Secret Garden [Private]

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder."

A quaint saying, but one could not deny the courtly elegance of the white clad lady as she approached her destination. Pale boots which reached her thighs emitted no sound as they made contact with the solid earth below her feet. Though not immediately obvious, she moved with the grace of an experienced fighter- the way she looked over her shoulder frequently, or perhaps the way that her fingers twitched in anticipation whenever a stranger approached were both telling signs. Nonetheless, the noble of Wind Country kept her head held high in anticipation.

When a wooden door came into view above the street (if the packed earth could be called that), she stopped and raised a gloved hand in an attempt to knock. The sound attracted lingering stares from the civilian populace behind her- why would someone of the upper class bother with a small mining town anyways? Much less with the home of a worker. The man she intended to find- Hachi- was completely average to many eyes. Left a widower in a mining accident seven years ago, the man had turned briefly to drinking to dull his pain. Now, however, the man seemed to be functioning in a relatively healthy manner. But what a lot of the residents of the town did not realize was that he was the descendant of a former Suna ninja. He kept the hidden village supplied with metals at a good deal while maintaining his cover. She had learned about the fellow during her time at the court, and he was her best chance of sanctuary for the moment.

Amaterasu clutched a small bag in her arms- in it were the notes of her father, supposedly a clan ninja who had specialized in fire techniques. With it, she would hopefully learn to defend herself. She knew what happened to young girls that wandered alone- much less ones dressed such as she. Shuffling noises were heard inside. They grew louder and more distinct- the person who resided here was approaching. The door opened inwards, revealing a thickly tanned man with callouses covering his hands and a hair tie keeping back long black strands. His eyes widened slightly at her appearance.

"Our business is best conducted behind a closed door." she murmured softly to Hachi. Wincing inwardly at the way it sounded, she followed him into the house. The wooden floor creaked beneath their combined weight, and he led her into something resembling a kitchen- or perhaps a dining room?

He looked at her expectantly, eyelids slightly narrowed in concentration as he took in her appearance. She opened her mouth, pausing as she attempted to put into words the events that had led her to this location. "I am Amaterasu, a diplomat and genin of Sunagakure," she introduced, "and I am seeking a few days' refuge after the destruction of my home village by hostile Kumo forces." a pair of gray eyes widened. "At maximum, I will be here for seventy two hours. I promise not to intrude upon the inner works of your town, as I am only looking for a place to safely rest and train." the man's head tilted, as if considering his options.

"You can stay in my wife's room," he began in a slow voice, "and there is an empty field behind my house that will suit your needs. Just be careful around the wood. Don't set it on fire or nothing." she nodded and tilted her head.

"Thank you. You won't regret this."

WC: 592
Total WC: 592

Pale, deft hands unraveled a rough brown cord which closed the bag. Inside were kept numerous jutsu scrolls- a parting gift from her father. Pulling out the first that she grabbed, her eyes scanned the kanji over the scroll. It was written sloppily, typical of her father, but still legible nonetheless. This was a scroll for the genjutsu release technique, if she was not mistaken. She knew that genjutsu were illusions- the manipulation of one's brain chakra by an outside force. The thought of being a victim to such machinations left an unsettling feeling in her gut. She needed to protect herself. Protect others... A vicious mockery of a voice in the back of her head rang out. What others? You have no one. She dutifully told it to shut its mouth as she proceeded. The main way to handle such an assault, judging by the techniques outlined in the scroll, consisted of disrupting her chakra flow. Be it slowing it down to a stop entirely, letting out a sudden surge, or hell, even a combination of both, seemed the best way to proceed. Her burning chakra surged in preparation and anticipation. Amaterasu didn't want to admit it, but- the thought of combat made her feel excited. Such feelings were unexpected. Once again, she attempted to push them down and continue. Her head tilted a few degrees to the side as she studied the scroll once more. There was only a single hand seal required for this particular technique- tiger. Twisting her fingers into the unnatural hand seal position, Amaterasu felt her chakra flare up briefly. The woman blinked and proceeded to try and lower her conscious flow as much as humanly possible. Her vision began to blur and her breath quicken. Suddenly, she could hold it no longer, and her energy flared up suddenly, and stronger than before. Tilting her head, she thought on this turn of events. She wasn't REALLY lowering her chakra, was she? She was just bottling it up like a dam to a large reservoir. It should do the trick when it came to dispelling illusions, but... It was uncomfortable to attempt. Though, her mind helpfully supplied, not as uncomfortable as getting caught in a genjutsu and being killed in the heat of battle. Her blood churned unpleasantly. Battle... It would be unavoidable, with her not belonging to a village, but a cold grip of fear seized her spine. Amaterasu's breath sped up and her heartbeat raced. No. No. She couldn't afford this. Not now, not ever. She sighed and formed the tiger seal once more. This time, more conscientious of her energy flow, and more knowing of her limits, she managed to slow her chakra slightly less than before, and when she finally flared it up again, it didn't leave an unpleasant feeling in her gut. Only a few times and she had this down... The real problem was knowing she was in a genjutsu in the first place. But... That bridge could be burned when she got to it. It was time to move on.

When the young Akari noble pulled the next jutsu scroll from the tied bag, her hands no longer trembled with trepidation. Instead, eager eyes scanned the inscribed kanji which decorated the outside of the thing- Fire Style: Piercing Darts. She already knew she had a strong fire affinity, and possibly a minor second for lightning, but she'd rather focus on what she already knew she could accomplish. It was relatively simple- D-rank, one hand seal. However, once she learned this, it would still be her highest rank jutsu- and wasn't that a depressing thought? Nonetheless, she wanted to learn it to proceed. Amaterasu inhaled, exhaled, and opened the scroll. Her father's notes decorated the rough parchment in odd locations- he was not an organized man. A few diagrams drawn surprisingly well depicted what the jutsu looked like in function, as well as where the chakra needed to be directed for the technique to work correctly. Blinking slowly, the woman nodded. I can do this. I can do this. Setting the unfurled scroll down onto the hardened earth, she faced away from a young evergreen she was positioned next to (catching a tree on fire accidentally was a horrendous idea, especially when she had been specifically instructed not to) and twisted her fingers into an unnatural position. It was the tiger hand seal. Her bright, burning chakra flooded down her arms, into her hands, and out into the world around her. With a small puff of air, a dull orange needle with a sickly glow coalesced in the air not ten inches from her head. She paused for a minute, studying and examining the chakra-created object. How do I release it? She wondered vaguely, tilting her head to the side. Was she supposed to grab it and fling it forward, or- fwip! The instant the woman thought the word 'forward', the dart shot out in the direction she was facing. It wasn't particularly quick- in fact, she was confident she could move quicker than the bolt- but it was a certain start. It collided with the earth after traveling for around ten meters, fizzling out in a foul smelling smoke. Her nose crinkled, but she formed the hand seal once more and tried again. The result was the same, having not really changed anything, though she could have sworn that the dart was more of an orange than a brown. Once again, it was flung towards onto the earth without much second thought. Hm... Maybe she should try splitting it up? The technique did mention multiple created darts... Nodding to herself, she proceeded to attempt Piercing Darts again. This time, however, she tried to 'split' her chakra into several different prismatic rays as it exited her body. Clearly, the attempt had some merit, as this time not one dart had formed, but around four. They pulsed with a brownish orange color and radiated warmth. Though not burning hot, little trails of smoke curled above the created darts. Satisfied with her work, the sent the darts into the ground to further work on the technique. Inhaling deeply, and then exhaling. she thought deeper. Maybe she needed to focus more on her chakra control, on pulling the innate power outside of her body and then projecting it as the darts? It was worth a thought, and it wasn't like she hadn't tried anything similar already. She reached deep inwards into the inner networks of her chakra pathways, feeling the burning, radiant energy pulse with every bray of her heart. This time, when she formed the hand seal, she focused on drawing it out of her chest, down her arms, into her hands, and then out roughly a meter from each shoulder. With this attempt. burning chakra flooded her pathways and exited quickly. With several puffs of smoke, a total of six blazing darts appeared, with three on her right and three on her left. Focusing on the control she had over the flame creations, she gave a deep breath and shot them out as they exhaled. They burrowed completely into the ground with considerable firepower, becoming completely submerged in the earth below with hisses of smoke. They faded away after a few seconds, roughly twelve in total. Did she... Did she get it? Was that the entire technique? The Akari noble nodded to herself before attempting again. The burning power flooded throughout her body, and once again six burning darts appeared in the air around her. She smiled subtly. It wasn't the most offensive technique, but it could pack a punch if she was in a bind. Birds chirped overhead. A warm breeze of summer gusted by her bare arms. She looked down to her hands. Curiously, she summoned the orange darts again into the palm of her hand. Just a single dart hovered a few inches above her palm. She could feel the heat that practically radiated off the thing. The edges looked sharp, too- it wouldn't just burn any potential targets. Clenching her fist, the glowing, bright orange needle faded away with a small puff of smoke, which blew away in the wind. This was just a D ranked jutsu. It wasn't particularly strong, and it wouldn't do that well against better or tougher opponents, but perhaps it was enough just for now. There was always more to be trained, always more to be learned, but she was (mostly) content with the results she had achieved with the piercing darts technique. She could use it to advance to stronger techniques, as well, like a stepping stone. She decided to herself that she was going to learn one more D-rank fire technique that day before retiring. After all, she'd already learned how to release genjutsu, and it wouldn't do to cause undue stress. Just to be sure she had it down, her fingers twisted into the now familiar tiger seal. The burning feeling that trickled down her arms was slightly nostalgic, and the hot, bright orange darts created thudded into the ground below with a sense of finality. She was done here.

The blistering sun above left scorching red marks on her exposed shoulders and arms. The jutsu that she had decided to learn this time- the exploding flame shot technique- had sputtered out non spectacularly not moments after attempting to cast it. Much like the piercing darts, it was a d rank, but unlike the technique, it had five hand seals- five! Groaning to herself, the young woman tied her hair back with her signature(?) headband and thought long and hard about what she was doing. Piercing darts taught her how to channel and mold fire affinity chakra, as well as bring it outside the body. However, the piercing darts technique also was compressed. Exploding flame shot was more of a blanket ruination technique. In other words, she just needed to find a way to 'blow up' her fire elemental chakra and find a way to make it explode on impact. This, of course, was a lot easier said than actually accomplished. Her target for this exercise, an ordinary, round looking boulder, lay completely untouched and not at all scorched. It was like a testament to her own failure and shortcomings. It rested on the hardened earth like the damn thing was mocking her. For better or for worse, she'd master this jutsu just to crumble the rock to little pieces. First, in order to complete her objective, she went over the required hand seals which were depicted on her father's scroll. Tiger, ox, rat, bird, tiger. She went through the order once, trying to get a feel for the flow of the jutsu, before eventually speeding up. When she could complete the whole sequence in a relatively short amount of time forwards as well as backwards, she decided to move on. She channeled a light amount of chakra down her arms and into her hands. A little barely visible pulse emanated from her palms, but it wasn't enough. Heck, she'd even forgotten to add the physical element... Sighing to herself, she was careful to channel the fire type chakra into her hands through her body, and upon release, the air around her pale hands sparked. A small wave of heat was barely detectable above the location, but she managed to spot it nonetheless. She tilted her head, furrowed her eyebrows, and frowned lightly. Why wasn't the damn thing working? Not able to come across any obvious solution, she tried again. Flowing through the hand seals easily, she channeled twice as much chakra twice as quickly as before. The burning chakra rubbed painfully against her insides, but a little flame was expelled this time. Much like a candle in size and intensity, it extinguished itself after around six or seven seconds. The young woman exhaled. Where, specifically, was she going wrong? Perhaps she should try and condense it a bit, like the piercing darts? It wasn't the same technique, though, and couldn't be treated as such. Maybe she was doing it correctly and needed more practice? Her gut instinct said no to that one. Although... she did recall reading long ago in Suna that some fire techniques were best expelled from the mouth. It would likely be a good idea to try from there for a little bit to see if it would work better, even if only marginally. As long as she didn't do anything stupid and accidentally burn herself, it should be fine. Amaterasu nodded and proceeded. When she flew through the five hand seals, and focused her fire chakra to her throat and out of her mouth, a thin stream of fire exited. It was a little silly, and probably not usable in battle at all, but she still felt proud nonetheless. Now, to try it again. Much quicker this time, the Akari noble formed the five hand seals and exhaled a half meter wide sphere of flame from her lips. They cracked slightly under the intense heat. When the ball of fire hit a rock around thirty feet away, it exploded outwards into a much bigger blaze, averaging around five meters from side to side. Her eyes widened. Did she actually do it correctly? Looking back into the scroll which was on the hardened earth below, she re read it to see if there was anything she missed. Hmm... It says that users can exhale up to four fireballs. Maybe she should try that? Summoning her chakra into her hands, she tried the exploding flame shot technique once more, this time repeatedly turning 'on' and 'off' her stream of chakra. She managed to exhale a weird looking stream with widened points, but it wasn't quite four distinct fireballs. Hm... Maybe she needed to look at the problem from a different angle? Rather than just trying to cast it four times by turning on and off her chakra, she could do it with her breaths, as in exhaling and inhaling multiple times without turning off the physical jutsu. On the plus side, it would be easier to attempt for her chakra control, but on the negative side, she might accidentally inhale some smoke or fire. She'd have to be exceedingly careful, but... Thinking back on her old home that she was driven from, she scratched the side of her head awkwardly in a manner much unlike the Akari noble. She already was living on the streets, essentially. Realistically her situation couldn't get THAT much worse, could it? Nodding to herself, she formed the five hand seals required for the exploding flame shot technique, took in a deep breath and exhaled. The first fireball left without much fanfare, but before the fire affinity chakra could fade from her body, she quickly inhaled and exhaled once more. Surprisingly, this actually worked! A second (albeit slightly smaller and dimmer) ball of fire zoomed across the grassy clearing, exploding across the rock much like her previous attempts. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. Two more fire shots left her mouth in quick succession. She felt her chakra fade from her hands and her chakra reserves empty a larger amount than when just casting one fireball. But... Was that it? Had she just finished the jutsu in that short amount of time? The scorch marks across the slightly cracked (yes!) rock certainly seemed to say so. She exhaled once more, but this time in relief. She gathered all of her late father's scrolls into the pouch, sealed it up, and began the trek back to the house she was allowed to stay at for two more days. For the rest of the day, she would take a well earned break and attempt to plan more from there, but to further extend her chakra reserves could be more dangerous than she'd like. But for now, she just honestly wanted a nap.

[WC: 2,647]
[Total WC: 3,239]

The dawn of a new day came warmly and swiftly. A summer breeze drifted through the small house, and from her borrowed couch she slept on she could feel the sun's rays landing on her eyelids. As an Akari, though, they didn't sting or hurt- not unlike the power of a lightbulb, she could look directly at the source without any ill effects. She got up slowly, dressed in a simple white robe with black leggings and sandals, and grabbed her bag which was filled to the brim with the scrolls for various fire affinity techniques gifted by her father. The girl yawned hugely, stretching her arms, and quietly left through the back door of the small house so as not to wake the other person sleeping inside. She made her way to the backyard, through the woods, and into the familiar clearing where she had left cracks in the rocks the other day.

However, as the light filtered through the evergreens onto the grassy, hardened earth below, something unusual stood out to her. There were little cracks in the ground that weren't there previously. Foot prints? Foot marks? The grass was spread out as well, as if something heavy had been resting there. A single blue feather was resting on the ground. It shone iridescently in the sunlight, catching her eye. Not many birds had feathers like this. Was it lost? Either way, Amaterasu's interest had been piqued. She stared at the feather for a moment longer before placing it in a hidden pocket up her sleeve. Next, she eyed the tracks left on the ground below for further clues. They seemed to lead off into the distance... The sun was still in the eastern corner of the sky, though. She had several hours before she should start heading back to her place of temporary residence.

The journey through the forest was beautiful, but rather uneventful. Birds chirped in warning at her arrival- though none carried the bright blue plumage that had piqued her interest. The woods grew thicker and thicker as she wandered away from civilization. Dense  foliage shielded her skin from the sun, only bare trickles of light able to enter to the forest's undergrowth. She scratched her head. Perhaps this wasn't such a good idea? Judging by the angle of the light rays, it was still before noon. Amaterasu made the executive decision to pursue this trail for around one more hour before heading back. She stretched hugely, each arm scraping the wood of nearby tree trunks. Her back cracked loudly, but not loud enough for people (or animals) farther away than a few meters to hear her. She proceeded even further, coming across a small forest clearing decorated by fallen logs and various types of fungus which had grown on the deceased plants. It was relaxing to look at. A cloud overhead blocked the majority of the harsh sunlight which trickled down to the location for a few moments, encompassing the whole area in a peaceful shade.

The sound of a branch creaking behind her startled her out of her reverie. A kunai found its way into her hand and she whipped around to find- a peacock. It was a large, azure covered creature. Its legs were firmly perched upon a low-sitting branch of a large tree, and its head was tilted curiously. Two pairs of eyes met. For a moment, nobody moved. She looked away first, her eyes trailing down to the forest floor. She reached into her sleeve slowly, so as not to startle the majestic bird, and pulled out the feather she had found earlier. Two wide eyes blinked. A sudden gust of air and the feather was gone, clenched in the beak of the peacock. How did he move so fast? She was a trained ninja, and this was just- a possibility worked its way into her mind, but she had to ask to affirm her suspicions.

"Are you a summon?" Amaterasu asked curiously. The peacock craned its neck downwards to look at her further. She blinked and the feather was gone. The bird opened its beak and a surprisingly deep voice answered her.

"Who's asking?" the voice was smooth and deep, like the deepest currents of a vast river. Something about it seemed quietly dangerous, like she could be swept beneath the surface and drowned where nobody could find her. The Akari thought it best to answer honestly, and quickly as well.

"Amaterasu Akari." she replied without much fanfare. The bird tilted his head in contemplation.

"Akari, hmmm? I haven't met one of your clansmen in many years." he stated. As if waiting to see her reaction, or perhaps baiting her, he continued. "After I killed him, that is." Another shiver ran down her back. Was this going to be her last? If it was, she would go down fighting, but she needed to know more first. Perhaps there was more to this story than met the eye?

"What was his name?" she asked softly. The azure feathered creature shook his head.

"His name was Ryomaru Akari. A former missing ninja of Konoha who hoped to contract us in hopes of seeking revenge against a perceived wrong." So there WAS more. The name Ryomaru seemed vaguely familiar to the girl. Had she read it somewhere, perhaps? Maybe her father told her a story once when she was little. Missingnin were always a popular subject with the man, and they usually met grisly ends in his spun tales. She nodded. "Of course, he wouldn't take 'no' for an answer. When he attacked, I simply defended my flock." That made sense. She'd attack someone who threatened her or her family, too. "What is it you seek, I wonder?" he contemplated aloud. "Money? Fame? Power?"

She thought on this question for longer than she would have liked. The answer came slowly to her after around a minute of silence between the two. "I want to live." before he could reply, she continued. "My goal is to do something spectacular. I want to do one thing- anything- and do it so well that everyone will remember me. I don't know what it is, or how I'll do it, but... I want to shine." the peacock nodded in response. He spread his wings in an odd manner, as if stretching. His whole body shook, feathers rustling down to his large train of a tail.

"That is a noble goal." he began. "You've shown some aptitude being able to track me down to here. Perhaps I'll allow you a contract with us if you figure out what it is exactly you want to do before we leave the forest. I, of course, will be following the whole time."

Amaterasu nodded in response, turning on her back and gesturing with a twitch of her hands for the large bird to follow along. The duo walked in silence from the shaded clearing. The thick foliage above was growing dimmer. She'd been out for quite a while, it seemed. It would be a good idea to return before sunset, especially out in the wilderness like this.

The Akari noble thought further on his request. What DID she want to do? Money was not that much of an interest to her. Power was a necessity for her survival, but she didn't necessarily crave it. She breathed in deeply and exhaled. Her eyes saw perfectly in the dark forest, despite the fact that she had yet to unlock her clan's doujutsu. The Golden Eye only really boosted her speed and resistance to her own light release- she'd heard of a second, hidden stage, however, that would supposedly allow her to create solid light constructs, but she didn't know of anyone immediately who had activated it. She didn't need the eyes, though, at least not at the moment. She thought back to the diplomacy jobs she had conducted back at her home. She liked the feeling of belonging, the feeling of genuinely helping others out. She had felt safe in Suna in a way that had remained with her long after the Kumo takeover.

She knew her desire, now. It was to create a safe haven. A place where she could belong. The thought of starting a new village seemed like a bad idea, but maybe creating something like a hideout, or an organization? A missingnin organization seemed like a bad idea, as missing ninja seemed to be the only people who would be interested. But perhaps they didn't need to commit any crimes? Maybe they could be like a business, hired mercenaries. That seemed like a better idea than, well, a glorified crime ring. She nodded to herself. Maybe if the peacocks could help her...

The sky above darkened further as the duo crossed a particularly rooty undergrowth. She had managed to avoid tripping or getting her sandaled feet snagged, thankfully, and had barely missed falling into a patch of poison ivy- something she was sure that the peacock didn't miss. The girl let out a sigh and nodded to herself. She knew what she wanted to do now, and she knew at least partially how to go about accomplishing such a thing. But what she really and truly needed most of all was the support of a summoning race like the peacocks.

"I know what I want to do," she said simply, her soft voice fading into the trees. The peacock blinked in response when she turned her head to look at him.

"Ah, yes, I had figured as such when you nodded your head like that. Now, enlighten me. Which design have you concocted that is so noble to earn our respect- and much more importantly, our trust?" he answered smoothly. Anxiety trickled in. She had one shot at this, and she had no intentions on screwing up- now or ever. Especially not with something so vitally important.

"I want to create a safe haven for people like me. Not necessarily a village, but an organization of some sort. We could have a hideout, no one would be in charge of us, and we'd be free to act as we pleased." the bird nodded at her answer for her to continue. "I plan to recruit people like myself- ninja, samurai, perhaps even a few stray criminals willing to turn over a new leaf. We'll start off with smaller contracts to gain funds, but once we do, we'll pile it together and get something nice. Probably not something too fancy, of course, but... Something that would keep the rain off our heads. Once we get strong enough, we'll take stronger and stronger contracts until we can make a name for ourselves." The bird blinked and nodded his head.

"That is a better goal than I had anticipated, coming from a human." he began. Despite the jab, she was not insulted. It was a compliment, after all, no matter how poorly worded it was. "We'll be willing to assist you, but you'd have to gain our respect individually. A few of the younger birds seem like the best place to start. You've given this quite a bit of thought." she hadn't even noticed, but they'd reached the edge of the forest and were back in the backyard clearing. She wiped a bit of sweat from her brow and looked at the bird she'd traveled with for the past few hours. "My name is Asagao. Will you, Amaterasu Akari, accept this contract as proof of our alliance?" his foot was raised. She was meant to shake it. Amaterasu nodded and accepted the hand (foot?) shake.

"Yes, I do." she stated simply, determination in her eyes.

As they came into contact, a scroll appeared on the ground in a puff of smoke. Asagao gestured over to it with his left wing. Gently, she unfurled it. A series of exed out names were listed in a reddish brown liquid- blood. She nicked her finger with a kunai and wrote the kanji for her name upon the scroll. Amaterasu Akari.

"I wish you luck, Amaterasu. For now, however, it's getting late. I recommend a rest." With a puff of smoke, both were gone.

[WC: 2,028]
[Total WC: 5,267]

It was the third and final day that Amaterasu Akari was permitted to stay in Hachi's house- much less the village. For her last twenty four hours, she had found herself back in the clearing where she had learned genjutsu release, piercing darts, exploding flame shot, and contracted the peacocks for summoning. Today, she brought her father's scrolls for examination, and wanted to learn the final one- the phoenix fire technique. It was a c rank ninjutsu, fire affinity (of course), and from what she could tell from the diagram it had six hand seals- Rat, Tiger, Dog, Ox, Rabbit, and Tiger. The jutsu would originate from her mouth, fire up to six times, and go up to 30 meters- ninety feet. She laid the scroll gently on the ground and practiced each hand seal slowly, forwards and backwards to make sure she got the order correctly and to memorize it. Mistakes could be fatal with fire affinity jutsu specifically. Burning off limbs was only fun when it was the other person after all. She decided to practice the sequence for a few more minutes before proceeding to channel chakra and spit out the fireballs that the scroll said would appear.

Okay. Now it was time to actually try the Phoenix Fire technique. Going slowly through each of the six hand seals, and then channeling chakra. Her throat grew warm with the pressure of her fire affinity rising up, but a cloud of smoke exited her nostrils and she ended up coughing. "Damn it!" she hissed viciously, sputtering as she did so. She tried it again with similar results. Was this just like piercing darts and exploding flame shot. Was she channeling too much chakra? Not enough? Was it not going to the right location? She grumbled to herself, straightening her back into a posture that had been drilled for years. She closed her eyes for a moment. When she opened her eyes, they were brimmed with a new focus and determination. She flew through the six hand seals as fast as she could, chakra brimming with fire energy as she did so. She exhaled a powerful breath, and to her great surprise, a five meter fireball was spat out. It flew much faster and stronger than the exploding flame shot- and it extended farther as well. When it reached the rock, it exploded outwards and splintered the boulder into many little pieces.

The sound of a loud crash and echoing screech interrupted her short-lived victory. Her head whipped towards the small mining village. A small wind picked up and blew by her- and the scent of iron and smoke lingered in the air. She'd recognize the smell of a battlefield anywhere. It was a horrible time for bandits to invade the town. But perhaps it was opportune at the same time? If it was any earlier or later, she wouldn't have been nearby, and she was the only person nearby for miles who stood a fighting chance against the bastards who thought it wise to take anyone else's hard earned materials and precious lives. Nodding to herself, she sprinted towards the carnage as fast as her pale, toned legs would carry her. One.. Two... Five. There were five people who did not belong, potentially more. She needed to kill them as fast as possible before they could do anything else. Her hands flew through the six hand seals once more, and this time she exhaled not one but three balls of fire. Two of them hit the bandit closest to her in the stomach and head, and he collapsed unmovingly into a heap on the ground. The second hit another bandit's who was aiming to get into a house. He screamed loudly, the five meter ball distinguishing on impact and leaving him with second and third degree burns all the way up and down his arm. He pulled out a tanto which was sheathed at his waist and charged forwards, knowing that his only chance was to end her right now before she could attempt any more jutsu.

Unfortunately for him, she knew two more that would prove to be incredibly useful. A third bandit noticed her and was approaching at a forty five degree angle, roughly twenty meters away from the second. She held her arms at the ready, waiting until they were at around twelve meters away to fly through some more hand seals and shoot some Piercing Darts in their general direction. Six were created. Two went into bandit number two, piercing his throat and cranium. Four went into bandit number three, piercing both his shoulders, his heart, and his neck. They collapsed on the ground without much fanfare. These were her first kills, but... She didn't feel anything. No joy, no remorse. She was just doing what she needed to do.

A part of her wanted to have more of a reaction, but... That could wait until people's lives weren't at stake. There were two more bandits that she could see, each around thirty meters away in front of her and wielding katanas. They likely wouldn't fall for the trick she had just pulled, waiting for them to get close and then gutting them with a dart. Besides, most of her techniques had some form of cooldown when used- meaning that Phoenix Fire and Piercing Darts were off the table until later. She readied her hand, and in a manner much unlike herself, started running towards the man on the right. The girl quickly went through five hand seals as she ran, and managed to exhale three exploding flame shots towards the man, and one towards the final one she had yet to confront. His legs collapsed with the impact of the first, his chest burned with the impact of the second, and the third went over his head. Damn. A quick kunai to his skull and retrieved with a deft motion of her fist as she ran by ensured his demise.

Finally, there was one foe remaining. All of her offensive jutsu were gone on cooldown, and she only had the throwing knife in her hand to defend herself. Amaterasu grimaced and adopted a fighting stance, the man doing the same as he approached. When he was within three meters of her, she bowed. When he did the same, she nearly burst out laughing. As he did so, she darted forwards, foot arcing upwards into his crotch. He keeled over for a moment, and that moment was enough to stab him in the ear with the kunai and twist his neck at a sickening angle, resulting in a highly audible 'crunch'. She yanked the weapon out of his ear and took a step backwards as he fell to the hardened earth.

She did it. She defended the townsfolk from the bandits, but... Word would spread. Normal travelers didn't use advanced ninjutsu or ninja weapons to take down assailants. Quickly, they'd find out that she wasn't just a ninja, she was a diplomat noble from Suna- one who certain circles would pay quite the pretty penny to see captured or dead. Amaterasu slouched in on herself. She couldn't take the road, but... The forest was always an option. Panting for a moment to catch her breath from the exhilarating experience, she raced towards the woods behind Hachi's house, not even bothering to check if the man was still alive. He could take care of himself- and besides, she couldn't afford to be seen. The Akari noble fled through the clearing, scooped up her remaining scrolls from the ground near the shattered boulder, and sprinted through the woods. She crossed roots, ivy, fungus on her way, and she didn't even stop until she arrived at the clearing where she had met the peacock she had somehow managed to contract.

The girl took in a deep breath, relaxing her back against one of the very few tree stumps without some kind of mushroom or mold growing across its trunk. The sun was getting lower in the sky, and she needed to set up camp. As she did so, she thought back to the jutsu she had learned, the friends/summons(?) she had made (contracted?) and above all felt satisfied with her work. There was no need to complain about the lot she had been handed in life. The bodies of the bandits she had slaughtered ran through her mind. It could always be worse.

[WC: 1,407]
[Total WC: 6647]

(exit)

Claiming: 33 stats
500 words to http://naruto-role-play-rpg.forumotion.com/t22313-genjutsu-release
1000 words to http://naruto-role-play-rpg.forumotion.com/t34606-fire-style-piercing-darts
1100 words to http://naruto-role-play-rpg.forumotion.com/t29873-fire-release-exploding-flame-shot
2000 words to http://naruto-role-play-rpg.forumotion.com/t33734-peafowl-of-a-feather-summon-race
2000 words to http://naruto-role-play-rpg.forumotion.com/t22573-katon-hosenka-no-jutsu-phoenix-fire

47 words to be tossed into the void I guess