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Ayakashi

Ayakashi


S-rank
" Take this note to the Palace of the Daimyo to tell him of my coming, and should it be asked, tell them that it's urgent...  "


Those were the words which preceded the task given to Izaya Takahara, noble messenger, lover of women both of the road and his mother and second fastest non-ninja in the land of North Kirigakure no Sato. It had taken the thirty eight year old more than thirty years of training to stand where he is now, running errands for the Mizukage, having begun as but a boy running errands for his father's business, and ever since, he had grown to love the feel of the dirt under his feet as the landscape gave way behind him as he ran. Smiling and nodding Izaya moved past a young boy standing at the desk beside him as he exited the building with his satchel on his back, wearing little other than his tied off forest green silk tunic with brown canvas pants. The most iconic piece of clothing on his person was none other than the headband he wore, a fine piece of weaving in bizarre and colorful patterns he had made himself when he was no older than ten.  

And on the road he was, the stone beneath his feet as he took off into the distance, moving at a brisk run, waving to those he saw and knew, having delivered his many messages all around the city more times than he had fingers to count on. Even if he added his toes! Izaya passed the cherry grove within the center of the city, picking up speed as he moved from his steady run to a paced sprint as the exit of the city came closer and closer. And though he was little but a messenger, and had not received any ninja training, he thought of himself as pretty quick. He'd even almost beat a ninja in a race in his younger years!

Stopping at the City Gates, he was welcomed by the ninja there, often jeering at Takahara, not understanding the importance of the duties he performed for the Kage, passing messages between her office and the many traders around the city, as well as to the docks. On occasion others had him bring back messages to the Mizukage herself! Though, such messages he was always told to hand over at the reception, he'd never actually met the great Solstice Ayakashi before, though he longed to one day extend his hand to hers, and be thanked for a truly grandeous message she would receive from him. But for now, he would not be hampered by the mere Jounin which stood in his way, telling them that today he had a special mission to perform, one that was needed, important, URGENT. So puffing out his chest with pride, he spoke boldly to the ninja when they asked him about where he was going.

'I'm taking a message to the Daimyo, URGENT from the office of the Kage!'

He'd show them...





Meanwhile, Aya was getting ready for moving out on a mission to meet with the Daimyo, having had one of the receptionists send one of their many random messengers ahead to ensure that the Daimyo would be ready for her arrival.

It had been a stressful night for Aya, one which she wasn't able to sleep for were it not for one of the herbal remedies of her mothers plunging her into a deep, void-like and dreamless sleep. The thought of missing ninja branded by the Daimyo could be innocent, or a problem depending on the light it was painted in... The Daimyo collecting and imprisoning ninja was definitely within the rights of the Daimyo of Mizu no Kuni, though, she could not help but shake off the other implications which could be at play. For the longest time the Daimyo had been in control of the commerce of the country and the grand army of the land, numbering in hundreds of times more men that were at the disposal of the Mizukage. Though, it was the duty of the Mizukage to over-watch the capital of the country and train the countries elite ninja... If the Daimyo was capturing and arming the missing ninja that the ninja of the capital had been attempting to fight, then, that was directly in contrast to the ideals that Aya had been trying to instate...

The words 'no prisoners' repeated through her mind, as she could not help but visualize the dozens of well armed men which had attempted to kill Yosuke, a ninja from Iwa who had been attempting to extend the olive branch from his country and create open trade between the two nations. He was cute too, which probably helped with the negotiations... The artifacts used by the assassins was something else as well, forcing Aya to use some of her more powerful jutsu in order to destroy them... It was common knowledge that the armory and the treasury of the Daimyo had had no shortage of powerful weapons which it could arm its soldiers with if they wanted to, but, in the hands of those who posed a threat against the capital, something needed to be done, quickly.

Arming herself with the sword of Kusanagi sheathed at her side, changeling was sheathed on her back and the Raijin no Ken holstered at her opposite hip beneath her mask. Aya equipped the golden steel gloves of her mothers proudly, ready to be placed on if she needed it. The shroud of the Mizukage hung tightly around her lining the underneath of the legendary armour of Tobirama like a battle garb, making her seem far more war-like than when she wore the shroud openly revealing much more skin. Her pants however were thicker, looser Martial arts Gi compared to the well fitted plate. Black, baggy and strong Gi hanging down and covering her shin high boots which supported her ankles and her kicks. Her long sapphire hair which would glimmer in any of the sunlight which managed to peak through the canopy of clouds hidden by the hood of the shroud save for the occasional strand which crossed her face.

Walking out, fully equipped, she looked to the receptionist as if to say goodbye, noticed the boy standing at the counter of the administration building as one of the Twins had handed him several notes, which, once filled out Aya knew would be on her desk in the morning, and the boy would be waiting for them to be filled out and printed with her seal... At even the slightest glance she knew they were temporary residence papers, having gone through literally hundreds of them in her time as Mizukage. So, not letting the boy wait, she wandered over to beside him without a word, reached out a hand for a small thimble sized cauldren over a candle, gripping it she moved it over the papers and created a small puddle of blue wax, which she placed a ring on her finger to, imprinting the wax with the kanji for 'mizukage' across them. Looking down and smiling at the kid, giving the receptionist a final wave as she moved to leave the building.

"Welcome to the Village Hidden in the water~ I hope you find everything you're looking for..! ..."

She spoke in passing as she had to move, Moving her attention then to the receptionist

"I should be back by tomorrow morning, this errand really can't wait, but i will be back as soon as I can, if anyone asks, tell them I had to go out on an urgent venture to the Daimyo's palace okay..?"

She ended, listening to the confirmation of the girl behind the counter as she began to leave the place behind, hoping that everything that she worried about was all in her head, and that there was not something deeper, and more sinister going on behind the scenes. But, judging by what she knew of the Daimyo from the one time they had met in the Seven Bells Epidemic...

She wasn't holding her breath...

1410 words training a stat...

Ayakashi

Ayakashi


S-rank
The ninja at the boarder were gobsmacked, at the though of Izaya being asked to do something as important as this, they had to search the letter personally, and sure enough, it had the wax seal of the mizukage upon it addressed to the Daimyo himself, taking a step back one of them expressed that he was actually impressed, and that he hoped Izaya didn't mess this one up, as well as wishing him luck. Finally Izaya had a fraction of the respect he deserved, he was just as important in this city as any ninja, except of course the Mizukage, but one day, Izaya had dreams, aspirations, to one day be taking the most important messages across the whole world, not just in the land of Kirigakure! He would be taking messages from kings to emperors! From Kage to Kage across the world, to conquerors and generals as they all praised him for his quick delivery. Information won wars, and Izaya could deliver the information, making him just as great a war hero as any ninja who fought in the battles, GREATER even!

These thoughts spun in his head as he jogged, well on his way to the palace of the Daimyo, taking his known shortcut route, this country he knew like the back of his hand, he had no need of paths to tell him where to run. The world was the path of the great Izaya! However, it was not long until he was running through the deep brush, hanging willow trees which blew solemnly in the breeze hid secrets behind their natural curtains as Izaya ran past them, feeling the temperature increase as the day moved from morning to afternoon, having made excellent ground to the Daimyo's palace. That was until he heard something in the distance, followed by shadows darting around him, something slinking behind the willow trees... Izaya slowed to a jog and then a walk, looking from side to side to see just exactly what was roaming around the woods of kiri... oh he hoped it wasn't missing ninja... the legend of Izaya could not end here, he was needed, wanted, but how did they find him?

Izaya looked at he message and then it hit him. They were after him! Izaya was an important high profile messenger, killing him would be a direct wound to the foundation of Kirigakure, messages could take days, or weeks to reach their destination without him, and it would take at least two to three months to train a replacement messenger! It wasn't until one of the shapes came out of the hanging vines, revealing a long snout, dirty fur and long bared hungry teeth that Izaya exhaled a chilly breath of relief... "They're only doggies... hey little guy what's wrong, you hungry?"
He spoke lightly with all the kindness in his warm heart, a very caring person indeed, and a lover of all nature, he was about to reach out a hand for the canine until a second, and third emerged from around him, totaling five in number. Before they began to growl... Izaya's mind began to tick, his powerful perceptive brain was as sharp as any ninjas blade.

"Hold on a moment... you're not dogs... ... ... you're wolves!"

Taking to the fleet just in time, one of the wolves had attempted to lunge at the back of his legs in order to bring him down, but, Izaya was too fast for that, his quick thinking and detective like reasoing had spared him once again as he began to charge through the forests, jumping and weaving through the growth as the barking and howling wolves gave chase. There must have been a hundred of them, shadows moving to either side as from behind several of them kept their distance, waiting for a single moment of weakness to latch onto the messenger. The wolves of the forest had become very cautious of humans, having been hunted by ninja several times before they had grown weary, but, in their eyes, this one reeked of fear and weakness...

But Izaya would show them...~




Aya froze as the boy reacted, not making any more sudden moves as it seemed she had startled him by reaching over, hoping not to scare the timid young man any more than she already had. Looking down waiting to catch his glance she raised an eyebrow in a silent inquiry as to his health before holding out a hand to help him up from where he had fallen down, holing out a hand for the clip board and finishing what she had set out to do with placing her ring to the wax, leaving the insigni there. With the boys light outcry, saying he was fine, Aya could not help but allow the genuine smile to cross her face, and the feeling of mirth crept up in her throat. A feeling which over the last 24 hours felt like she would never be able to feel again as the weight of the world seemed to be coming down on her shoulders. Aya hated mondays... mondays, Amaterasu path Uchiha and the number seven had quickly become her least favorite things in the last five years, and she was sure that over the course of her life she was going to have a lot of little things like that which were going to be more and more annoying as time wont on, gathering and accumulating like dust on an abandoned shelf.

Though it was as she attempted to exit the building, it seemed she was finally recognised by the skittish youth who decided to give chase, walking beside her and barraging her with a volley of questions so quick and energetic, that should he strike at the speed of his mouth, Aya might even find herself overpowered by the increasing weight of the blows. As a social situation deemed, Aya lowered her hood, tucking her hands below the hair on her neck and pushing outwards allowing her hair to fall down to her waist and rest there against the dim sunlight. She absorbed his many questions, trying to remember them in sequence so that she could answer them one after the other, though, it was pointless trying to step in to talk while he was so excited. What she found humorous however was the level of energy he had. Aya remembered when she was a Genin, and although she was eighteen when she got out of the academy, she could remember that fire of wanting to learn and get stronger and prover herself burning brighter than anything else.

Once he finished Aya opened her mouth to speak.

"Yeah, that's me, I'm Aya, It's nice to meet you, now, if i can remember the first of your questions... it was assistants right? I have the twins do everything that I don't have to do myself, they're lifesavers, but, I do have to sign off on most of the stuff they do, other than that, when I'm not amongst the City I do tend to do a lot of my own work. And oddly enough, I learned to fight right here in this very City, mostly in a special place by a lake which tends to be a little frozen over. I was trained by a man named Sero Osada, who was the last Mizukage alongside one of my old friends KAguza and a few of the people who are Sannin of this country right now... They city here is really nice, although a lot of the land here is either swamp or rain-forest, there are some amazing natural sites here, like grand waterfalls and just some areas which take your breath away, night lillies are the best if you ever find them. Whole fields of flowers which light up when water hits them, and they only bloom at night... Now, the only Senju I have ever met was Senju, Sousetsu, who's the current Hokage, and Ukiyo Senju... who was a missing ninja who attempted to attack the country, sadly not a good representative for your clan, I'm sorry... Other than that, you're the first! But I hear your clan is ancient and powerful, dating back to the first ninja, the only of the direct descendant clans not to possess a doujutsu, but instead possessing the yang release mokuton. Right? "



After waiting for him to confirm, she smiled, listening to his replies as she kept walking, heading for the exit of the village, she'd likely take her travel reasonably slow so that the Daimyo had as much time to prepare for her as possible. Though, at the mention of his name, she tilted her head to a side quizzically, looking into the distance rather then looking at Yui...

"Funny, I always thought Yui was a girls name... ... ..."

1508 + 1410 = 2918 words

Ayakashi

Ayakashi


S-rank
Izaya ran as fast as his legs could carry him, though they did not tire, it was not often like izaya to sprint so quickly through the willow groves in this part of the Kiri forest. The Canines behind him were hot on his trail, some keeping his distance while others were attempting to get ahead, running and trying to climb to a higher ground ready to pounce, only to find that, barely, by they time they were ready to leap at Izaya, he had passed under the overhanging branch forcing them to redouble back and join the chase further behind. But more and more were getting ahead of him, further and further until finally, when he could feel the breath on his heels from those behind him, he spied one up ahead in the distance, already perched and ready to jump for the tasty morsel which was running gloriously directly toward it. Izaya could see the keen look in its eyes, and it could see the fear in his, in that moment, he could feel the primal will of the wolf, like staring into its soul as the preditor leered at its prey. And as he approached it the canine tightened up its body, making it small and then springing out toward Izaya. But, smart and noble as the creatures of Kiri may be, Izaya was the no.2 best messenger in all of east kirigakure for a reason. He would deal with this situation like any great messenger, like his father's brother, and his father's brother before him, and his great uncle before him...

Izaya Takahara ran!

Moments before the Wolf sprang, Izaya felt his messenger spirit well up inside of him, equally as great as any chakra in the ninja world! The passion of his position swelling and uplifting him as he performed a little technique he liked to call the: "Izaya Ba-BOOM!!!" Shouting it loud and proudly the sudden noise frightened some of the pusuing wolves forcing them to stay back a little further, as Izaya, with a small hop moved to full sprint, ducking as the wolf came down for his back, its claws narrowly scraping his clothing and scratching his back, but, not quite enough to bleed... (though such could be debated and he would need to check later.) The Wolf soared over top of him and nearly collided with some of the pursuers which were far behind. Izaya could see them reeling back from the awesome power of his messenger technique, handed down generation after generation to avoid. And as fast as he ran however, he could not seem to shake the animals hot on his tail, though, that was until there was a whistle in the distance, and a yelp behind him, one of the wolves was struck by a small ninja knife recoiling, not dead, but injured. The surprise called off the pack.

'hey, you okay!?' a female voice rang out from the distance, but moved closer. Izaya slowed to catch his breath before standing up tall, it wasn't long before the form of the disembodied voice came into view, and what he met was one of the most beautiful ninja he had ever seen. She had red eyes with dots on them, which he was sure was significant for one reason or another. She looked powerful, stern, serious, and everything which made Izaya's heart throb.

'Y-yes I'm f-fine.' Izaya stuttered with his sheer and unbridled confidence. Having finally caught his breath, he stood a little closer, his eyes met hers as he admired her, smiling coyly as the ninja moved to reclaim her ninja knife.

'So, what are you even doing out here anyway, it's dangerous... and you don't seem to be a ninja of any kind...' She spoke perceptively, wise beyond her youth, she knew who she was, like fate had tied their paths together. Walking up behind her as she turned around Izaya took her hand and stared deeply and lovingly inter her eyes. 'What the fu-' she began but she was abruptly cut off by Izaya.

'I'm the great messenger Izaya Takahara, I know you've heard of me, I'm well known around here, second best messenger in all of north Konoha you know... but alas, though destiny seems to have tangled our paths, I must leave you... I know! we only just met, and though it is hard for me with the feelings i have for you... it breaks my heart, just like yours, but...we cannot be..." And with that, he kissed the stunned Uchiha before turning and beginning to jog in the direction of the Daimyo estate...

Izaya knew it was hard on the girl, but... to him, the job would always come first...

leaving the Uchiha behind surely heartbroken, shocked, and speechless.




Aya felt sorry that she seemed to have tripped a nerve of some kind, she hadn't meant to do it, and her brow furrowed in regret as she spoke slightly absent mindedly, and it had turned into this. Though the boy was right with his prior train of thought, if kirigakure could train a potent Mokuton user, things like the rebuilt of kirigakure would be faster than they could have ever imagined, and they would have been done by now. With a single visit to a family farm, the crops that grew to support the village would be pristine and larger, and higher quality than ever before. With a single Senju working hard and being paid well, a nation could become self sustaining on the merit of a single ninja... the thought as the boy said it was indeed amazing. Hopefully she could impress him enough to stay, and should he choose to, he would quickly become one of the singular most valued ninja to the city. Even if it was because of the boy's kekkei genkai.

As they entered the more rural areas of the city, quickly approaching the defensive wall which surrounded the capital, towering high above the village, about as tall as the administration building made of stone, forever protecting the city against its attackers as well as the elements which would occasionally bash their island nation. But through it all the walls had held stalwart and ever standing. Almost as reliable as the walls of Konoha... Though, the awkward silence which fell on their conversation like a thick fog was quickly lifted by Yui continuing to ask her questions, asking her to confirm some of the somewhat stretched hyperbole about her skills as a ninja. It seemed Aya had a reputation for being a martial artist as well as powerful ice user. Though she could not really deny these claims as much as she thought about it, she was the Mizukage, and thus, had the reputation as the strongest ninja in the country, but, even with that said, she was often modest enough not to say that aloud.

"Well, I mean, I've trained hard to get where I am, I trained from mostly books and from ninja who were, oddly enough, from konoha. I was always astounded by the many amazing martial artists who had come from that country. They Hyuuga clan, I drew so much inspiration from in adapting my techniques, I was lucky enough to train with one of them for some time, and I managed to pick up on how their gentle fist and chakra flow works, because, oddly enough, in my youth, I had, and still have, a lot of trouble channeling my chakra outside of my body, It's just a block that I couldn't get past in my youth, so, I've always been trash when it comes to ninjutsu. Until I trained under the butterfly sage school, which opened a lot of doors for me. But, that's why I delved so deeply into controlling my chakra inside of my body. The fire monks in Konoha I mastered the styles of, as well as the basic martial arts of the Hyuuga, loopy fist, akido, a few kick centric martial arts and some more. Then I guess there were the bukijutsu styles that I learned on my travels... though, as for being able to freeze the ocean... i've never tried... would probably take me a while, but i could probably give it a go sometime..."

She laughed, shaking her head slightly as they passed under the great archway leading out of the city, in plain view of the lake which Aya had done most of their training, pointing it out and the well which stood proudly as by far the singular artifact of the country which had been rebuild 'the' most times by ninja training in the area. She remembered destroying the well at least a dozen times training there with Kaguza and strafe, almost loosing against Kaguza at that... When it came to the question of where she lived, she heard about how the last hokage spend his nights... Aya rose an eyebrow at the child as she spoke in interest, before turning away and looking up to the sky in front of them, as if talking to no-one in particular...

"Huh... I guess we have more in common than I thought... Well, for what it's worth, I live in much the same conditions when I'm not living in the family house. My mother runs one of the most successful smitheries in the country, and makes a lot of the weaponry for the ANBU here as well as the higher ranking ninja tools. She made my sword, as well as these gloves, this mask, and enhanced the shroud. She's the only person I trust with my ninja tools, and, if it means giving her business, she should be the only person you trust with yours while you're here. She's amazing at what she does, she's come a long way since my father died..."

Aya smiled with pride, she was really happy that her mother had risen up through the ranks beside her, trained along with her. While aya was perfecting her skills as a ninja, her mother was tempering her own as a blacksmith, inspiring each other, pushing each other harder and harder to succeed and helping each other when their conviction buckled under the weight of their duties. Were it not for her, Aya would not be the Kage she was, if kage at all... Aya mused as she walked through the nicer fields, the paved roads of the city gave way to a dirt merchant road, it was impossible to pave the country roads of Kirigakure, with the elements constantly beating down on them, they would crumble within the year due to the running water and the wind alone, yet alone the frosts and the many other phenomenon which plagued the countryside.

Were it not for her... I probably would not be here today.

Aya always admired the Kirigakure countryside though, the hanging trees and the bell sprouting flowers which tended to only come out in the spring time. How the country seemed to only have three seasons, cold, wet and tropical which often came around in that order with an additional wet in between tropical and cold. Though, with the amount of work she had been doing, she had lost count of the seasons, looking up at the sky she assumed that they were probably in the cold season, looking forward to the rain to warm everything up once again and lift the frosty fog in place of the deep, blinding mists which followed the rain sitting on the ground, bathing their city in mystery, making every trip around the entire city somewhat of an adventure, and making trade incredibly difficult for merchants new to the country...

2918 + 1990 = 4908

Ayakashi

Ayakashi


S-rank
song for lonely giants. {training||story} SXfVntj

Izaya Takahara finally broke free of what seemed to be a never ending sum of brush and undergrowth, having run for what felt like minutes, but in reality hand ended up as hours. It seemed the wolf chase moments before had pushed Izaya to new levels of speed, making him reach far closer to his destination than he had initially expected, having made record time. Perhaps the wolves were his allies after all!? The noble beasts wishing in secret for him to move faster to accomplish his goals, inspiring him to do so with their frightful chase, terrifying as it may have been, it motivated him none the less. Izaya would never know the truth of the matter, but regardless, with a bow toward the road behind him he paid thanks to the wilderness for its boons, both the push that he needed to get here faster, but also the gorgeous femme fatal which had crossed his path. Her face, would be held tightly in his heart until the end of his days... But alas, he continued, it wasn't long until he found himself on the main road, leading up to the grand palace of the Daimyo. Izaya had been told and believed that the grand temple was a fountain of wealth and stature which had been made of gold, with the streets paved with silver and jade. He had heard that the soldiers here were a million fold and the strongest samurai in the ninja world. However when it came to crossing the thresh-hold the reality of the expanse of power and wealth came to light before his very eyes...

What lay before him was little less than a seventh wonder of the world, the expansive parade grounds where Samurai trained within the walls of the Daimyo's estate, the temple city sized manor stretched to the heavens, the main building at least twenty five stories in height while other smaller guard towers and the living towers of the vassals and maids lived rose to varying heights themselves. The buildings were not made of gold, though golden statues peppered across them depicting shiisa and other deities of protection and grace, each one of them subtly flirting the wealth of the Daimyo without needing to be bold about the message. Approaching the gates, his jaw dropped as the expansive grounds opened up, bearing the most amazing flora in the land... rare trees and flowers blossomed in the Daimyo's gardens tended constantly by a host of experienced royal gardeners. It was uncanny how beautiful the sight was, even with the Samurai of the village hidden in the mist patrolling thickly, more than a thousand men flaunted alone in his direct line of sight. Each of them wore black armour with blue cloth, more ceremonial than the armour of most Samurai in other countries, symbols and patterns often engraved into the plates, their helmets embellished with signet rings on their hands.

Approaching the guard post, he revealed the message to the guards, spying the mark of the Mizukage, they sent word to a higher ranking officer. It took minutes of waiting, but eventually, a Captain of the Guards, an older looking samurai approached, looking to the letter and asking for his purpose here in the city. 'To seek an audience with the Daimyo's Vassals, the Mizukage has an URGENT message and requires to see them immediately, she is already on her way and will be here within the day. I come with forward warning so that the Daimyo or his advisers may have advanced knowledge of her coming." Izaya spoke with all the eloquence he was taught to in these kinds of situations. The Captain still holding the letter, inspecting every detail of it before nodding to the men to either side, telling his men that the letter is what it seems, finally allowing Izaya to pass... Not running, but walking so that he might be able to take in all that he could. Still staring in awe with the shouts of Samurai ringing in his ears as they performed their combat forms, like a group dance step for step moving in unison with the sounds of crashing water features filling in the gaps. Waterfalls could be hears in the distance as he reached the center plaza. Looking up at the main building, Izaya felt tiny... never before had he seen a place as large or as expansive as this.

Long silk banners fell from the awnings depicting the great house of the Daimyo as he approached the steps and onto the varnished red cherry floors which felt warm under his worn feet. Izaya sighed audibly at the level of comfort. From here, it was like he had moved into another city. Passing under a garrison wall onto a raised compound leading up to the main building, the people that could be seen walking around were not Samurai or Servants of manual labour, but nobles and their handmaids. Woman glided across the nightingale floors as the epitome of elegance and grace. Children playing with swords under the watchful eye of their proud fathers in their Kimono, long, rich looking swords at their sides with smiles on their faces as their children brawled in play. Each of these people were rich beyond Izaya's wildest dreams, and no doubt the cousins, aunts uncles and extended family of the Daimyo and his court. Swallowing, Izaya moved past each of them in turn, making headway ever closer toward his destination, which creeped closer and closer until it crossed the sun, bathing Izaya in its monolithic shadow.

Taking another gulp, as he approached the entrance up another small flight of stairs onto a further raised compound platform, he now knew he was in the heart of the Daimyo's city-scape. Approaching an open sliding door welcomed him in where he saw an empty chair and cushon, raised higher than what would be head-height with a man standing to one side of it who caught the eye of Izaya. It seemed the Daimyo was out at the present moment, but, the man here was surely a member of the Imperial Court. Approaching the Daimyo's adviser, Izaya bowed low, kneeling as he held out the letter, almost begging for the man to take it as Izaya began to announce. 'A-a letter from the L-lady Mizuk-Kage... It's urgent... ' The Adviser waved Izaya aside... taking the cue to leave, Izaya fled the presence of the man, moving back into the compound where the samurai trained, taking the time to look through the botanical gardens of the Daimyo, the scents and cocophany of colours and sounds put his mind at peace as Izaya lay down, having accomplished his mission for the Mizukage, falling asleep, and dreaming of the rewards to come...

Izaya had done it again.~





Aya smiled reasonably happy with herself, it wasn't often she got to be the sales pitch for her mother, though, now that she thought about it, the fact that the weapons were being made by the Mizukage's mother was probably enough. Aya's mother was happy, for the first time in a long time, the crimes of her husband had been absolved since the war against Seven Bells, their family had been redeemed and with that redemption came a personal freedom. The house they lived in seemed to be a buzz with life and energy, almost as much as Yui who seemed to be enjoying his stroll with the Mizukage, it wasn't every day that Genin were able to just walk and talk with the villages leader, though, he would probably have to get used to it... Aya was not the kind of Kage who liked to be cooped up in her office signing papers, she had to be seen by her people, help her people with her hands, the way they helped each other, she had to keep up that appearance to keep the loyalty of her people. It was hard, and it meant that she had to be working a little bit harder, but she'd kept this up for over six years as Mizukage, so she wasn't about to stop now.

Looking at the boy he regaled a tale as old as time, the trees he passed seemed to gravitate toward him in an interesting way, like how a magnet would attract iron. Perhaps it was his chakra, or something more... Aya was interested, but she let it be... Though, the tale he told ... was more or less a bed-time story that Aya could remember her father telling her when she was but a child. The story of the swordsman and the constellation in the stars. the nine ninja who gave their lives to defeat their ancient foe. It was a fantastic story, and one which was told to many a child through the City of Kirigakure no Sato, especially to the children of those who were swordsman. Aya could remember the soft caress of her father's fingers running through her hair as she cuddled into his arms. She'd asked a couple of times if she would ever be able to become as string as those swordsman... his replies always made her smile.

"Your father sounds like a wise man... I don't think he was making it all up... My father used to tell me the same story when I was young, except, rather than there be nine swordsman, there were always seven. It was told to me as the origin myth of the seven legendary swordsman of the mist... The sage of water threatened to engulf all of the land of the mist with his waves... and when the people of kiri gave into their despair, seven men. Seven, magical men, from across the land of mist, came together as brothers, each of them in their hands, held a legendary weapon of great power... but their blades paled in comparison to their skill and mastery of their arts. They fought the Sage of water for days and nights, until ultimately, they made a great sacrifice, and sealed him and his evil power within one of their own legendary swords, but the technique cost the last of them his very life, and gave the weapon a life of its own... In honour of those seven men, their swords were passed down to the seven greatest swordsman in the country, generation, after generation, so that they might protect the great land of kirigakure. Like they did... And still to this day those first protectors watch over us from the beyond... well... that's how the story was told to me when I was a child... ha, I used to ask my father if I would ever grow up to become like one of them, and he would tell me all kinds of things, but he told me... 'if you truly hold that wish in your heart, and give everything you do, everything you've got, there's nothing you can't do... you could even have your own star...' I still miss him sometimes..."

Aya spoke mostly exchanging her glace between the ground to watch where she was going and to the sky as she remembered key details, trying to think as she spoke so that she could keep talking at a good pace. It was about here that Aya noticed that they had been moving and talking for so long along the path that they had long left the city behind them, stopping for a moment and looking back Aya smiled and shook her head, not really worrying about the fact that she had been followed, it was good to have someone that she could talk to along the walk, though, if things got hairy at the Daimyo's palace, however small the chance may be, he would need to either stay close to Aya, or as far away as he possibly could depending on how bad the situation got... Some time passed, the morning turned to the afternoon, and eventually, the massive compound of the Daimyo came into view, waterfalls falling from the sides of the picturesque palace. Moving closer, Aya waved the the soldiers who bowed at her presence... though Aya was not the lord of this estate, she was still considered nobility in the halls of the Daimyo, and treated with the respect of the Samurai as a fellow warrior. Also considering that she had fought along side many of the men here in the recent war against the tyrant seven bells, or at least those who weren't still here protecting the land of the Daimyo after it was attacked.

Aya paid attention to the botanical gardens, spying her messenger asleep on some of the aromatic grass, noting that at the very least he had reached the compound before they had, which meant that the Daimyo must be ready for their meeting. Walking up to the stairways leading up onto the raised grounds, she walked through the nobles area into the very heart of the palace, finally ascending the last flight of stairs before reaching the mouth to the Daimyo's meeting room. Looking to Yui, she turned and spoke, smiling to him so not to put him on edge.

"Hey, from here I need to go on alone, I know It's probably gonna be a little boring for you, but I need you to wait here and stay safe, if you need anything, don't hesitate to call out to me. You're my vassal while you're here okay? Which means you're really important to me if anyone asks who you are or what you're doing. Okay Yui?" Aya said kneeling down a little lower and placing a hand on his shoulder, looking into his eyes as she talked, somewhat seriously... If things did turn to custard, she wanted an escape plan, and Yui would have to be nearby for that to happen and make a clean escape. People had seen him enter with her, so, at the very least there were Samurai around here which would recognize him on sight...

But with those instructions, she stood up straight, moved to hand her equipment and weapons over to one of the guards, and began to enter the royal chamber of the Daimyo...
{ 4908 + 2423 = 7331 words }

Ayakashi

Ayakashi


S-rank
Aya proudly entering the halls of the Daimyo was an honor in of itself, as a child she could remember often hearing her father talk proudly about the Daimyo's estate and its grandeur, as well as the skill of the Samurai which were under his command. Though that was an age ago, before the previous Daimyo fell ill, handing the throne and his name sake down to his only son when he eventually passed away. Now sitting upon the throne of the Daimyo was little more than a young boy, cloaked in a translucent satin curtain so that none could look upon his face directly, shrouding himself in a royal mystique. Aya entered the room, looking to each of the four advisory members of the Daimyo's council, each standing at the sides of the Daimyo, and with them, complimentary Samurai lined the room in rows ascending in rank, each of them seemed to be a commander which moved up to Captains and then respectively a sole general and high strategist of some sort, all wearing their finest ceremonial attire which would have taken hours to prepare, and each armed with their full plethora or arms. The entourage begged the question, was it the royal welcome, or a contingency for the Daimyo should these meetings go sour, they knew that even without Aya's weapons on hand, her mastery of the arts of Chakra would be more than enough to turn this room into little more than a permanent freezer until the end of time.

The Four Advisers themselves each wore their own patterns of lined and layered silks all colored in bright aqua colors, topped with their hair tied up in a bun and accessorized with a thin rectangular shade with hanging baubles or an elegant comb. Aya could only feel sorry for these men, being nothing but pampered for most of their lives while they got to sit behind the curtain of wealth and make decisions for the country from Afar. Though, of all of the Advisers here standing at the sides of the Daimyo, there was one in particular, a fifth which Aya had not noticed at first, a man wearing contrasting red and fire colored silks, he had long black hair which fell long past his waist and brazen green eyes which looked like you would be able to see them in the darkest of places... The man held a frightening aura as he stood to look at Aya, his eyes and skin color shared an odd hue and shape which gave Aya the immediate impression that the man, unlike most who stood in this room, was foreign, and not in the sense that he came from another village, but perhaps from another location entirely. Aya knew many of the races which covered the ninja world, though none of them quite looked the way he did... It was like a demon lurked beneath the man's evil smile...

Aya stood before each of them, her last few steps echoing against the hardened wooden floor and reverberating around the still room, bowing low to the Daimyo and holding her bow for some moments before turning to bow at each of the five advisers in turn, each not as low as she had done to the Daimyo, showing respect, but not anything that could be seen as subjugation in any sense of the word. In return all of them bowed to her, save for the one in red, who merely tilted his head in acknowledgement of Ayakashi, as the Daimyo waved to end the bowing, whispering to the red silked man standing directly at his side. Nodding to the child and approaching Aya, taking the head as it were leaned his head to one side and observed her fully before he began to talk. A subtle smirk crossing his face as he did so, clasping his hands within the sleeves of his own shirt as he made his way toward them, with each step he took, whatever he wore on his feet did not make a sound, as he seemed to glide across the red wood floor. Reaching the apex position before the Daimyo, but in the center of the other Advisers, it seemed it had finally become time for the discussion to begin. The man in red's lips parted for a moment, looking back to check with the Daimyo once more who waved at him to continue from behind the curtain.

"Ayakashi-kun, first allow me to state that it is an honor to meet you for the first time, his majesty speaks of your gallantry and power often in admiration for your grand abilities and how you are loved by your people. Putting a name to a face is always a pleasantry I believe myself to have always enjoyed, but, I fear when I expected to see the great Demon, Ice, Witch, I did not expect the vast beauty that I would behold standing in your presence... Though, with such formalities aside, His majesty the Daimyo and we were... confused that you had summonsed us to an urgent meeting. His Majesty was under the belief that the land Hidden in the Mist was a thriving metropolis of strength and commerce. Why, our trade alone after the tragedies which we are often told preceded this land of peace has far exceeded his Majesties and this council's expectations, so, if you may please explain why, his majesty and we have been called together as one would were we in a time of war... ... are we at war, Lady Mizukage?"

From the moment he opened his mouth, she could tell that the language that the ninja world on a whole spoke was not the man's first language, his accent was not that of Konoha, Iwa, Suna or Kumo. Nor of the land of Rain, Waterfalls, Tea or the Mountains. It was something else entirely, it reeked of a land where the cunning thrived and the slow witted were doomed to serve. A poisonous nation where freedom was stomped out as the glimmer of rebellion twinkled in the eye of its people... a poisonous, toxic realm from beyond the sea. His first two words alone caught the ears of Ayakashi, perking them to his demenour, immediately stating himself as a superior when it came to him, and herself, thought it could be taken that this was simply his house, and she was a guest, but, the way it was delivered, to the subtle ears used to the politics of a nation, there was a hidden meaning, a threatening meaning, which imposed his superiority... Like one has when they have the upper hand in a game of chess...

"Thankfully not, Lord Adviser, though, that does not mean that I have not been troubled in recent days... You see, after the war, our ninja have been fighting hard to eliminate any of those which posed a threat to our society and way of life in the land of the Mist. Up until recently we thought we had been doing an excellent job, it wasn't until yesterday morn, as I was speaking with a representative from Iwagakure no Sato about open trade, that we were attacked by highly trained ex-ANBU corps missing ninja, six in total... Thankfully neither of us were hurt, though upon tracking them back to where they had come from, we discovered a camp, where several dozen of these men were stationed, each of them armed with the highest quality steel, and powerful artifacts which I had never seen or heard of before during our campaigns. A number and strength of which we had not seen since we managed to scatter the forces of Seven Bells and his army..."

The Head Adviser's brow furrowed as he listened, nodding and moving his hand under his chin as he seemed to peer deeper into Aya than she could have ever imagined possible with a chakra less gaze. It was as if he was not deducing her words, but how she said them, her demeanor, her delivery, her stature, and peering into her very persona hanging on every word she said.

"Well now, as His Majesty the Daimyo and myself understand it, this is not an occurrence which is too uncommon. What is the phrase? " He spoke rhetorically. "Friends may come and go, however enemies accumulate? His Majesty believes. It is in the nature for the weak to group together in hope of believing themselves to be strong. These ninja were probably remnants of the war hoping to make a pitiful attempt at the countries infrastructure, but as you stated, they were foiled by your hand, and the hand of a now potent ally to our country, bonds of a chain forged in the fires of brotherly conflict to make a link which will last generations, I am sure of it... So, it seems there has been no harm done, and that these events were all for the best! Though, as for the trade with another country, are we not at a point where we should focus more on our exports than our imports? Kiri is by and large a self sustaining economy, I thought we were in the position to need not purchase goods from anyone, yet alone a country deep in the mountains far away..."

The Adviser clasped his hands together, a smile crossing his face as he shifted the weight from his head from one side to the other, assuring Aya like there was nothing wrong. And that made Aya feel annoyed, like the adviser was trying to brush everything to a side.. like the end justified the means of it all...

"No harm done!? My mother was caught in the middle of this crossfire, and they had accumulated enough force and power to threaten the life of an emissary within the walls of the capital, meaning that they had the knowledge, the strength, and the power to carry out not one, but two high profile assassinations simultaneously in the heart of our strongest location, as well them having the fanaticism to perform suicide techniques to eradicate the evidence! I would not call that no harm done... the implications of this attack is more then enough harm done on its own. There could be other groups, other cells of this organisation active in kirigakure, it came down to luck that we managed to pull out of this one without an international incident on our hands, because although we may not need the goods, other countries need the business our country provides them, which allows us the freedom to export safely and keep alliances vibrant. It's a miracle that an incident isn't already on our hands considering that each of the assassins bore the brands from YOUR holding cells!"

...

There was a forced silence as the council took in a deep breath to register her words, for, at that moment Aya had become the enemy, accusing the state in not so many words for providing the missing ninja which almost destroyed a firm alliance between Kiri and Iwa. The eyes of the foreign adviser stared daggers into the eyes of Ayakashi, prying his eyes away only to convene briefly with the whispering voices of the other four, who, up until now had not spoken a word. With a gaze up to the Daimyo, it seemed even he was not privileged to their conversation, lifting himself up on his seat in order to re position himself to hear them better, but, ultimately proving futile... Eventually their angered whispers came to a halt as the quintet parted once again, each of them with angered or offended looks worn plainly on their faces...

"Well, Lady Mizukage, his Majesty the Daimyo and we dare not bring your perception into question, however, one must question your deductive reasoning... The Daimyo in his infinite mercy does not adhere to the merciless nature of the Capitols edict. If these, missing ninja, can be rehabilitated , re purposed and made into loyal tools for the use of the state, it is simply a waste of resource to not pursue that course of action. But if you believe our methods to be too, lenient, or ineffective, then you are more than welcome to inspect our cells and deduce for yourself their living conditions and our, means ... You will soon see that many of the ninja we manage to capture here and retrain, even in a small amount of time, very quickly become loyal soldiers to his majesty, those you speak of must have been the denominator of failures, an isolated incident fueled by vengeance and a hate for our wonderful country. His Majesty the Daimyo believes in this also."

Aya thought about this for a while, perking the side of her lip up as she thought deeply about her offer. He made her doubt her convictions, and enforced the course of action that she hoped had transpired. She paced before them, feeling the stress of her situation coming down on her like a wave of force, but also a glimmer of hope which began to well up within her... looking to the Samurai which lined the room, an idea sprang to mind... and the hope she had once felt faded into a pit, where nothing but emptiness remained. The swords the Missing ninja used were of the same make as the Samurai captains further back in the room, with the same make of cross-guard, and even the same fabric grips... Which meant that the powerful chakra enhanced jars were likely too from the vaults of the Daimyo's estate. A theft which would have taken far more than the basic ANBU training the assassins had obviously received, including potent stealth techniques and a deep understanding of the compound's layout... Looking back to the men, Aya began her next flurry with a grim conviction. Aiming it at the head adviser, hoping that his veil would fall, and the conspiracy would be out in the open, leaving him defenseless, and caught red handed.

"Of all the things which I can say I know, I know the ninja I train in my country... I can deduce reasonably, by the strength of a ninja, what he can, and cannot accomplish with the skills and training that are available to the ninja. Like if one of my trained ninja attempted to attack his Majesties compound, he would be met by the spears of your finest, and fall with only very little destruction done on his initial assault... The thought of any of those men, having robbed his majesties' estate of weapons and armour, is a dishonor of the might of his Majesties Samurai, and should they have come in enough numbers to make such a siege successful, then the serenity of this manor, would have been long lost on that day amidst the combat, yet, the estate lies perfect. Anything, could have been said to defend against my allegations, yet you back yourself with nothing to stand on... not that weapons had been stolen, not that you had been under siege, not that prisoners were missing but that it was an isolated incident... No, I may be blind to the rest of the world, but I know that if the Daimyo, in his infinite wisdom had recent prisoners, even as long back as the war would put them under surveillance, and I would have been told if such a force escaped your reach!"

Opening his mouth to argue, the Adviser began to defend himself once again, the four men around him were beginning to cave, looking very nervous at the situation and looking to the man obviously calling the shots here to defend their pitiful hides. His Majesty Believ~

No.

"His Majesty is wise enough in his youth to speak for himself." Aya advocated, but it seemed with those last words that the man in red had finally reached the end of his patience. Raising his hand sharply, the Samurai here drew their weapons... Aya knew this conversation was over at that point.

"How dare you speak to his majesty with such insolence and disrespect. We advisers only serve to conduct his will and instruct him in the means of leadership! Mizukage, I believe you have made your words here very clear... and now, it is time for you to leave. I prey that you find your manners on your travels back, should you wish to convene with us again. To be sure, our men will be sure to kindly escort you to the exit of the compound...~"

The poison laced words of the foreigner resounded in Aya's ears, twenty men closed in behind and around her, all of them with hands on their swords, while those closer to her had them drawn in precaution. Behind them all walked the single Samurai holding Aya's weapons and equipment, ready to hand them all to her at the exit... Sadly, there was no choice for the Mizukage, and as she exited the room with her entourage, she looked for Yui, who seemed to be nowhere to be seen. Looking around quizzically, she thought that he probably would have wondered off for one reason or another, though, no matter, Aya would find a location away from the compound to wait for him, should he catch up soon. He had probably just gone to see the gardens or had met a pretty noble girl who stared in wonder of him being a ninja...

Heading out of the village, Aya walked until the road fell out of sight of the compound, awaiting Yui to come back so that they could head back to the city together... Aya realized that the tone of the adviser had been hostile, but the lack of action from the Daimyo was also troubling. She could only fathom that this was the beginning of something bad... Aya wouldn't be able to pull her village into this mess, with the support that they would give her, they would openly fight the Daimyo should she make the news public, and with the strength of the army of the State, the ninja village, no matter how strong, their few thousand trained ninja would not be able to stand up to the combined wave of hundreds of thousands of trained soldiers and samurai... ... ... and so Aya thought, pacing until her companion returned.




Meanwhile, the Daimyo and commanders of the armed forces had left the room, leaving but the five advisers to convene among themselves in private. Several of them seemed distressed at the meeting, while the fifth sat upon the throne of the Daimyo, looking over them as they squabbled among themselves. Fear painting their faces as they believed their stations at risk from the convictions of Aya, talk of escaping to the estates of their cousins in the lands of Kumo rife among them... all the while the man in red stayed silent and thought, until he was addressed by the others, asking him for what they thought they should do... With a single whistle, two ninja, clad in red silk of the finest make, wearing armoured shades dropped from the ceiling rafters, one of them with a small pole on his back, the other with some kind of foreign steel shield, the likes of which had rarely been seen in the ninja world, yet alone the land of kiri. The two men leaping down from the rafters scared the others into quiet, as the man in red stood from the chair looking over his audience like a leader as he leaned against the rails.

"My friends... worry not. You heard the Lady Mizukage... it was only by luck that they had not had an incident that time... though the alliance with Iwa is compounded, i believe that, such an alliance may prove more beneficial to us in the long term. Ayakashi it seems... is far wiser than her years portray, far more-so than her father or the Kage which preceded her... however it seems my friends, that this Mizukage has outlived her welcome... unfortunate as it may be my friends, I believe that the Mizukage has out lived her welcome... Find us a list of... suitable replacements...My men will get the deed done."

And with that, he motioned to the two foreign looking assassins, who vanished into thin air... leaving the advisers to leave the room.


Words: {7331 + 3469 = 10800}

Ayakashi

Ayakashi


S-rank
Aya had been waiting little more than twenty minutes until she heard the sudden appearance of Yui, at first she began to talk and move toward him, though then she spied the red on brown of his blood spilling onto the dusty road... Aya looked up to him, there was cuts, splinters, deep purple abrasions where it was obvious bone had been broken beneath his skin and it was beginning to bruise violent blacks and purples. Though aya could see no wounds on him which indicated there was any blade pressed to his skin, it seemed like he had been beaten to a pulp with blunt instruments and thrown through a wall... A gasp fled from Ayas lips as she heard about the plot to end her life, causing her to steel herself for what might be to come, advancing toward the injured Senju Aya was intercepted by two ninja, one male and one female, though even to her the female seemed to be out of sight... Each of them wearing similar though more war oriented red silks with similar patterns as the man in red who had been acting as the adviser to the Daimyo... Now she had a clear idea of what had happened. Aya knew now that it was highly likely that Yui was caught snooping on the Advisers, and had only barely managed to escape with his life. The ninja who landed before her looked very well trained, having placed his hand to the ground, lightning rose from in like drawing water from the earth, thrusting it forward towards Aya in a wide arc which seemed to continue to expand. The Golden raiton chakra crackling brightly as it ripped through the brush to the sides of the road, ripping through several of the trees which got in their way, giving Aya an indication of its strength before it became too late...

Aya wasn't ready for an attack, so she bent her knees and jumped backwards as high and as fast as she could aiming for one of the over hanging branches. Spinning in the air like a tornado as she vaulted like an extreme tumbler... In the midst of her Jump, Aya would use this chance to equip herself, her hand sweeping down for her mask, placing it on her face and locking it down to cover her entire head as her other hand reached for the sword of Kusanagi. She was not about to let a ninja such as this man kill her, as well as her friend. Flowing her chakra into the sword she could feel the beam of the blade explode to life in the palm of her hands. Though, as she thought she would have the time to stare down her opponent and be more observant, there was something beside her, turning, Aya didn't have the opportunity to guard herself, as a meter long sheet of metal crashed into the side of her body, throwing her from the tree to the earth with force as the female of the assassins had caught Aya from the side, having predicted her trajectory, bounded to one tree and then attacked with the front of her shield in a concussive charge, forcing Aya to the ground with an impact enough to shake her... Immediately becoming apparent that there were two of them here... Aya needed to think fast, accommodating the second ninja into her battle plan for the fight she rolled to the side as the Male plunged his spear down for where the Mizukage had landed...

Rolling to one side, Aya extended her leg with a cry as she through force and momentum into her movement, incarnating it in the form of a rising roundhouse kick, which spun and collided with the mans' spear, which, even with his durability and resistance, the assassin seemed to be not as strong as the Mizukage, the strength of her blow from a rising position was forceful enough that, even through his block, was able to knock Aya's assailant back several meters. Following through with her kick she threw her weight backwards, rounding off the attack in a final somersault back once more to gain distance as the female ninja came crashing down to the ground, narrowly missing Aya's front with a bizarre looking sword, which seemed to bring blades up to cover her fist and arc into a hook at the end of the blade... From here, Aya was able to face down each of her opponents, looking at each of them in turn, she understood the stakes, the woman, had what appeared to be a full metal shield, and seemed to have some power over the mind, as Aya could tell by the seemingly stunned Yui who was slumped in place. Though Aya did not see it happen, from judging his wounds he would not be unconscious as of yet to the force of their attacks...

So, Aya drew her second weapon, changeling, whipping it out and extending its blade so to use in tandem with her own, with the sword of Kusanagi, her armour, her blade and her jutsu at her command, there was a good chance she would be able to fight these two, though, for added lethality, she pushed the yin imbalance of chakra within her body further, feeling herself get colder, and colder, to the point that her weapons became frigid, steam rising up from them as if they were super heated as the sheen of the weapons became frosted over, while the energy blade of Kusanagi itself taking a blue hue as opposed to its resonant glowing white blade, Activating her Demon Ice Venom technique to its fullest as Aya began to strafe around her opponents, for a better battle position, each of them in turn regrouping for a combined attack... The shield of the woman became glossed with an effect similar to chakra, becoming brighter as she no doubt enhanced it with her own technique as the man's Raiton flowed to the tip of his spear, creating what seemed to be a tip like an electrical welding torch, humming brightly enough with electricity that the tip of the spear became a white hot conductor... It was at this point that Aya knew she would not be able to take a hit from that spear...

The woman was the first to charge once again, entering combat with a chakra enhanced boost of speed Aya threw out a kick for the front of the woman's shield, connecting, but feeling far less able to knock the woman around than she could the man, her footing seemed to be fare more stable and her arms did not buckle as much as the mans' did on impact... Retracting her foot quickly as her sword came around to hook and remove her foot, Aya snapped her leg back, rolling backwards and rotating back up to her feet to avoid the Spear man coming over-top of his female companion with another deadly thrust, missing Aya by moments as she retreated again... Though he didn't relent... pressing onward with a lethal flurry Aya found herself ducking and weaving from side to side, holding in place until she found her opportunity to attack, blocking his weapon with changeling, the lightning met the ice of her weapon, colliding as the frost on the sword was overpowered, though protecting the weapon from being damaged by his technique. Aya pushed on.

Swinging her spare weapon for his Side, the man jumped backward, freeing Aya from her position pinned against a tree, and allowing her to advance more freely. Striking low for his legs then high again, picking up momentum and moving into her spinning attack style as the man guarded against the attacks with the side of his weapon ass Aya became aggressively faster and more fluent as she built up her attack style. Spinning and striking, blocking off the tip of his spear as he attempted to counterattack, stepping in and cutting down for his knee as he pushed the blunt back of the spear down to block and parried, which only served to spin Aya faster. Faster and Faster Aya moved as the blows began to crash down, all in moments as the clashing of steel on steel became more and more frequent. The hits from the Kusanagi beginning to take chips out of the side of the man's spear. It was in one final moment in all of this, that Aya managed to break his guard, almost disarming him and knocking his weapon to one side, seeing her opportunity and with a final spin bought her blade down for here his neck met his shoulder. With her spinning force, a blow which would have cut the man in half... but Aya was not only fighting one opponent.

Rolling backward over the prepared and crouching visage of his ally, her shield raised high as she pushed upwards, Vaulting the male assassin high into the sky, as her raised shield also caught the edge of Aya's attack, making Aya realize that this woman had gotten under her guard... Sweeping her hooked sword, Aya could only block with changeling, not being able to retreat, she raised her blade and stepped into the female assailant's strike, pressing their blades between them under the canopy of her shield, like a boxer attempting to grapple for a stand still. It took exchanging a glance for a moment to understand that this situation was far worse for the woman than Aya, the swords between them the only thing which prevented Aya from pressing against her and freezing half of her body off. After what seemed to be a three count she pushed back against Aya, with force capable of pushing back even the Mizukage. Leaping back, the assassin bought down her enchanted Aegis, and charged once again, but Aya knew what to do. She charged in return, raising her weapons as the woman raised her shield to prepare a counterattack...

Aya vaulted over the woman and activated her sage mode, light creating intricate designs over her skin and body in swirling and beautiful designs as she seemed to skate air without touching the ground.  placing herself dead set in between her female attacker and the spear man from before. The maneuver giving each of them an opportunity to gain the upper hand which Aya knew the two of them would not be able to refuse. The two Assassins attacked their solitary prey, descending on her and between them, pushing Aya to the defensive, which, unknown to them was exactly where Aya wanted to be. A slashing flurry came from the female as, simultaneously a aggressive staccato of piercing thrusts came from the male. Through her Senjutsu, she could happily sense the movements of the opponent behind her, ducking to the side of the first thrust, she used the kusanagi to crash directly against the first strike of the woman, crouching lower, Aya used the force of her parry to send her spinning in the other direction, using changeling this time to block the second stab from the spear man ducking the next swing from the woman, getting lower and lower as the two of them pushed closer. Each of the two assassins fighting in perfect unison until Aya began to take a hit...

The hook from the woman's sword managed to catch changeling, pushing it to a side further than Aya would have hoped, and trapping Aya's next movement as she began to duck, feeling the screeching pain of the man's spear almost thrust through her heart, but grinding against the armour of Tobirama, leaving a deep mark across the plating, not quite a direct blow, but enough for even Aya to gasp out loud. Each of them meeting their mark was a sign to the two of them, each spinning backward a single step, wind chakra flowing down the woman's weapon like a tornado as she held it to one side, while down the length of the man's spear, lightning struck down, crashing into it from the heavens, lightning the arena up in a shower of gold as they each bore their arms down on Ayakashi. Stepping into point blanc range, the two techniques, meant to be projectiles were launched at Solstice as basic attacks... Aya could feel the power crackling to either side of her, without doubt this was going to be something that she would not be able to dodge out of the way... looking to Yui she could only hope that the fallout of these techniques would not collide with him, though, if her opponents were willing to use each of their attacks in so close range to each other... Aya felt a little more at ease, and put her plan into action... This battle was over, and it was time to prove it.

Aya span and within the time that they recoiled, summoning their chakra, and charged inwards once again, summoning her own to the point that the temperature within her fell so low that her blue chakra turned black. Aya's chakra gates all across her upper body and torso opened with extreme duress, pouring the black, void like hyouton chakra outward in a 4m orb which expanded out from her body in a single resounding boom, clashing with each of their techniques, overpowering them with the force of the defensive jutsu, forcing the electricity to break around the null zone which could not sustain even the slightest form of kinetic energy, catching each of her opponents and throwing them back, crashing the shield maiden through a tree violently before stopping as she hit into a second one. Aya, in the Apex of her spin, gripped changeling as she opened up into the full length scythe, hurling it at the female ninja moments before she impacted against the tree so that at the moment she crashed into it, the scythe would catch its blade into the trunk as the pole rotated in to lock her in position, incidentally, Aya's aim was off, the blade half penetrating through her sword arm as it pinned her, forcing her to gasp in pain at the light impaling...

Start the clock...

Aya didn't have a long time alone with the spear man, who had managed to stab his weapon into the ground in order to halt his knock back. Leaving the Kusanagi, Aya burst toward her opponent in a feat of chakra enhanced speed, leaving Kusanagi stabbed into the ground behind her, the chakra effect of the luminous butterfly wings spreading to either side of her as if she had taken flight as she did so, meeting her opponent with an open hand gripping his weapon so that he could not free it as Aya twisted, preparing her final technique. Spinning low Aya swept her leg for his, hard enough to throw his legs out from under him, sending him horizontal as the ice from her prepared technique began to frost over her vision with a translucent blue glow... As the man grunted, his gravitational axis temporarily changed Aya tucked the foot that swept his legs out high up into her chest, thrusting it out like one of his spear hits the male assassin found himself flying through a tree of his own... the long, sharp, pointed glasses having been formed across Aya's helmet...

"CERTAIN KILL!!!~"

Grabbing the side of them like she would a portion of a windmill shuriken, she hurled the ice toward her opponent as the glasses began to grow larger and larger, until ultimately splitting into two the two pairs of 2m long eye wear collided with the Man's Arms and legs as he crashed against another piece of the forest foliage... Having met the conditions for her jutsu, the man was trapped,

"HYYOOOUTOOOON!~~~"

Aya channeled the full force of all of her Hyouton into what came next, locking the chakra points of her body off, ending all other techniques she had active, her chakra flew to her hand focusing it outside of her like a blowtorch, the chakra which flowed freely began to focus down until it began to spin refining itself to a point until the raw chakra began to look more like solid energy, spinning in a drill like shape

"DRIIIILL!!!~~~"

Raising the weapon up, the drill growing suddenly to 2m in length as Aya then lowered it to face her opponent, who struggled, but, without his arms able to connect, he was unable to perform the hand seals needed for most ninjutsu, including the substitution technique. He was stuck, stranded, and looking down the barrel of a loaded Mizukage performing one of her most dangerous techniques.

"BREEEEEAKERRR!!!~"

Aya Launched with speed with her drill of pure chakra, looking to penetrate it through everything he had once considered his corporeal body. Aya screamed the technique in conviction as she attempted to end the life of the stunned assassin who she could tell had not been expecting the kind of fight which had transpired. Aya drove the spear forward closer and closer, ripping up everything in her path as she drove the tip of the spear into her opponent, though what she met was not the soft giving way of the person she thought she had caught, no, instead she felt something hard in its place. there was an explosion as the male ninja evaporated, and in his place was the shield maiden, guarding against Aya's attack with her own defense. Her shield had become awash with a golden light as she attempted to protect herself, the hardened element less chakra creating what seemed to be like a projected wall out and around her shield as she bunkered down tightly into the ground pressed up against the tree, she could do nothing but defend against the full force of Aya's attack, and for a moment, it looked as though she would...

There was a deafening crack, Aya's drill and the power which flowed through it penetrating through the defensive technique. Cracks of solid chakra expanded up the wall as Aya ripped through the defensive technique, causing it to shatter into nothing but fragments of the chakra which had composed it colliding with her shield and penetrating it in turn, tearing through the shield and throwing it aside as the unstable ice chakra which flowed across the shield made it impossible to hold onto, the woman parrying the last of Aya's attack by discarding the shield, watched as her trusted weapon exploded in the distance in a spectacle of blue chakra, turning the area around point zero into little more than a glacier... Lashing out with her blade, forcing Aya to jump back, the woman was gone... Using body flicker to move to her wounded ally, who in turn used the same technique holding onto his companion to escape the battle, no doubt regrouping now that they knew the true power of the person they had to beat.

The battle was over...

Aya, taking deep, tired breaths, approached Yui, who seemed to have been bashed backwards some meters at one point, probably from the wave of force from their earlier three jutsu clash, would otherwise be okay from the fight. Dashing over to his side, she skidded down to her knees to be beside him, lowering her stance down to cradle him in her arms, as she would attempt helping him move if he could... otherwise, she would pick him up... Aya, after the fight seemed to be not too damaged from the battle, other than the burn wound she would have sustained under her armour, creating a long scar of black flesh, and the bashes from the woman's shield, she seemed to be intact, and would survive until she got some medical attention. Though Yui, looked many times worse  

" Or forgotten Yui... I'm not gonna forget you or leave you behind either~ Hey, We're gonna head back to the village now...  you okay for that? I'll get you to our finest doctors as soon as possible... But one thing first... you can't tell anyone about what happened here... the Daimyo is too powerful for the village, and the people of Kiri would not hesistate to fight against this madness... this is a war that only I and those closest to me can fight in the shadows... okay? Promise me...

As soon as Yui gave any affirmative, Aya would begin to help him up, smiling at his conviction, picking him up with her arms under his knees and her other arm under his shoulder blades, she would try to avoid his ribs. Once she had him firmly, Aya would take off at maximum speed for the village, hoping to shake him as little as she possibly could. Once she arrived at the land of Kiri, Aya would tell them that she and him were attacked by missing ninja on the way back from the Daimyo, but no more than that, allowing Yui to be raced to hospital as she followed in toe, watching over the poor boy until the medical ninja there with their chakra enhanced healing abilities had him in a stable condition. Aya, only then taking the chance to fall asleep out of sheer exhaustion at his bedside...

Demon Ice Venom:

Entropy Pulse:

Butterfly Agility:

Discount giga drill breaker:

{Words 3598 + 10800 = 14398}

Ayakashi

Ayakashi


S-rank
Aya felt the shadows dance in a phantasmagoria of light and dark circling around each other, but ultimately closing in. Opening her eyes as she slept, she once again found herself in the forest of her own mind, she remembered this place, though it seemed like the Genjutsu which her master had placed on her was still in full effect when he wanted to reach her. Aya looked through the glimmering diamond forest of blades, each tree bearing edges and talons which hooked and curved ready to cut into those who landed against them. But the trees were more than that, they represented the veins of her chakra, the roots of which spread eternally beneath the earth off this place, pumping ice through her very veins at will. Aya remembered the black scars she had received in this world from her trainer, as well as the emanations of her own mind. The demonic ice techniques after all were a part of her anatomy, more than skills which she had developed, part of her own incredible chakra reserves building up, unable to be spent... much like the Sotsuji clan member she had seen so much of herself in, though, unlike Aya, she had the power to release her chakra outwardly, instead of having Aya's fault when it came to ninjutsu techniques... Though, against all odds, she had risen up to where she stood now, a paragon high above the city, cherished by all who looked up at her and hopefully loved and respected as well. As Aya walked by the trees she saw her reflection painted across the many sleek almost metallic surfaces, but within each reflection was not her mirror image, but events from her history playing out before her, showing Aya her own deeds as she made her way through the forest into its very heart.

There, in the center of it all, where she struck down the image of the beast, lay a colossal tree in its place, expanding up to the heavens and casting over Aya a canopy of razor sharp leaves. Blue butterflies fluttered in betwixt the high branches and the radiant night born flora below, expanding outward in every direction like a garden one could only see in fantasy. Though, staring up at the tree was a single oddity... Up there she saw an image of herself, caught within the trunk of the tree, little more than an ice-born sculpture representing herself... Cocking her head to the side quizzically, Aya moved closer to see if she could see anything in particular about this image, quickly finding that some of her features were different, she bore horns was the first clue, from her forehead arching back and around like those of rams, as well as having etchings over her face and body in the same manner as Aya's own sage marks. Reaching a hand out, Aya touched the face of the ice, which began to rapidly freeze over Aya's steel glove like an almost toxic corruption flowing through her. Even though Aya could not sense any particularly strong chakra signature coming from her... the cold, dead, glassy eyes of the statuette put Aya on edge, feeling like this was a message for something which was yet to come, an omen of sorts which she could not bring herself to attempt to decipher any further. Turning around and fleeing the scene of the tree, leaving it behind her, Aya ran into a familiar face. A younger girl with a fox like face appeared from the rolling mists. A student of the master which had once trained Aya herself.

'It's been a while Aisu Ayakashi, though, you probably should not be touching the pure streams of chakra running through this place, you know what they can do to you if you're exposed to them... however it seems that the final stage of your training has finally begun, however it seems the master is... ... ... indisposed at the present time. '

The girl smiled, though it seemed forced, Aya had never really had contact with the other pupil which seemed to follow at the coat tails of their respective master. But, something about her didn't seem human, the way she moved inn this world was ghost like, flawless, ass if she wasn't even touching the ground. Her voice had a haunting quality to it, like a resonating chime lingering after each of her words had been structurally ended, her eyes, though bright in colour, lacked in any form of visible emotion which Aya could possibly divine. Looking between her, and the mysterious tree, Aya tried to dwell on the inner meaning of her words, which, to the Mizukage, simply did not make sense. Aya believed herself to have finished her training when she defeated the construct which later became known to Aya as her very own Himiko technique. It was through training with the master that she discovered that this... living chakra was something everyone had, simply in different forms, and that with the power of Senjutsu, they were able to bring it out. They were invaluable lessons, and Aya had learnt each and every one of them the hardest way possible...

'The next stage? But, I finished my final lesson with the old man, why now am I to begin training again. I thought I mastered the techniques he taught me, what more training could there possibly be?'

Aya's words were confused, daunted and angry, but to each of these emotions they struck against the younger girl, which, even now, hadn't changed her lost and vacant expression to anything of substance. The girl approached, closer than she ever had before and pointed up to the tree. It was only at that moment that Aya turned to look at the girl in the tree, it was Aya, deformed and turned into something she wasn't, but only then did Aya seem to understand that the sculpture of herself was far younger than she had originally perceived... looking back to the girl, Aya was struck dumb, horns sprouting form her head, and markings running across her face in the very same patterns which ran over Ayas own. The change had been instant, and it seemed what stood there before her was an image not unlike herself, the butterflies which once scattered the area before her began to churn, move, into streams of flowing insects which rotated around the girl like a mobius double helix, eternally flowing around her as she lifted herself off the ground, in a bizarre show of strength and power. Aya had thought that only the man in her own mind was manipulating Aya's own chakra to harm her, but the girl here was something more. Aya began to feel cold, colder than she had ever felt even with the use of her own powerful techniques. Her skin began to gloss over as ice clung to her now drying skin as the girl began to talk, in an almost oracle like fashion.

'No, you have tamed the beast inside your heart, but you have not focused its strength into something more, something stronger than it's raw rage and power. Your final lesson with the master came to pass, and now, you will begin your first lessons, with me. Though, I am not as forward as the master, much of which you have to learn, you will hear but whispers of in times of need. I have foreseen your trials which are yet to come, and with them, forebodes a darkness within you which you will need to face.... '

After the girl finished speaking, there was a flurry of power,  the butterflies from the entire area were drawn to her like moths to a solitary enigmatic flame, surrounding her, blinding Aya of everything as the cold became too intense for her to bare. Until finally there was a great light, and Aya opened her eyes. Before her was a familiar sight, the kirigakure hospital wing, sitting on the chair which she had rested in at the side of the Genin Yui. It seemed he was awake, and save for some minor abdominal bruising, it seemed that the medical ninja of the country had taken care of his wounds, working the miracle of chakra into the body of the Genin they had been able to repair the extensive damage done to the boy. Aya was amazed that he was able to escape from the complex on his own, even for a Genin that was considered a feat, no matter how unceremoniously he accomplished the task. what caught Aya off guard though was his first words, being of apology for his actions. The boy seemed to feel like he had failed in some way, or been a burden to Aya as she was fighting those... assassins. Not being able to bring herself to think of them as ninja with their foreign techniques. Yui had posed himself as an invaluable ninja to kiri, and one that Aya was incredibly thankful for.

Sitting up she pivoted on her heel and fell down to sit at his bedside with a soft 'thump,' bouncing for a moment on the soft hospital bed, looking down at him sitting there and thinking of what she would say to him for a moment. Several words came to mind, straight declining his apology was undoubtedly the first, discarding it as a preposterous statement which needn't be said at all. The next thought which came to mind was a lot more reasonable. Touching Aya's cool hand to Yui's she began to speak softly.

"Yui, what you did was nothing less of brave, you performed a deed which even members of the kiri ANBU would have had trouble with, and although you were caught, you managed to get out alive, and warn me of an attack which would have otherwise caught me by surprise. You may have been hurt, but, ninja get hurt in these high risk missions. You saved my life Yui, and for that, I am indebted to you. So, you should not be sorry, you should think about getting stronger, strong enough for you to be able to do that again, because a Ninja who puts the needs and lives of others, before their own, is the strongest kind of ninja the world will ever see."

Aya smiled, leaning down to give Yui a hug before standing up and heading for the door.

"I need to go now Yui, feel free to come and see me if you ever need some one on one training. I don't know if I'll be able to help you much with anything, but I'm sure if it's even just some general training I would be able to help you somehow... But just remember what I told you before, the promise you made... it's important, okay Yui?"

And on that note, Aya exited the room with a wave back to her new friend, hoping that he would remember and heed her warnings about not telling people about the events which transpired. Taking a walk back to her home, she slumped down, looking across at her mother who was still working in the forge, making dozens upon dozens of kunai for the village, Aya felt like she was finally at ease with herself... She could barely remember the dream which had been so vivid once not so long ago, remembering nothing of what she saw other than the tree, remembering the girl, though not what she looked like, the sage markings and the storm of butterflies... It seemed life was again going to be interesting. Walking into her mother's forge, Aya wrapped her arms tightly around the back of her mother, smiling up at her as she looked back at Solstice. Asking Aya what was wrong, Aya and her had a long discussion about the events which transpired over the last 24 hours, worried, her mother seemed to understand her predicament, and began to tell her a story.

"I never told you about what lead up to your father being killed, did I? Twenty years ago, he approached the Daimyo, your father was little more than a Jounin in the City, one of many of the Aisu clan at the time before so many died under Hikou. Your father, approached the Daimyo, the current one's father, and relayed information to him about state ordeals... he did this rather often from the inside, until one day he came to me, much like you came to me just now. He said that the Mizukage had discovered that he was reporting the citie's doings to the Daimyo, and that bad things were coming... I knew then he would be able to handle himself. It was no secret that the Mizukage at the time had been using mercenary missing ninja to achieve illegal goals. The hunter ninja were glorified political assassins for the Mizukage in the terror state which was all around us. Your father, along with the Daimyo, stood up to that corruption, for what they believed in, and with the aid of the Daimyo, attempted to stage a coup.

Though loosing him was the hardest thing that has ever happened to me, I truly believed that he was able to do what he set out to do. Were it not for Gan-Ning of the Seven Bells, he would still be here with us. And perhaps you would never have had this responsibility placed on your shoulders. But what I'm trying to say is, your father fought, and died, for the betterment of this country, much like you are. And although he failed, like many with him, he tried... You are a stronger ninja than your father could have ever dreamed of becoming. A legendary sage, a powerful warrior, you've overcome every obstacle in your path and sacrificed so much for the country you love. I have no doubt, that you will do the right thing when it come to it... no matter how hard the decision may be to make at the time, you have the ability to weigh your beliefs against the needs of those around you, we have not had that before in this country... So, no matter what happens, I will support you, you can beat this... No ninja, no assassin, is stronger than my daughter... So, what are you going to do?"


Aya thought to herself for a while, holding her mother a little tighter as she rested her chin on her mother's shoulder, burying her face into her mother's soft black hair as she inhaled a deep, single breath...

"I'm going to increase the patrols around Kiri, get them to look out for anything or anyone suspicious and report things back to me immediately... I'm also going to pull ANBU back toward the city itself, and leave the chasing down of others to the hunter ninja until this can be resolved. Maybe give two of them the duty of protecting Yui... the adviser knows his face, so, he may be a target later. But, I'll ensure that they tell him about them being there, I want him to know that he's being followed and protected, so he can signal them if there's anything wrong. "

Aya's mother approved, saying that Aya seemed to have things sorted as Aya sent the message to the Jounin camp, for the changes to be made immediately. Aya sighed to herself, moving back to the house to find her mother holding out a hammer and a pair of pincers. Holding out either of them. Aya smiled and took the pincers. She could not temper steel with anywhere near the care of her mother, so, she began to help work with the forge for the remainder of the day, pumping out ninja tools and farming equipment for the village to be distributed at very low price to replace damaged goods. The clanging of cold on hot steel was almost enough to drown out Aya's concerns...

almost.

But it seemed there was something darker looming over the horizon, something with deep, dark, ill intentions like a plague leering down on Aya and the rest of kirigakure no sato. Aya could feel the weight of the shadow as the heat from the kiln glowed across her face, bathing her skin in red and flaring her hair into a deeper less natural purple as the bright shades intermingled and danced with the luminescence of her own hair. Aya gripped each piece of steel tightly, using her chakra to cool the steel rather than dropping it in the water, it was faster, and allowed them to move through the stages much quicker. Her mother smiled at Aya when she noticed what she was doing, instructing Aya not to let the metal get too cold too quick, or it would become brittle...

~Exit Thread~




[2867 + 14398 words = 17265 words total for stat training.]

Speed: S-3 -> SS = 2500 words

Strength: S -> SS = 8500 words

Reaction time: S -> S3 = 6000

17124 // 17000

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