Awakening, Jace's Path Discovered![p, solo]

With the long awaited Jounin Exams under way, the young Jace Uchiha had decided that there was a lot of training that he needed to do for himself. Even if he somehow didn't qualify for a promotion to the rank of Jounin in the Village Hidden in the Leaves, there were still plenty of things he needed to refine in order to become stronger and advance himself. As a member of the Uchiha clan Jace possessed the powerful and famous doujutsu known as the sharingan. With it came surprisingly great visual prowess. It was one of the many reasons that the boy had focused mainly on the arts of Genjutsu as a ninja. Not only did these eyes offer a unique vision of chakra and enhanced analytical and observational skills, but they presented their wielder a gift for the visual arts. 

One such gift was that of specific visual genjutsu that were more powerful than ordinary genjutsu and could only be accessed by someone who possessed the Uchiha Clan's symbolic doujutsu. It could manifest itself in many different forms, from completely altering a target's perception of reality to trapping them within their own minds and manipulating the brain's nervous system to cause severe pain. In short: it could be used to inflict surprising amounts of both physical and mental torture. Usually this wasn't Jace's style, or at least it hadn't been previously, but now he had set a goal for himself. He wanted to prevent as many threats toward Konoha as he could. It was childish to think he could prevent any and all threats, but he knew he could at least divert most of them if he had the means to do so. That was why he had decided to train himself on the arts of espionage; particularly that of an intelligence nature. Whether it be covertly gathering enemy intelligence or outright torturing information out of a captured enemy didn't matter; it was all the same when it came to protecting the Leaf. 

With the visual prowess he was granted by the sharingan, he was able to do both of those things adequately; or at least in theory it shouldn't be a difficult task. Unfortunately he had let his skills in using his eyes wane lately in favor of other methods of utilizing genjutsu. That just wouldn't do. 

Jace was sitting up in his bed, his feet draped over the side so that they were touching the floor. "I need to get stronger. I was blessed with these eyes, now I should hone them so that I can put them to good use." he said quietly to himself, his crimson eyes looking down at his left open palm. He had spent all night thinking about just how exactly he could improve himself; his wandering thoughts kept him awake as he lie in the hotel bed, trying earnestly to come up with the first step on the path he had chosen to follow. Finally, after hours of restlessness, he had given up on trying to sleep. That was why he was sitting up in the position he was in now.

"I will be acknowledged and accepted into the Intelligence and Special Operations Division. I'm going to hone my skills and become the best in my field so that one day I will actually become the head of the division, not just part of it." he told himself as he clenched his fists and pounded them into the mattress on either side of him. After a few short seconds, the blonde finally rose himself from his seat and headed into the bathroom. He stood at the sink then, his hands grasping either side of it as he let the water run; his head was bowed as he once again lost himself in thought. 'If this is what I'm going to do, then being a part of Konoha's ANBU would be a good place to start. But, am I truly ready for that? I know that I have the commitment, I just don't know that my skills are up to that level yet.' His grip on the sink tightened subconsciously, the knuckles on his hands turned white from the pressure he was now exerting. "This path is going to lead me into the shadows. My work won't be seen by the public. I won't be acknowledged for my feats, nor will I be able to share the details with the ones closest to me. Is it better for me to cut them off? Could I lie to the ones I love to keep them safe?" One name in particular came into his thoughts then.

Queen.

Her face began to plaster itself all over the forefront of his mind. Her long blonde hair and beautiful pale eyes. That hidden smile that only showed itself on rare occasions, and usually only with him. It was something he treasured more than anything else; the beauty he found in it was like no other. She was always so strong and determined; she never let anything get in the way of her goals. A smile began to from across his lips now, memories of how she had dragged him to the Hokage building on a crazy whim to challenge Kurisu-sama to a fight flashed before his eyes as if it had happened yesterday. He remembered how against the idea he was; how he thought it wouldn't end well for them. Looking back he realized just how wrong he was. Lord Seventh had been so impressed with the pair that he had actually promoted them to the rank of Chuunin. "Can I really do this...?" The words came out as a whisper, the pain in his voice was evident.

Another memory pushed it's way forward now, this time a more painful one. The girl had raced to find him in the village, her close friend had been taken for ransom and she needed his help to get her back. Of course he hadn't hesitated to assist her then, not knowing what the outcome would be. Images of Queen being held down by the criminals as their boss began to undo her pants appeared slowly in his mind. It was as if the scene was replaying itself for him in slow motion, the anger and pain from that day being relived all over again. More images, this time of blood being splattered across the room. The girl's fear and feelings of being violated masked by her show of anger. 

'Yes. I can do this. If it means making sure that never happens to her or anyone else ever again, I can do this. I will do this.' he thought to himself. He closed his eyes, forcing the memories to recede back into the depths of his mind where he kept them locked away. His breathing became pointed and deep, the sound of running water helped to calm him. He hadn't realized that he had been shaking, cold sweat made his hands slip on the ceramic as he loosened his grip. After what seemed like an eternity, but was really only a few minutes, his eyes opened again and he raised his head to look into the mirror in front of him. 

An idea struck him as he saw the reflection of his own eyes staring back at him. Reality faded away, replacing itself with a strange world that seemed tainted by blood and darkness. The pain that accompanied the change of scenery was nearly unbearable. A silent scream of agony escaped his lips. He couldn't even muster the strength to put sound into it. His body began to shake, blood dripped from the wounds on each of his limbs where large metal stakes kept him impaled to a wooden cross. As the seconds rolled by another stake was struck through his body. Then another, and another. Each one a little less painful than the last until he had lost so much blood that his body had become numb. His mind was fuzzy, he could feel his eyelids becoming heavy as he fought to keep them open. He wanted to die. Why couldn't he just die? Why was he being made to suffer like this?

And then it was all over. The strength returned to his body and his consciousness became clear again as he was granted a brief respite from the maddening torture that he had subjected himself to. It lasted just long enough for him to remember why he was doing this to himself before he was once more being staked to the cross all over again. Another scream escaped him, this time the sound was blood-curdling. If this was reality he would have woken every soul within the village. But it wasn't, even though he didn't remember that at this point. The pain was all he could think about. It was overcoming his mind, each stake that was driven through his body more painful than the last. 'I have to withstand it. I can't let myself break, not yet.' he thought to himself, unable to speak the words due to the unending and involuntary screams he was making. 

Queen's face popped into his mind then, followed by the faces of each of his parents, and then the faces of Ita, Ayame, Kurisu-sama and everyone else in the village. They were his strength in the darkness, his lifeline to reality and the reason he was subjecting himself to the agony that he was in. He could feel another stake being driven through his abdomen now; he had lost count of the number, somewhere upwards of fifty or so. He bit his tongue to stop himself from screaming. The blood loss was beginning to be too much again. His focus slipped, his thoughts becoming fuzzier by the second. Soon his mind slipped away into darkness, only to be allowed another brief moment of sanity before the torture started all over again.

Each time Jace was tortured it brought him closer to the edge of his sanity. Only being granted a few seconds reprieve in between the constant driving of metal stakes through his body. They ripped through flesh and bone alike; the most painful were the ones that scraped against the bone as they pierced his body. At least that was what he had thought each time before one pierced his stomach and the digestive acid leaked out and began slowly and agonizingly breaking down his body from the inside before his vision went black and it started all over again.

His eyes fluttered open, his will was nearly broken. Chakra was sent rushing to his eyes, the sharingan finally breaking the genjutsu he had put himself under. When his vision adjusted, Jace could see part of the door frame in front of him. His shirt was drenched in sweat, the side of his face covered in something wet and sticky. He could feel the cold tile floor underneath him; his head was throbbing and his body shaking. His breathing was shallow and quick, it felt like he was going to suffocate. Slowly, the blonde gathered the strength to push himself up into a sitting position on the floor of the bathroom. He used the wall behind him to lean on; his left hand was placed on the ground beside him as a support so that he didn't fall back over. 

"Damnit! Is this really the best I can do?"

The sun was shining brightly through the window now, a stark contrast to the pitch black he had last remembered. How long was he under the genjutsu? Was it hours? Days? Months? He certainly hoped it wasn't that long. He still had the Jounin Exams to finish. 'Oh. Right. The Exams.' He tried, but couldn't even bring himself to care at that point. What did the exams matter anyway? He had already demonstrated his abilities by quickly winning his first fight. Gaining a promotion to Jounin rank was simply another stepping stone toward his true goal. One that he was working on here, now.

Besides, no one had come looking for him yet and the stadium for the exams was so close that he would be able to hear the crowds from his room if they were already commencing. So that worry was quickly dismissed. Jace had begun to take deep, slow breaths to calm himself. In and out, in and out. Slowly, his body stopped shaking, his shirt was sticking to the bare skin of his back from the dried sweat. He could feel the blood now caked on the side of his face; he had been sitting there for so long that it had finally dried up and the shallow wound began to close on its own. 

Finally relaxed, and newfound determination and commitment to his goal, Jace found the energy to stand using the wall behind him as support. He had a grasp on the Shackling Stakes technique that he was able to use thanks to his sharingan now. In practicing it he had found the darkness that he needed in order to make his dream of protecting Konohagakure no Sato as one of it's ANBU and becoming the head of the Intelligence and Special Operations Division a reality. The emotionally immature and shy child that had graduated from the ninja academy and become a Genin no longer existed. Sure, he still had deep rooted feelings for his comrades and family, especially Queen who he still hadn't admitted he was in love with. She might already know how he felt, but he had never put it into words; he had never found the strength to say 'I love you'. Now that he had, he wasn't sure he should. The life of an ANBU operative, by it's nature, was a lonely one drenched in solitude and chaos. How close could he really allow her to get to him when he knew what was coming? To do so would be a selfish notion that he would not accept.

Stripping his clothes off and running hot water for himself, Jace stepped into the shower and began to wash away the sweat and crusted blood from his body. The warmth of the water raining down on him was comforting in a way. The repetitive sound of water against the shower floor and the pressure of it on his bare skin helped to relax his nerves and let his mind wander. 

Submitting himself to his own genjutsu was a twofold type of training. Firstly, it helped him to get accustomed to using his eyes and casting the technique. Secondly, it tested his commitment to the path he had chosen. The seemingly endless and recurring torture of having metal stakes driven through his body would stay with him forever as a reminder of what he needed to overcome in order to move forward. He remembered all of it. The thoughts that went through his mind, the burning desire to die instead of facing it over again, the gradual breaking of his will, and the strength to overcome it that was given to him by the desire to protect the village and those he cared about. Echos of the pain still remained in his body; he could feel the stakes grinding against his bones and piercing his flesh. A shiver ran down his spine as he pushed that aside.

He stood there letting the water pass over him for a few minutes before finishing up and stepping out of the shower. He was still so tired and weak, the mental strain he had put himself through took a larger toll than he had expected. After dropping the towel a few times from sheer loss of stamina, he finally manged to dry himself off and make his way into the main part of the room where he pulled on a pair of shorts and a T-shirt before climbing into bed. 

"That's it. I'm going to do it." he said out loud to himself. Jace had decided that when these exams were finished, whether he was promoted to the rank of Jounin or not, he would speak with Lord Kurisu and request that he be made one of his ANBU. It didn't matter to him what he had to do in order to prove himself worthy of the position. Whatever it was, he would do it. He would refuse to leave the Hokage's presence until his request was adequately considered and he proved himself to be an asset to the Konohagakure ANBU, one that should not be turned down so easily.

It was a strange thing, feeling so calm and relaxed after what had just transpired. It may have been more normal for someone to still be feeling jittery and anxious, rather than being able to lay under the covers in bed without much concern at all. Yet that was exactly what Jace was doing. He had subjected himself to his own form of training which included incredible mental and physical torture, testing his willpower and commitment along with honing his visual prowess. All things considered, the boy was feeling rather proud of himself at this moment. It was true, for him at least, that it no longer mattered whether or not he was promoted to Jounin from these exams. If he was, then that certainly made things a little easier; however if he wasn't, it didn't stop what he had planned. 

The exams were just a convenient method that allowed him to potentially show off his skills and determination to the Hokage. Nothing more and nothing less. As long as he was able to do that, being granted the rank of Jounin didn't matter. Though if he is able to prove himself, not obtaining the rank would be surprising at best. Thoughts like this and of when and how he will approach the Hokage, Lord Kurisu, drifted through his mind after he had finally closed his eyes and let sleep begin to take over. With a new goal set for himself, and the determination to achieve it, Jace was finally able to sleep.

[exit]
TWC: 3,009

Claiming 3,000/3,000 learning Demonic Illusion: Shackling Stakes due to 25% wc reduction from max stats
Also major plot point for Jace, deciding to approach the Hokage and request to be made a member of the ANBU

bump for done

Dream big!

Approved.