Master of the House [HFE] (Aki)

The teen folded her arms curtly and sat off to the side of preparations. In all honesty, she wasn't particularly interested in attending. She tilted her head forwards, and let the falling hair expose the nasty cauterizations and impalement scars that littered the left side of her body. For the time being, she refused to have them completely removed- they served as a reminder. Weakness could not be tolerated. Only the strong could survive. After a moment, she lifted herself up. She was getting paid to help out, might as well do the minimum amount of work so she could get her pay check and book it back to whatever secluded corner of the world she wanted to clam up in. Truth be told, Amaterasu much preferred to stick to her own devices, and no one here particularly caught her eye. Perhaps if someone interesting showed up, she'd strike up a conversation, but... Her expression soured. Most people here weren't worth her time, anyway.

She had fire jutsu to perfect, a challenge to initiate, and maybe someone to impress in the form of her strange mentor figure, Kenshin. In truth, she wasn't quite sure how she felt about him, but as long as the relationship was mutually beneficial, there was no real need to cut it off so soon.

[WC: 219]
[Total WC: 219]

Her eyes- well, eye- widened in curiosity. A strange woman stood before her, and she quickly took in her appearance. Blonde hair, moderately dressed. Golden eyes. Something about the way she held herself was different from everyone else- was she a shinobi? She couldn't tell for certain. Perhaps it'd be best to wait until later before making any assumptions. First impressions, after all, were dangerous and often quite wrong in their field of work. She nodded slightly as she asked about her abilities. "Yes, that is fine. It's what I'm getting paid for, after all. With what do you need assistance?" Amaterasu asked politely. Despite her normally curt personality, she could at least put on a pleasant face for strangers.

She titled her head once more as she observed the stranger's mannerisms. The party behind them continued onwards behind them, despite them. The young woman tilted her head forward as she listened. Should the stranger explain what she needed, she would continue. "Alright, where am I going and what am I fetching?" A pause. "Oh, I don't think I've gotten your name. I'm Azar Shiraname," she introduced the fake name smoothly, having practiced the lie for quite some time. It wasn't a good idea to reveal her real name, after all, especially when she didn't know their intentions.

[WC: 218]
[Total WC: 437]

The stranger beckoned, and used her pseudonym. Wordlessly, she followed the older woman towards a back staircase. She introduced herself as Akihana. Though Amaterasu hadn't heard the name before, it did sound somewhat familiar- perhaps Kenshin had mentioned it offhand. She decided not to press- she couldn't afford to get into any trouble right now, and it was best to lay low and do her job. She listened intently as Akihana explained what they needed to do- prepare some makeshift fireworks, due to a short order or something along those lines. She nodded along before offering her reply. "I'm afraid most of my katon jutsu are- well." Burning flesh a deafening explosion a broken pipe sliding into her e y e-

"...Not quite suited for an event such as this." she finished, leaving the other to guess what she had meant. Perhaps the burn scars would be telling- they were self inflicted, after all. The night sky twinkled above as the older woman gently pushed open the door. "I suppose should worse come to worse, I could try a Flame Bullet, but that would be quite risky since they tend to travel along the ground. Don't want to burn anything down." she tilted her head. "I don't suppose you know of any? I'm a quick learner when it come to katon specifically." The Meijin clan blood ran strong in her veins. It was less that she was a quick learner, and more that she couldn't learn ANYTHING that wasn't non elemental or attuned to fire. It was a condition she had grown used to, but in certain times frustrated her to no end. On the other hand, it left her much more... in tune with the flames she created, so she supposed in this circumstance it wasn't too inconvenient. She was just thankful Akihana didn't need any lightning or wind jutsu, or they would've been in trouble. She tilted her head. "Actually," Amaterasu began. "If you know how to create shadow clones, we could probably make it more impressive. More than one technique at a time and all that. Would that be something you're interested in?"

Should the other kunoichi explain, she would listen intently, nodding where appropriate, and prepare to practice the techniques when she was finished.

[WC: 378]
[Total WC: 815]

So far, young Azar was keeping up well, lending credence to the fact that she either is or was a capable kunoichi in her own rights. In fact, not only was the girl keeping up but she was adding to the solution Akihana had in mind. "That's a wonderful idea," Akihana complimented as they stood out underneath the open sky where the last of the fireworks were being spent in a shower of blue, green and pink. "Here, I think two clones of each of us might be enough, that we I can show you Fire Annihilation all at once."

The time was running out and the needed something that would go far up in the sky. Putting together the hand seals for the shadow clone, Akihana focused her chakra. Too nervous to make the jutsu in time to worry about the usual ramifications that came with her chakra usage, the golden eyed Akari concentrated and a moment later, two soft pops sounded on the roof, two identical Akihanas forming into existence.

"Just try to divide your energy equally between the clones," the woman advised, looking at Azar encouragingly. "Think of it as sending a part of you for safe keeping to another place." Should the fiery young woman succeed, Akihana would congratulate her quickly before raising her hands to show the girl the horse seal for Great Fire Annihilation.

She nodded at Akihana's remark before continuing. "I'm not quite sure how to perform it yet- oh." Two identical copies of the blonde formed side by side, and Amaterasu found herself tilting her head. "Divide it between the clones, hmm..." A pause. What the hell. She might as well give it a shot. She mimiced Akihanas clone seal, and focused deep within herself to her inner fire. It flared intensely at her attention. How was she supposed to go about dividing it...? Tentatively, she reached out, only to recoil as it lashed back at her in turn. Maybe she needed to think about it in a different way- and they only had a limited time, so it'd be best for the young girl to hurry up. After a moment, she reached out a tentative finger, slowly beckoning it forward. A little blue wisp reached out and caught on her index. She cradled the candle and blew on it, feeding it more and more chakra until she shoved it out all at once. The Meijin opened her eyes to see a... somewhat identical copy of herself standing beside her. Interestingly enough, she observed with detached interest. This one didn't have any scars.

The two looked each other eyes to eye. Acid yellow met acid yellow, and she could tell her clone was thinking the same thing. After a moment, both of her turned to Akihana, observing her perform the Horse seal. Was that the only one for Great Fire Annihilation? Surely an A rank jutsu would have more-- then again, Hiding in Ash and Dust didn't have any, and it was the same rank. She tilted her head forwards in contemplation before raising it to the sky. Her hands twisted from the still held clone seal into the unfamiliar form of the Horse. Inhale. Exhale. Fire chakra didn't get its strength solely from the spirit, she had learned. It got its power from the breath. She filled her lungs with as much air as she could... and let it go. The fire within her swelled to nearly unbearable heights, and it wouldn't surprise her if it looked like there were lines of molten fire where her veins should be. Her bloodline held many odd effects, and she had noticed this one on occasion when performing some higher ranked jutsu such as this one. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale...

The fire swelled. She opened her throat, her chakra, and watched as a blue stream of flame that blistered and chapped her lips as it passed exited her mouth. It slowly made its way skyward, speeding up exponentially the longer it went before erupting into an azure colored burst that singed her skin even from down here. Another identical one burst to a little ways to her left, and she didn't have to look to know that it was likely the work of her recently created clone. After a moment or two, she would turn back to Akihana. "I have the chakra to do this a couple more times, though I fear my stamina isn't the best." A pause. "How much longer do you think we have?"

[WC: 524]
[Total WC: 1,339]

Akihana watched the yellow eyed kunoichi struggle a title to first perform the shadow clone technique and then attempt the fiery jutsu usually used to devastate battlefields. From her own observations, the older ninja noted that the latter seem to come easier to Azar. Perhaps the young lady had a natural affinity to fire? Perhaps she was just out of practice with her yin and yang chakra? Whatever the reason, Akihana didn't feel it polite to ask. No, what was more important was to encourage her young partner.

"You're doing great," she called out, smiling warmly at the younger girl's attempt. "Now lets spread out and make this count?' With that, she would direct all the clones and herself into a star shaped formation across the vast rooftop, keeping each version of the females at least thirty feet apart with their mouths ready, chins pointed upwards to the sky and their fingers ready to perform the horse seal.

"We'll all take turns, including the clones," she called out, her voice soft yet still carrying in the pleasant evening breeze. "That way, we won't all be expending our stamina all at once and by the time its our turn again, we would have regained some strength. If we each do one jutsu per minute, it means we will have five minutes of rest before its out turn again. And the display would look like a pattern to the audience."

By that calculation, a couple of times would give them the twenty minutes they needed for the backup fireworks to arrive.

And then perhaps she could offer to heal the girl who looked far too hurt for someone her age.

"Ready?" she looked over to Azar's clone, giving it the signal to go first. 'Set. Go!"

Amaterasu nodded at the praise, showing no outward emotion but feeling a swell of something that was most likely pride deep within her gut. After a moment, Akihana directed themselves and the clones into a star (pentagon?) formation, each holding the horse seal and planting it skywards. After she said that the group would be taking turns, she tilted her head. That made sense to her- no need to expand her limited reserves so quickly. After she exclaimed 'go!', she watched as the unscarred clone turned towards the sky, providing her an unusually candid mirror of the person she might've looked like had the attack not occurred. Short, wavy hair that fell to her chin. Pale, unblemished skin that she knew some boys from her home town would've been into. At her home town, most people were naturally tan due to the harsh sun and conditions- she would've likely been seen as exotic. A pause. Liquid blue flame shot skywards, enhanced by her Meijin bloodline. It spiraled up into the air, and after a moment burst into wide sheet of flame that blanketed the sky in shades of blue, azure, and even a few hints of violet and green. She didn't know her fire could do that.

She didn't know her fire could create, instead of destroy.

The thought was sobering.

A minute passed. The next two turns were Akihana's and her clones. Her fire, Amaterasu noted with interest, possessed almost an ethereal light, not unlike an aurora borealis. Bright red with hints of gold, violet, green... The flames of the two kunoichi were wildly different. Akihana's embodied the warmth she seemed to possess as a person, enveloping them in a gentle heat not unlike a warm hearth on a winter day. Hers, on the other hand, seemed to be... A pause. It reminded her of watching a volcano erupt from far away, or a violent natural storm from its eye. Horrible and awesome, but you couldn't look away. Inhale. Exhale. Another minute passed. It was Akihana's clone next. She stayed silent through its Great Fire Annihilation, taking the spectacle in with an uncomfortable feeling in her chest, and before she knew it, another minute had passed and it was her turn.

Horse seal. Focus on her fire. Inhale... Exhale. Inhale... A blue line left her lips, reaching for the sky with blistering fingers before exploding outwards in a supernova that hurt her eyes. Her chakra reserves seemed to have taken a hit... Could she really do this four more times? She caught her breath as the five minutes passed before exhaling another blaze. Slowly, she was getting a little dizzy. Another five minutes. Blue fire. It was starting to hurt to breathe through her mouth. Five more minutes. The flames were starting to weaken. The final five- she exhaled her final pyre, and practically collapsed backwards. She turned to Akihana, covered in a thick blanket of sweat with an uncomfortable haze over her eyes that left the control freak highly uncomfortable.

"I'm sorry," she apologized, shaking her head. "I'm afraid I'll have to retire for the night." Her clone dispelled to the side at that exclamation. "I burnt myself out. I suppose... I suppose we'll meet again, yes?" She didn't even bother putting on the fake smile she had previously, leaving the world- or perhaps just Aki- to see her scarred face for what it was. Curt, to the point, and really uncomfortable in this situation. She nodded to the stranger- acquaintance at this point, perhaps, before making a short bow and heading down the flight of stairs carefully that she had previously used to get up to the roof.

After a few minutes of leaning against the wall, she turned to find her employer. She needed to tell him she had to go home early after the fireworks debacle- surely the man would understand. And if not, well, she didn't lose much. There were many more ways to get the money she had earned.

[WC: 666]
[Total WC: 2,005]

(Exit)

Claiming:

10 stats
1,250 words towards being taught http://naruto-role-play-rpg.forumotion.com/t22940-fire-release-great-fire-annihilation
750 words towards being taught http://naruto-role-play-rpg.forumotion.com/t22575-shadow-clone?highlight=shadow+clone

Approved Amat <3