1 The Facade of Change [Private/Plot] Fri Feb 05, 2016 6:57 pm
Karumo
D-rank
Karumo pushed the gate to the clan compound open, the slow creaking of the iron hinges rang out through a cold and quiet air. He pushed it forward with one hand, it slide across the gravel and made a loud and obnoxious noise, only because in retrospect the rest of the compound was absolutely dead. He lead his head forward and looked around, his sandals crunched in the gravel of the walk way within, he had sent word that he was back in the village. Checked in with the administration before heading home and was now here to relax and take some time off after returning from his mission(s). But the compound was absolutely empty, eerily so, not that it was ever known for vibrancy or anything of the sorts but there would always be an older person(s) out for a walk or sitting on a bench int he courtyard and the sound of children laughing and playing could usually be heard as well as the sound of the breeze through their mountain compound. But today, even the breeze had trouble lasting for more than an instant within their slice of the mountain. He began to walk around to the center of the courtyard, looking around for the sight of anyone, maybe peeping from a window or running along a path higher up the mountain but nothing at all from anyone. Karumo set his bag and his backpack down next to a bench and removed his jacket, now just in his pants and a t-shirt, he used his hand to block the sun from his eyes and look further ahead and around the place. Late afternoon, the sun began to set, and would face directly into their homes and the buildings of it all.
Karumo jumped up to a nearby tree, the tallest one he could find and looked around, still nothing at all, but the breeze was stronger from on high. He sighed, a small sense of worry began to set in and he began to analyze the situation, The village would have told me if something happened, right? Unless the village itself had something to do with it? But that thought is irrational in itself, the clan may have been disgruntled at me and the village but not to the point of a coup? Would they? As he thought back he remembered how far he had actually begun to distance himself from them. In his effort to bring them to prominence and to get the clan involved with the village and it's affairs, he had all but abandoned the isolationist ways of the former clan. But he wondered if to the point where they would revolt? And the consequences stemming from there....
Karumo jumped down from the tree, landing with his knees slightly bent, and in the silence of the moment he heard the thin slicing of air from all around him. Luckily for him, his recent mission kept his skills of observation and readiness at their peak, he hadn't had a moment off for days now, traveling through the wilderness and hostile terrain. His guard hadn't dropped just yet, his unlikely follower from Sunagakure guaranteed that and its affects hadn't worn off. Kunai and shuriken flew towards him, from multiple directions, he drew his sword in one quick motion and jumped forward from where he stood, he deflected a few and let some of the others miss his body that were off target. He counted all the projectiles he could, his skill of deduction would be paying off here as he began to analyze, no more than 20 shuriken, with up to 4 in each hand of a skilled fighter, he figured that there were at least 4 people who delivered in that attack. 2 of the shuriken fell short of where he stood, thrown by amateurs at best? It's unlikely that 20 people each threw one object, there are anywhere from 4-10? people at most trying to ambush me. And with their lack of skill and their inability to capitalize on the surprise, there's no way that they're ANBU. his eyes wildly searched around in front of him. Three of his attackers burst forth from the shadows and alleys of a house, he heard two more from his left and two more from his right. He stood with his knees heavily bent and his center of gravity incredibly low, these people may not be very skilled but what they lacked in ability they could certainly try to make up for in numbers.
They all burst forth with an assortment of weapons, swords, staff, even a man with a scythe ran towards him and they prepared to attack in unison. He engaged them in spectacle, at first he jumped towards the three, his speed left the others in a flash. Severely lacking in skill, maybe their numbers won't save them. he continued to analyze each movement. Of the three in front of him, all dressed in all black and even their faces covered, two carrying katanas of a rusty sort and the other a wooden staff. He engaged them heavily and used the momentum of their attacks against them, it was as he exchanged blows with one person. He let his staff slide on his sword and Karumo sent him down with a heavy knee to his gut, their durability was also lacking in that he was putting them away with little to nothing. But his eye caught something, the man he struck had purple eyes, the same as him with the first release of their Dojutsu unlocked. One man down and six more to go, they attacked wildly and without direction, sloppily timing their attacks off each other, no better than an academy student or a new genin might do. But each of them brought with them a set of purple eyes, only two of them with the dojutsu itself unlocked in any form.
Upon realizing their lineage and relation to himself, he probably knew all of them, he wondered of some perverted test an elder might have put on to truly test Karumo and his skill. This could be the form of a coup, but there were better men to try and take him on. He brought his opponents down one at a time, using simple taijutsu and heavy blows rather than cutting them or killing them. He'd never live with the mistake of killing his clan members whether they had it coming or not, he got to a point where he brought three of them down, and the remaining four surrounded him. The bodies of the three had been left a distance away and they stood now in the center of the courtyard. From the upward path from the rest of the compound, he heard a voice call out, "Water Style: Exploding Water Colliding Wave!" it rang out through the air. The voice was of someone much older and more mature sounding, the four enemies he was engaged with jumped back and Karumo turned himself to a large wave of water heading straight for him, the bodies of unconscious ninja out of the way.
Inhaling deeply, he felt like he was shifting the air itself, his stomach and chest expanded to what felt like nearly twice its natural size. He threw a few hand seals and dropped his sword to speed up the process of molding chakra and ended on the Horse sign, "Fire Style: Great Dragon Flame!" An extremely thick blanket of flames pursed from his lips, taking the form of a Dragon's head almost immediately after. He intended to counteract the immense amount of water with his own high heat attack. Expelling all that he could in a fluid and continuous motion it hit the wave of water just at the last second, the sound of searing rung through the air and steam began to form wildly about the courtyard. A moment later and the leftover water rushed harmlessly over his sandal, so little of it left but so much must have been created to fully neutralize the Fire Style attack in itself. The water rushing over was warm, like a hot bath and Karumo picked up his sword again, steam rose up rapidly from the water, standing in the center of it all began to blur the background of the compound.
What rose in the wake of the aftermath stood several more ninja, the original four he had engaged he noticed about and the three he incapacitated were still lying on the ground towards the edge of the courtyard. Between the mass of ninja, all dressed in all black, some dawning the symbol of the clan in their uniform (think stereotypical ninja here) were two or three older men at the center of the path up the compound. Of them, he recognized two, having seen them before somewhere, but he couldn't quite put his finger on their names or why they were so familiar outside being members of his clan. The third man he knew, Akatsuchi Fantamusodo, essentially his exact opposite as far as anyone was concerned. He compete directly against Karumo and wanted to lead the clan himself, thinking that Sekuro's ideology was against the mantra of the clan, a vocal proponent of his actions as well. If it were up to an election, then Karumo might have very likely lost to him and he might have been exiled from the clan itself on principle. Akatsuchi himself was dressed as many elders were, a very regal and well dressed kimono of his own. White primary with grey bordering and the clan symbol embroidered to the back, he kept one arm tucked away and the other on his walking stick. The Water Style attack was obviously his but he must have moved so quickly, there was more to him than he might have originally thought.
But despite the skill of a few elder members, Karumo knew he could take all but a few in a one on one fight within the clan, his only threat at this point were the numbers they had over him. Now, he estimated maybe thirty people stood armed and ready against him. Akatsuchi stepped forward a few steps, slowly with his stick in front of him. "Not bad, Karumo Sekuro. Maybe your time playing in the affairs of the village have taught you a thing or two then." the old man chuckled slightly as he continued to walk forward, the steam evaporating and restoring the scenery of the compound behind it. "I could say the same for you, I didn't know but a select few could use ninjutsu in this clan, and especially not at that level. I thought you men who sit so close to death might be more advanced with a sword, or even your walking stick there." Karumo responded snidly. He was angry at the warm welcome he had received from a man who so openly attempted to rival against him.
"Watch your tone kid, You'd hate to see how much more advanced my skills truly are." he hastened himself in his speech. He was clearly tired of this game as it was.
Karumo exhaled heavily and spoke back, "So, you made your bit. What is this? Some perverted test of my own skills or prowess? You are aware I could have killed them if I had not noticed their eyes?" Karumo shot out at him. He sent back his own frustration two fold at him, he was tired of whatever game he might be playing at it this point and if this was merely nothing. Some test meant to play at another motive? He had been tired and was aggravated at the verbal attests to his leadership and decision making and now he was being prodded at even further.
With one last call, he yelled out at the top of his voice, "So, what is it then? I don't take you dumb enough to try a coup in broad daylight, and risking the clans well being for it. But maybe my assumption was wrong. So let's have at it then!" He was no longer concerned with analyzing the situation or making deductions to it all, his rage was focused and his target was now in front of him.
[2066 words]
Karumo jumped up to a nearby tree, the tallest one he could find and looked around, still nothing at all, but the breeze was stronger from on high. He sighed, a small sense of worry began to set in and he began to analyze the situation, The village would have told me if something happened, right? Unless the village itself had something to do with it? But that thought is irrational in itself, the clan may have been disgruntled at me and the village but not to the point of a coup? Would they? As he thought back he remembered how far he had actually begun to distance himself from them. In his effort to bring them to prominence and to get the clan involved with the village and it's affairs, he had all but abandoned the isolationist ways of the former clan. But he wondered if to the point where they would revolt? And the consequences stemming from there....
Karumo jumped down from the tree, landing with his knees slightly bent, and in the silence of the moment he heard the thin slicing of air from all around him. Luckily for him, his recent mission kept his skills of observation and readiness at their peak, he hadn't had a moment off for days now, traveling through the wilderness and hostile terrain. His guard hadn't dropped just yet, his unlikely follower from Sunagakure guaranteed that and its affects hadn't worn off. Kunai and shuriken flew towards him, from multiple directions, he drew his sword in one quick motion and jumped forward from where he stood, he deflected a few and let some of the others miss his body that were off target. He counted all the projectiles he could, his skill of deduction would be paying off here as he began to analyze, no more than 20 shuriken, with up to 4 in each hand of a skilled fighter, he figured that there were at least 4 people who delivered in that attack. 2 of the shuriken fell short of where he stood, thrown by amateurs at best? It's unlikely that 20 people each threw one object, there are anywhere from 4-10? people at most trying to ambush me. And with their lack of skill and their inability to capitalize on the surprise, there's no way that they're ANBU. his eyes wildly searched around in front of him. Three of his attackers burst forth from the shadows and alleys of a house, he heard two more from his left and two more from his right. He stood with his knees heavily bent and his center of gravity incredibly low, these people may not be very skilled but what they lacked in ability they could certainly try to make up for in numbers.
They all burst forth with an assortment of weapons, swords, staff, even a man with a scythe ran towards him and they prepared to attack in unison. He engaged them in spectacle, at first he jumped towards the three, his speed left the others in a flash. Severely lacking in skill, maybe their numbers won't save them. he continued to analyze each movement. Of the three in front of him, all dressed in all black and even their faces covered, two carrying katanas of a rusty sort and the other a wooden staff. He engaged them heavily and used the momentum of their attacks against them, it was as he exchanged blows with one person. He let his staff slide on his sword and Karumo sent him down with a heavy knee to his gut, their durability was also lacking in that he was putting them away with little to nothing. But his eye caught something, the man he struck had purple eyes, the same as him with the first release of their Dojutsu unlocked. One man down and six more to go, they attacked wildly and without direction, sloppily timing their attacks off each other, no better than an academy student or a new genin might do. But each of them brought with them a set of purple eyes, only two of them with the dojutsu itself unlocked in any form.
Upon realizing their lineage and relation to himself, he probably knew all of them, he wondered of some perverted test an elder might have put on to truly test Karumo and his skill. This could be the form of a coup, but there were better men to try and take him on. He brought his opponents down one at a time, using simple taijutsu and heavy blows rather than cutting them or killing them. He'd never live with the mistake of killing his clan members whether they had it coming or not, he got to a point where he brought three of them down, and the remaining four surrounded him. The bodies of the three had been left a distance away and they stood now in the center of the courtyard. From the upward path from the rest of the compound, he heard a voice call out, "Water Style: Exploding Water Colliding Wave!" it rang out through the air. The voice was of someone much older and more mature sounding, the four enemies he was engaged with jumped back and Karumo turned himself to a large wave of water heading straight for him, the bodies of unconscious ninja out of the way.
Inhaling deeply, he felt like he was shifting the air itself, his stomach and chest expanded to what felt like nearly twice its natural size. He threw a few hand seals and dropped his sword to speed up the process of molding chakra and ended on the Horse sign, "Fire Style: Great Dragon Flame!" An extremely thick blanket of flames pursed from his lips, taking the form of a Dragon's head almost immediately after. He intended to counteract the immense amount of water with his own high heat attack. Expelling all that he could in a fluid and continuous motion it hit the wave of water just at the last second, the sound of searing rung through the air and steam began to form wildly about the courtyard. A moment later and the leftover water rushed harmlessly over his sandal, so little of it left but so much must have been created to fully neutralize the Fire Style attack in itself. The water rushing over was warm, like a hot bath and Karumo picked up his sword again, steam rose up rapidly from the water, standing in the center of it all began to blur the background of the compound.
What rose in the wake of the aftermath stood several more ninja, the original four he had engaged he noticed about and the three he incapacitated were still lying on the ground towards the edge of the courtyard. Between the mass of ninja, all dressed in all black, some dawning the symbol of the clan in their uniform (think stereotypical ninja here) were two or three older men at the center of the path up the compound. Of them, he recognized two, having seen them before somewhere, but he couldn't quite put his finger on their names or why they were so familiar outside being members of his clan. The third man he knew, Akatsuchi Fantamusodo, essentially his exact opposite as far as anyone was concerned. He compete directly against Karumo and wanted to lead the clan himself, thinking that Sekuro's ideology was against the mantra of the clan, a vocal proponent of his actions as well. If it were up to an election, then Karumo might have very likely lost to him and he might have been exiled from the clan itself on principle. Akatsuchi himself was dressed as many elders were, a very regal and well dressed kimono of his own. White primary with grey bordering and the clan symbol embroidered to the back, he kept one arm tucked away and the other on his walking stick. The Water Style attack was obviously his but he must have moved so quickly, there was more to him than he might have originally thought.
But despite the skill of a few elder members, Karumo knew he could take all but a few in a one on one fight within the clan, his only threat at this point were the numbers they had over him. Now, he estimated maybe thirty people stood armed and ready against him. Akatsuchi stepped forward a few steps, slowly with his stick in front of him. "Not bad, Karumo Sekuro. Maybe your time playing in the affairs of the village have taught you a thing or two then." the old man chuckled slightly as he continued to walk forward, the steam evaporating and restoring the scenery of the compound behind it. "I could say the same for you, I didn't know but a select few could use ninjutsu in this clan, and especially not at that level. I thought you men who sit so close to death might be more advanced with a sword, or even your walking stick there." Karumo responded snidly. He was angry at the warm welcome he had received from a man who so openly attempted to rival against him.
"Watch your tone kid, You'd hate to see how much more advanced my skills truly are." he hastened himself in his speech. He was clearly tired of this game as it was.
Karumo exhaled heavily and spoke back, "So, you made your bit. What is this? Some perverted test of my own skills or prowess? You are aware I could have killed them if I had not noticed their eyes?" Karumo shot out at him. He sent back his own frustration two fold at him, he was tired of whatever game he might be playing at it this point and if this was merely nothing. Some test meant to play at another motive? He had been tired and was aggravated at the verbal attests to his leadership and decision making and now he was being prodded at even further.
With one last call, he yelled out at the top of his voice, "So, what is it then? I don't take you dumb enough to try a coup in broad daylight, and risking the clans well being for it. But maybe my assumption was wrong. So let's have at it then!" He was no longer concerned with analyzing the situation or making deductions to it all, his rage was focused and his target was now in front of him.
[2066 words]
- Karumo's Chakra 230/250:
Name: Fire Style: Great Dragon Flame (火遁・豪龍火の術 ~ Katon: Goryūka no Jutsu)
Canon/Custom: Canon
Rank: B
Type: Offensive
Element: Katon
Range: Projectile can travel 40 meters.
Specialty: Ninjutsu
Duration: Instant.
Cooldown: 6 posts
Description: The user inhales deeply, flooding their throat with an immensely thick layer of chakra, which they hold for a few seconds. They then exhale this chakra, converting it into flames as it leaves their lips. The fireball takes the form of a Chinese Dragon Head (8m long x 5m high and wide) which flies towards the target at 35m/s. On impact, the fireball will conflagrate around the object it hit, devouring it in flames. These flames will cause major second-degree/minor third-degree burns over anything that makes contact.
- Other jutsu used:
-Akatsuchi-
Name: Water Release: Exploding Water Colliding Wave
(水遁・爆水衝波 --Suiton: Bakusui Shōha)
Canon/Custom: Canon
Rank: B-S Rank
Type: Offensive, Supplementary
Element: Suiton
Range: B: 15 m radius, A: 30 m radius, S: 50 m radius
Specialty: Ninjutsu
Duration: Water stays on battlefield for 6 posts, stunning only lasts 1-2 posts
Cooldown: May be used again after it wears off (6 posts)
Description: The user spits an abundance of water from their mouth. Depending on the rank of the technique used, the amount of water differs - 15 m radius at B rank, 30 m radius at A rank, and 50 m radius at S rank. The rank being used needs to be specified in the post where this technique is activated. The body of water is approximately 10 meters deep. The water travels at 25 m/s at B rank, 35 m/s at A rank, and 45 m/s at S rank, and decreases 5 m/s in speed for every 10 meters it travels. This is primarily used to give the user an advantage by providing lots of water for their other jutsu, but it can also be used to knock to opponent over with a wave, stunning them for 1 post if the wave is B-Rank, and 2 posts if the wave is A-rank or higher. This stun only takes effect if the opponent hit by the wave is within 10 meters of the user, when the wave still has plenty of force.