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The Tail of Sand and Wind [Private/Training] Sun Jul 02, 2017 9:45 am
Shinko Akemi
D-rank
95KKG Tail Training - Two tails: 1000 wc & 500 ryo
It had to be here somewhere, in the Grand Bazaar. The monastery of the Sunagakure Shinko was not like most others. Instead of a secluded place, it had chosen its nest in the middle of a bustling market place, hidden in between a myriad of shops, workshops and storage rooms. Neither did it have a large garden that was usually tended to, mostly because Sunagakure's beating heat and sandy winds were hard on all vegetation other than cacti. So instead, the monastery had a simple, easily ignored wooden door that lead into a long hall and mounded in a large familiar room quite similar to the one Akemi lived in. No one would suspect they were here, while all together being offered close access to all a person needed to live - food, drink, clothes, training weapons. The Bazaar offered everything for the right price.
As Akemi entered the monastery, guided by a young male kitsune, she was informed meditation was about to take place. The others were already gathering in the grand hall as the sage, a seven-tailed elder woman would be leading the ceremony today. As usual, the ceremonies of the Shinko were rather quiet. They involved mostly meditation, sometimes chanting would happen, sometimes dancing performances occurred. Preaching wasn't often done, as the Shinko believed spiritual growth was something that one had to seek out. So aside from raising the kits with the philosophies of Inari Okami, it was encouraged to seek council or openly speak about hardships on one's path. Troubles were no shame. No, they meant someone was growing and would soon be ready to reach new understanding of life.
Taking her place with the others after a brief welcoming, some hug sharing and snuggling up to Ami, Akemi sat down with the others for a meditation, urging her kit to sit with her as she had done so countless times before. As the ceremony began, the gong rang deeply under the guidance of the seven-tailed sage, bringing the whole room into meditation.
Akemi could see herself walking the road she had travelled from her own monastery to Sunagakure. Her daughter, Ami, had been there, holding her hand. The road had been hard for the two of them as the child was still too young to walk the distances of an adult and required a lot of rest. While hunger was quite easily staved off, fatigue had slowly crawled upon the two, making each new day harder than the one before. The long road, though a light burden to Akemi, had been a heavy burden to the kid as play had made room for an arduous trek to unknown origins. It had to be done however, as Akemi required new resources for her trade and needed to improve upon her business relations, and Ami needed the training to improve her physique and understanding of the world.
Throughout her meditation, Akemi felt doubt rising up. She had arrived in Sunagakure, but had this really been a good idea? Would this path, which lead to an equally harsh Land, really improve upon the life of the two of them? The burden of reality pressed hard upon Akemi's conscious, but by facing them within this meditation, she allowed herself to feel its weight and seek the answers, and the courage, to unburden her mind with such thoughts. It had been a good idea. Through hardships and the essence of others, all nogitsune would grow to a higher state of being. Sunagakure would not be different.
A pinch in her hand briefly interrupted her meditation, and Akemi could feel the gaze of her daughter looking askance to her. Opening one eye, she flashed Ami a warm smile and wrapped an arm around the kit. Kids were so sensitive to the expression of others' chakra, Akemi found it a most marvellous thing to experience. With her daughter snuggling closer and somewhat seemingly feeling more assured, Akemi plunged back into her meditation.
Akemi found herself within the desert now. Sand as far her eyes could see, swept away by the winds. Sunagakure. That was certain. But what was there to be learned here? Why did her meditation bring her to this place? Akemi's eyes took in the whole area as she searched for an answer, and seemingly found that one in the horizon. Was that a figure in the distance? It seemed so at first sight. The heat of the desert that rose from the ground distorted the view. It played with Akemi's perception. Figure, monolith or oasis. It could be anything. It could be nothing, too. Was Sunagakure a natural source of genjutsu? A hint that everything could be made out Fire, Wind and Earth? Akemi couldn't say for certain, but it certainly offered perspective. Within the Sand, there was potential for growth.
And with that answer, her meditation naturally broke. Finding herself in the middle of the the monastery's room again, several people were watching her. Smiles, nods, even one of them lifting a thumb up towards her. Somewhat confused, Akemi looked about herself, wondering what was going on until Ami whispered in her ear, "Mom, you have two tails now!"
Looking behind her, she faced the truth of her kit's words. Two tails. The long trip, the blistering heat and the devilish winds, each of them a hardship on its own, had brought new clarity and growth. And as she smiled brightly at her own evolution, all the others burst out in clapping and yipping. A warm welcoming to the new two-tailed kitsune that had appeared among the faithful of Inari.
"I saw it growing.", Ami stated, proud about herself. "It was like wind first, and then it pulled in all the sand on the floor. And then it became the colour of your other tail."
"That sounds pretty. I'm a bit jealous I didn't get to see it myself.", she replied with a playful pout and prodded Ami's belly. "You're lucky."
Escaping her mother's pokes with a giggle, she suddenly asked seriously."When will I have mine?"
"Pretty as you are, probably soon"
After pressing a kiss on Ami's front, Akemi stood up, swishing her newly grown tail as if to try it out and persuade herself it wasn't, well, an illusion.
wc 1062/1000
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