1 Story of the Windblown Savior [Slight Flashback/Plot/Private][NoKill] Sat Jul 12, 2014 6:49 pm
Motoichi
D-rank
Motoichi could remember the story his grandfather would tell him as a bedtime story back when he was little. Now, as a man, Motoichi would tell the story to himself as a way of reminding him where he came from. Usually he’d do it when he needed to calm himself down or to refocus him back to training. Sitting on a bench inside the Hidden Leaf village looking at the honored shinobi monument, he began the story, imagining his grandfather telling it to him again as a way for him to relax and put his mind off some of the more business he had carried out while visiting.
And so, as he imagined it, he could almost hear his grandfather tell it to him. “This town was no longer friendly. A few short days ago when I dusted the road off my travel weary body,” his grandfather would say, telling a story from his own life experiences. “I was welcomed with open arms. They were glad to see me then; children ran excitedly around me mimicking my walk, women lowered their eyes to the floor in blushing admiration and men shook my hand, listened to my tales and bought me drinks.
“Then I was a potential savior. The man who would save them and throw down the yoke of oppression that had left them quaking in terror. But now, I am no longer the hero but another one of the hated. Killer, murderer, a problem; take your pick.
“Even as the blood of the fallen soaks into the sand and dries in the never ending prairie wind I am aware of the baleful stares of the townsfolk, despite them hiding in the gloom behind twitching curtains and fastened windows.
“What did they expect? Some sense of empowerment or a glorious cheer from on high? No. It was murder.
“All they got for their money was a short lived relief from the terror before the suspicion starts again. For he who laid there was me on only a few short months ago.
“It was murder, sanctioned by money.
“I was born fast, born skilled, and endless practice had made me one of the best: until someone better came along.
“He had been the best once.
“A brief rush of adrenaline, noise, the smell of blood in the air and then one of us crumples to the dust. This time it had been him.
“The best, the fastest, the answer to all their problems.
“Knifeslinger: I may have been feared and admired, but I can call nowhere home. My knives and my skill defined my existence.”
Motoichi’s grandfather would pause for a moment, having given background to the story before diving right in.
Post: 453
And so, as he imagined it, he could almost hear his grandfather tell it to him. “This town was no longer friendly. A few short days ago when I dusted the road off my travel weary body,” his grandfather would say, telling a story from his own life experiences. “I was welcomed with open arms. They were glad to see me then; children ran excitedly around me mimicking my walk, women lowered their eyes to the floor in blushing admiration and men shook my hand, listened to my tales and bought me drinks.
“Then I was a potential savior. The man who would save them and throw down the yoke of oppression that had left them quaking in terror. But now, I am no longer the hero but another one of the hated. Killer, murderer, a problem; take your pick.
“Even as the blood of the fallen soaks into the sand and dries in the never ending prairie wind I am aware of the baleful stares of the townsfolk, despite them hiding in the gloom behind twitching curtains and fastened windows.
“What did they expect? Some sense of empowerment or a glorious cheer from on high? No. It was murder.
“All they got for their money was a short lived relief from the terror before the suspicion starts again. For he who laid there was me on only a few short months ago.
“It was murder, sanctioned by money.
“I was born fast, born skilled, and endless practice had made me one of the best: until someone better came along.
“He had been the best once.
“A brief rush of adrenaline, noise, the smell of blood in the air and then one of us crumples to the dust. This time it had been him.
“The best, the fastest, the answer to all their problems.
“Knifeslinger: I may have been feared and admired, but I can call nowhere home. My knives and my skill defined my existence.”
Motoichi’s grandfather would pause for a moment, having given background to the story before diving right in.
Post: 453