Summon M for Murder [Solo/Training]

Satomi gave the sun the stink eye as the mass of incandescent gas seemed to single him out for it's nuclear wrath as the young genin trudged their the Tachibana forest, groaning as he sipped from a large plastic bottle. He was thankful that his father had better foresight than him to suggest that he take some water along for his hike, though he wished he had decided to take more as the bottle had already grown quite light in the short time since he had entered the forest. It felt like a losing battle to replenish the fluid he was losing through sweating, but at least he didn't have to stop tracking his target to do so. Ever since he managed to learn one-handed seals from Hikari, it opened a whole new world of multitasking to him—finally he could have lunch and train.

Today wasn't about training though, today Satomi was on a bird watch expedition. He had grown quite curious over the months since he and the avian menace he was currently in pursuit of had crossed paths. Some days the feathered brained glutton appeared to materialize from nowhere, other times he could swear he could hear the bird speaking human words. In both instances the child chalked it up to his imagination, but today he decided to follow the crow around the village. To no surprise the bird would spend most of its time as a feathery garbage disposal, collecting food scraps and getting pudgier. Perhaps it had gotten its fill, but the bird now led Satomi on a chase through the dense underbrush of the nature reserve in the blistering heat. Even the shade from the towering trees weren't of much help as the boy's steps grew more sluggish with each one until he was forced to stop and rest against one of the trees, propping himself up on his shoulder as he placed his water bottle to his lips for a much needed drink.

“Darn it! I'm already out!” Satomi's trill voice sung his frustration and disapproval at the situation as he rolled to his side to rest his back to the tree for additional support. The young genin's vision blurred as a flutter of feathers breach his brain, Satomi blinked in a failed attempt to clear his sight as a single black feather passed in front of him on its slow lofty descent to the forest floor. He would reach out to catch the feather in an open hand as his sight continued to worsen, hand clutching the feather as the world faded to black around him.

The world wouldn't be gone for long however as Satomi found himself gently nudged, the voice of a woman guiding him back as he stirred. Her voice was a soft coo that seemed to drift weightlessly through the air until it reached the boy's ears, the child would awake to find himself face to face with someone familiar. Her dark eyes peered into the boy's own blue pools as his sight sharpened and focused, it took him a moment longer to get his bearings and realize he was now flat out on his back on the forest floor looking. Perched on his chest the small body of a gluttonous little crow, Satomi couldn't exactly explain why, but he could tell that the bird seemed at least a small bit concerned for him.

“Oh dear me, I do believe I have a visitor.” Satomi's brow furrowed as he stared at the crow who almost appeared to have quite an amused expression as she watched the boy work it all out in his head. The child's eyes growing wide as his jaw dropped, words (if that could be called that) tumbled out into an incoherent mess.

“I-- you-- what? You can't talk!” The boy finally managed to construct some semblance of a sentence. “You're a bird!”

“And you're very astute.” The crow snapped back, its sharp beak clapping with emphasis. The bird fluttered several feet over the boy as he stirred and moved to sit up, the avian would again come to rest on the boy. Satomi winched slightly as the crow's talon pricked his scalp as it settled atop his head, the genin huffing as he tried to persuade her to find a better roost with a puff of air. The crow might have been just as stubborn as the child as it refused to budge and nestled into the nest of golden thread.

“You think a talking animal would be nicer.”

“You enter my home uninvited and I should be nice to you?” Satomi was positive that if the crow had been a dog she would have been snarling, but her sharp words made the hair stand on the back of his neck all the same as a shiver ran the course of his spine.

“You're home?”

“My home.”

“But this is Tachibana Nature Reserve.”

“Have you bothered to look around? You're not in Hoshigakure anymore.” The crow's beak clacked again as she took flight again to allow the bow to move freely and inspect his surroundings. How he managed to be so oblivious as to ignore the ethereal haze and spectral trees levitating several feet from the dark forest floor was anyone's guess, but Satomi felt like he was standing on a whole other world. He was partly right of course as shrill call pierced his ear as another crow announced itself, soon it would be joined by another and another. The child slowly turned on the spot to watch the audience grow until the tree branches were full of feathered fiends, their collectives eyes glaring with a haunting crimson glow. The chill in his spine spread out through Satomi to cause his entire body to spread as the crow he had come to know well in the months passed joined the congregation that had gathered above, her slightly larger size the only thing keeping her from blending in with the rest of them. “You may call me Ro.” The crow's voice was both alluring and ghostly as she spoke out to the child, Satomi couldn't help himself from wanting to listen as she continued.

“You have--”

'Been--

“Summoned--”

“To a murder.” Like a ventriloquist, her voice circled Satomi as it seemed to move from one group of crows to the next. The entrapping sound beckoned for the boy to follow it until his world spun on its own before the focus returned to the largest crow once more. “Your murder.”

“My mu-murder?” Satomi could feel the world start to move again as the haze thickened and began to devour the trees in darkness, Ro and the rest of the crows soon to follow until only the radiant glow of their eyes remained.

“Oh yes, this is no game, child. We have had our eyes on you for some time, we've witnessed the things you've done.” Ro trilled as the collective eyes brightened in their murderous gaze. “We, the crows of The Forest of Dreams, have witnessed your deeds and have judged you accordingly.”

“My deeds? But I've done nothing wrong! Certainly nothing that that I should die for!” Satomi could feel his body begin to tremble. First it was his arms and legs, but before land his entire body was noticeably shook as he tried to cut through the blackened fog with his eyes to no avail. The eyes peering back at him would flicker asynchronously, much like the shimmering stars at night over Haven—just with a much more menacing intent.

“Oh ho ho aaaaho~! You cannot deny it, clueless girl.” A deep gravely voice broke a long silence that had followed Satomi's outburst, a male voice that felt as ancient as time itself. The genin scanned through the eyes in hopes to find the source only to be confronted by a shadow emerging from literally nowhere right before his eyes as if merely having stepped out from behind a wall, as the figure materialized Satomi realized quickly that it wasn't a shadow at all, but a gargantuan bird. The avian towered with stature on par with some of the trees that had been devoured by the fog, Satomi forced to strain his neck to even get a look at the face of the 18 meter tall beast of feathers and intimidation. Its black feathers seemed to consume any light that dare grace them, the bird left to be a living void as it pierced Satomi's gaze with its own crimson glare. The young boy found himself unable to move in the presence of the colossus crow as if something was physically retrained him, another cold spell would wash over him as well as he could almost feel the surreal creature peering into his soul—judging him.

With a powerful snap of the bird's beak Satomi's full attention was summoned to creature's will. The crow's eyes seemed to narrow as it lowered its massive head to inspect his paralyzed prey closer, the genin wouldn't flinch an millimeter as the crow's warm breath washed over the boy's entire body with the wafting aroma meals past. The huge black beak casually nudged the boy if for no other reason than to amuse himself with the boy, a bellied chuckle resonated deep behind the breasts of the bird as he shot right back up to loom over Satomi.

“Aaaho ho ho! I've seen all I neeeed, aho.” The crow's voice boomed as the other crows began to squawk and carry on. “A judgment has been made, the sentence is death. The child before you will be no more and a murder granted.” Satomi's body still refused to move, helpless to hear the judgment out as what he could only assume was the leader of the Forest of Dream Crows declared  the boy's sentencing aloud.

While his body may have been paralyzed, he was still able to speak. His protests would however fall on deaf ears, or perhaps never reach them as they would be drowned out by the roar of chattering surrounding him. His throat began to burn as he tried with all his might to be heard; the sky turning black as the crows poured out from the fog to gather overhead. It was nearly impossible for him to tell where any one particular bird from another as they merged into a solitary mass, the crow judge retiring from the proceedings as he appeared to fold back into the shadows. Satomi still found himself unable to move however as something darted from the swarming black cloud over head, a sharp pain would erupt from his shoulder from the blur. The boy could manage to turn his gaze just enough to catch sight of a ragged edge of torn cloth, a hiss escaping from the boy as the pain simmered to a mild burning. He wouldn't have much time to thing about it however as he felt yet another pain and another, the blows came quicker and quicker as he was helpless to defend himself. Soon enough the he was under constant assault from the crows over head, groups of them taking turns pecking the child and attacking him with their talons.

Satomi howled as the claws of a bird caught him across the cheek, his eyes quickly filled with tears as the barrage of pain filled his body. All at once the swarm of crows would charge him all at once, eclipsing him as the tore away at his clothes and flesh. Beaks and talon would shred away both as if they had been made of rice paper, the boy slowly reduced to pulp as his horrid screams filled the ethereal forest around him. If he could even think through all the pain he probably wouldn't be able to imagine a slower, more gruesome way to die as his body was sacrificed to the crows. The boy would however be brought to his knees before eventually laid to rest on the cold forest floor, just a mound of frenzied birds concealing the gore as he wheezed and gasped in unfathomable pain. A bloodied mess that would be concealed by the dark haze of the forest as the crows suddenly scattered as quickly as they had come, only one remaining. The crow who called herself 'Ro' stood before Satomi as the boy was now free to lift his head to turn his only remaining eye to the creature as she seemed to look back in pity, before her was a large black scroll with red bordering. The scroll seemed to open with a motion of the bird's head to reveal a contrasting white interior nearly blinded the boy as his eyes struggled to focus on the writing contained within.

“Your sentencing has been carried out, but for you die we require that you accept your murder.” Satomi could only release a raspy squeak as he tried to speak, was she really asking him to sign a wavier to absolve them from his death? “Sign the contract with your blood and allow the Forest of Dream's will be done. Or... you can stay as you all, lying in pain and death for all eternity. Your choice.”

What kind of choice was that? Accept death or be trapped in a perpetual state of dying until the end of time. A single large tear would rinse away some of the blood under his lone eye, no one should have had to make such a decision and certainly not a child. The truth was there really wasn't a choice to even be made as he struggled to lift his hand to reveal it's shredded remains, muscle and bone exposed through the vicious gashes as he extended his index finger towards the next available slow on the scroll. He clearly wasn't the first to bet handed such a fate by the crows, nor did he feel he was the last as he yelped and squealed with each movement as he signed his name to the scroll.

“Very well, it is done.” Ro snapped her beak as the scroll rolled back up before disappearing in a puff. “The darkness will take you soon no doubt—let it—and when you wake you will find yourself where you last remember. Remember your murder, it will be with you for so long as we have need of you and you have need of us.” The crow's made little sense to Satomi as his body grew heavier until he was forced to rest his head on the ground once more, he just needed to rest. Ro solemnly approached the boy's shaded form to lean in and give the child a gentle peck as one might expect of a mother kissing a child good night, the darkness to much for Satomi to overcome as he slipped away.

A sharp gasp suddenly erupted from the boy as fresh air filled his lungs and the feeling of being drowned in his own blood disappeared, Satomi's eyes both snapped open to reveal the deep green of the forest under his collapsed form as he laid face down in the underbrush. His body still felt heavy, but sense of loom death had be replaced with an incredibly dry mouth and a headache. He managed to lift his hand enough to reach out with his finger tips to pull his water bottle towards him to find it surprisingly full with water as he feverishly dragged it towards himself to indulge in the much needed liquid of life, the genin guzzled nearly a quarter of the five liter container in one go as he tried to replenish the water he had lost. It was another moment or two before he realized he wasn't alone, a single pair of peering gray eyes watching him in an apathetic and yet somehow caring manner. The same swollen avian he had come to know dared to make herself known after what they had done to him, Satomi startling the bird into a feathery fury as he jumped up and growled.

“What the hell was that!?” It was Satomi's turn to snap. “You tired to kill me and then I just wake up here with you like nothing happened!?”

“Boy are you slow. Listen hon', do you know what a murder is?” Ro quipped with a heavily implied sigh.

“Of course I know what a murder is, it's an unlawful killing of someone!” The boy was quite smug in his response as he crossed his arm and sneered down at the bird.”

“It's also what a gathering of crows are called, you twit.” Unlike the heated child, the crows words were calm with just a hint of disdain for Satomi's ignorance. “Our ways are... unorthodox, but your trial and 'murder' was the ritual in which the Forest of Dream Crow's offer our summoning contract to those deemed worthy.”

“Offer!? My choices were sign or live in permanently dying!” Satomi snarled; Ro on the other hand seemed rather bemused by the child's reaction.

“Oh sweetheart, if you had refused you would have just ended up back in the waking world just as you are now. You were never in any real danger, the Forest of Dreams is a realm between the awaken world and what humans refer to as 'dreamland'.” Ro explained, showing no fear of the boy as she wobbled over to him on her twig-like legs. “Now listen up, I'm only going to tell you this once. If you forget then I'll assume you to be a moron. Summoning works like every other jutsu you have learned, including the use of hand seals. You will need to perform the fallowing in order: Boar, Dog, Bird, Monkey, and lastly, Ram.” The crow watched as the human child seemed to actually follow along with her instructions. “The stronger your chakra the less need there are for hand seals, but you will always need at least one no matter how strong you are—the seal of confrontation. At your strength now you probably could get by with that, but I would still practice them all as you never know.”

“Does that mean I can summon you whenever I want now?” Satomi's eyes lit up as a smile brightened his face, leave it to a fancy new technique to make a child forget about the horrible imagery inflicted upon him by the very creatures he could now summon at his whim.

“Well yes, but uh, it would be wonderful if you wou--.” Ro seemed to balk at the notion of being subservient to the genin, but she wouldn't be able to finish her sentence before she disappeared from existence in a small puff of smoke only to reappear right in front of Satomi's hand with similar puff. “--ldn't.” The bird's eyes narrowed as she stared up at the couching child with his hand planted on the forest floor before giving the boy's hand a hard and heavy peck, the child would reel as he clutched his hand and glared at the crow. “It's not to be abused, you twit! Maybe you could summon Tora instead sometime, maybe you two bird brains would get along!”

The crow quickly took to the sky in a huff before dismissing herself from the physical realm and back to the Forest of Dreams as far as Satomi would surmise, the genin left to inspect his hand as he watched the small tread of crimson trickle down his arm from the welt pecked into the back of his hand. The dream suddenly flooded back into the boys mind, Satomi's entire body trembled with one big shudder as the gruesome details returned. The child's eyes in a thousand yard stare as his arm was momentarily replaced by the vision of a mangled lump of flesh, missing fingers and exposed bone and eternal tissue before Satomi quickly hid it behind his back and used his other arm to collect his water bottle before heading home.