The worst thing about being a member of a race of people that were quite frankly scattered in the most true sense of the word was the lack of support that a community provided.  Those who lived in towns had the guidance of the schools and universities that dispensed with easy knowledge at the small small price of both your freedom and your sanity. Akane mused that perhaps if you were born into such a society then perhaps it would not be quite so bad. After all if you were restricted by the laws of the towns and villlages for all your life then really how could anyone expect you to know any better in the first place?


However she knew. Being out in the wild was at once a liberating and terrifying experience. Out in the far reaches and desolate places of the world you were your own master and the only things that you sevred was your own hunger and fatigue. If those two obstacles could be surpassed then you had the world in the palm of your hand. However this did present it’s own challenges. For one you couldn’t just look into a book and find detailed instructions on how to mould chakra into the forms you so desired. Nor could you ask a teacher to come and give instruction maybe even demonstrate the technique for you benefit. In the wilderness you had to learn by experimentation and repetition something which could take quite a while and in the process turn out to be surprisingly deadly.  

Akane mused on alternate options. There was other ways to go about such things but they were not easy to perform. Shamans could commune with both the dead and the spirits and gods of nature which inhabited all things. However these were dangerous ventures and thus every meeting had the chance of turning into a fight for dear life especially if one was contacting a spirit that was unfamiliar and possibly malicious in nature. Sprits did not play by the same rules that humankind did and thus it was without experience damn near impossible to understand what was going to happen or what kind of response any given statement or question may invoke.

But she needed some form of ranged weapon. Recent skirmishes had made that abundantly  clear to her. As much as her base shape shifting was a useful tool she had gotten in a number of very harrowing scrapes lately which would have been much pleasant were she to say have the ability to spew flames from her mouth similar to the village ninja.  Akane told herself that this was not an act of cowardice but merely  an expanding of …. tactical manoeuvres which could be preformed in whatever given dangerous situation may happen to arise.  Plus being able to spit fire out of your mouth was just kind of cool and she really wanted to show off too Ayabozu as he already had a plethora of impressive techniques.

Akane guessed that to learn about fire she would need some form of source. The easiest of these would be a fire spirit which could be found in the midst of a blaze. Climbing up to a volcano seemed a tad extreme (Especially considering the power of a spirit that would reside in such a destructive element as magma) so she settled for breaking down a pile of logs in order to build herself a good sized blaze. It took the best part of two hours but finally she had gotten herself a pile of logs that seemed large enough for the task at hand.  It took about a further forty minutes to actually light the damn thing which involved much cussing and fell oaths.  Her efforts were finally met with a spark and the fuel she had draped around the pile began to crackle merrily as if it was an old friend who was very pleased to meet her after such a long absence. Akane hoped that this would be a good sign as a jovial spirit would be far easier to deal with than one whose sole purpose in life was to act like a polar bear on the rag.

A chant welled up in her throat and Akane let instinct take over as she sang. There were words to the tune but none that she could understand the language of the music was no the one spoken in human communities but the language of the earth and of nature. Vast and rolling each syllable left her tongue feeling as if it had been plunged through an ocean of fresh dirt and grass all mowed and spliced together leaving her feeling heady and overwhelmed by the sheer sensation of it all.

The flames slowly rose as they crept towards the sky each log adding its own nourishment to the blaze. And eventually ever so slowly a figure began to take shape from the burning mass. It was vaguely humanoid possessing at the very least a head-like bulge and two fore limbs but the similarities ended there. The fire spirit was immensely fat with a girth that would be entirely unfeasible in the material world. Its wide mouth reminded Akane very much of a frog  and she could even swear that she could hear croaklike gurgles emitting from the throaty inferno.  

“So then Little Jugo girl I take it you want some kind of boon from me then ? If so then you will probably want to leave a gift for me – after all it’s the way tradition goes.”

Akane had not expected for the spirit to speak so soon or to be so forthright in its desire for mortal offerings. However she had been aware that something like this might occur and thus had packed something for just such an occasion. From her hide bag she drew a bottle of sake. It was cheap and nasty but the alcohol content was high and she very much doubted that the spirit would care for or even understand the concept of fine brewing.

“Is this the kind of thing you were talking about?”

The spirits eyes fixed on the bottle.  And the corners of it’s mouth twisted up in a smile.

“I think that will do nicely little missy”
With a wind up Akane hurled the bottle of flammable liquid into the jaws of the spirit and then filched back as the glass vessel exploded with an immense impact.

“Ah such a delectable morsel to fill my gullet.”

The spirit mused lulling over the taste of the drink.

“It is such a wonderful source of fuel for both my kind and yours. Indeed out of all the inventions crafted by humanity I would assign this the most worth.”

Akane thought for a few seconds before nodding.  

“Isn’t that the truth.”

The spirits forearms came before it and the fingers of it’s stumpy hands entwined in a gesture of pondering. Slowly it bobbed up and down in an almost hypnotic motion that Akane could not draw her eyes from.
“Now it seems you have paid your way into my good books and thus I shall have to assist you with what you seek. It would be very rude of me to simply take and run as it were and we can’t have everyone thinking that I am some mere cheapskate flame sprite that shirks out on his debts because he is too poor in both knowledge and power.”

Akane nodded. Clearly the fire spirit was in love with both the sound of it’s own voice and it’s position in spirit society. Well that was all well and good as long as It hurried up and taught her what she needed to know relatively painlessly.  Then it caught Akane’s eye  - the being was beginning to pulsate great tremors passing through it’s form. And then came the inevitable a great belch of smoke that erupted like a volcanic geyser spewing up clouds of noxious gas which wound and twisted like a snake coiling into Akanes lungs while the shaman choked and spluttered.

The sensation while not particularly painful was by no means what anyone could refer to as pleasant.  The smoke gave off the distinct impression of being alive as it coiled into her lungs wiggling and writhing to get a further hold on her insides. Finally she could feel the sensation cease and the gas become absorbed into her lungs. She opened her mouth wide and drew in the largest lung full of air she had ever managed in her life it was not a perfect moment but it sure as hell was better than the last couple Akane was certain of that.  The spirit was nowhere to be seen. Akanes expression soured if it had skipped out on their deal then she was going to be all kinds of angry.

“Gods damn your filthy hide you stupid shit eating candle sucking piece of “

Akane’s words were cut off as the burst of Nature imbued fire sprang from her mouth.

The spirits laughter could be heard all the way from the other side.

Later

She was running. All around her was darkness save the twisted forms of out jutting trees and other titan flora. Not everything in this world was pleasant and she had gotten too cocky. Wanting to learn more about doton – the very nature of the world itself she had sought the aid of a particularly old spirit dwelling in the heart of one of the most primeval forests in Iwagakure if not the entire continent. It had risen up in front of her covered in decaying firs and taller than a brown bear. It’s breath was rot and the words it spoke to her would chill her soul for eons.  It had mocked her for daring to contact it – asked her why it should simply not devour her body and do what it would with her spirit – fill it with contagion and watch it write as foul spectral parasites gnawed at the unending pit of horror that was to become her existence.  She had turned then and ran for the hills – if she was more powerful she could perhaps banish the malign being  seal it in a tree binding it with charms and fetishes that locked it’s very existence to a fetter.  It knew that she lacked this power though and it told her as much – it’s words seeped in malice.

“Poor little mortal bitch cast out from your tribe and left to wander the world on your own. How many ghosts haunt your dreams each night? How many souls cry out at the desecration of a world long ripped from your grasp. You are the one the dead have placed their hopes on – the one that will hear them and the one who CARES. Yes you lie to yourself about being beyond things pretending that it is nothing but a waste of your time and that you only carry out their whims because they will not leave you alone.  But you secretly worry that one day they will – they will simply give up on you and then you will have no one – no one at all.”

The words bit deep into the uncertainty that seethed within. But then the anger came forth – always there and always ready to step in when logic had melted into little more than a bloody puddle on the floor.

“You think you know sweet fuck all about me spirit? You think by pulling some half assed mind reading you can twist me around your little finger. Well get fucked, I may not have family but I have friends and that’s more than you rotting sack of shit and maggots.”

The growl that erupted from the spirits throat clearly insinuated that Akane’s insolence had gone too far and the spirit now planned to flense the flesh from her bones before adding it to the rest of the hides that draped its being.


Akane did the smart thing of course and took off at top speed.

In the now Akane flinched as one of the trees behind her erupted into flames as it was struck by a stray bolt of black lightning. Whatever the spirit was using was supernaturally potent and the normally resilient tree was going up like paper caught in a forge fire. Akane dreaded to think of what would happen if one of the bolts struck her flesh. Around her animals had picked up on the fact that something incredibly old and malicious was out to wreak havoc and thus were running as fast as they could to their respective burrows. The ground cracked and heaved as hooves paws and feet clambered to be the first to get the hell out of the way as soon as humanly (or in the case of the various forest creatures inhumanly possible). An idea formed in Akane’s mind and she quickly followed up diving into the earth and scrabbling deep with hands that were fusing into mole claws in mid dig. Down she plunged moving soil and rocks with every stretch of her arms. It was not unlike swimming Akane thought with what little of her mind she could dedicate to non-immediate pursuits
.  
Soon the spirit would arrive at where she had started of course the trail would be re-clogged with dirt as Akane was not in the mood to simply leave a hole in the ground for the unholy monster to follow after her. Eventually she tired and deep beneath the earth she sighed and rested her weary muscles.

Beside her a voice sounded in the darkness .

“It’s been a long time since anyone decided to come visit me in this hole. So very long. I deserve it I suppose after all the crime of murdering ones husband and children is not to be forgiven lightly even if they did betray the honour of our clan. But to have ones spirit bound to their very bones via marks etched all the way to the marrow is a cruel fate and one that I would not wish upon anyone.”

Akane had a pretty good idea of what she was going to see when she turned her head and her gaze alighted on something that confirmed her suspicions. Beside her was a skeleton roughly placed in a human form its mouth set in a remarkably grim line considering the smiling expression that skeletons were supposed to adopt.

“Well it’s not really like I have much choice to be down here if you know what I mean .”

Akane said to the pile of bones.

“It’s just that I somewhat screwed up and am now being chased by some kind of bogey with a hard on for wearing skins. But for what it’s worth I don’t mind chatting now that I am down here so feel free to chat away as long as you don’t make too much noise.”

The skeleton seemed to sigh.

“I fear that your time here shan’t be long in fact the spirit even now senses where you are and closes in on your position.  However I may be able to offer you some assistance in exchange for a boon on your behalf. If you succeed then we may both end up better off for it. What say you to this.

It didn’t take Akane long to come to a decision. Self preservation succeeded and she nodded furiously.

“Ok then shade we have a deal best start explaining quickly”

The ghost began to send mental energy quickly transferring knowledge in a way far more direct than any book or physical lesson.  Akane’s expression went from puzzled to apprehensive and then finally to comprehension.  

The spirit of the forest could smell her , taste her and feel her fear and rage. It was the scent of the defeated – once the might rulers of the wilds the Jugo now fled before each and every threat that came their way. Civilisation , ninjas and the march of the modern world. The spirit would not bend over and succeed it’s grasp however. Once it held dominion over forests and foliage alone but over the course of centuries that shift had changed. It now took precedence over negative feelings and emotions feeding off pain and suffering.

Soon it’s metamorphosis would be complete enough for it to set foot into a city and then it would grow vast off the sheer amount of woe that emanated from such hubs and centres of humanity. But first it would take nourishment from the young shaman she was  a pent up ball of insecurity and her mere presence was enticing. If she were to be tortured over a course of weeks then she would be delectable. The spirit having tether itself to a corporeal shell made of its own materialised chakra began to shift forward through the dirt Akane had dug through in her rush to get away from it.  It seemed that she got sloppy with caving her tunnel in as she got further as it could begin to move freely.

Words. A voice that sounded incredibly like the girls. The spirit was curious as there was something just a little bit off about the tone. It could not put it’s finger on it however.

The next few words that came from the area made it’s thoughts flee the matter entirely.

“Yan-Su-Zhou – the heart of corruption cease this foolish chase lest I use your true name against you”

The spirit flew into a rage. How did the little witch know his secret name that he had only uttered to the vacant sky and silent earth? Well she was a fool for revealing this fact.  If she had but used it to issue a command he would be trapped but instead he could rip her to shreds with his lighting before she could speak again.  Lunging forward the spirit cast it’s scything energy into the burrow.

The saltpetre cloud that now filled the hollow erupted into flames tearing both the spirits corporeal form and the skeleton that had onced inhabited the cave to shreds.

Akane herself was long gone.

Yan-Su-Zhou was much diminished his essence depleted from such a taxing manifestation. It would be years before he returned to full strength. He turned and began to slink away when a golden presence flared in front of him.

The Female warrior was naked save for a coating of bright plant dies. In her hands was a hefty two handed axe.  The axe came down and Yan-Su-Zhou was split into pieces. The ghost of the warrior opened her mouth and the spirits essence was drawn into her gullet.

She turned her back on the scene and started walking as a portal to the otherworld opened in front of her.

Saltpeter Cloud 1500/1500 words trained

Natures Fire 1500/1500 words trained