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Post by p r e history on May 29, 2008 15:21:46 GMT -5
If you are interested in becoming a part of this thread, and thus part of this arc, please PM me. Clans, or individual forces can become involved. No posting order, so post fast or be left behind.
Participants p r e history
Opu
Saizō
Saizō
Toku
Kamae
Seina
Seina
BOOK ONE 2: Ravished
Arrai Ippin Shōgo: Midday
Colored sparks painted the blank canvas that was the sky on the warm day. Here, in Kaze no Kuni, it was almost never a cloud in the sky. This was one of those days, for the sky was joyfully blue. The people around the oasis smiled in joy as the paper vessels shot into the sky, exploding, leaving behind noise and bright colors. Around them, music of the desert played. Children ran about the sands donning masks of Fukurokuju. This of course, was the Festival of Living. People across Arrai Ippin were celebrating making it through another day. Another minute, even. They smiled for the whole day, knowing this was a good one, even in the grim world they inhabited.
Opu walked along a line of paper vessels. On their heads were numerous figures. One donned the head of a dragon, while another used the face of Fukurokuju, in honor of the festival. Opu smirked as he placed his glowing finger onto the tail of one of the Hanabi. He pulled back, watching as the paper vessel shot into the air. Behind it, it left a trail of smoke, but this smoke began to glow with red and blue, comet attachments leaving behind an exhaust of stars. As it reached the confines of the sky, it bust open, shooting hot metals out in all directions. The metals fizzing with heat began to light up, turning green and purple, and dying out as they fell to the earth.
Children's oohs and ahhs made Opu smile as he turned on his heels, and walked away from the scene. The firework show of that hour has elapsed. The families were urged to move to other attractions. This allowed Opu some time to himself. To admire the scenery... well, the desert anyway. His blond hair swayed in the fiery winds as he walked to a small hut. He was dressed rather differently today. While he would traditionally be dressed in a formal kimono, he has adopted the clothing of the small inhabitance he was performing for. A light sleeveless shirt, and short pants. No shoes, no nothing. But Opu had to add his own spin. Therefore, a bright orange headband which was so long, the ends reached to his mid back. Opu dropped onto his behind, his knees flung about unorthodoxly. He slammed his back into the padding that lined the floor around the small tables in which tea was served. He smiled innocently, as he recalled the events of the day.
"..."
It'd gotten quiet rather quickly. Opu's brow raised as he attempted to peer out the door. No one was in the streets anymore. He couldn't hear the children. He raised off his back, standing rather quickly, as he walked calmly toward the door. He stopped at once when he felt a cold hand place itself gently on his shoulder. The owner of the hand began to offer a grim warning.
"Don't go, Hanabi-sama. It's not safe."
Opu shrugged the hand off. Fearless was he. He stepped out the hut, immediately peering to his right. There, staring back at him was a "large" cat. Large was an understatement actually. This thing was huge. It towered over everything, hissing violently at Opu. What was strange was that below it, nearly and army of what were pale humanoids stood. Some of them even donned the mask of Fukurokuju. Opu had an idea of what it was doing, but wasn't sure. He'd never really encountered something like this. The black cat's two tails swayed gently, however, stopped abruptly and pointed toward Opu. The army of pale bodies charged full speed toward Opu.
"... Shiiiiit."
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Post by Saizō on May 31, 2008 14:55:00 GMT -5
The Festival of Living was one of the few events that could make you forget about this world plagued with war. For once in a year, you could feel how the shinobi world was supposed to be. Moving forward, not warring over territory. For now, nothing mattered. Except for rushing to see the different exhibits around the small town. It was hard to miss the fireworks show, since it was the loudest and the easiest to find. All you had to do was just follow the tufts of smoke, that drifted apart in the perfect sky. Indeed it drew a crowd, there were small children all hunkered down in front of the rows of fireworks, their eyes fixated on the kid walking back and forth lighting them off. He watched as the kid held a glowing finger to the long wick, and then the vessel would shoot off into the sky. The art of it all, lasted only a few seconds at best.
Eventually, the show was done and the last bit of smoke was clearing from the sky. He was one of the first to leave, the children who seemed to be sitting their almost religiously stayed hoping for an encore of some sort. He was staying at the inn, which was characterized by it's viewing distance. From there, patrons could see people coming from miles away. First, however he was off to get some food. Saizō was not a man to sleep on an empty stomach. But after snatching up a large bowl of noodles, and even a quick sip of a drink he was off to his room. On the walk back he swore he saw a large speck of black in the distance, but was too care-free at the moment to take any notice of it.
He didn't sleep yet, not that he didn't care too. He couldn't due to the constant ambient noise of children screaming in excitement. He slumped back on to his bed though, and he could tell immediately how low budget the inn was. The mattress was rock hard, and the blankets were itchy. He tried all he could, rolling this way and that. He even grabbed a pillow and put it over his head, holding it on to drown out the noise and to dim the light that dared to stream in the window. Just as he was about to fade away, he heard the joyful screams of children slowly turning into frantic shrieks of terror.
He bolted upright, and without even thinking a moment was already out the door. Jumping the small amount of steps down to the dust road, he stood facing a gigantic black cat. It was unique in the way that it was well, gigantic and had two tails instead of one. This was of course, one of the nine-tailed beasts which one should have been only able to hear about in myths. It powers we not just legends as well, for standing in front of it in regimental fashion was an army of dead.
"Not good..."
He didn't understand at first, but the army all focused on one target and rushed off towards it. His eyes glanced to the direction they were headed and met the boy who hosted the fireworks show. He was standing dumbfounded in the doorway of a house, as they rushed off. Without thinking, Saizō acted. To deal with this many opponents, he needed a little help.
Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!
This made the odds slightly better, as there were now six of him. They all dispersed and engaged the large crowd from the side. He made his way to the front of the crowd, standing in front of the boy. A kunai clutched tightly in his right hand.
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Post by p r e history on May 31, 2008 21:53:08 GMT -5
The black cat roared in anger, spotting the second man who'd decided to defend against the army of pale figures. Her ears perked in anguish as he two tails swayed back and forth, a cold air sweeping over the area. While it wouldn't harm anyone, it did have a way with the nerves. It sent chills up one's spine. This of course was evident in Opu. He shivered as he stared upon the large column of men, women and children converging onto his position. As the drew nearer, he instinctively turned around, running full speed toward the oasis.
He needed his fireworks. In turn, he would get his scroll. They were drawing close. For dead people who weren't even running, they were moving too fast. Opu peered over his shoulder just before he met his scroll. Turning to his side, a wave of sand shot forth, causing him to pivot onto his knees. Quickly, he unrolled the scroll and performed a number of In. In a poof of smoke, the scroll produced an arsenal of firewords. Channeling fire natured chakra into his pointer, he placed his finger along all the strings. The paper Hanabi shot forward into the large army pouring onto his locale.
BOOOOOM~!!!
He placed his hand over his eyes, squinting against the sparks and light that exploded outward. Body parts shot every which way. He peered through his hands, inquiring if any had survived the blast. His jaw dropped. He dropped his hands to his side.
"Aw shiiiiit. This is bad."
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Toku
Jōnin
Kishō Kamae
Posts: 52
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Post by Toku on Jun 1, 2008 9:57:44 GMT -5
As a long time resident of Arrai Ippin, one would had to have noticed that the oddly warm night the day before was some sort of omen for the days to come. It wasn't till the day arrived had Kamae actually put a single ounce of thought into it. Earlier this day, one would have been thrown into the events that were otherwise known as The Festival of Living, an event that Kamae was thrilled to find still happening annually despite the effects of war. Irony was to play a large part in later parts, though Kamae would not know when she was resting in her temporary accommodations. Verdant orbs would peer outside the aperture that was framed in the wall adjacent to the chair she had settled in from toiling about in the inn. She was otherwise know by the people as one of the few co-owners of the famed shelter many took up residence in while traveling through Kaze no Kuni. She would be staring out into the canvas of blue before her eyes would catch sight of a large trail of red, whistling into the air before exploding into a shower of tiny sparks that fell straight down the sky, heading for parts unknown down near the ground. It was marvelous sight to watch after such a long day and night before, a time Kamae took for her own good to try and rest with.
As all good shows went, it would soon die down from the excitement that it first brought with it; the attention span of the children who were mostly the ones attending were so ludicrous to Kamae. In her mind, she always believed that one would be able to focus more when they matured, but since the minds of those down below were only just starting out, Kamae felt no need to prove her point. Leg crossing over the other, Kamae had not moved from her idle in one of the higher living quarters of the shelter, choosing to stay and stare out the window at the scattering pedestrians for her own amusement. Her eye caught sight of what appeared to be a man that was oddly unique about this parts, blond hair streaking through the wind. She watched as the blond walked into her inn, her head shifted to the left, as if to try and keep up with the man's walk, but she turned back around when she realized she was inside her own room. Her gaze was disrupted again as she watched the man behind the celebration turned in for the day and resided into one of the nearby huts. She wondered in her mind what influenced this man to journey to Arrai Ippin every year to bring about such jubilation. The thought didn't tarry for too long inside her mind as she decided it was best if she actually got some rest from today's events.
There was a slight tingly feeling rising through the atmosphere as Kamae would turn around in her walk back to the shower. It wasn't one of those tingly cold feelings one would get while watching a horror. No. This was different. This was a more dangerous presence, a feeling of fear would ring slightly through Kamae's bones as she headed down the stairs that were stationed outside her room. Halfway down the steps Kamae would hear the shrill cry of a child in distress, the sudden shouting causing a miss-step in her step, her legs tripping onto themselves in her last step. Light body tumbling down the wooden planks, she placed a mental thought in her mind to fix up the inn a bit before more guests would arrive. Standing up, Kamae rubbed her back with a gloved hand before rushing out of the door, which was strangely already wide open. Assumptions would lead her to believe that someone else in the shelter had the same idea she held, and was already in route to the source of the cry. Once outside, her assumptions would be proved correct as she spotted the same blond man from before also rushing down the dusty road.
A rumbling would sound through the air before a giant trembling shook the ground Kamae stood on, causing her to stumble to the ground. It was then that she would finally witness the anomaly most people would call one of the beasts of myths, the animals that walked the earth and caused destruction effortlessly. If she was not stunned with awe and slight fear at the time, Kamae would've been jumping up and down from the rush of excitement from being able to catch sight of one of these legendary beasts. As the black cat towered over the small huts and shops around the area, Kamae would notice the number of tails this creature had; two. "Nibi," she whispered to herself, finally realizing which beast she was dealing with. Her eyes lowering to the ground, she spotted the ghostly figures of unfamiliar people that were once living. Or so Kamae would assume since she did not know entirely the specifics on this beast's power. As the cat would produce a tremendous roar, displaying not even a trickle of it's power, the army would twitch and then hone in a single target. Kamae looked over and noticed that the man was none other than the fireworks man himself, the man with the plan.
"Yeah, no jokes when there's a crisis," she quietly muttered to herself as she slapped her mind mentally. Her body itching to move, Kamae could only sit back and watch as the blond from earlier preformed the hand seal needed for the Kage Bunshin. "So, he's a shinobi." Deciding that now was a good time to take action, Kamae pushed herself off the ground and took to the rooftops of the nearby huts. Even though she was now higher than from before, she would notice that the Nibi was still immensely taller than her spot, forcing Kamae to act quicker. Leaving behind the clones of blond, she headed to where the fireworks man was headed, straight for the oasis. Hopping along the wood and stone, she watched as the man pulled out a few fireworks from a scroll, unleashing them onto the crowd of paleness. Her head ducked as an arm flew past her after the explosion of fireworks. "Woah!!"
A jump after the last step would land her near where the man had turned around at, as if he was turning to see the fruits of his labor. A medical ninja at heart, Kamae stood next to the man, surveying him up and down for any injuries. "Hey, you okay?" she inquired, hoping that the man didn't injure himself from using an unfamiliar style of ninjutsu on the horde.
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Post by Saizō on Jun 1, 2008 14:02:17 GMT -5
There was three participants in this battle, and still the outcome looked very grim. Saizō cracked a smile as a pink haired girl bounced on to the scene, and up onto the rooftops. She was headed quickly to where the boy running the fireworks had just fled, and this allowed him to move just in time as a barrage of fireworks rained on the army of the dead. This took with it, many casualties and even two of his own clones. The remaining four clones stood beside Saizō to avoid any further damage. He would utilize his much faster speed to dispatch of the dead as they neared closer.
Despite the heavy attack the kid had laid out, there was still a fairly large crowd piling in front of the massive cat. It seemed fruitless to take down the slow moving squad in the front, but Nibi seemed almost too large to take down with out an amazing technique. The pink haired girl he had infered was a medical shinobi, as she began questioning the pyrotechnician.
The remaining clones stayed in their place beside him to avoid his next technique. He slowly brought his hand to his mouth, and blew out a large gust of wind that tore into the crowd. Blowing most of them off their feet, and ripping into a large portion of them. At the end of the crowd it made contact with the large feline.
Daitoppa!
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Post by p r e history on Jun 1, 2008 14:18:27 GMT -5
Opu's ice blue orbs moved onto the woman who'd questioned his physical condition. Bearing no injuries, Opu simply shook his head, still peering out onto the wreckage of pale limbs. Towering over it all was the Nibi. Opu couldn't say he hadn't dealt with it before. But that was a story for another day. He grimaced, watching the Nibi roared once more, sending another wave of pale bodies toward them. The sheer speed was enough to scare away the macho-est of men. Opu still needed to find a way to save what he could. He was sure that not everyone in the town was made into a pale minion of the Shinigami's pet. Therefore, he would devise a plot using anything necessary to reach his goal. He cocked his head over his shoulder, examining the girl who'd appeared.
"You--girl, what's your name?" he interrogated. However, not even waiting for a response, he continued to enlighten her with his plan for rescuing what he could. By this point, the second blond had joined their little "assembly" if you could even call it that. "I'm not sure anything is going to survive this attack. Not even us. But I can attempt to halt this..." He placed his hands into a sting of In, slamming them down onto the sands. Around his hands spread out black seals, and in a poof of smoke, a large platoon of tigers showed themselves to the battlefield. "You two have to engage this army. You two are in charge of this platoon. I'm going to get to Nibi itself. There, I'll attempt to suppress it."
Without another word, what seemed to be an inexperienced middle-aged man who was running around the deserts with fireworks was now a seasoned pro at handling Biju. Not that he wasn't though. But like it was said earlier--that's a story for another day. Quickly, the blond took to the huts of the town, of course being followed by a chunk of the pale soldiers. He placed his hands into a special seal.
"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu~!!!"
In a puff of smoke, three replicas of the man appeared beside him. The small task force of sorts took toward Nibi. This of course didn't go unnoticed. The black cat's ears peaked in the direction of the four, causing him to notice their movements. In a blur, the gargantuan beast shot out of large ball of fire. However, this was no ordinary fire. Its tongues burned intensely, and it was colored darker than night. The four replaced themselves with a ball of sand, appearing on four sides of the large cat. By this point, a seal was in each of their hands. The Nibi also fell victim to the Daitoppa. The sands that blew onto it filed into its eyes, causing it to scream in agony. Opu and his bunshin were affected, however slightly. This being because of the number of things blocking their paths. The Nibi's body, as well as the huts. whereas Nibi stood in the middle of the High Street.
「出産」--- Shussan (Lit: Childbirth)1
Around the seals were numerous seals, all reinforcing the power of the slips of paper. They slammed their papers into the sands below respectively, forming a string of In. Slamming their hands onto the small slips of paper, white seals extending outward, connecting with the seals that extended out of the other three respectively. As they bonded, a white aura shot upward around the black creature. The cage of sorts was only so strong at this point, however. Opu would have to act quickly.
He looked down the high street onto the number of pale soldiers approaching him. The four bunshin in unison formed a string of In, shooting their hands outwards to summon the united power of the rock remnants below their geta--the sands.
"Doton: Kensetsu'do~!!
In what seemed like less than a second, the sands shot upward in stalagmites. However, their proximity to one another made these stalagmites form a wall of sorts. While it wouldn't take long for the pale force to break through the wall of newly formed rock, it still allowed Opu time to battle the Nibi.
"You three... handle them... I got the big dog."
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Note1: Shussan is the opposite of death. Childbirth is the entrance to life, whereas death is the exit. By casing death with its opposing force: childbirth, Opu is temporarily able to restrain Nibi's ability access its possession over death, and his Army of Death. Granted, the Army of Death will still do as they were told to do prior to the Nibi's imprisonment. This imprisonment lasts only temporarily, and the amount of time is dependent on the number of seals uses to restrain the Nibi. In this situation, four would restrain Nibi for only a short while (1 post).
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Toku
Jōnin
Kishō Kamae
Posts: 52
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Post by Toku on Jun 1, 2008 19:06:20 GMT -5
As fluid as the water that filled the oasis with it's refreshing nectar, Kamae's sight traveled over to lock eyes with the Nibi beast, the fear from before now replaced with focused courage and adrenaline. As a trained medic in the city of Arrai Ippin, Kamae had seen many different and unusual ailments in the past, some even being quite grotesque in nature. She did not however, spend a good amount of time having to treat people that were mutilated, or worse off, having to do the more gruesome tasks of surgery and the like. Inside she gagged slightly at the sight of scattered apendages, but she quickly discarded that effect as this was not the place or time for such discontent. Pink strands following the swift turn of her head, Kamae scanned the blond fireworks user again before turning back to watch the Nibi. Dirt and soil shifted as the beast let out another mighty roar in it's wake, Kamae now feeling a bit of hot air from the closing distance this animal was gaining on the trio. "Crap."
Time was now a convenience that she used, her ears listening in as the pyrotechnician started to fill Kamae in. Her kunoichi vision turned slightly to watch as the other blond had made his way close to where the Kamae and the other was not stationed at, doing exceptionally well to hold off the spectral army on his own. She knew that she was going to be needed in action later on to help him in his struggle to fend off the minions, but for these few seconds, she stayed back and listened to the other's words. "Wha--" What was this man thinking? She watched carefully as the man made a few seals with his hands and force what seemed to be black symbols all along his hands, followed by the sudden appearance of tigers all in only a matter of seconds. With the last words of what seemed to have come from years of experience, the man took off atop the huts toward the Nibi, already placing his plan into action. "Bodies are gonna hit the floor!" Kamae shouted out a battle cry as she charged into the battle as well, instinctively following the orders of the pyrotechnician with flawless grace on her part. Her eyes still tracking the movments of the blond, she noticed a few pale soldiers chasing him down, Kamae taking it upon herself to deal with the imposition.
A patricioner of Kazaguruma no Mai martial arts, Kamae clenched her fists tightly as she jumped into the air, landing right in front of the number of soldiers with a might punch. She effectively destroyed through the stone that made up the rooftop of the hut they were originally standing upon, taking the soldiers down with her into the small house. "You guys aint gonna be following no one!" Taking one of the soldiers by the arm, she gripped the side of his body and swung him into the stone wall behind her, knocking out the apparition easily. "Don't need no Kage Bunshin for this!" Slamming her foot down onto an incoming soldier, she jumped up slightly and pushed off it's back, charging into another soilder in front straight through the wooden door that stood firmly in the opening of the hut. The crash was a bit dusty than she expected, her eyes stinging a bit before going back to normal. She noticed that she hadn't gone too far from before, only a few feet from first glance. Looking up, she watched the other blond blow out a large stream of wind, shouting out some wierd technique beforehand. Arms wrapping around her neck from behind, Kamae quickly reached behind her and clutched the shirt of the owner, flipping him over her head and slamming him into the ground with slight effort on her part. "Damn."
She got to her feet with much haste, rushing forward to stand next to the wind using blond. Staring at where the former was looking at, Kamae saw that the Nibi was surrounded by clones of the other, Kamae amazed at the courage he possesed to actually go up and battle the Nibi. Strange seals were then made by the clones, a white cage of abnormal energy shooting up all around the black feline in a small radius created by the points the clones stood upon. "Amazing no?" Kamae said to the blond that stood with her, her body’s instinct turning her around and connecting her fists with the face of a sad attempt at sneaking, before turning back around to watch the events unfold. ”I thought you were just a fireworks man strange blond seal dude.” She now found herself rushing forward toward the walls of earth that the clones created, still following the orders she was sent a while back. She had not forgotten the tigers that were to be her platoon; she made a silent order for them to follow the other blond to help him. Skidding to a stop when her distance to the earthen wall was incredibly neck and neck, Kamae turned around with her back towards the wall, her front now facing any of the soldiers who woudl dare try to stop the battle. "Come and get some!" With the small number who did try, Kamae started her martial arts again, working even harder to keep them at bay. [/size]
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Post by Saizō on Jun 1, 2008 22:41:04 GMT -5
There was tigers, in a cloud of smoke. The pyrotechnician was already off to battle the obsidian feline. He used a technique that was rather surprising to Saizō. Almost a sealing technique, a prison of white was barred around Nibi. Understandable, as the Bijuu that controlled death a cradle of life could hold it back. He had left them in charge of the tigers, and already the pink haired girl had left his side to lay a savage beating on the slow moving soldiers. She possessed an uncanny amount of strength, and hand-to-hand combat finesse that would surprise most people.
Saizō had his own advantage in combat. This was his natural speed, and the fact that he was expertly adept at using the Shunshin on Jutsu. Which he utilized just then, to appear in the crowd of the undead. Of course, he was preventing them from interfering with the fireworks wizard and the gigantic black feline. His punches came so much faster than the army of dead, that he was able to easily fend off their attacks with out becoming overwhelmed. He flew around like a blur, dispatching of them this way and that.
The tigers pounched and crushed the life, if it was still considered that out of the army of dead. They served to keep his back, and they did considerably well. When he saw his opportunity and the crowd split, he would utilize the Goukakyuu no Jutsu. The fire spewed forth from his mouth and formed a rather large sphere, which shot off into the crowd. Incinerating many of his opponents, and immediately he went back to rushing around.
"Yeah."
He said briefly turning to the pink haired girl.
"It's amazing."
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Post by .s e i n a on Jun 3, 2008 18:55:51 GMT -5
for you I'd burn the length and breadth of sky Ever since she was a little girl, Seina had never enjoyed fireworks much. Though the multicolored constellations that stretched across the open night sky were beautiful to look at, the thunderous pop which accompanied their blooming process agitated her. She was a woman who enjoyed her quiet and hot tea by a fire place. Yet she was here, in the middle of the hustle and bustle of the festival, during one of the coolest nights of the summer with the love of her life as fireworks heated up the darkness above. The lucky fellow, of course, being her almost five-year-old son Kazue.
Kazue was, along with his eight year old cousin Kokoro, among the children who had grown transfixed by the fireworks display in the night sky. With an awe akin to reverence his eyes widened as a whole canvas erupted before him. Seina knew this was his first time seeing fireworks; the way his innocent eyes watched on in fascination and eagerness sparked a new love within her for the disruptive things. She was watching him intently, deciphering every shift of his expressions, until she noticed Motoko was speaking to her.
Pretending as if she heard everything her sister-in-law said, she turned towards the older woman and smiled, shrugging her shoulders slightly in case she had asked a question. She knew shrugging her shoulders was the wrong move immediately when Motoko raised an eyebrow and gave her the same look she gave Kokoro when she misbehaved.
”You weren't even paying attention, were you?”
Seina laughed nervously and shook her head, somewhat embarrassed that she was discovered. Motoko was always teasing her about her lack of attentiveness around anyone who was not her son. She felt bad that she ended up ignoring others but it was something that happened too often that it made her disregard it as part of her nature.
“Sorry, Motoko-nee-san. What did you say?”
The older woman shook her head, as if dismissing her sister-in-law as hopeless, and glanced a wary eye at the children who were now poking around the tent of the blond-haired man who had operated the fireworks display to hassle him for an encore. When Kazue poked his small head in to investigate the contents of the tent, both Seina and Motoko sharply called his name. The boy quickly jerked his head out and looked up, with wide-eyed feigned innocence, at his frowning mother. He called to her, the last 'a' in the word 'mama' having a whine to it. Kokoro grabbed his hand and pulled him away from Opu's temporary residence. As they were walking towards their mothers, Motoko repeated what she had tried to tell Seina.
”As I was saying, we should start heading back. It's almost time for bed.”
When Kazue reached her, he left Kokoro's side and gripped the skirt of her kimono, mumbling the words 'but I'm not sleepy' with his eyelids softly drooping over his light brown eyes. A gentle smile stretched on Seina's face as she watched Kazue struggle to keep his eyes open.
“All right, time to go home, Kazue-kun.”
She carefully picked him up and held him close. His head rested on her shoulder on instinct, and his tiny but strong hands firmly gripped the fabric of her kimono. Together with Makoto and Kokoro, they started their trek to their camp set up a short while from the festival. It wasn't until they were almost home that Kokoro suddenly made a startled cry and looked over her shoulder.
”I forgot my doll!”
Her mother began to scold her for being careless, but Seina merely felt bad for her loss. She knew her niece loved that doll her mother had made from scratch, with its painted brown eyes and rosy porcelain cheeks. With a sigh she handed her sister-in-law a now-sleeping Kazue.
“I'll go look for it. She probably left it where we watched the fireworks.”
Motoko shook her head at Seina, finding her willingness to look for such a minor thing ridiculous. Before she could stop her she had already started running back to the festival. It wasn't until she could see the distant firelight of the street lanterns that she noticed some dark work had occurred.
...
At first the streets appeared hollow and lonely; there was no longer the echoes of laughing children or the pitches of stand operators. And although the desert was known to have a wickedly frigid demeanor during the evening, the air seemed especially chilling on this hour of the night. The smell of sweet things were now past; on the breeze there was now a scent akin to sickness and curdled milk.
Soon the chill overtook her, causing her to shudder violently and hug herself for warmth. She moved forward, mindful of the execution of every step, with eyes narrowed and observing the emptiness of everything around her. As she neared the spot where the china doll might have been she heard the strangest, most blood-chilling sound she had ever witnessed in her short and meager existence. Upon a first and inattentive listen it sounded a little like a baby's cry mixed with the hiss of a snake. Then it got stronger, more vehement to the ears, as it erupted into a horrendous and piercing growl that was unlike any wild animal she had ever heard before. When she finally looked closer at the lackluster horizon she found the source of the noise and the feeling of dread which started to pool in her nauseated stomach.
There, holding the dark sky against its back, was a creature not of this earth. It was a mountain of a feline with fur the color of a dusk and eyes which burned through the air like small twin suns. Two tails, held as proudly as flags, protruded from its rear. Seina had heard of these creatures – they were the stuff of legends and nightmares alike, characters which lived in the stories told around camp fires to scare the children into good behavior. She knew they existed but never had she once believed that she would look a devil like the Two Tails in the eyes.
Now that she had, she wasn't altogether sure whether she could believe she would survive the encounter.
Her first instinct was to run; to run away and pretend that she did the brave thing by saving her own life. Her body was already moving, the temptation to flee a master puppeteer. Then, as her eyes took in the path before her, her cowardice drained from her blood as the realization of a new horror crawled into her body. Should the hell cat be allowed to continue its destructive fancies, the trail of bodies would lead it towards her family and their camp.
Before she could stop herself to rethink her actions she was already facing the biju, hurrying towards it. At its feet she noticed its toy soldiers, former members of the living world who were now mere marionettes. Seina didn't notice that the man who she had punched in the face had sold her takoyaki mere hours beforehand, nor did she realize that the elderly woman she just kicked into three other walking cadavers was the same person who had asked her for directions to a refreshment stand when she first entered the festival. No, it wasn't until the mask of one of the smaller bodies she had knocked to the ground fell off that she recognized the child as one of the many her own son had been frolicking with under the fireworks display.
Her gasp of surprise soon unraveled into an uncensored scream of horror as she realized the identities of her enemies and her possible fate should she fail in protecting her family. Seina stood there, wide-eyed and agape mouth covered with a hand, until one of the cadavers gripped her wrist with its cold and trembling hand. She immediately snapped back to this ghost story of a reality, filled to the brim with more determination then ever, and used a kunai to sever the hand at the wrist. Once she had cut off the ligament the fingers loosened on their last impulse and fell among the slain bodies that had started to pool around her.
She had noticed the others like her, the people fighting for their own survival and perhaps the survival of others close to them. Unfortunately she was separated from them and was starting to get overwhelmed; she made the quick decision to change her circumstances. Seina withdrew a kunai and jumped onto the chest of one of the male zombies, slitting his throat as she applied chakra to her feet and propelled herself into the air. She twisted her body so that when she came back towards the earth she was head first.
The kunai was now held in her mouth via the handle; her arms moved forward as she landed on top of another zombie, each hand on a shoulder. With a swift turn of her lower body, she snapped its neck and pushed herself off of its falling carcass, landing gracefully on her feet. She was in between the woman and the young man with the tigers flanking his sides. Seina continued to fend off the enemies, finding comfort in the presence of her new allies.
“Fighting them all is no good! If we tire out then we'll become one of them!”
I'll tap into your strength and drain it dry
[/COLOR][/font] c h u u n i n. m o t h e r. f r i e n ds e i n a[/center][/color][/blockquote][/blockquote][/blockquote]
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Post by p r e history on Jun 4, 2008 15:03:24 GMT -5
[I'm godmodding just a bit.]
The seals were beginning to weaken. Opu now stared up at the Nibi as the pale white aura that the seals formed began to grow paler. He groaned, placing his hand together. He cracked his knuckles, preparing himself for the events to come. He placed his hands into the pouch that donned the rear of his obi, withdrawing a brush and a scroll, and a single slip of paper. He glanced upward at the huge feline, almost regretting coming to the town for his performance. If he wanted to relive his old days, he would have done so on his own.
Onto the seals, he wrote an elaborate seal. In the center, the kanji:
「人」--- Jin (Lit: Human)1
Opu peered over his shoulder, noticing that the army of the dead were not drawing closer to the wall. Opu crept toward it, noticing that a number of his tigers had jumped onto the wall. Since he'd left them in the two shinobi's care, they would most likely be behind the wall. As he placed his back onto the wall, he continued to stare at the Nibi as the seal of white drew paler and paler. It was almost transparent at this point.
"I'm going to use a powerful seal right now. I need you all to brace yourselves..."
The seal shattered. The four slips of paper based at the Nibi's feet burned into nothing more by black ash. He sighed, hopping onto the wall as he channeled chakra into his feet.
"Get ready--NOW~!! [/b]" He jumped from the stone, releasing the chakra he'd stored. It allowed him a larger range of distance to use. He cut through the air rather easily, facing minimal resistance, It wouldn't be long before he was just in front on the vicious feline. Raising his left arm, he slammed the seal onto the Nibi's forehead. By this time, he'd entered the Nibi's "field". It was legend that the Nibi had an air of death about it. Getting to close to its breath would make one feel intense despair. The more feeble minded, the more the breath would affect one. It was taking a toll on Opu. However, he wasn't as feeble as he seemed. In fact, Opu was rather strong-minded, compared to most. The assault on Nibi wasn't finished. He unrolled the scroll as he began his descent into the sand. As he fell, he formed a number of In, bitting into his thumb, and slammed his hand onto the seal. The elaborate seal on the slip of paper now attached to Nibi's forehead and the elaborate writings on the scroll vanished. The slip of paper fell to the earth as did the now blank scroll. Opu quickly recovered from his fall, his azure eyes not moving from the purple cat. For a moment all was silent. The army of the dead stopped movement. "GET REA-- UMPH~ !!" In a blast of light, the Nibi seemingly disintegrated. Black and purple dust flew throughout the dry desert air. The sheer force of what seemed like an explosion shot Opu far over wall of sand. The tigers took their leave in a puff of smoke. The wall that the bunshin had formed fell as it it weren't there. The three shinobi behind the wall were also shoved off their feet and catapulted into the air. Opu's own three bunshin followed the suit of the tigers, and vanished. Opu would find himself immersed in water. Unable to gape for air, the now confirmed shinobi shot to the top of the water. Before he left, he was able to confirm the others below, and frantically attempting to reach the plethora of air that lay just above the face of the cold water. The oasis attempted to swallow what the Nibi fed it. In a slash, Opu shot his head out the water, panting frantically. He shook his blond hair from his eyes as he examined the other three bodies follow him out the water. It was quiet. That was what Opu expected. The seal he placed on the Nibi had that effect. "The Army of Death is gone for the time being." He swam to the sandy shore, exiting the water. Still, particles of black and purple accented the air. The were joined by particles of gray. And of course, some of the yellow sand was also kicked up into the air. Really, the team was lucky that they fell into the water. As if the explosion of the Nibi wasn't enough, the army also suffered and explosive "demise" if you could even call it that. That being said, they would have been obliterated with them. Opu peered down onto his shirt. Or at least what remained of it. Ripping it from his torso, he made a covering for his face. It only provided small holes in the stitching for breathing, as well as small peep holes. This would serve, for the terrain would be pretty savage for him to breathe at this point. "Keep on your guard. It's not over yet." Note1: Jin is a contradictory term to the savage behavior of the Nibi. This seal is extremely powerful, and suppresses the Nibi's power dramatically. It chooses at random one of the souls that resides in the Nibi's belly, and makes the Nibi become that soul for a limited amount of time. This seal lasts about an hour in time. While in this form, the Nibi loses a significant amount of power, and cannot sustain the Army of Death, though it can summon a few dead souls to do its bidding. Even so, the "zombies" are not fully under the Nibi's control, and can sometimes do things on their own will. [/blockquote][/size]
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Toku
Jōnin
Kishō Kamae
Posts: 52
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Post by Toku on Jun 4, 2008 18:24:20 GMT -5
Just standing with all the other rats...
A cat and mouse chase was nothing compared to the situation that threw the small village of Arrai Ippin into a state of turmoil and chaos. What had the little city done to deserve such a fate? What had angered the Nibi so to influence it to journey to this small residence and inflict such destruction? These and more were questions left unanswered as Kamae would save them for another time; maybe when she would survive this battle, she could take up with the blond pyrotechnician for some information. Fluttering sparks beconed the new era of warfare; the age of man versus beast. Sweat traveled down the soft pale cheek of the medical ninja, pink strands now starting to stick to her scalp. She knew that battling a Bijū was going to be troublesome, but she didn't expect for the army of undead to be a problem for her. Even good shinobi have times when they need help from others.
"Yo zombies! I want you all to meet somebody!" She started to use martial arts again, now thinking of different ways to fight in the small space from her and the Nibi to the other blond. Grabbing an incoming arm, she held the wrist of the former, twisting it to the side before using her right foot to kick into it's shin, a sharp cracking sound floodling Kame's ears before she threw the woman into the crowd in front of her. "Woohoo!" Jumping into the air, she twisted her body to lay a sharp foot sweep into it's head, a swift cracking of the neck following suit after her attack. She landed in front of the falling corpse, this time sweeping her leg under the body, the stiff carcass flying into the air on it's side. Rising to a stand with shinobi speed, she jabbed forward into it's abdomen, sending the body crashing into the crowd of soldiers. This wasn't what she had in mind to be dealing with the army, but Kamae really was at her limit of possible moves from the rising number of zombies who seemed to appear out of nowhere. Time was passing too slowly for her own good, and this was not going good for her orders of protecting the man from the army.
Hope came in the form of a blaze of glory, a fireball erupting out of the other blond's mouth. This flame blazed through a number of the zombies, reducing the army down enough so that they were now something Kamae could deal with. "Alright!" Her morale brought up again from the incineration of the zombies, Kamae went into a dash into the now smaller crowd of people, sliding at the very last second. Her body flew under the legs of the crowd, knocking them off their feets and into the sky. Enjoyable from her spot, she swiftly curved her body around to make a sharp twist, her body now facing the airborne bodies. Kamae started to form handseals as fast as her hands could make them, before she felt a cold hand grip her shoulders, throwing her backwards with obvious ease. Her mouth automatically let out a small yelp from reactions, her body flying directly into a window that led into the hut she had fought in from before.
Dust now settling around the hut itself, Kamae emerged from the cloud, her red clothes a bit dirty from the landing. "Ow." She walked out from the hut stumbling, a few coughs echoing from her throat. Kamae ambled a bit farther, stopping when she was close to the fireball throwing blond. She felt a bit of deja vu as she felt she had already done something like this. Looking down at her boot, she shook off an arm that was somehow still holding onto it. Her green eyes looked back to the horde from earlier and watched them fall back to the sands with a small 'plop'. "Disgusting." She was about to head in and commence in another round of fighting before a young girl landed in between her and the man. She seemed to be about the same age as Kamae was, though this was from Kamae's point of view. What really made Kamae think on her was how she had already taken down her own groupling of zombies and then stated a comment that made her wonder even deeper. "Wha--what!?" Kamae was about to question the young woman, before she noticed an unearthly rumbling coming from the Nibi's location. Twisting her head around, she stared immensely at the earthen walls, watching the man take to the skies to begin the assault on the beast.
The process was quicker than a desert melts ice, as an explosion ripped through the air and knocked Kamae off her feet. Again. She flew backwards across the sands, suprise hitting her head like a fan as her body was suddenly plunged into the waters of the oasis. Who knew a person could fly that far? It felt nice to be suspended in the depths of the waters, but she knew she would have time to relax later, and she was not a fish. Springing to her feet, she swam upwards and popped her head out of the crystal blue, meeting the comforting air on the surface. She saw that she had flown with the other shinobi in the area, and that blond pyrotechnician was already outside of the oasis. Using her legs to power herself through the short distance to the shore, she pulled her body out of the oasis, landing on the sand with a wet squishy sound. Kamae moaned as she heard what the man had said about the situation. "It's not over?"
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Post by Saizō on Jun 4, 2008 19:12:33 GMT -5
As the large explosion sounded off, it blew the team if they could be called that off their feet and the other two besides himself into the waters. Saizō himself landed in ankle deep water, and barely retained his balance even then. The pyrotechnic swam his way to the warm shores and the pink-haired girl poked her head out of the disrupted surface of the water. He rose from his crouched position that he had taken to keep upright, the zombies had been dispatched and as near as he could tell so had the Bijiuu.
It wasn't over, apparently. The fireworks kid took a moment to exclaim that much to the teams despair. The walking dead were easy to deal with, but the beast was becoming rapidly alarming to the safety of themselves, and the small village.
"Not over? Mind explaining what exactly you just did?"
His clones had been destroyed in the resounding explosion, along with the horde of undead. What more could they have to worry about. Still, he kept on his guard.
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Post by .s e i n a on Jun 7, 2008 19:30:09 GMT -5
for you I'd burn the length and breadth of sky The first thing she felt before her hope started to deteriorate was the fire against her skin. She watched the light of the explosion devour the Nibi just as she realized the force of the assault had uprooted her body. Panic overtook her, her eyes flung wide open from the shock of the throw and all her thoughts skittered in her head like leaves playing in the wind. When she was plunged into the cold darkness of the water, for one fleeting moment, she believed she had died. She drifted beyond the surface until her lungs started to struggle for air, causing her body to instinctively swim upwards.
She broke from the surface gasping and graceless, her arms and legs flailing before she got her bearings. Seina, being of a family of desert nomads, wasn't the most talented swimmer – she barely knew the sport. But the will to see the oncoming sunrise was driving her body to discover new methods of functioning and survival. She was able to swim to where her feet could scrape the floor; once at that point, she started to walk towards the bank, still breathless from nearly drowning. She shifted her fingers through her black, soppy hair in order to push the wet bangs off of her now pale face and walked towards the man who had given them some faint blueprint of victory.
But Seina knew better then to believe that they had won; all they had gotten was a temporary reprieve and less bodies to rip apart. As she neared them she realized that the weight of the saturated fabric of her kimono was wearing her down. Not only that, but the kimono itself was ruined by holes from the explosion. With a frown she untied the green obi and discarded the beautiful outer shell of the garment, now wearing only the white layer underneath and retied her obi around it. It had taken her months to sew that garment but she'd be damned if vanity was going to slow her down so her death could catch up to her.
Ever the lovely and graceful woman that she was, she nearly tripped over the bank and stumbled the rest of the way to her comrades. Yet her eyes were not focused on them but the horizon, watching for the Nibi's recovery and dreading the return of its ear-splitting cry. She turned to Opu with pleading eyes, as he seemed to be the one with an idea on how to combat the monster.
“Please tell me there's a way to stop it.”
She turned her gaze to the faces of the other two as if the answer was written in their troubled expressions. Seina took in a breath but did not sigh; she looked at the nearing sunrise and did not hope.
I'll tap into your strength and drain it dry
[/COLOR][/font] c h u u n i n. m o t h e r. f r i e n ds e i n a[/center][/color][/blockquote][/blockquote][/blockquote]
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Post by p r e history on Jun 10, 2008 18:07:28 GMT -5
Opu's eyes remained forward. He was unable to fathom what business the Nibi had with the village. Of course, he knew that Biju attacked villages on their whim, but the Nibi did things differently this time. Usually, the Nibi didn't go full out, using the Army of Death against a village. Especially not against a village of this size. Opu's azure orbs scanned the particles of dust flying throughout the air. He dropped onto the balls of his feet, balancing himself perfectly on them.
"No... unfortunately this isn't over. I don't know if any of you are familiar with folklore, but the Nibi is known to roam from town to town. While it does that... it eats people." Opu paused, shaking his head as he continued to stare out at the beacon of smoke. "So, what I did, is I used a powerful Fūinjutsu to decompose the Nibi's larger body, and substitute it for one of the souls within her stomach. The soul should be composing it's mortal structure in that plume of smoke right now." Opu said as he pointed to the main column of smoke, shooting upward into the sky.
"That beacon is the key to our escape. Hopefully, some other cities will see it and investigate this town. Now... when the Nibi comes out of that smoke, it's not going to be the same. It'll retain some of the abilities it had from its main body. It can still summon the Army, though it is extremely tolling. In addition to that... it takes the abilities of the person who's body it's inhabiting... That means it could be the strongest person in the world... or even the weakest.
What I need you all to do is fight it alongside me. But in addition to that, I need you all to look through the remaining structures and the rubble even. Find any people you can save. That is the secondary aspect of this mission. I'm gonna rank it at A."
Opu offered a glance over his shoulder, looking to the others. "Hm... I guess this is a time to get acquainted... maybe? I'm Opu. I'm a member of the Immortals. The Immortals that faced the Biju ages ago. Heh... guess that makes me a little old, eh?"
The introductions wouldn't last long. Just minutes after Opu'd introduced himself, a shadow could be viewed through the pillar of smoke.
"Then again... maybe this wasn't the best time for formalities.
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Toku
Jōnin
Kishō Kamae
Posts: 52
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Post by Toku on Jun 10, 2008 18:52:27 GMT -5
oOc: Bad post, my bad
Green eyes darted about the vast sands that made up the town's foundation, as if trying to see what the man was talking about. They had just suffered through a horde of zombies, protecting a cage for the Nibi, and flying through the air after an explosion. What more could there possibly be at this point? As she surveyed with strenuous effort, her gaze shrinking to squinting, she came across the faces of the other two people that she had just fought with, noticing the expressions on their faces. One of them, the blond was looking with an expression of sheer determination and focus, as if he was looking for any signs of danger that might befell the four of them. The other, the woman, looked as if she was a bit troubled with this situation, something Kamae knew at this time was mutual. Kamae looked back down toward the little puddle her body had made from just barely getting out of the water a while back. She stared at the muddled dirt before biting her lip slightly, her eyes flashing white before turning back to a clear verdant. Pushing her knuckles into the sand on either side of her body, she brought her torso up from laying on the sand and crossed her legs into a sitting position, her calves bent under her thighs.
"I-It eats people?" She shuddered as she got that same tingly feeling from before, her hands clutching sand to stay focused on what the man was telling them. Her fear was broken by his next few comments, catching the ears of Kamae well at the mention of a sealing. "Fūinjutsu..." She had heard of this form of techniques back when she was training in her childhood. Apparently, this was a form of sealing an object to another object. Kamae gave a more surprised look as she heard his next few words. "So, you basically made a smaller Nibi? In a person?" She shook her head as she really thought that this had disaster written all over it. She opened her eyes again and looked where the man was pointing, taking notice of the plume of smoke that rose into a a signal for people miles around them to know of what was happening. At least this way, they can make sure that reinforcements could be called for if the situation would turn out to be dire.
"Alright, fighting time." Kamae rubbed her right arm with her hand, wobbling to a stand as she did so. She really hadn't tried to fight after fighting before, but she figured that now would be the best time for her to try so. Kamae stepped forward so that she was standing a few feet behind the blond, her hands clenched into fists as she walked. Huts destroyed. Body parts scattered about the sands. Windows shattered. The town portrayed the look of anarchy, as well as giving Kamae a new motive to take down this wretched beast, no matter what it would take. "Mission, since when was this a mission?" She was surprised that this whole battle was even called a mission, as it seemed more like a survival choice to her. There was no point in arguing with the words of the man at this point, so she instead took a few steps back and decided go after saving the civilians that might still be stuck here in the city.
"Opu." Blank looks paved there way onto Kamae's face, as the odd name barely struck her as hat it was; a name. A cool name at that. "That's so effin' cool! I love that name Opu!" Her whole demeanor switched into overly happy, the man's unveiling of his sought after name being a memorable moment for the pink-haired kunoichi. "My name's Kamae by the way. Kishō Kamae." She rubbed her fists against her crimson top, as if flaunting her name in a time like this. She figured why not show off another cool name if one was given beforehand, no matter what was happening. Goofy smiles all around. "Right." Kamae went back into a serious attitude, staring down the revealing shadow inside of the smoke. Bringing one hand up, she tightened the clip on her glove, making sure that it was extra secure for her upcoming challenge. "It's game time."
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