Re: The Past can Come Back to Haunt You

Tue Oct 11, 2022 10:10 am

Her mother was carefully making breakfast in the kitchen the next morning. With all the spirit animals moving along the floor and counters around her, she had to be careful that none of them ended up dropping into the open pan. She was cooking up an alternative to bacon when Fushon walked in quietly and took a seat at the table. “So… Mom,” she started. Her mother looked over her shoulder and asked, “what is it, sweet pea?” Fushon scratched at the edge of her jaw, not sure how to start.

“How would I go about bonding with one of the animals, if I wanted to?” Her mother froze in place, much like a couple nights ago when Scar had called out. She turned to face her daughter with a look of restrained hope. “Why do you ask, honey?” she said cautiously. Fushon looked out the window, trying to act as natural as possible as she said, “well, maybe I might want to find a companion, kind of.” Her mother turned back to the pan, her face lit up with a growing excitement.

“Well honey, the first thing you need to do is find an animal which will want to bond with you as well. Not every animal will bond with you, as you already know that from your many, many attempts, but never let that get you down. You just need to let yourself open up to them and let them do the same for you.” She explained, rushing through the words as if practiced a hundred times. Fushon felt awkward as her mother excitedly described the process to her. “Right, but how exactly do I bond with them? I mean, how did you and Scar bond?”

Her mother paused and thought back for a moment before saying. “It is a bit different with each companion and so it can change from time to time. For me and Scar, I found him injured out in a field one day and brought him home. I cared for him and fed him, but he was a stubborn bird. It wasn’t until he tried to caw at me to get his food and I swatted him with a frying pan that he finally backed off enough to bond with me.” Fushon looked at her in confusion. “That sounds more like you won a fight with him and he just gave up. Also, why was it with a frying pan?”

She chuckled as she glanced back at her daughter and said, “he always hovered in the kitchen in the hopes to steal up some food.” The woman pointed a thumb at the cabinets above where she was cooking. Fushon looked up and saw in the small crack between the top of the cabinet and the ceiling that Scar was peeking down on their conversation. “Besides,” her mother continued, “for some of the more stubborn animals, they need to be shown that you can handle them. They will not respect you if they think you are not as strong as they are.”

Scar regarded Fushon from above. Fushon looked back at him and decided that the next time he harassed her, she would kick him right into the sky. “Your father also mentioned to me some of the things you were looking for in a companion and that you wanted something more exotic. I can always reach out to some of our family members in other lands to see if they have something you might like?” her mother suggested. Fushon thought about this and responded, “I did remember seeing some animals along the beach at that activity thing they were doing during the summer. Do we have any family members that live near the beach?”

Her mother swung the pan around, quickly dropped a few pieces of bacon along with a pancake onto Fushon’s plate before speaking. “The closest members we have to that live in Suna, and that is in a desert. So unless you are looking for something like snakes, vultures, or sand burrowing creatures, they may be a bit short on options. Maybe something will come to you on its own dear. A few of the spirit animals have mentioned a strange creature lurking around the edge of the village lately.” Fushon looked at her curiously before taking a bite out of her bacon.

{WC = 723}

Wed Oct 12, 2022 11:02 am

Fushon sat a few feet away from the bottom landing of the bird feeder, staring at her ‘rival’. Scar stared back at her, somewhat curious, but more so irritated by her. They had been sitting there for a half an hour now and Fushon’s mother had already yelled at her twice to stop pestering Scar. Each time, Fushon had yelled back that she needed to start somewhere with bonding and the harder the start, the easier the finish. Both times she heard her mother laughing as she walked away.

“I know you can talk, Scar. All the spirit animals have so far. You are the only one who has been button lipped this whole time,” she said to the bird. Scar watched her carefully, wondering what she was up to. “Look. I am terrible at bonding with animals and I really feel like I need to improve. If you want, I can go and get the frying pan and we can start the same way you did with my mother.” Scar’s eyes narrowed as he turned away and began to eat, choosing to ignore her. Fuse tossed up her hands in frustration and just watched him as he ate.

“You could always put a collar on him!” said one of the dog spirits that was sitting behind her. Fushon looked back and saw several spirit animals were sitting in a small semi-circle behind her, watching her interact with Scar. “Wha? What are you all doing back there?!” she asked loudly. “Well, we are kind of bored ever since we ran out of things to do. We don’t really need to eat or sleep, so we figured we would watch you two.” Fuse stood up, her hands in fists as she spoke at them, “but you are all spirits! You can go flying through the sky! You can go through walls and turn invisible and stuff!”

The dog tilted its head to one side as it panted softly. “Well, flying gets boring after doing it for hours and hours and hours. Being invisible is no fun because then people can’t play with you! Also, the last time I went through a wall, your mother yelled at me until I left. I don’t think I am allowed to do that anymore…” Fushon was curious at exactly what had gotten the dog into trouble, but shook her head quickly before looking at the other animals. The spirit crowd was made up of a few chickens, the dog, two cats, an otter, three mice, and the bear she had tried to bond with before. The bear had fallen asleep sitting up and the cats were pestering the mice and chickens alike. Only the otter was quietly playing with the dog’s tail.

She decided that none were likely candidates for bonding, aside from the bear, and walked over to him. A few pets on the bear’s head brought it out of its slumber and he looked up at Fushon. “Time for adventure?” he asked in a deep rumbling voice. Fushon gave a small chuckle as she shook her head. “Time for bonding,” she said as she tried to push the bear onto all fours. The bear fell forward, sending up a small cloud of dust in all directions as it flopped onto its stomach. The bear got comfortable again and rapidly fell back asleep. Fuse growled softly at him and stood up, stomping off to figure out a new plan.

{WC = 575}

Thu Oct 13, 2022 12:05 pm

The first sign that something was off occurred when Fushon’s little brother came running down the stairs. His hamsters had vanished that morning and no amount of searching, or bribing with sunflower seeds from her brother, brought them out. Her father then noticed that many of the smaller turtles out back had disappeared as well. As there was no way to climb out of their pen and, with their general speed, there was little chance they had escaped on their own, the family was getting worried. “They are all prey animals. Maybe we have an animal on the loose hunting them?” her brother asked during a quick family meeting.

Fushon’s mother shook her head and said, “there are far too many animals in the back for a single animal to sneak in and disappear with prey. Scar alone would defend the back area and find anyone sneaking in, or out-” she cast a look at Fushon, who quietly refused to make eye contact. “-whether he was awake or asleep.” The family sat in silence for a few minutes before Fushon said, “what if they are just running out of energy?” The rest of the family looked at her as she shrugged and said, “well, maybe they only get so much time here? I can’t imagine how tiring it might be to be… spirits.” She realized how bad her logic sounded as she finished her sentence.

Her father spoke up to say, “actually, I have seen a few more of the smaller animals disappearing along with the hamsters and turtles. It has mostly been spirit animals disappearing and they don’t really leave behind any mess or markings. Maybe they are just passing back on?” Her mother and brother nodded as they all considered this idea. “What if this is just some weird dimensional thing related back to that beach thing they had a couple months ago?” Fushon suggested. Her mother softly nodded and said, “well, I don’t think it is related to the beach event that was going on, but it does seem as if we are connecting to some other plane of existence. At least, to a plane where spirits exist.”

After this, the family again sat in silence and contemplated what was going on. “I mean, it is nice and all to see all the old animals we lost. Some of them are just jerks,” Fushon said. Her mother turned to her, a cold air about her as she replied, “maybe if you took your responsibilities with them seriously, they would not be so upset with you.” Fushon opened her mouth to respond, only to see her father shaking his head at her. He mouthed the words not this fight before her mother had a chance to look back at him. He quietly sipped at a cup of tea while she shook her head softly at him.

Fuse stood up and said, “fine. Then I am going to just keep trying to bond with one of them until I succeed, or until they all disappear. Either way, I need some fresh air.” She stomped outside and made her way into the backyard. Crossing quickly, she stepped into the dog kennels and was greeted by barks and multiple voices asking to play and go on a walk. Fuse gave a shrug and walked over to the dog she had spoken to yesterday and attached a collar and leash to him. “Alright, let’s get some exercise in. It might help me clear my head.” The dog bounced up and down and responded, “Yeah! I like to clear my head too! Mine is clear all the time!” Fushon chuckled softly and said, “I imagine.” She headed for the gate and unlocked it before looking back for the dog. At first glance, he was nowhere to be seen.

“Where are we going today?!” she heard coming from above her. The dog was floating in the air over her right shoulder, tumbling forward slowly. It looked almost as if he was a slow rolling tumbleweed in midair as she tugged his leash softly. “A little bit of everywhere,” she replied as they took off for the main street. “Oh boy, I love everywhere!” the dog said excitedly.

{WC = 703}

Fri Oct 14, 2022 10:09 am

By now, very few of the spirit animals still remained. The larger animals, such as the bear and two of the spirit horses, were slowly beginning to fade and lose definition from their features. Fushon’s mother had been taking her time saying goodbye to many of the animals she believed would be disappearing sooner rather than later. She took pictures of several to send or give to family members or friends who had known them when they were alive as momentos or treasures. Her brother had run around making sure they were all comfortable, as if they were passing on the normal way.

Even though he was not the largest creature, Scar still stood on the top of the main bird feeder and watched over the yard. Fushon believed it was out of pure spite that he did not appear to be fading in the least bit and that he planned to try to stay forever. “Maybe they all came here to get one last taste of life before finally going?” Fushon suggested to her mother as they stood in the kitchen. “Right. They chose to come back, just to harass you,” her mother replied with a smirk. Fushon tossed her hands up and exhaled heavily before saying, “well, what do you think brought them here?!” Her mother sipped her tea as she glanced at her daughter. “Maybe there was a strange dimensional event that drew them here. We are heading into a time of the year where certain veils are thinner. Your great-aunt used to tell fortunes and spoke of spirits passing from this plane to the next.”

Fushon had never heard of her great-aunt before. Of course, when she was little, her mother used to make up several family members just to convince Fushon into doing her chores. If those stories had been real, Fushon would have been owed weeks’ worth of treats and snacks at this point. “Right, and does this great-aunt have a name?” she asked her mother quizzically. Her mother crossed her arms and said, “Yes, Heminia. Hemmy for short, as you like to do with peoples’ names. Great-aunt Hemmy was a teller who taught me once when I was little about how even animals travel the other plane. Sometimes, when we are heading into fall, the… how did she put it?”

Her mother paused for a minute in thought. Fushon was interested in the story, but held reservedly on in case this just led to another *time to do your chores* lesson. “Ah yes,” her mother picked back up, “she always said it was in the fall. That is when ‘the veil between this world and the next thinned’. She had used it for many years to scare me into staying out of her backroom. When I found out that all she had back there was a crystal ball, she was honest with me. Maybe there was a bit of truth to that idea after all.”

Fushon stared at her mother as the thoughts rolled through her mind. If the two planes were connecting, had anyone from their world fallen through into the other? Could anyone and anything have gone to the spirit plane? If someone died while this weird spirit thing was going on, could they just ignore death? Too many questions, not enough answers. Fushon looked at her mother and said, “well, if that is true, maybe we are just moving away from it again. Maybe that is why they are all disappearing?” Her mother nodded and looked out the window towards the backyard. “Maybe. The last of the spirit animals do seem to be almost gone. Maybe it is time to say goodbye again to Scar.”

Fushon gave a small nod as the two walked out back towards the stand of bird feeders. The grass was flat where the spirit bear had fallen asleep only a couple of hours ago. The kennel and stable were far more silent than it had been the day before. The quiet atmosphere was a stark contrast to when the animals had suddenly begun appearing and mayhem had ensued. It felt a bit lonely, having the number of animals reduced to less than half in a matter of a few days. “Hey old boy,” her mother said as she walked up and gently patted Scar on the back. The bird leaned into her hand and gave a deep, happy caw to her. Fushon crossed her arms, feeling a bit frustrated that she never got a chance to talk to the old bird.

Her mother softly petted him and spoke to him about taking care of himself. The bird nodded softly, gently picking a few strands of hair out of her face. “You always were a tough old bird. Just make sure to take care of all the young ones that never made it too far.” Scar nodded again and gave a small salute with his wing before leaning back. He seemed worn out, as if he had overexerted himself. Maybe he was trying to hold out for the rest to go back first Fushon thought to herself. She caught Scar looking at her and she crossed her arms again, looking away from him. Avoiding eye contact, she spoke to him, “yeah, well. I guess I am sorry for not feeding you and being responsible and all that. You do seem like a pretty nice guy. For a bird anyways.”

Scar seemed to smile softly and bowed his head. As she watched, he slowly began to fade before her eyes. A soft choking noise came from her mother as the woman tried to hold back her tears. Scar rested a wing softly on his past companion’s head and ruffled her hair in a similar manner to how she had ruffled his. The bird nodded softly and looked at Fushon. “You will do fine, kid,” he said. Both women were shocked by him speaking as he continued. “Just don’t let her get the better of you.” This time, Fushon’s mother puffed up in irritation, tears still filling her eyes. Fushon stuttered as she responded, “M-my m-mother?!” Scar shook his head softly, the details of his image disappearing as she watched. Even as he was vanishing, a clear line of a smirk appeared where the shape of his beak was.

“You wish, kid. You’ll know her when you see her.” was all he said before he disappeared. Fushon’s mother let the tide of tears loose as she fell to her knees and began to cry. Fushon gave her mother a soft hug as she wondered just what that bird was talking about.

{WC = 1102}

Sat Oct 15, 2022 12:11 am

With all the spirit animals gone, the house returned back to a semblance of normality. Fushon handled her tasks without complaint and the family agreed to keep the animal numbers low for the foreseeable future. Her mother was still feeling down, so she helped where she had the energy to. After all they had been through, it felt almost strange to have the backyard so empty. Little reminders of their presence were left behind for the family to find. Whether it was the messed up beds of straw that the porcupine spirit had gotten into, the bird feeders being askew from Scar sitting on them, or the dog droppings left on the roof of the kennel.

One irritating reminder for Fuse was when she found her shoes in the tree Scar had always thrown them into. “He comes by for a week and he acts like he owns the whole place,” she said to herself as she retrieved them. After slipping them on and making her way down the stress from her house, his words came back to her. If it wasn’t her mother that he had been talking about, who else was there? She shrugged the thought off and passed the butcher’s shop she had assisted a couple months ago.

She stopped in and talked with the owner for a short time. “Well, I am very glad that I do not handle the killing of the animals for my stock myself. So many of my contacts and connections had delays in delivering orders and stocking up with all the animals that came back to harass them. One very active animal house that I ordered from had to shut down due to being overrun by the bulls they had been putting down.” The man chuckled and then looked at Fushon curiously. “How did you and your family fare? I can only imagine the ruckus that the spirits of your old animals must have caused.”

Fushon shrugged and said, “it was kind of a good thing. Mom got to see Scar again and I learned a bit about possibly getting a companion.” The owner chuckled again and replied, “really? After all the stories your parents told me, I figured you would need to wrestle one into submission. I mean, did your mother ever tell you about how she got Scar to be her companion?” Fushon gave a nod, “Yes, but I still can’t find one that suits me. I have gotten better with bonding and all that, but I don’t know what kind of companion I want. Other than one who can keep up with me and wants to be free as much as I do.”

The man looked at her with a wry smile, “so you want to tie down an animal who wants to be free and restrict a creature who can keep up with you to go your pace?” Fushon paused as she looked at the man before asking, “yes?” The owner leaned over the counter and rested on his crossed arms. “I think you would be better off finding a companion who can challenge you. Maybe one who can show you what freedom means to them.” The thought was interesting to Fushon. She trained so much at both areas that she wondered if there was a companion who wasn’t already taken like that. She went to respond, but a scream went up from outside.

Fushon rushed outside and glanced in both directions. Most of the people in the street were staring down towards the main square. She took off running at full speed, quickly scaling a wall to get access to the rooftops, and headed towards the direction everyone was looking. As she reached the end of the last rooftop leading to the square, she saw a clearing of people standing in an open circle around what appeared to be a man in a dark shawl. He was slowly scanning the village from where he stood and he was writing notes in a small booklet he was holding. Fushon jumped from the building and landed inside the clearing, causing a few of the closer villagers to scatter away from her in surprise. The man glanced up at her, looked her over and took a few notes, then went back to analyzing his surroundings.

“So, are you new to Konoha? You do not seem quite like the… people type,” she said, trying to keep her manners. The man glanced at her again, then shrugged and went back to what he was doing. Fuse felt her frustration begin to rise as this man refused to interact with her. “With all the people staring, could you at least tell us what you are doing here?” The man paused his writing and, without looking at Fuse, said, “planning,” before continuing his notes. Fuse gritted her teeth and said as smoothly as she could, “planning what? A party? A health inspection? An attack?” The man shrugged again as he said, “who knows?” Fuse was just reaching the end of her patience, and many of the villagers who knew her were beginning to back away. Just as she took her first step forward, the man closed his booklet.

He put his hand up in front of him, as if pressing it to glass, and slowly pulled to one side. As he did, the very air seemed to turn and twist with his hand, revealing what appeared to be a doorway. Fushon could see spirits moving beyond the doorway as the man stepped through it. “Hold on a second-!” Fuse yelled, but the door closed all on its own behind the man. She ran over to the spot he had stood just moments before and looked to see if there was some trick to what he had done. After a minute of waving her hands, she felt foolish standing in the middle of the circle of people. She turned to leave, when an odd rippling in the ground in front of her made her step back. A creature slowly formed in front of her eyes and stood just up to her waist as it stared up at her.

After all the wild and exotic animals she had seen and experienced in her life, this one still caught her off guard. It appeared like a long lizard, but it had feathers flowing from the top of its head all the way down to its tail which branched out into a large fan-like pattern. The creature’s scales seemed to reflect the light as it came into view before changing to a somewhat faded gray coloring. Similar to a moving blue-tinged shadow with a white underbelly. Fushon was so unsure how to respond that she nearly went into shock as a deep female voice spoke clearly in her mind, “We don’t have time to wait.” Fushon took a step back as the creature’s eyes shifted in the light and looked into hers. It lifted one clawed hand up and the chakra nearby seemed to gather into its palm. A moment later, a multi-colored stone was shimmering in front of Fushon.

“Take this and follow me. I will explain as we go,” it said as it turned and closed its eyes. A circle formed in the air in front of the creature and slowly cut out a hole that had the same image through it as the man’s door earlier. The creature looked at Fushon before nudging its head towards the hole. Fushon felt like the situation was rapidly progressing without her and she took a deep breath to clear her head. With a fist clenched tightly and her pace quickening, Fuse lowered her head and dove into the hole with the creature only a step behind her. Only one thought floated through her mind as she dove through it. It was in response to something Scar had said only a day earlier.

I will not let her get the better of me! She thought furiously as the gate closed behind her.

{WC = 1325}
Post (#): 1: 479 2: 533 3: 508 4: 634 5: 505 6: 492 7: 524 8: 725 9: 626 10: 591 11: 723 12: 575
13: 703 14: 1102 15: 1325
TWC: 10,054 (+3500 from rewards - 13,554, rounded to 13550)
Rewards:
1. Spooky Doll
2. 1,000 Ryo
3. 500 WC
4. B-rank jutsu scroll
5. Kamifuda x2
6. Summon Voucher*
7. 5,000 Ryo
8. Firecrackers x2
9. 1,000 WC
10. Heaven or Hell Dice
11. A-rank jutsu scroll
12. Yokai Yum-Yums x3
13. 10,000 Ryo
14. 2,000 WC
15. Spirit stone

Ryo: 16000

Stats: 9000 WC = +90 stats (+30 speed, +5 strength, +10 chakra, +45 vigor) = Maxed
4500 WC = +90 AP

Claiming: Shiyuko - Event-Exclusive Familiar Token x1

Skill Learning:
Four Harmonious Palms - 3000/3000 (adding 800 to 2200/3000 from When the Tough Get Going)
One Handed Seals - 2000
Extreme Realm of Refinement - 2000
Seven Heavenly Breaths - 2000
(Total = 6800)

Jutsu Learning:
A Rank - Block - 2500
B Rank - Perfect Body - 1750
A Rank - Seven Heavenly Breaths - 2500
(total = 13550)

Sat Oct 15, 2022 11:49 am

Well like I told you before, claim the rewards on the spirit fest thread. However, Approved.