Hikisaka re ta niku

Adam woke up by a sharp pain that seemed to tear through his spine. Laying awake with closed eyes, he tried to remember about last nights events. Padding himself down he lauged nervously.

It could not be true. He was here. He was himself. The same old, normal Adam. And just Adam, no other voice, no Legion, no nothing. The pain he felt must have been from him falling down while being drunk, and this nightmare must have been induced by alcohol. Getting slowly up, smiling, he opened his eyes, only to let the smile disappear out of his face slowly. It hadnt been a dream. Looking at the destruction he had caused, or rather the experiment had caused, his mouth stood slightly open.

The laboratory in which he commenced the experiment it, which he died in and then got revived somehow looked as if a tailed beast had rampaged inside of it. Looking downwards now, he was sitting on the crystal bed that Diana had made the evening before when he was on the verge of death, covered in a blanket.

As he remembered the last few things his mind was able to perceive before darkness came over him, Legion stated: 'We did not seize our function at this position.'

Not answering to Legion, Adam decided that sitting here would gain him nothing. Slowly bringing his feet over the edge of the bed, Adam stood up, only to let out a painful gasp while doing so. As soon as he was standing upright, Legion commented: 'We are still vunerable and the damage is considerable. Do not overextend us. In our current state even walking is dangerously exhausting.'

Answering with clear pain in his voice, Adam responded: "*Agh* I-... dont like... sitting around..."

By the time Adam had finished his sentence, footsteps could be heard from outside the labratory. Shortly before the door got opened, Legion notified Adam with a simple: 'Contact, eta 2 seconds.'

The woman who stepped through the door was not Diana Moneta, but instead Irene Moneta, carrying several trays with food, as well as several bottles of various juices. "Ah, good, you are awake; unlike your sensei." Moving to behind the remains of the wall and machinery she set down the breakfast and went to wake Diana, who was passed out with several books and energy drinks surrounding her, just out of sight of Adam. "After Legion had entered a state of regeneration, Diana had decided to push herself more; resorting to opening up her chakra pathways."

Picking up Diana with one hand by the scruff of her clothing, she'd look at Adam as she slowly shook her 'cousin' awake. "Personally I do not think you deserve a sensei such as her, but that was her choice to make, not mine." Shook wasn't the right word, it was closer to a vibration, one that picked up in intensity until the tri-bloodliner woke. "Muah? Irene, what are you doing here?"

Ceasing the wake up protocol, she would let go of Diana, who barely caught herself in her waking daze. "Good, you are awake. Go and deal with your students as soon as you eat; Titania and I will take care of your daily duties unless you are explicitly needed today. With an about-face, she'd make her way out of the room, closing the door behind her and leaving the sensei to deal with her student.

Picking herself up, Diana did not look good. Her hair was messy, her clothing clearly needed a good ironing, and in a rare show there were bags under her eyes. Reaching into her bag, she'd pull out a container and shook out two pills, then set the container back into her bag, picked up one of the juice bottles, and downed the entire bottle with said pills. She'd then shake her head, and then turned to Adam. "Sorry that you had to see me like that, it is not often that I push myself that hard. I hope you and Legion are doing much better now? At the very least, we have breakfast if you are up for it." The bags under her eyes started to fade, though if one looked closely enough it was more like they blended into her skin. There was so much she had learned, and so much she wanted to tell him, but her mind was still groggy, and they needed to eat first.

Before Adam ad any chance to properly reply to Irene as she made her snarky comment, Legion was already answering in his artificial voice: "We do not know the reason for your hostility, however, it has been noted. Next time we will have countermeasures prepared." As Adams's body turned to Diana, completely ignoring Irene as she woke Diana, Adam mumbled surprised and out of breath alike: "Sorry about that..." before Irene left the room.

"G-good morning Diana... are-... are y-you alright?"

Walking a step forward in Diana's direction, Adam noticed the weakness in his feet and gracefully lowered himself onto the ground, where he took a seat in front of the breakfast. Legion was right after all. Even walking was dangerous in their condition.

"L-Legion... whats going on?"

'We are wounded and recovering.'

Raising an eyebrow, Adam asked further with his flat breaths: "Wounded? W-.. How? We are machine and metal..."

'Simple. We imitate a human body with all its flaws, except the dependancy on set anatomical structures and internal systems...'

"W- *cough* wonderful..." As Adam looked to Diana, he asked further: "I- I d love to have breakfest with you... Im starving... But w-.. why did you sleep so close to me?"

As Adam said "starving", Legion simply replied: 'No we are not'

Even with her features returning to 'normal', it would be clear from the way her body moved that it was fighting against her, her movements more stiff then normal. Even if she was slowly gaining control the more she woke, she was not going to be at peak performance for a while, and Diana knew why. She may have the body of a shinobi, the body of a living weapon, but she was still human and age hit her harder then most her age, the weight of the Gozu Tennō and recovering from using the pressure points just made it worse. She knew it would pass, but it was still a reminder that she had only so much time on Kishin.

She'd give a weak smile to her student. "I am fine. A little tired still, but fine nonetheless." Right, her student. Another reminder of death, the memory still fresh in her mind, and with her eyes now would never be able to leave her. Only one other time she had come as close to death as she had come in that moment, and she would be glad if she would never encounter a third. She'd note how Adam spoke to Legion externally instead of internally. It was a bit odd, and she would need to make sure to address it later, but it wasn't unfounded. She had heard the stories of the full powers of the Kurama and the Shinda Niku no Myakuhaku Clans, both of which could produce a second personality because of their bloodlines, but to see a version of it in person was a strange experience. Even if she did not hear Legion's side of the conversation, Adam's responses gave her a good idea as to what they were talking about.

Setting his portion of the food down for him to eat, she'd answer his question. "It was not intentional if you are wondering about that. The last thing I can recall is preparing to run a few additional, unintrusive tests as you and Legion slept to see how your body functioned." She'd take a sip of her tea, the warm leaf water a delight as always. "It is not the first time I have been so engrossed in my work that my body works as my mind is recovering, and my body likely gave out after the test was done." It was however the first time she had fallen asleep inside of a pile of energy drinks, usually she was able to find a bed, so it was rather odd.

Preforming a few handseals, a crystal wheelchair would form for Adam. "You can use this for the time being. I would also advise that when addressing Legion around others you do so without speaking aloud, as many might think you are in need of mental care." She'd pause to take a bite from her breakfast. "I would advise that you enjoy this breakfast while you can, as there are still some tests we need to run, for example your chakra pathways and tenketsu."

'Legion wasnt sleeping.'

Correcting Diana in Adams mind, Legion stated without emotions as Adam took the food Diana offered him.

"I am glad you are ok... Last night was like a fever dream."

'Tell the alpha that running tests on us without our oversight is not advised. Once we have full functionality, merely touching us can do catastrophic long-term damage.'

Nodding at Diana's explanation, Adam answered after swallowing a bite of the food she had: "Legion says you shouldn't work around my body while I am out. The reason behind that is something about contamination and long-term damage."

Seeing as Diana produced a wheelchair for him now, Adam could slightly feel the blood rushing into his face, giving his expression the slightest sign of blushing as he stared at it for a few seconds, before focusing back on Diana. Not only did he manage to ruin her laboratory, the test she wanted to do, make her pass out, and was a massive threat to everybody that touched him unless he was careful enough to not hurt them by accident, but also he continued to be a burden. Asking Legion first and responding to Diana afterward he said:

'Tell me this condition isnt permanent...'

"I... yeah, sorry... its... I can't really explain it. It feels wrong somehow to talk to Legion inside my mind, you know?" Looking down on the ground he took another, way less enthusiastic bite out of the bread roll before muttering: "You know... I think i can try to walk...", not stating the obvious fact that everything inside of him hated to be a burden on Diana, needing to be pushed around in a wheelchair. Legion, being the realistic one out of the two, told Adam in response:

'It is not, however I would advise taking the wheelchair. I will take over for now.'

Having been given a "mental nod" from Adam, Legion took over. Looking now back at Diana, Legion started to shovel in as much food as physically possible in as little time as possible, making a strong contrast to Adams eating up to now. Taking his time to bring down the food, more because of the fact that Adams body physically wasn't able to speak, instead of good manners, Legion stated and asked at the same time in his artificial voice:

"Alpha. Ignore our earlier statement. We will take this vessel.", as he pointed at the wheelchair before continuing: "When will we start those tests and what do you require of this form for them?"

Small as it was, it was comforting to hear Legion continue to stick to their word in that they would comply with Adam's desire to not cause unneeded harm. "I did not forget his warning from before; there is more to testing then just the physical after all, You chakra, temperature, and tenketsu are things I can observe without needing to make contact." Even now with the core inside her turned off, she could feel the nanites that did enter her system lay dormant, waiting for when she activated the core next time.

While she'd notice Adam's flush face upon the creation of the chair, she didn't understand why. He was a grown man and could push himself, and he was injured, so it was reasonable to be provided something to use until he was well enough to walk again. "While I may not fully understand, I can relate to an extent from when I was working with the Indaina Kujira's A.I. for the warmachina. If you absolutely feel the need to talk to legion externally, may I suggest the shadow clone technique? I have used it a few times myself to sort out my thoughts, so perhaps it may help you."

When Adam switched from meticulous eating to shoveling, she assumed that Legion took control. The A.I. has so far shown that they has less mental safety nets in regards to the human body then Adam, which did make sense. As something that wasn't supposed to be concerned with 'living', she had never bothered to rework that part of the code. At least with Adam as an anchor there was a good chance it would learn restraint, seeing as it understood the power of a good wheelchair. "That is good to hear. Even if you are able to repair yourself, unneeded stress on the body should help hasten the effect." Should indeed, that was another thing she had noticed. Even if his body was no longer 'human', it still acted like one, so there was likely an overlap in how it functioned internally. Maybe. "There are two tests I wish to run. the first is a basic chakra proficiency test to see how your chakra system is adapting to the physical changes of your body, and the second is to see if it is possible to counteract some of the assimilation effects so that Adam may interact with other without fear. As for when we will begin, we can do so after we have finished breakfast." She'd set down her now empty cup. "And Legion? you do not need to refer to me as Alpha; 'Diana' or Miss Moneta' are more appropriate designations."

Still continuing to forcefully bring the food down their throat, Legion listened as Diana explained what she wanted to test at on the two of them, stoppping again to bring down all the food in order to answer: "We do not know what Tenketsu are, however other parameters are adjustable." Before bringing down a boiling hot cup of tea in one swift motion, not even flinching.

As Diana made the her suggention, a answer was swiftly produced by the artificial intellect, stating: "Splitting energy is not something i recommend. Aside of that, a quick explaination should explain our situation to strangers, correct?", in a voice that changed from confident and tactical to confused and questioning. After all, Legion cared little for the political or social Standards of the shinobi world, even less so for people he or Adam didnt know, so his confusion was very real.

Bringing down the last of their food, with the same speed and efficiency as shown before, Legion took some time afterwards, raising their voice once again, adressing Diana: "Our healing is exponential. The main problem we are facing now is an inefficient energy regeneration. However we are ready for your programm." When confronted about the term 'Alpha', Legion asked: "We see Alpha as a term of power, superiority and importance. All things that we..., Adam has in our psychological programming. What do you see in it? And dont you like being classified as important?", laying open some feeling Adam had about Diana as he stated: 'Dont tell her that!', which made Legion add a follow up: "Correction: Adam does not want you to know this."

As Legion said this, he carefully stood up and went to the wheelchair, seating himself into it and staring at Diana, clearly waiting for a command or direction.

just making a note that i am officially exiting this topic [EXIT, discontinued due to 1 ic year having passed]