1 The Flowers that Drift Through Time [Plot/Private/No Kill] Tue Sep 29, 2015 11:41 pm
Gin
Retired
In Seventeen Years
Loud crashes and explosions echoed in the wide chamber, its walls and columns shaking to their very foundation. Small pieces of rubble fell from the vaulted ceiling overhead. A young girl could hear her heart beating frantically in her chest, ringing all the way up to her head. She clutched it tightly for a moment, locks of disheveled brown hair falling on either side. She took several deep breaths in an effort to regain her composure. A hand placed itself on her shoulder, patting it reassuringly. She could tell, however, that it was shaking nervously and in fear. She looked up, finding her younger brother standing behind her, an unreadable expression on his face. His lips were pursed tightly and his eyes stared distantly at an older woman with silver hair, standing in the entrance of the room, made up entirely of the color white. "It'll be fine, Ushio," the boy said, trying to sound calm. She placed her hand over his for a moment and took another deep breath.
Ushio remembered having stepped into this largely ceremonial room a couple of times in the past. She had never really thought much of it, even though she had found it rather peaceful. Now, however, there was little left of peace to associate it with. Only one thought rang true in her mind right now: "This is where we'll die."
An old man stood in the center of the room, a solemn expression on his face as he diligently worked on a series of intricate seals and circles that he was drawing on the floor in crimson red. Overwhelming energy seeped through the area, filling the atmosphere with the purest of chakras. "There, that'll keep them busy for a while," muttered the silver haired woman from the other side of the room. "Guru, how's the jutsu going?" She asked, allowing herself to take a few steps away from he now sealed door.
The old man shook his head for a moment, worry creasing onto his brow. "I need at least four more minutes," he said, not taking his eyes off of the work he was doing.
The older woman looked at the door behind her - bending due to whatever force lay behind it. "You'll have to make it in three," she said, not making an effort to hide the urgent tone in her voice. She coughed loudly, her hand reaching over to her mouth to hide the small pool of blood that had come up from her lungs.
"Mom!" Ushio yelled loudly, rushing over to her mother's side, resting the older woman's weight on her shoulder. She pushed her daughter away from her lightly, standing up on her own despite the strain on her wounded body.
The woman - Gin - straightened herself. "I'm fine, it's only a scratch. I've had worse than this," she said, brushing aside the severity of her wounds. The young boy stood a few feet away from his mother and sister, simply looking at the scene. He had known enough loss in his short life to know that it was coming. Yet, a large part off him wanted to believe that his mother was fine. She was the strongest person that he had ever known. She was untouchable - invincible. There was no way that she could die. Gin turned to look at her son and smiled reassuringly. "Kohaku, dear, you're thinking about this too much. You might pop a blood vessel," she said, trying to defuse the tension in the room with some lighthearted humor. She walked over to him and poked his forehead lightly before wrapping an arm around him. She looked at her two children once she let go. "You both know what you need to do, right?" she asked.
The two teenagers had lost count as to how many times she had asked that already. Nevertheless, they both looked at each other and nodded. The explosions were increasing in strength and volume, almost knocking Gin off of her feet as the doors looked like they were about to give in.
Gin pressed a kiss to each of their foreheads, her hand lingering for a second too long as it drifted lovingly over their heads. "I love you both. Now go!" She yelled, gripping her sword tightly in her hand. She looked at it for a moment and bit her lower lip. She took a shaky breath. "Kohaku, take this with you. Protect your sister," she said, tossing the large blade towards the young boy, who despite his hesitation, caught it in one hand.
All kinds of distress were visible in his expression, light blue eyes watering. "W-what?! No! I won't take it! Without it, you'll-" a loud growl came from the silver haired woman. She shot him a look of pure authority, one that he couldn't deny.
"I don't need an old trinket like that to keep me alive," she said, her expression softening and turning into a confident smirk that didn't quite reach her eyes. With a heavy heart, she turned around to face the coming horde or shadows and demons that once called themselves shinobi.
A flash of bright light came from the center of the drawn seal as the deformed shinobi poured through the collapsed doors. Ushio and Kohaku both kept their eyes locked onto their mother, refusing to move from where they stood. They watched the one woman they admired so much struggle against overwhelming odds, brandishing a sword in each hand and slicing through flesh with every strike. And yet when large claws managed to tear through her back, they could both tell that she was holding back a scream. "GO!" The Guru yelled and pushed them into the bright light before they could go back on the promise they had made.
_______
Present Day
Gin let out a loud laugh, grinning brightly at the man in front of him. There as something taunting about the way she stood, as if claiming with her body language that there was no way her opponent could defeat her. "Come on, Sano-teme! You're better than that!" She yelled across the wide training field they stood in. "You're too used to focusing on speed, that's not how this technique works! So sit your pretty ass still and try again, unless you'd rather admit defeat," she said, knowing full well that there was no way he would ever give up, especially when it came to his long-time rival and current... well, whatever they were. The two of them had decided not to worry about something as stupid as labels, considering themselves above that, in a way. The young woman ran a hand through the loose strands of her silver hair, moving it away from her face.
She and Sano were sparring, but had decided to add a twist into what they were doing: they were only allowed to use each other's jutsu, none of their own. So far, Gin had kept it at using a mixture of taijutsu and kenjutsu, knowing full well that if she were put to the test, she would likely fail to produce Sanosuke's techniques the way he did. She didn't need him making fun of her, or at least not quite yet. She was still trying to remember how he had pulled off these techniques the times she had seen them in order to reproduce them as closely as she could. It didn't make things at all easy when most of these she had seen in battle and had barely caught a glimpse of. She was left to fill in the blanks with her own assumptions for now. However, she still kept up a confident bravado, with a hint of added mischief. Truth be told, she was just happy to spend time with the current Raikage.
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