…the first steps on a long road.


Night had fallen over the city hidden in the mist, yet still the moon hung over head shedding its lesser light upon the world. Imagine how envious that smaller deity must be of its elder, of her husband… whatever the account. She had been granted sway over half of the day, however, even if she’d never be worshipped with the same reverence. Only when frightened did man remember his love for her. Only when the bumps, moans, and groans of the darkness sang their twisted melodies did he look to her for comfort. In Kiri tonight, Luna’s wiles had not been forgotten. Men worshipped her with the blood of torn and battered ligaments and bodies. Beneath her gaze shinobi put on a wargame for her enjoyment, one that had stretched across the span of four days thus far. The sounds of battle surely kept many awake in their beds this night, hoping that the shinobi of the mist were indeed as strong as they believed. Smoke rose from smoldering fires about the city where perhaps bombs had gone off, or shinobi themselves were engaged in battle and setting things ablaze only to quash them with suiton jutsu. Blades clanged against one another, the sound of which echoed through narrow streets and bounced off of the rounded walls of buildings to be sent throughout the surrounding area.  Somewhere, even the Mizukage was still locked in battle with that villainous fiend Seven Bells, or worse she lie defeated at his feet.

Her right leg stretched out from her body slowly. As she did so she slightly increased the angle at which the leg was extended thus bringing her foot higher than her head, granted the movement required her to lean back some bringing her head lower than it normally would be, but the slow motion kick would find even some of the tallest opponents she could think of. Foot was extended further, and toes pointed and stiffened just ahead of the rest of the leg. There she’d hold her position for a moment wanting to strengthen the muscles required for such a maneuver. Minutes would pass before she’d move again. When she did she brought her right leg downward, though let it extended. As she did so she drew her body forward, bending at the right knee to a near 90 degree angle that was increased as she slid forward. While she did so she threw her right elbow ahead of her, feigning some intended attack against an invisible target. The hand found at the end of that arm was then quickly shot forward as if it had been on a spring, a thing that would have brought the back of her hand to an opponent’s heart. Immediately following that the kunoichi threw her left hand in an upward motion meant to emulate an uppercut.

A cool breeze danced across the rooftops until it had found the purple and khaki adorned girl. On it came a whisper, she knew the voice well for it belonged to no living person. It was a gift left to her by a Genjutsu User sometime ago. Perhaps, a defense mechanism that Oomi had created herself to deal with the horrible things that shinobi had shown her. The voice was far more felt than heard, however, making her question herself as opposed to the hallucination of a second presence doing so. How dare she be at such peace, awarded the time to do battle with imaginary foes whilst the rest of the village was so enthralled in battle? How dare she take a moment to herself when even now her kinsmen and countrymen were falling at the hands of Seven Bells and his minions? How dare she have not sought out the Mizukage the instant that she’d heard she’d taken on the monster? Not that she’d have been of any use, but was it not the duty of a leader’s soldiers to protect them? Would it not be right for her to throw her life away that the Kage of her village might be granted even the briefest of moments to enact a lethal technique against Seven Bells? Hell, Mizukage Solstice Ayakashi probably didn’t need the help at all. How strong could this invader truly be? Calculations ran through the girls mind – memories of various soldiers about the village. The minions of Seven Bells were powerful, at least those that were more than mere foot soldiers meant to overwhelm with numbers. This of course meant that Seven Bells himself was a powerful foe. Could the Mizukage defeat him in a one on one? Of course… she was the Mizukage afterall.

Oomi slid her right hand upward, and cupped her hand almost as though she were grasping at the back of a neck. She then shifted this imaginary person off to the right, by pulling down and to the right, of course. This would have left them open to attack, and attack carried out by her left knee which was brought forward just as slowly as the other movements she’d done. Had there been someone there they’d have taken a nasty strike to their ribcage. The youngster held the position for a moment. Her intent once again to strength muscles required for the maneuver, thusly the entirety of her body tensed as muscles were flexed. Not to mention this was great balance training, she’d need to be able to perform this techniques in battle and without the ability to keep her balance she’d surely fail – again. A moment longer and Oomi kicked off the ground with her right foot, it being the only one still grounded. As she did so her left foot shot outward and to her right powered by her Entropy Distortion technique. This gave the kick far more power and allowed it to cause the heel of her right foot to be brought around in a complete 360. A powerful double kick. When the time came to land once more, Oomi would find herself hovering above the ground. Her technique Heavenly Steps had been activated.

Oomi had never actually met the esteemed Mizukage, yet for whatever reason she felt some strange connection to the woman. Granted it was completely one sided and surely was not shared by the Mizukage herself who probably had no idea who Oomi was. The connection itself was something akin to what a fangirl might feel over the latest pop singer. Yet, in Oomi’s case it was the most powerful person she knew of… the leader of her village. Oh, god how she strove to one day take the woman’s place, to be handpicked by Ayakashi herself as the chosen successor to the throne. She could almost hear the cheering and excitement over her future appointment as Mizukage. She closed her eyes and watched as Ayakashi handed her the traditional headdress of the Kage’s in some strange movie scene that played out on the backs of her eyelids. This fantasy would certainly come true.

“Oomi?” The voice had come behind, this one far more tangible than what she’d felt earlier on the wind. “I’m glad to know you’re okay, Oomi.” The voice belonged to her father, Harou. “Why didn’t you come home after you’d completed your missions? There’s ramen waiting for you, you must be hungry.” He wanted to chastise her, to scream his head off what her having run off earlier. But, what good would it do? She’d simply run off again. Far better was it to be content that she’d returned alive and in once piece. The older man ran slender fingers through his prematurely white hair, brushing tresses away from his face that dared steal the sight of his daughter from him. Though his tone might have suggested only worry for her, there was more to be told.

“Sorry…” Oomi understood why he’d come. He’d probably been looking for the girl for hours. “I should have come and let you know I was okay.” She continued, though she’d yet to bother to turn and face him. Instead she’d slid her right foot ahead of her frame, and her left behind it. Taking on a stance that was not actually Muay Thai, but of her own design. Her right hand was extended forward, the palm of which was open and facing her imaginary opponent. Her ring and pinky fingers were folded in against her hand, and what remained held an odd resemblance to a gun – albeit if it were held to be facing the sky in some strange fashion. Her left arm was pulled back, yet bent at the elbow which brought her balled fist to a position just in front of her heart.

“It’s fine, baby.” Harou said as he started toward the girl, who was oddily enough floating. He’d not seen her technique up close as of yet, only the devastating cost of learning it. The months of hospitalization, and numbness that his baby girl was now plagued with. He was close enough to reach out and touch her, but she’d not feel it. A heavy sigh slipped from his lips and he refrained from the act entirely. She’d likely not appreciate the reminder. “It may be time that we move on, Oomi.” Harou said flatly, indicating his seriousness. “This village… the siege.” Harou continued. “It’ll be over soon, baby girl.” He paused for a moment searching for some sign that Oomi was listening. It didn’t seem that she was, however. The girl was busy throwing boxer like punches that moved with such speed one might dare call them Lightning Strikes. “The Mizukage is dead, Oomi. I swore that I’d not let anything happen to you. There’s no telling what this Seven Bells character will do now that the Kage is gone.”

Oomi pivoted on her heel so quickly that it seemed as if there was some electric charge built up by the friction of her foot sliding against the false surface of air. One might have thought she were turning to determine the validity of the claim her father had just made. Instead, as she came to face him she kicked at the man with her free leg sending a ball of futon infused chakra at him. He had no time to react and yet he’d easily deflected it without moving a single muscle. Such was the strength of an Adechi that had been trained in their ways for so long. “She’s not dead!” Oomi spat viciously. “How could you even say something like that?” She knew he wouldn’t have said it, nor suggested they leave if it weren’t true… or at least a believable rumor that was floating about. Yet, still it was an impossibility. There was no way that the Mizukage was dead.

“…Oomi.”

In truth, Oomi’s obsession with the Mizukage probably stemmed from the loss of her mother, Aiko. There had been no woman she thought to be stronger as a child. Even the display of power her father had just exhibited did not match the prowess of her mother, something that even Aiko herself admitted took years to achieve even after she and Harou were married. It was Aiko who’d taught Oomi the basics of Genkhairyu ( Entropy Style), it was Aiko that had instilled in her daughter the love of battle and all things of value. Ayakashi, though she did not even physically resemble Aiko in anyway, nor did Oomi actually know much about the woman, was a suitable replacement… at least as far as strength went. This would be why Oomi’s eyes filled with tears. She’d not even gotten a chance to meet the glorious woman as of yet and she was already gone… murdered by the enemy. The young shinobi’s body filled with sorrow, agony, and rage… what could she do to avenge this woman she’d come to love yet never knew. How could she possibly hope to avenge the death of the Mizukage. Furthermore, how dare the stronger ninja in the village allow her to be slaughtered. Was it not their duty to protect her! Oomi cursed herself for having not sought the woman out. Perhaps, the momentary distraction could have saved the woman’s life.

“I wont leave…” Oomi said as she turned her back to her father once again. “I’m going to avenge her,” That electric charge that had reared its head earlier had returned, the charge massing about her feet. Oomi’s mouth twisted in disgust with not only herself, but her village and all that dwelt therein as well. “I’m going to avenge all of them.” How dare they let so many people die within their walls? Once again they’d failed her so woefully. The girl kicked her right foot high, whilst leaning back slightly – the kick she’d performed sometime ago. This time however, a large beach ball sized ball of chakra shot from her foot. The thing crackled with an electric charge as it went soaring through the sky at breakneck speeds before finally dissipating into the atmosphere just over 80 meters away.

Admitedly, Harou was impressed by his daughters prowess in battle. She’d always been a quicker learner a tad bit better at picking up new things than the other children. She was even more prone to developing her own jutsu than others her age for the most part. Yet, still the girl was naught more than a Genin and fairly weak despite all the strength she’d gained. “Oomi,” He started. “There is nothing that we can do.” For all his strength the Mizukage far outshined even him. There was nothing either of them could hope to do to avenge the woman – her opponent was too strong. “We need to go.”

“I wont abandon them…” Oomi said turning to face her father once more. “I’ll make all of them pay for what’s happened… I swear it.” Her words seemed direct enough that Harou thought he knew what she meant by them… He had no idea.

Exit Thread

[ Quick Learner: 10% off Word Count for New Jutsu ]

[ Word Count: 2,230 / 2,250 ]
[ Training: (C Rank) Raiton: Rakurai ( Lightning Release: Lightning Strikes ): 900 / 900 ]
[ Training: Genkahiryu: Chojo Fukai Shogeki ( Entropy Style: Superior Abysmal Impact ): 1,350 / 1,350 ]