Never Had a Friend Like Me

Sat Sep 19, 2015 1:41 pm

Shika’s foot slammed into a puddle, sending little droplets flying out as she sprinted across the Water Gardens. Faster, faster! She urged herself, picking up speed even though it sent waves of burning pain up and down her legs. Rain pattered upon the earth from above, making it easier to slip and slightly easing the soreness. Without thinking, she started to use a slightly bastardized version of the surface walking technique, if only to ensure that she didn’t fall over and break a limb.

There it is! With renewed vigor, she put on a final burst of speed and nearly slammed head-first into the tree. She skidded to a stop, face literally inches away from the trunk. She stood in silence for a few moments, before resting her back against it. The rain began to fall even harder, soaking her hair. She merely sighed out in relief, and began to slide down until she was sitting upon the oak’s roots. I wonder how I did, she thought to herself. I can tell that I got here faster than last time, but that’s probably because I didn’t get lost.

She cracked her back, stretching her arms out wide. She sighed in relief, and began to massage her calves. I think I’ll take a small walk to cool off.

~~~

Her feet fell upon unfamiliar soil, her nose breathed in unfamiliar scent, but her eyes rested on familiar woodland. She didn’t know why or where, but she started walking through them, not caring about whether or not she followed the pre-existing trail. She traversed the dense woods, stepping over (and sometimes in to) shrubs, small trees, and even a few poison ivy vines. She wasn’t worried about being lost, however. If push came to shove, she could just use the sun (as well as her own not quite subtle trail of bent foliage) to track her way back to Hoshigakure.

She kept walking throught the woods for an undetermined amount of time, sometimes practicing her surface walking skills by running up and down random trees, and sometimes practicing her acrobatics by leaping from one tree to the next. She stopped, however, when she fell off a particularly mossy trunk and badly hurt her already bruised arm. Damn it, she thought to herself, I should have learnt a medical jutsu back when I had the chance. She mentally continued to scold herself, and the sun’s arc across the sky continued to progress without a care in the world.

She didn’t know where she was going, and to be honest, she didn’t really care. Eventually, the trees started to thicken, and the undergrowth became denser and denser, making it harder to walk. Big deal, she’d just sleep in the branches. It’s not like she hadn’t done anything like that before.

The trees got thicker and thicker as she forced her way through the woodland, until eventually, they disappeared altogether. She stumbled her way into a grassy clearing, dotted with numerous, vibrant wildflowers, several edible plants which she recognized from her time in Konoha, and most noticeably, a small, yellowish snake sitting upon a rock. It looked distressed, if that was possible; it was flicking its head back and forward, as if looking for something. Naw, snakes in the wild weren’t that intelligent. Summons, on the other hand, might have been possible, but highly unlikely, given the fact that she was located literally in the middle of nowhere.

To be honest, the whole imaged seemed a little bit off. Small details stood out, becoming blindingly obvious in sharp contrast to the relatively sane world around her. Like the fact that the snake had a small, whitish mane (did snakes even have hair?). The fact that the snake had arms and legs. The fact that it’s face wasn’t even that of a snake at all. It appeared to be a small dragon- the kind from the fairy tales her mother told her as a young girl. She stared at it in silence for a moment, before its yellow head suddenly jolted up.

“You, over there!” It shouted, and she flinched. The dragon (dragons don’t exist, silly, she thought to herself, but deep inside, she wasn’t entirely sure) looked at her with wide, cat-like eyes. “…Have you seen my pearl?” It asked. She stood in stunned silence for a moment, but somehow, she found it in herself to construct something that resembled a legible response.

“Uhh… No?” The dragon sighed and lowered its head, downcast by her answer. Two things ran through her mind at that moment: one, that dragons do indeed exist, and two, that dragons are kind of adorable when upset. Not that she let her emotions show, of course. She had a bad reputation to maintain. But, the dragon looked so upset… Shika made up her mind and got down on her knees.

“What are you doing?” The dragon asked, sounding genuinely curious. She raised a bright ginger eyebrow, before turning her head towards the earth.

“Well, your pearl’s important to you, right?” She responded, placing her hands on the dirt and running her fingers through the grass. The dragon nodded its head very seriously.

“Very so. It is the center of my power,” it-he?- answered. After a moment, the dragon winced. “…I probably shouldn’t have said that…” she heard the legendary creature mumble.

“I’m helping you look for it. If I lost something as important that, I’d like people to help me look. So logically, I’m helping you.” The dragon stood in silence for a minute, head tilted. Then, it… Grinned?

“Raikobachi.” It said, levitating upwards, and flying towards her general direction, dark grey eyes focused on the ground. The dragon’s smallish mane fluttered in the wind.

“…Huh?” She poured her chakra into her eyes, activating her Kekkei Genkai. Shika figured that a dragon would probably have no use for such a thing, so she probably didn’t need to worry about him taking it. Besides, it would help their search. The world slowly adjusted into greater detail, and she continued to scan the ground, shifting slightly towards the left where she hadn’t yet searched. She should probably tell the dragon not to inform anyone else about her Sharingan, though.

“That’s my name,” the dragon- Raikobachi- said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world (and in hindsight, it kind of was). “Raikobachi.”

“Hn,” she replied intelligently, standing up and moving closer to the rock. “…Shika.” She said randomly, after a couple minutes of fruitless searching. Raikobachi stared at her, face twisted into a scowl clearly intended to mimic her own. The nerve.

“Hn.” He copied, sticking out his forked tongue.

~~~

The two sat (well, one technically hovered) in complete silence, save for the occasional chirping of distant birds. “Where did you last see your pearl?” She wondered aloud, hoping that it would help them find the pearl before nightfall. Vibrant colors against the barely visible horizon alerted her towards her limited time. Screw it, I could search at night time, too, she thought to herself.

“I last saw it around that rock…” Raikobachi said slowly, as if trying to remember. “I was most certainly not racing a falcon on a dare.” He added convincingly. Yeah, sure you weren’t, she thought, mentally snickering. Nevertheless, she stood up and walked closer to the rock, continuing her search there. Her eyes began to feel sore. Ahh, Sharingan, she silently mused. I love you, yet I hate you.

“Hey, Raikobachi,” she said, grabbing a smooth, round stone, and setting it down with disappointment once she realized that it was not actually the dragon’s pearl.

“Yes?” he replied, levitating slightly closer, eyes still focused solely on the ground.

“Would you mind not telling anyone about my Kekkei Genkai?” Shika asked, scratching the back of her neck. “There are some people who’d like to steal it by removing my eyes…” She shuddered. The dragon snorted.

“Who do you take me for? You’ve been out helping me- total stranger, might I add- for hours. It would be dishonorable to betray you like that.” He replied firmly. She let out a breath, glad that he wouldn’t let out her secret. I guess honor is pretty important to dragons, huh? “Besides, what would I have to gain?” Raikobachi made a valid point.

The two continued to search in silence, the sun fell below the horizon, and Shika’s hands clasped around something round and smooth. She picked it up, deactivating her Kekkei Genkai. She’d never really seen a pearl before in her lifetime, but it was beautiful. It sparkled with a dazzling gleam that was accentuated by the stars above, glimmering with the sheer power of the (admittedly rather small) dragon.

“Raikobachi?” She called out, holding up the precious item. “Would this qualify?” She asked humorously. The dragon looked up, eyes widened by a fraction of an inch. He let out a rapid series of small breaths which made it look like he was having serious respiratory issues. After a couple seconds, it dawned on Shika that he was laughing.

“Yes. Yes it would,” he responded in good humor, levitating towards her hand. She reached out her arm, pearl balancing on her palm, and the dragon picked it up, placing it under his chin. The item shrunk slightly, but it appeared to sparkle under Raikobachi’s power, now that it had returned to its rightful owner. “I thank you sincerely, Shika. If there’s anything I can do to repay you, just say so. I am in your debt.” He bowed his head in a sign of respect. She bowed her head back, wondering what exactly he meant (and what exactly she’d do with his gift). The dragon tilted his head, staring into her eyes with a calculating gaze. “I can tell that you’re a ninja. Tell me, what is your nindo, your goal?”

She blinked, not expecting the question. “Well, I mean, when I was little, both of my parents were killed by a rogue ninja. I was furious, and essentially went on an eight year murder spree, trying to bring criminals and convicts to my own twisted sense of justice. I guess I’m in rehab now,” she said, scratching the back of her neck. “I guess… My goal is to stop things like that from happening. I want to protect people.” Shika said. It originally came out as a ramble, but as she thought about what she said, she realized that it was completely, 100% true. Raikobachi nodded his head once more, eyes closed in deep thought.

“A truly noble goal,” he said. “One of which I would like to assist you in.”

She tilted her head in confusion. What did the dragon mean?

“I just so happen to be the scroll-bearer for the Weather Dragons- beings who personify the very heart of nature itself.” Raikobachi continued. Her eyes widened marginally at what exactly he was implying. Surely he didn’t mean what she thought he did. The pearl at his throat gave out a faint glow, and a scroll popped into existence with a puff of smoke. He grasped it in his claws and un-rolled it, revealing a piece of parchment completely devoid of any symbols or markings, save for a few kanji at the top, which translated cleverly as ‘Weather Dragon’.

“I-I don’t know what to say,” she said, eyes as wide as dinner plates. The dragon chuckled, amused.

“I did just give you the contract for an ancient, powerful race of summons. You could say thank you,” he suggested with a hint of humor. She made a barely noticeable smile at his wisecrack, before nodding her head.

“I suppose I should say thank you. Thank you, Raikobachi,” she said, scratching the back of her neck. “But, uhh… How do I sign?”

“With your blood.” The dragon said seriously. “Bite a finger or something,” he suggested. She brought her right pointer finger to her mouth, and brought down her canines on the soft and squishy flesh until a steady, red stream flowed from the wound. Raikobachi held up the scroll, and she wrote down her name upon the scroll- her real name. Kamaru Shika. The dragon nodded, satisfied, before closing the scroll, which disappeared in another puff of smoke. “In order to summon us, we require a small blood tribute, similar to the one you used to sign the scroll. Utilize the bird, boar, dog, monkey, and ram seals, in that order, then place your palm upon a flat surface. I look forward to meeting again, Shika.” And, with that, Raikobachi, much like the scroll, disappeared in a puff of smoke.

(Exit)

(WC: 2105)

(Claiming: 10 Stats, Weather Dragon Contract)

Sat Sep 19, 2015 1:47 pm

Approved <3

Never Had a Friend Like Me

Never Had a Friend Like Me

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