1 Yamabushi, part III [Solo | Plot] Thu May 17, 2018 3:02 am
Raiu Mizuki
Retired
Part III, a sparrow in the mountains
- Spoiler:
Day ??
A remote valley such as this was hard to find even to those that generally knew the area. The lush green area, rich with wildlife of all kind, was secluded from the world by the mountains that bore it. It rested like a green tongue behind the sharp fangs that formed the mountain spires of Iwagakure. Though a valley, the hidden area was rather high in altitude and allowed a rich view of the countless little paths that lead through the Valley of Mountains. This area was 'familiar' to Mizuki, as far as she could consider herself familiar with the Land of Earth, in that sense that she remembered having walked on one of those roads before in service of Kumogakure. Other than that, the whole place was a maze of paths, little water streams and pocket valleys much like hers. Mizuki could only imagine what a hell this place must be for Iwa's patrols.
The kunoichi had been here for weeks now, having lost the count of days as time progressed. She suffered some troubles early on, not used to live in the wildlife, but such hardship had been surpassed little by little. The dead branches of nearby trees served as the base of a small makeshift tent. Those branches were in turn covered by greens and dead leaves intended to cushion the downfall of rain and guide them away from the inside of the basic tent. It wasn't much, but it allowed Mizuki to sleep somewhat sheltered and decent. Over the course of time, she had provided the tent with a layer of boar furs to soften the earth she slept on, making it quite comfortable and warm, with the single fur of a small bear serving as a bed sheet for colder days. Aside from the tent, her makeshift camp offered a rack where she could hang her caught fish and hunted rabbits and a small campfire, a stark difference with her generally luxurious lifestyle back home.
In similar fashion, the kunoichi's otherwise elegant wardrobe had made room for a basic outfit. Her hanfu had seen the best of days, small cuts and tears having turned it into a clearly worn basic layer of clothes only serving to preserve a sense of modesty, here and there patched with some fur or crude leather. It didn't matter that much, since her protection came from her custom armour, which she had come to wear on an almost daily base. The rivers nearby allowed her to bathe when she wanted to, keeping most grime off her body, while a couple of local plants rich on natural soap had come to substitute her preferred soaps in lack of better options.
To accommodate to the new lifestyle, Mizuki had mostly made use of Artemis, her longbow, as it offered a better approach in the situation she found herself in than her katana would do. Granted, a short hunting bow would have been better still, but with Mizuki's skill in kyujutsu and her grey hawk, she was doing fine taking down small wild life. Mizuki didn't eat much. Needing only a little of the available prey that grazed around, she generally added some small amount of own cultivated vegetables and rice with it to complement her meal, or diversified her dish by catching a fish or shoot some poultry.
Her days would be filled with simple pass-times. Revision of kenjutsu kata, shooting at a makeshift target, picking up basic spear practise, training and feeding her pet hawk made sure discipline and skill remained high. Hunting, fishing, maintaining her little allotment, feeding and bathing sustained her basic nourishment. Her days would further be filled with long walks in exploration of the lands, making sure not to miss a single hiding place and trying to memorise the abundance of roads that ran through the Valleys. This whole area was a veritable maze. The more she explored and learned about it, the happier she became that she had encountered a couple of Iwa-nin along the road during her last mission. Without them, she could have been wandering around for an eternity to come.
As the weeks passed, she became more familiar with the whole area and occasionally dealt with roaming bandits threatening her. Rare were the times she killed them as she preferred to preserve life rather than end it, but with it the rumours of a 'mountain demon' started to spread. A beautiful woman, quiet as the winds, defeated roaming brigands time and time again, only sparing them because they had not threatened her beauty. An amusing tale despite not being quite correct, but such was the nature of fear when left to the fantasies of those who resorted to violence rather than understanding. To those who did bother to ask her name, she would reply "Suzume", as since her trial through the Thousand Stairs a cyan mark had formed itself upon her arm. A name given by the kami, perhaps, since Mizuki had no idea in what other way the tattoo came to be.
Suzume, yamabushi of the mountains.
She was fine using that name. She was fine living away from everything she had once known as she searched to figure out who or what she was supposed to do. Mizuki found it a strange occurrence that the loneliness she suffered from losing her parents only revealed itself when she was in the city, seeing all these people going out with their family members. Over here, there was none of that. It was just her and Zhinu, and whatever the land had to offer. The other option was going back to Kumogakure, where it would be just her and Zhinu as well while living in a place that was torn by strife, criminality and soon-to-be war. The choice was not hard to make for a person that had nothing more to lose. A person looking to find some peace in mind and heart. Looking at the horizon, the future looked bright now.
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Last edited by Raiu Mizuki on Tue May 22, 2018 1:00 pm; edited 2 times in total