Is it wrong to pickup children in the woods? P NK

Mako watched intently as the command of Shadows from the woman was displayed mater fully putting the village Nara's including his mother to shame.  Of course his mother never did learn much of the Shadow jutsu as she never went down the road of a ninja preferring to live the simple life, though his father was a powerful ninja one who had taught him everything he knew. Though he remembered times when he was younger practicing jutsu with his cousins and seeing the shadow jutsus of his mother's clan dancing about, and he often times found himself envious. Although he had his own clan element he still wanted to learn the shadow if for nothing else as an homage to his mother, whom he loved dearly.  He watched intently with a focus of chakra, inspecting how the girls chakra ebbed and flowed and how she managed to pull the shadows about her like a cloak.  His eyes sharpened and keen targeting the shadows before him.

Mako knew that they had passed a pivotal point and that fighting , provided he played his cards right, would not be an inevitable conclusion to this meeting, but he was afraid to ask too much in fear of triggering something within the girl to make her respond negatively.

Now that was when the woman began speaking, and what she said was like a riddle. Mako did not know whether to take it figuratively, or literally.  He knew nothing of spirits and mumbo jumbo along those lines nor did he have any want to delve into the occult.  Life was simpler this way, but he could not deny there was something strange about this woman and child and maybe while he stood here and registered the jutsu and took in how it worked he might actually gain some understanding of what the woman spoke.

"Brilliant medical ninja, eh. My father was second in command of the med Corp for 8 years, and I do like to dabble in the art occasionally.  I understand it must be a sore subject for you so I will not ask any questions regarding your master." Mako said with a friendly demeanor. He did not think that the events of today would result in a life long friendship but hey could at least result in a possible or alliance or in the very least with him surviving this encounter.  "So you are Nara as well, which in some way makes us family," Mako tried oh so desperately to keep the meeting in the dark forest with the strange woman light but that didn't mean he had let his guard down for a moment.

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There was a spark. Not a literal spark of course that would be crazy, but more a spark of inspiration. From the cloak covering her body four long tendrils pushed out, each forming at about waist level to dig into the earth below. The tremor running through her body was eased as the shadow tendrils lifted her from the ground, carrying her like four legs upward, to place her gently ona low hanging but strong tree branch about three meters away. She continued her work, concentrating less on the chakra flowing throuugh her body and more on the aspect of earth's domain beneath her. Mokuton... Wood style. Her thoughts shifted quickly through possibilities. The underbrush would not provide her a strong enough connection to the earth itself but perhaps this would help. Her fingertips traced the lines in the bard to her left side like a maze, unending and beautiful, and from it she attempted to draw power, her chakra calling out to the massive construct to grant her the strength of the earth.

Meanwhile Selene continued her convorsation. "Interesting. We use medical arts more as a necessity.... Healing the wounded has never quite been the girls way of the ninja." It was true... Sort of. There was a time when Kira was resolved solely to protect those she cared for, taking up the medical arts with intention to sit behind the line of fire and care for the wounded however it was never truely her goal. She did so more out of fear of the cruelty the world ha to offer, an ideal that was easily dispelled when she learned the cruelty to truely fear was those her mystic palms would ease the pain of.

At the final bit of his statement, or at least the final part she considered actually important considering the true ending of his words was more aimed towards Kira then herself, Her head turned to the side. Her eyes turned upward in confusion as he spoke of Amber. "why would I have an issue speaking of the demon of chance? It was Kira who was killed and her soul shattered not my true master..... You speak words both confusing and vague."

(TWc 1505)

Mako watched on as the shadow cloaked child proceeded to manipulate the environment around her and make the shadows dance at her whimsy without ever saying a word or paying attention to his presence, these things threw Mako for a loop and honestly put him well outside of his comfort zone.  He still was getting nowhere figuring out who these strangers were and whether his current knee jerk feelings of fear and distrust were feelings he should trust. Or whether this conversation would need to be cut Short as there was no denying that creepy child was in fact creepy.  He decided to continue his conversation with Selena going as long as he could, if anything could be gleaned from these mysterious strangers he would attempt to grab said information.

Well it would appear that the conversation with Selene had been a struggling one, as it would appear in the two of them lives they had experienced very different things and as such their view of the world was not similar.  She spoke of demons, and masters and the concept of blood relation confused her to some degree, while Mako's simple and comfortable life from within the village made for easy living.  Mako tilted his head from where he stood leaning on the tree some 10 meters from Selene allowing the darkness to hide his eyes behind shadow. He would not respond beyond the last statement of Kira preparing to respond to whatever the Child, who had managed to learn was Kira, was doing.  It was crunch tI'm oland on the verge of fight or flight a two on one battle dictated Mako's greatest course of action.  He stood there in silence letting Kira's final words float off into the woods.

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Kiras attention continued to shift, glancing back at the konoha shinobi every few seconds, though it was unneeded. The power of her sensory as well as the demon eyes granted all the protection she would need from a surprise attack...well. At least these two in combination with the Avatar of sorrow. Her fingers continued to dance across the tree, drawing the strength from it, allowing her body to be molded into the essence she was drawing from nature itself. A normal shinobi would be lost in the situation before them, trying to understand what was going on with their body as things changed in strange ways but not kira. She understood the human body and flow of chakra on a personal level. She could feel the very fabric of her being change probably on a molecular level, starting with the skin of her arm which traced the paths of wood grain. The grain itself imprinted itself upon her flesh, deep groves sinking into the pure white skin beneath the savar, pressing outward against the body suit in strange ways. Interesting. She would need more study to understand this of course but this was a grand break through.


The Konoha shinobi stood silent, her expectation either in fear or some other form of unrest. To be honest it confused the Avatar of sorrow. "I did request clarity.... Are you lost in your own wording also?" The tone was like to a child fighting to understand the complexities of adult speech, calm and almost serene in a way that would make the almost insulting statement seem innocent. It was, of course. "If you're done with us I suppose you could be on your way. We have much training in doton to do and the girl struggles well enough with dealing with the real world as it is. I'd hate to have her concentration broken by our convorsation or otherwise. Unless you'd like to assist or train with us."

(1832)

It was as such, Mako would have loved to have provided clarity for her regarding her last question, it was never a matter to him about whether he wanted to answer, but a matter of whether he could answer.  Phrases like demon, master and avatar of Sorrow were phrases one rarely heard and even more rarely actually had to come im contact with.  Mako would continue watching, at this point less frightened more curious what the creepy ass girl in the tree was doing.  

Then as the conversation continued Mako would once again respond and pick the dialogue he and Selene had been sharing back up.  "You see it is less a matter of not wanting to shed clarity as it is an inability to, due to the fact that I know not of what you speak, demons and masters, these things are not experienced in my every day life.  So when you speak of these matters I know not how to respond." He said this in the coolest smoothest way possible, he had tossed the friendly mumbo jumbo to the wayside, in Mako's mind he constantly fringed between fight of flight mode. Though the fight response was extremely unlikely, and leaning more towards flight and Mako was a keen runner. Then the mention of training started to come out and Mako ceases his current thoughts. He had realized that the girl and the woman he was talking to were Nara and he had always wanted to learn his families secret technique though it was closely guarded, his mother was the only member of his family who would've been allowed to teach and since she knew none of them he remained disconnected.  He would then respond, "I do not know doton techniques, however I am slightly skilled in Katon and my personal clan element Haiton. However, I am skilled at training and may be able to help you.  I am find of the idea of gleaning what I can of the Shadow release even if it's very little."   Mako would relax once again and bow toward them, it felt like Selene had finally eased him as he felt most comfortable on the training grounds.

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"My master is the demon of chance. That is to say the woman who wields me. I am the spirit of a weapon you see taking physical form solely because of Kira's power in the medical arts. before my voice was heard only to the wielder of the Domia scythe Sorrow of Humanity. "

Kiras eyes shifted once more to Mako at the word katon, staying on him for a few moments. Katon. It was the one main element she was missing. She considered commenting on the situation, trying to prepare her fragile mind to initiate speach once more and praying it would for once come out coherent instead of the broken mess she'd dealt with for days now but just as she'd readied herself Selene responded once more.

"We have use of Katon. I will teach you in the ways of our family. Kira was not pure blood either however with the horrors that befell her family the Nara clan took to teaching her her father's blood." The statement would to a normal konoha shinobi most likely suggest the great culling of Konoha so long ago, a time when the Hyuuga fought for control, killing uchiha and nearly exstinguishing the light of the yamaki bloodline. It was purely unintentional but allowed Kira a small smile when she heard it.

Mako now understood, to some extent what Selene was telling, or had been trying to tell him this entire time in a very round way.  However, it wouldn't be a simple thing to tell someone that they are an incarnate form of a weapon and that the child they were protecting was indeed the Ninja who wielded them.  It was quite a bit to take in but Mako could understand as he himself wielded an intense weapon and knew that chakra worked in strange ways.   Mako was glad that this Kiranomo agreed to teach him some in the ways of Shadow release.  He would be happy to tutor the girl in the unlocking of Katon release as he had trained many others in unlocking the fire element.

He now spoke to the girl who was in the tree, now knowing that this is the true person.  "Well i could show you the hand signs to Katon: Great Fireball, or however you wish to proceed." Mako said relaxing once again.

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"that...... isn't exactly what...she needs. Actually.... The girl has a more effective way to gain strength. It will not hurt..... We've developed ways to protect the giver....." Selene trailed off, feeling the power well in Kira. Her chakra never waivered. There was little to show the strength flowing from behind calm blue eyes asside from their mental link and the knowledge of what she was about to do.


"I...If. you'll T..tr...trust uss..." The words were slured as her tongue struggled against her resolve, ultimately losing the battle for ineffective action for a small moment in time. She struggled over each sylable but still the phrase passed the point of thought as coherent statement. Kira allowed the shadows to bring her once more down to the ground, the sharpened tendrils seeming to sink back into her skin as soon as her feet hit the ground. her stance was shakey as she slowly moved foward, watching the boy's expression for permission before actually closing the distance past ten meters.


"We will teach you the ways of the nara clan if you grand us your trust. I swear on the souls of the lost, by my name Sorrow of humanity I will not let your life be another sin on this girl's flesh." The statement was meant to be encouraging....though it may or may not have been taken that way. Selene gave the boy a reassuring nod to go with her words, watching calmly to see his reaction.

If he gave consent Kira would finish the distance as Selene spoke again, explaining what would happen. From beneath her in time with Selene's statement a long tendril of shadow would move forward, linking his shadow to hers solely as a precaution. "She will need to bite your neck. It will be light and wont take too terribly long of course. The shadow imitation if you'd like will be the first trick we teach. Once single rat seal links molded yang chakra to allow your shadow to move. You might feel a slight bit strange. Through the execution by kiss she can draw the element from you, gaining it for yourself and taking a bit of your longevity in battle, only a taste to ensure the flow of chakra is witheld. By the time you count to ten she will be finished and the paralysis from both Shadow imitation and Execution by kiss will be released, allowing you to move once more. "


In time with the explanation Kira, if given the ok by Mako would allow her canines to dip lightly into his neck on the left side, making two small holes that would allow a tiny trickle of blood to flow past her lips, followed by a stream of bright red chakra. If he refused she would simply give a small nod, moving backward unless he attempted to harm her.

(TWC 2532)

Mako's mind raced, he now stood not ten meters from a weapon who has taken an embodied form and that was capable of speaking through the will of the ninja he now faced. What powers did this young girl possess?  Was he really in a position where he should trust the individuals in front of him?  Could he even refuse?  He had no answers having never experienced anything on this level before in his travels and, though Mako was calm and collective most of the time Kira could be able to see him visually shaking in this current position.  He watched as the girl came down and stood closer to him preparing to cast the shadow imitation jutsu the rudimentary ability of the Nara clan and he could feel his hand inadvertently reaching for his sword, and he felt he would be entirely unable to stop his own attack if the events continued.

It was then that the shadow of Kiranomo attached to his own and he lost the ability to control his body.  He was relieved because he did not want to fight but his fear continued to control his actions.  He would respond to Selene's final request for consent to,as it seemed, trade his blood for her Nara clan abilities.  Mako watched the activation of the jutsu closely and noticed how it worked and observed it fairly closely with what attention he could spare. 

As the girl approached with to bite him and every part of Mako screamed for release and doubted his decisions entirely the fear that would show through his paralyzed eyes would then fade as the neck bite proceeded, and unless he felt alienated or more than the expected amount of pain, the color would come back to him and he would regain his precious composure and become more relaxed.  However if the events seemed to turn sour he would have no other reaction to respond with an escape the moment the jutsu wore off. 

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The power was sharper then she would have expected. True to it's destructive power the strength of Katon welled up in her chest, warming her for mere moments before the intense burning sensation filled her entire existence. Selene rushed over as the last dribbles of fire energy flowed past her lips, catching her and whisking her away to lay the Hell's angel gently on the ground at the edge of the clearing for a few moments so she could regain her strength. "Kira. Breathe. I know your mother's blood....Just breathe. the pain always passes." As Kira was set against the ground the shadow imitation released, granting Mako the ability to move once more. She would take only what she needed to replenish her stores, a total of fifty ap from the konoha shinobi. It was quite the small price to pay considering what it would cost others....what it had cost others.


"True to our agreement as she rests I will teach you what you need. Form the seal Mako. Concentrate on your yang chakra and allow it to run black as night through your veins. Call it to pierce through your very existence. " The Avatar of sorrow returned to her new student, calling the cloak which had dropped in her rush to grab Kira to flow back across her form. It was one secret she wasn't yet sure she would teach him. naturally however Kira would not rest. Her hands weakly formed the single seal required to use the summoning jutsu, calling her wind body to the empty earth before her. A corpse with perfect likeness to Kira could be seen now laying with it's arms at its side. She pushed off from her spot laying back against a down turned rock, wincing in pain as her body threatened once more to give out on her. Finally she breathed the power of katon into the body, granting it a new element and any jutsus that Mako knew.

(Twc 2861)