The Calm Has Ended [Saya, Mission]

Sun Jun 13, 2021 11:39 pm

Mission:

The sky was crying.

Gone was the beautiful, sea blue sky that usually graced the skies of Island Country- instead covered by a heavy blanket of slate dark clouds that threatened to block out what little light could filter through the covering. Lighting flashed with aplomb and bluster, lighting up the ground below with bluish-white lighting. Civilians scramble for cover, rushing into whatever buildings they can- it doesn’t matter if they know the owner, or if it’s somewhere they’ve never been before. The storm is dangerous, and staying outside is even more so. Saying that the rain was falling in buckets would be an understatement- the constant deluge of water is like standing under a high powered shower. Wind whips and howls in a banshee-like scream, peeling off roof tiles and throwing debris into the air. There’s a cracking sound, terrible and echoing, and then an earth shaking ‘thoom’. A falling tree, no doubt to be joined by more by the end of the night. The ninja world might face many threats by each other, but there was one thing to which they all found each other at their mercy. Mother nature herself. Today she raged, and all they could do was weather the storm until her ire was sated.

Yet, despite all of this, a singular girl stands among the storm- clutching a large umbrella close to her, the device doing little to shield her from the rain with how strong the force was battering the village. The mission had come via messenger, while she was sheltering from the storm with her family- she was to rendezvous at this point with other ninja, and from there evacuate any villagers unable to seek shelter from the storm. It sounded simply enough on paper, that was to be certain, but as she choked on water blown into her mouth she realized the sheer magnitude of the task she was set against. Would she be forced to undertake this mission alone? She would look back and forth through her current shelter, an overhang at a shop in an otherwise abandoned street, hoping for reinforcements. If nobody showed up soon, she would have to simply gather her courage and face the elements solo.

“So this is the world itself scorned.” She would whisper to herself, unheard below the storm.

[392]

[392/3000]

Sun Jun 13, 2021 11:56 pm

Saya was woken from a beautiful slumber. in her dreams the sun shone brightly across the crystal clear waters of a beach. She laid out in a soft chair, soaking in absolutely no sun thanks to three different high spf sunscreens that actually protected her pale skin from what would be a horrific burn later, and in her hands was a fresh bit of wood, half carved into the shape of a skull.

"You can see the gifts I hold Sayatria... Find me. " The voice of the vanir woman had plagued her dreams for the past week, beckoning for her to understand the history of her people. Scenes of ships and great feasts found her mindscape more often than not. And then the roof collapsed. She was brought reeling back to consciousness as the storm that had barelly been a trickle when she laid down for a nap made quick work of the tattered remains of the home her mother had given her. It was inevitable. Shifting past the debris she found her way from the wreckage and pulled at invisible strings to draw the rest of team puppet to the surface.

"This... This would probably be a good time to point out that you were asked to give aid in case this storm gets dangerous." Pinochio was quieter then normal, though it wasn't clear whether that was a product of the severity of the situation or the howling wind that stole the words from his lips. Apparently it was time to work.

She took quickly to the rooftops. She knew the mission details. It was written on the faces of fearful villagers rushing to find safety in the training center. She reached out as she moved across the fields of terror. Her chakra threads now a brilliant blue scooped up a smal child. He was shivering head to toe, a puppy clutched in his crossed arms, but when she captured him with her chakra threads, the practically flew from his place in the corner of an alleyway, through the streets, and into the arms of a ninja ushering people into the training hall. Finally at her destination, she noticed a girl standing against the storm with an umbrella. That.... Doesn't seem like it would be as effective as she would expect.

"Oy. I'm Sayatria. I'm here to make sure everyone gets out safe from the storm apparently. My teacher forgot to mention the mission before now, so I think i'm a little bit behind. Are you out here to help or do you need aid fleeing the storm?" In truth Pinochio had known she would have a partner for this particular task. As incredible as team puppet was, this many people would require more then just a small girl and her dolls to take care of. She'd still try though. Her arms shifted and flashed as skillful artistry with a human body pulled person after person from the danger. On the ground Pinochio was waving frantically for groups to rush towards safety. Coach scooped up several people at a time, slipping them into the hatch on his back for safety before stopping at building to unload.

(TWC 527)

Mon Jun 14, 2021 12:16 am

At what point does earth turn to mud? When does the water raise high enough to determine that land has become lake? The lines of reality slowly blur as the storm rages onwards, and the world is obscured by fiercely falling liquid. She clutches at her umbrella, feeling foolish, feeling rooted in place, She should really just go, at this point. What good would be gained from standing here, in the freezing weather? Her efforts would best be spent helping out the civilians nearby- the people who truly needed assistance in finding access to places they could weather out the storm. Briefly, her thoughts turned to her family- safe in the knowledge that her father hadn’t set out to sea today, but worried in that some of his fellow workers might have. What would happen, if those fishing boats sunk in the storm? Who would go out to save them? Even a Jonin level ninja, with all their expertise, would struggle in light of such a force of nature. Perhaps she should head to the harbor, with that in mind. No, she should stay here- she isn’t strong or skilled enough to deal with a situation like that. At the same time-urgh. Indecision didn’t suit her. Moving forward without self doubt, doing what she could while striving to improve herself- that was who she was. She took a step to begin her foray, but paused. A newcomer? No, not just that. A ninja. Her backup had arrived. Somewhere in her stomach, a weight eased itself.

“Nice to meet you, Sayatria. I’m Kikuko.” She left out her family name from this introduction- a tropical storm was hardly the place to hold onto stuffy old formalities. Her mother might have lightly scolded her if she were to hear such thoughts, but that was simply the reality of their situation. “I’m a Genin that’s been dispatched to help with relief efforts here. I’m not well versed in search and rescue, but I’ve got an able enough body to help out.”

The handsign of the rat. The dog. Focusing her chakra upon her umbrella, the object would shimmer for a moment before vanishing in motes of blue light- which would leave her quite thoroughly drenched soon after as a result. Retying her village headband to hold her hair up, she would wipe the rain out of her eyes before forcing a smile on her face. “There’s people out there waiting for us. Let's go!”

Rushing forward at top speed, she would scan the surroundings for unsheltered civilians before beckoning them forward. Bringing them into the range of Sayatria’s puppets so that they could bring them further into safety- marveling internally as the fine control displayed over them moves each person into a secured location.

[460]
{TWC 852}
(Mission TWC 1379/3000)

Mon Jun 14, 2021 12:34 am

She gave a nod as Kikuko introduced herself. Any other time this would be precisely where she'd begin some elaborate song and dance routine, but our dear protagonist has grown so much in the past few months. Gone is the bright eyed silly girl who would look to Pinochio to understand what she was supposed to do. In this moment she was calm and resolved to--oh nope. She's singing.

saya song:

"Go back. Back to the begining...

Back to when the earth, the sun, and the stars all aligned.

Cuz perfect, didn't feel so perfect.

Try to fit a square into a circle was no life.

I defy.

Let the rain fall down and wake my dreams
let it wash away my sainty
cuz i wanna feel the thunder i wanna scream
let the rain fall down
im coming clean."

Kikuko rushed towards a set of villagers, but she was slow. That wouldn't do. Even as she sang Saya formed hand seals. Bird. Dragon. Monkey. Boar. Ram. her focus shifted to Ai and three things happened in unison. An entertwined mass of blue chakra met Kikuko half way between her begining point and destination. Small illuminated threads wrapped themselves around her arms and legs, a final catching at the base of her neck and she was thrust forward at a speed of ninety three towards her destination. At the same time Ai came into view in the center of a courtyard near where a huddled mass of people were hiding. Their terrified faces look to the lifelike puppet and back to Saya on the top of the building. They were almost completely identical. Ai's hands touched the ground and the earth opened up around her. SIx wooden totems with dog heads burst from behind the puppet. Each grasped a target lightly between their teeth and pulled them towards the Ai puppet. Fifteen large protrusions of stone burst up from the ground in front of Ai. Now surrounded by jutsu she began the much easier herding process.

"Point! Point to the position you want to be or yell it out and My threads will guide you there much faster then you can move" Even through the rain this girl's voice carried. Saya was never one for soft spokeness or neutrality. Her calls to this new teamate cut through the pounding rain. A group of about twenty villagers were gathered in front of the shield of stone spikes. Each protrusion was blunted on all sides to ensure no accidental damage, and as she finished with the last one the spikes shot off. Starting at the outside and moving in her Rock pillar spears technique created a kind of bowl that carried a large group across the distance, speeding the mass of people to the safety of a building at a speed of eighty.

Off to the side of everything, huddled under the awning of a buisiness to the left of where the team was evacuating villagers, four very soaked men played various instruments to accompany Saya's song, and set the tone for their heroic rescue mission. These guys do NOT take a break.

(TWC 1046)

Mon Jun 14, 2021 12:55 am

That...that sound. What was it? It was hard to hear- almost faint, above the roar of the storm. And yet, she could still hear it. Unmistakable, without any room for doubt: her teammate was singing. But why? No, that wasn’t it. The true question was why not- what was wrong with song, even in moments of distress? Was that not the idea behind the drum of war heading into battle, the bards who would sing tales of those long past as men and women alike move forwards into hardship? Perhaps the contexts were not exactly the same, but it made a simple sort of sense to Kikuko. And quite frankly, she had to admit that the girl had a certain way to her musical cadence that she liked.

And it was just at that moment that she was wrapped up in chakra threads- her limbs secured tightly by the constructs, before rushing her forward. Kikuko couldn’t help but yelp as she surged forward in a sudden burden of speed- a combined sound of fear and elation. Such speed! Was this what it felt like, to be a bird on the wing? The strings were tight, but not constricting. In many ways, it was like being held in an embrace. A comforting thought, if anything.

There was a part of her that debated being used like a puppet for the rest of this mission- after all, Sayatria’s strings would allow her fast and easy mobility. Still, that wouldn’t sit well with her. She was a human, a thinking person, with her own ingenuity and ideas. Even in the face of a talented senior, with one whose talents were clearly more suited to the mission at hand than her own, she could still help out. She couldn’t secure them faster, but she could give them an easier means to have them be identified and seen. That, however, would mean she needed to find cover.

Gesturing over an older couple to her position, she would perform the sign of the rat and the dog once again before handing over the newly materialized umbrella to them. She would miss it, but they sorely needed it more than she did. “Saya!” She would yell over the force of the storm. “I’ve got two older ones right here!”

“Now now miss, we’ve still got quite a few spry years left in us!”

Unimportant, for the meantime. Look left, look right- she needed somewhere to pull this off without collateral damage. Otherwise, the building repairs would be astronomical. Likely on her tab as well. “I need a cliffside- or anywhere with an elevated, open surface!”

Would it work? Possibly, possibly not. But right now wasn’t time for self doubt and worries. Now was the time for action and dreams coming to reality. Despite herself, she could feel her heart beat to the same tune of those strange musicians in the distance.

[485]
{TWC 1337}

Mon Jun 14, 2021 1:17 am

The quartet worked in perfect unison. Saya controled things from up top as the three puppets swiftly corraled everyone to a place that would allow her sister Ai to get them to safety. With their actions becoming second nature, our dear protagonist had the chance to really focus on her new teammate. once Kikuko got to her position she'd find her main worry hopefully solved. Now in front of the elderly couple the hold Saya's strings had on her body relaxed. They still shone across her form, connected and ready to jettison her to the next destination, but until that was needed she had full and free movement.

"Got it!!!" Two of the foo dog heads turned, head on swivel to look at where the genin had found and elderly couple. While it was cute that they were so intent on their own effective mobility, what they could do would never hold up to the weight of Saya's Ninjutsu. To any with chakra vision a deep blue glow would flow around her body as she unlocked the raw potential of her blood. The ancient force of chakra that was known as a senju secret flowed from her heart chakra point and down through her network to empower her strength. The two statues grasped the elderly couple gingerly in their teeth, lifting them up and carrying them over to where ninja were ushering people to safety. With trifle of the senju active her Foo dog head statues would move at a blistering one hundred and twenty. The puppets, which were already fast seemed to fly at unbelievable speeds as her boosting technique empowered their movement. Now gliding across the rain slick ground at a speed of one hundred and thirty three, it was clear the team would take little time to get the rest of the villagers to safety. Then Kikuko called out.

"elvevated open surface. Right. Sister. Do you think we could find this Konoichi an elevated flat surface to use for whatever she needed?" Saya was grinning, though it wasn't clear in the pouring rain. The black haired puppet barelly glanced back at her sister before turning her attention to Kikuko. SHe crossed the ten meter distance required to not burry her foo dog head jutsu in seconds, and slammed a powerful foot down on the ground. The earth in a ten meter square that ended about one foot from her teammate quaked at the force of their combined doton control. At a speed of one hundred and five the earth sunk down around Ai, dropping only about five meters lower to create a pit that the duo hoped would suffice for her plan. Above Saya held the seal that finished the jutsu, one of three. She didn't need to of course. there was no purpose other then dramatic effect.

"Will this suffice Kikuko, Genin of the village hidden in the mist?" The pride in her voice mimiced the sheer display of power Saya was putting off above them.

(TWC 1546 my portion of the mission done!)

Mon Jun 14, 2021 1:39 am

Blurs of movement in the rain around her. Liking sitting in the eye of a tornado, a tornado of puppets and earthen constructs moving in orchestrated unison as with each fluid movement yet another civilian is rescued. It’s the sort of teamwork that makes one gasp in awe- and truth be told, she would do the same if it didn’t mean she’d get a mouthful of water in payment. For now, she’d be happy to pay mental compliments and then ask a million and one questions later.

Chakra surged through the air- not her own, but the powerful tang of a ninja at work. It filled her with her own energy, exhilaration, purpose. This was why she had become a Shinobi of the Mist- to see the millions of ways that the people of this world could utilize it. It was beautiful. It was grace. It was its own art style unto itself. Art is about expression. The soul being transposed upon reality, and from that changing those in the material plane. Chakra could be used to take life. Chakra could be used to save life. Today, she would do the latter.

It was never enough to simply do hand seals. That was only half of the matter, like how muscle memory was only half of dancing. The other half way spirit, intent. The movement of the energies inside her, drawing it from her core to her hands. She was sending a transmission to a world beyond- to a place not here, to bring something from ‘there’ into reality. If she did it wrong, there would inevitably be a backlash. Today, there was no room for slip-ups. Today, she would perform. Even if it was an ugly technique. Even if it lacked ‘finesse’. Even if it was sloppy. Commit to movement, and save lives.

With little fanfare, she would crack her neck before hopping into the pit. There would be only a little room for her afterward, but she would simply have to cope with it. From there she would form the sign of the boar with her hands, a determined expression upon her face- a face that simply refused failure in the face of adversity. Dog, bird, monkey. Ram. The seal of confrontation, to seal the deal. She’d be applying the technique at a 45 degree angle, meaning that she’d have to duck back immediately to avoid getting knocked out by her own technique.

“Summoning! Rashomon!”

Slamming her hands upon the ground, a brief rumble would be the only warning before she would throw herself away from where a seal would spread itself upon the ground- A great demonic door tearing itself from the ground at 75 speed. Twenty five meters wide, its walls would barely allow movement around it as it rises high into the sky, a whopping fifty meters when fully erected. Beneath its shadow, however, a notable effect can be seen- its sheer size has stopped the rain and created a lean-to free of wind currents from one side. Was that her intent? To create a temporary base of operations from which ninja and civilians could easily gather?

Now covered in dirt and dust, she would extricate herself from what little room she has in the pit with a hearty groan. That could have been really bad. “Ack. I think I swallowed some mud.”

[558]
{TWC 1895}
(Kikuko's mission portion is complete!)

Mon Jun 14, 2021 1:53 am

Pinocho pushed the last of the ninja under the new structure, getting them to safety. Their work was done. Pushing off of the edge of the roof she'd been perched on Saya took to the air, spinning three times before finally landing a few steps from where this new girl stood.

"That.... Wasn't so bad. Wanna grab food? I know this GREAT place that sells Mappo tofu.....also I should probably come back later and like. Close the hole I've made..... for now though we should prooobbbbabbllyy get out of here before the joy of everyone being safe fades and they realize i put a hole in the center of town. again. " The three puppets approached, and immediately Pinochio started in.

"Saya. That was recless and dangerous. I mean sure we handled things but at the power you were pushing your body to you could have shot someone literally through a building a--mmgghh mmff hmmm mmrrr " The Ai puppet stepped forward, clasping her hands over the puppets mouth to muddle his speech.

"Good job sister. Lets get out of the rain." If their new friend agreed, she'd lead them towards the food stall before finding a dry place to hide out until this all blew over.

(TWC 1751 claiming 30 ap and 6250 ryo for the mission. putting 1751 wc towards mastering pacifist seeking shelter(1751/3750 exit)

Mon Jun 14, 2021 2:05 am

The adrenaline was fading. She could feel it in how the energy was leaving her muscles. Had her bones felt that cold before? No. She had to stay awake. She was a kunoichi, and before that she was the daughter of a fisherman. She had weathered worse storms before, and just because she had performed ninjutsu didn’t mean that she had the luxury of napping wherever fit her fancy. Plus, the mention of food set up a certain gurgling within her stomach.

Watching the puppet wielding ninja gracefully touch down, she could help but feel a certain confusion as she bickers...amongst herself? Surely there was a story there- one she would find out in time, no doubt. For now, however, her base instincts would call into play.

“I’d be happy to join you! As long as you think we can make it, in this weather.” Brushing off very real dirt from her outfit, she would jog over to her mission partner before preparing to take off. Hopefully, the civilians would be evacuated before her summon inevitably dispelled. Once it did, it would be up to the rest of the shinobi gathered. Still, she had faith in the abilities of her people.

This storm too, would pass. As would the next, and the next, until sea swallows all.

======

(exit.)

[218]
TWC 2115 words

+21 Stat points, to be distributed as follows:
+11 Chakra
+10 Vigor
+30AP

+6100 ryo (6000+1*100)

Words to be put towards:

Wind Element (2000/2000)

115 towards Seal of Redirection [481/2750]

Mon Jun 14, 2021 2:29 am

The Calm Has Ended [Saya, Mission]

The Calm Has Ended [Saya, Mission]

Re: The Calm Has Ended [Saya, Mission]

Re: The Calm Has Ended [Saya, Mission]

Re: The Calm Has Ended [Saya, Mission]

Re: The Calm Has Ended [Saya, Mission]

Re: The Calm Has Ended [Saya, Mission]

Re: The Calm Has Ended [Saya, Mission]

Re: The Calm Has Ended [Saya, Mission]

Re: The Calm Has Ended [Saya, Mission]

Re: The Calm Has Ended [Saya, Mission]