to talk to the other bijū and their jinchūriki? she asked, a thought bubble appeared over her head as she played out how it would be to meet them all. We can go for a few. I have a date in an hour, so we're not going to stay and tell our lives story or any shit like that. Got it?

'Yes...'

Suddenly, everything turned pitch white and they could hear a couple voices up ahead as they walked. Standing in front of Matatabi, the ebony kunoichi walked with her arms folded across her bosom.

"So this is them, huh?" she asked while analyzing everyone she saw, spotting only one familiar face. She was relatively disappointed at all the other people gathered.

"Ro-sempai," she called to the other ebony kunoichi with a grin. Pulling the yellow hood off of her head, she shook her short white. "It's been years since I last saw that nice ass of yours."

'Shukaku, Chomei, Gyūki, and Kurama,' the blue fire kitty called out the name of her siblings. 'Why have we been gathered here?'

[Shu]

"You would do well to teach your parasite some manners, Gyūki," he advised his brother. The jinchūriki had been wearing on his nerves since her arrival, but tonight would showcase the progress he had made. Over half a century of therapy did yield some results. His attention shifted to Kurama and his host. They surprisingly knew a lot more about his situation than expected. He would need to bait some information out of them. The girl could be useful in that regard. Just needed a little pressure.

With Matatabi's arrival things began to feel a little more official. The majority of the beasts were now present. The only downside was that each and every one of them brought a human with them. In all honesty, Shu did not want them present for the reveal of his plan. This was a family affair, and they were the furthest thing from that. They were parasites, wardens, nuisances, the list goes on. But even if he had his brethren send them away they would just go off and tell the pests once they parted ways.

Fucking lapdogs. The sentiment extending especially for Kurama and Gyūki.

"We have another Akatsuki situation," he summed up for Matatabi. "But as I stated, I have a plan. In hindsight, the reason the Akatsuki situation was allowed to reach such critical levels was because of our own incompetency." He was sure that they would take offense to the statement, but he did not care to give them the opportunity to rebut. "They picked us off one by one and locked us into that wretched statue. And why? For the same reason that Kokuō is no longer with us. Because we are divided!"

His tail began to shift more as his anger began to flare.

"The villages keep you locked away in those...," he debated on the word. "Sacrifices. To them we are nothing more than weapons. They care NOTHING about us or our well-being. You all know this to be true." Shu wanted to let that sink in for a moment. "But despite their cruelty I am not above using their ideas. Regardless of our differences and ideals we are still a family. I propose an alliance! As they did to take down the Jūbi. Should we band together against this new threat there is nothing that could stop us, save the old man returning from the grave."

The old man, of course, being their creator, the Rikudō Sennin. And despite what the others might think, Shu was not lying. He had grown to understand the importance of family. He wanted his siblings to be free. Most importantly, he valued his freedom. He could not defeat the Bijūtsukai on his own. Not while being hunted by the other villages. He needed help. He refused to be locked away in a prison ever again, and he would do everything in his power and theirs to make sure of that.

[Sarutobi Sio]

Now another had showed up. Another older woman with a very pretty cat that appeared to be made of blue flame. Sio was in awe of both their beauty, and judging from the twin tails that waved behind Matatabi, Sio figured this was the Nibi. She raised an arm and waved to Kayoi, Kurama acknowledging the Nibi with a nod before returning his attention to Shukaku. He had just about had enough of this. He was about ready to take Sio and leave. Leave the others to decide what they were going to do. But something was keeping him there. Something besides annoyance and the fact that Sio needed to see what she was seeing, hear what she was hearing.

"That's not true!" Sio shouted, speaking before meaning. Realizing she was the only one who had spoken, she immediately felt embarrassed, but what Shu was saying was a lie. "I don't see Kurama as a weapon."
She wasn't about to punk him out in front of the others by divulging the fact that they talked often, or what Kurama had told him about Naruto and the promise he had made to him before he died. Sio knew how important it was for those to retain their pride.
"I care a lot about him. And I don't want him to get sealed away...not because my village would be losing the Kyuubi or because I'd die...but because I know that he wants to live as badly as anyone else. And he deserves to."

Was it corny? Perhaps. But she couldn't let Shu go around thinking that every jinchuriki was a loaded weapon at the mercy of their village, and that every jinchuriki was just power-hungry and saw their Biju as a fountain of unstoppable power. Even if she was the only one, it would be enough to make Shu's claim untrue. She expected Kurama to be mad, to admonish her for speaking to Shu the way Shu had been cross with Ro. Instead, he just laughed.
And so you hear it, Shukaku. I am apparently retired as a hired gun.
Kurama looked around at his brothers and sisters.
We personally encountered Ojin, of the Bijūtsukai. And if what he says is true, he subdued, contained and sealed Kokuo ON HIS OWN. This is one man who took down our brother. A singular person, for those of you who have troubles with numbers. This group is not to be trifled with. 'Teaming up' is not going to be enough. Not yet.

Kurama looked at Shu for a moment, considering him.
What exactly do you know about these people?

[/blockquote][/blockquote]

[Itanai Sora]

Another appeared, this one in the form of a cat and with a host to boot. Sora could tell this was the Nibi, though had it had any more tails he would have been too lazy to keep count. Whatever this place was had made him even more relaxed than he usually was, even considering he was surrounded by a bunch of bijuu and theirs jinchuriki. It was a shame he couldn't bring his actual body here, that would have been amazing. Just taking a couple days here and there to get away from everything, yeah that would have been nice.

His attention turned to the fat raccoon looking thing as it spoke, rather harshly at that. It was talking about them being incompetent and divided or something along those lines, it was all a bit too much for the Chunin as he really couldn't devote any energy to paying attention and really wanted to take a nap instead of discussing such things, or rather being told such things. Sora had a hunch that this was a conversation only for the bijuu even though all but Shukaku were tied to a host and were ultimately at their will.

Then came the tipping point, the words that caused Sora to upright himself and shoot a glare at the one tailed. Had he just accused them of not caring about the bijuu and only thinking of them as weapons, and the hosts as sacrifices? Perhaps his relationship with his host had been rocky, granted all of them probably started out rocky; Sora's sure did. The first few years were nothing short of hell, with the constant struggle of maintaining control over a being that didn't want to be locked up. Then came the stares and whispers from the villagers, it was awful. Former friends not wanting to be seen with him, his own family no longer seeing their son and brother, just a demon. There were indeed times when the boy wanted to call it quits but that was where Chomei came in to play. Once the two actually began to communicate Sora found the bijuu a great friend and extremely helpful in various facets of his life. Yes, the added power was nice but he knew that came at a cost.

Hearing the Kyubi's Jinchurki speak up let Sora know that he wasn't the only one who felt strongly about Shukaku's words. "Ditto." Sora spoke out, well sort of. Sio had basically said everything he wanted to so there was no point in copying her words, besides that would take too much effort. Listening to Kurama speak about the lone individual who supposedly took down the five tailed was a bit eye opening. These were beasts of immense power and for one person to do the job meant that this was no laughing matter. Perhaps an alliance would be better suited, though the villages probably wouldn't agree to it thus starting more conflict.

Chomei had remained silent to listen to the words from her brothers. They were indeed harsh but held some truth. She had been fortunate enough to be sealed into Fuu and Sora, two kindred spirits who were beautiful people, but that didn't mean she wanted to be locked away for the foreseeable future. However, attempting to ascertain control so suddenly wasn't going to accomplish anything except possibly getting their hosts killed. Spaded wings whirred as the bijuu went into thought. An alliance, in the loose form of the word, would possibly help but gathering together like that in one place would make them an easier target, but being separated as they were now would surely leave them vulnerable as well. She needed more information before making a decision, though from looking at Sora's face could already tell he had made up his mind. It was an odd sight, but for the first time in what may have been forever Chomei was silent.

[SHOSUKE]

With the moon full and the air still a quiet night was all but promised. The mist wafting along the ground in a thick shroud, the silver light from above giving it glisten and glow as it settled. For the first night in a long time Shosuke wasn't staring vacantly down at the smothered streetlamps and occasional silhouettes ghosting aimlessly through a sleeping village. Tonight he joined them; in a broken shack swaddled in a tattered blanket of his own. His chest rose and fell, his muscles lax, and Isobu was as "alone" as he could possibly be for the moment.

There was a something both humbling yet degrading about living vicariously through a teenage boy. It forced him to appreciate what he'd lost all while yearning for it that much more.

He should've been used to the pattern by now.

Freedom, battle, capture and sealing. Freedom, battle, capture and sealing. There came a point during his unreasonably long life where the rage distilled into apathy. Where it became too exhausting to howl with bloodlust twenty-three hours a day and simply wanted to be left alone. He took his freedom when he could get it, killed as many as he could take with him, then bided his time inside some new angsty meat-cage until it was showtime again.

Shosuke was the best cage by far, he was in a league of his own in that regard, but it did nothing to assuage an addiction to blue skies and bluer seas.

Suddenly he heard something calling him, as if on queue. Something loud and obnoxious that made him sigh.

(...Shosuke. Shosuke, wake up.)

'...What is it?'

(Family reunion. My brother wants to talk to us.)

' Us? Really? A centuries old giant abomination asked for me by name via the monster that lives in my stomach? And here I have nothing to wear.'

(Well your usual radiance will have to suffice, because I'm not going alone. They'll have their pets so I'm bringing you too. Get excited...or brood. That seems to work for you.

---

A moment later they'd appear, Shosuke in his full shinobi garb propped up against Isobu's shell and the latter staring out his good eye at the others. He passed over his siblings and their hosts in silent appraisal and let loose a soft chuckle.

"Good evening everyone...what's the occasion? Is the world in mortal peril again already? Oh and uh, this is my new pet; I'm taking him for a walk. I call him Shosuke."

[sho and isobu are a quiet pair: unless someone's talking to them directly feel free to skip them. I'll post when they have something to contribute and I dont wanna hold up the thread since I'm already late to the party]

[Ro]

A parasite? Ro laughed, and Gyūki snorted. They had developed their relationship to a point where they did depend on each other, but not on such a basic level as drawing on power. Ro relied on Gyūki to keep her calm and sane, just as he sometimes did with her. Now was one such case.

When Kayoi arrived, Ro ignored her and kept talking to Shukaku. He had no control over her, and he was no threatening to her. She also showed no concern for the new arrival, Shosuke (though she did take note of him, and how he was described by his Bijū). "Gyūki," Ro said, "We'll stay long enough to see if he'll tell us about this group. Otherwise, I hear nothing of importance here."

'Yeah, that sounds about right,' Gyūki replied. 'You going to tell us what you know, Shukaku?'

[CHūNIN EXAMS PROCTOR]

'Some of us are living safely within villages who will protect us, Shukaku.' said Matatabi, stepping up beside Kayoi who placed her hand on the fire kitty in a petting motion. That was how Kayoi expressed her good will towards Matatabi, since she wasn't into all the sentimental stuff.

'We have allies and friends who will not let anything happen to us,' Matatabi continued on, looking over at the large tanuki whom was her brother.

"That's right," interjected Kayoi, looking around with a smirk. "And there's no way those stupid fuckers will ever lay a hand on me and Matatabi anyways without getting burned to a crisp."

To be honest, even though they had just arrived she had already grown way beyond bored with this meeting. She didn't see the point in any of those, it was just a colossal waste of her time where she could be sexing it up with one of her smuts back in the village. She scoffed.

"C'mon Matatabi, I said we weren't staying long." she stated while walking off. "I'm sure Ro-senpai has the gist of everything anyways."

Fade to white.

'Bye.'

[Shu]

For the first time Shu would take time to actually look at Sio. Both beast and clone looked at her, golden eyes narrowing slightly. Her words were annoyingly familiar. That was the same rhetoric that Rinkō used to spout. A few things started to click for him. Whenever Gaara received a visit from Naruto the discussion of successors tended to come up in their old age. During those times Shu often feigned sleep, but even he couldn't argue that the Uzumaki brat wanted to pass Kurama on to someone special. But this child? Shu's interest was piqued. And then Kurama started talking, confirming his suspicions that the Bijūtsukai had moved to the next phase of their plan. This was frustrating.

However, not as frustrating as the performance his siblings were putting on right now.

Six of the nine tailed beasts had gathered together, brought together for the sole reason of discussing a mutual threat. Shu even went as far as offering up an idea on how to deal with said threat, an alliance. Legitimately coming together for the first time and helping each other. But instead they sit there, tails tucked between their legs, seemingly waiting for their jinchūriki to grant them permission to speak their mind. It was honestly, disgusting to witness. Isobu remained exempt simply for the fact that he was late. After hearing the two Kumogakure jinchūriki speak Shu just shook his head and laughed a little to himself.

"This is pathetic. You're pathetic," he said looking at Gyūki, Matatabi, and Chomei. At least Kurama was contributing to this meeting. Shu was aware that simply teaming up would not solve everything. But it was a start to at least having a unified resistance to this threat. Gyūki always had to most analytic mind so he was counting on his insight, but it all seemed pointless now. "I gathered you here in the hopes of looking past our differences. I hoped that we could look past our own selfishness and help each other for once. But whatever," he said as his disappointment faded into apathy.

"I've warned you of the group that hunts us. But if none of you care to work with me then leave. I've done more than enough already." He would stay for a while, to see who would stick around. If they wanted to hide away and let the villages protect them then so be it. That worked out so well when the Akatsuki came for them. If they just wanted to use him for information then they were shit out of luck.

[Sarutobi Sio]

Sio felt rather bad for Shukaku. None of his siblings seemed to be giving him the time of day, but at the same time, they didn't have much to offer up, themselves. Sio would love to help Shukaku. She didn't know what else they had in common besides a desire to help the other Biju, but at this point in time, what else was needed?
Kurama had told her not to get too invested in what Shukaku would say. But it was hard not to.

Well, that's that, then. I'll never get this time back, but at least this train wreck of a meeting didn't have to last any longer than it already has. Let's go, Sio.
The massive fox stood, as if to depart, turning his back on the rest of the biju, But Sio didn't move. That is, until she took a step closer to Shukaku.

"Mr. Shukaku?" she asked, cautiously taking a step toward him. "You propose all you Biju get together...what will happen after that?"
She wanted to know his plan. It was too soon to throw the baby out with the bath water. What was the tanuki thinking? Regardless of what it was, she was in no shape to participate, but she knew how it felt to be disregarded and ignored. Especially when you had so much to say.

[/blockquote][/blockquote]

[Itanai Sora]

If the giant beetle had a face it would have been scrunched up in displeasure. Chomei hated when her siblings spoke badly of each other, and this was no exception. It was rare that they got a chance to see each other considering the seemingly endless cycle of being sealed, held captive for decades, finally finding freedom for a short time only to begin the process anew. They hadn't all gathered together since that last time with Rikudo and that was no walk in the park either. Hell, Kurama had even shed a few tears, the big softy he was.

The shichibi's silence wasn't out of disrespect but a need to think. The memories of being ripped from Fuu all those years ago ran fresh in her mind and had even at times seeped into Sora's physique when he slept leading to less than memorable nights for the boy. Going through such an ordeal once more was the last thing Chomei wanted to do, mostly for her own sake but also for the boy. They had been together for about twelve years and had grown decently close in that time. He was a genuinely nice person, albeit extremely lazy, and with enough motivation, specifically Chomei's, he could accomplish amazing feats.

"That statue was no fun, and being ripped out of another host doesn't sound like fun. But won't grouping together just make us a huge target?" A confused face, if Chomei had one, would have been the sight everyone saw, all except Kurama who had turned his back. Always so temperamental that one though she surmised it was because of his big heart. "Maybe groups of two? I like Taki, but it's sooooo boring, plus I miss you guys!" She added, her spirit and words per minute sky rocketing by the minute. Chomei had always been the more lively and energetic of the nine and just the thought of possibly being reunited with her siblings had her giddy. To the other bijuu the excitement would be no surprise though for the hosts seeing a giant beast foaming at the mouth could possibly have been a bit odd.