A Homecoming [Entering Country/ Free RP]

[Atsushi Nakamura]

The only sounds Ao could hear were the wind's howling, and the snow crunching beneath his feet. Of course it had been like this for the past few days, but as Ao climbed higher up the crater towards the old Kirigakure gates both sounds seemed to become more pronounced. He stopped as he walked through the gates and peered down into the Village Hidden in the Mist. Ao remembered when he was younger, before he entered the Academy and became a Shinobi, traveling to some of the smaller villages outside of Kirigakure with his merchant Father. After every successful trip his Father would treat him to a meal at their favorite ramen shop, Ao searched for the ruins of the shop but was unable to see it from where he was standing, and a sigh escaped Ao's lips. Ao had promised Ichairi that he would no longer dwell in the past, but Ao was finding that difficult to do. Ao wondered how his life would have been different if he had never gone to the Academy, if he had stayed the simple son of a simple merchant. Would he still have been kidnapped by the cult and experimented on? Would his parents still be alive? Would Ao have a wife and family by now?

Ao shook his head, doubts were poisoning his mind and clouding his vision for the future. 'What's done is done, we cannot change the past, but what we can do is change the future' Master Ichairi's words echoed in Ao's mind. Ao lifted his right arm until it was fully extended in front of him and opened up his fist with the palm facing the sky. The metal that made up his arm rippled as if it were a body of water that someone had dropped a small stone into. Out of the center of the ripples rose three small spheres. As always Ao's use of the Old One's chakra left a sour taste in his mouth, but he had almost become used to it. The three spheres, no larger than marbles, spun in a small circle hovering only a centimeter above Ao's palm. He tossed them in the air and all three took off into the ruins of Kirigakure. Ao called the spheres "Sensing Spheres" because he could use them to detect chakra in an area. They would not tell him exactly who the people were or where they were, simply if there were people and approximately where they might be located.

After releasing the spheres Ao began walking down towards the center of Kirigakure. He had a lot of work to do, but first he would need to find a safe place to set up camp and get warm.

[Country Entered]
[Topic left unless someone joins within 72 hours of my posting]

 

[Okada Kaji]

As the wandering man made his final approach upon the barren wasteland that was once his home, he came upon a bleak horizon that swallowed the his homeland whole. The center of the city was a wash of gray haze- the eye of a storm that raged on endlessly, as if it marked the edge of the world, and the beginning of oblivion. This is what had become of the Hidden Mist, and Ao would soon discover that the village he knew once before had been wiped from existence, and beneath the snow was nothing more than shallow graves, and the restless souls his fallen brethren, who were bound to this place when the first storm first fell over the land. Once the bold traveler made his final descent upon the village’s outer limits, he would discover more of the same ruins he encountered before; all bearing the same features due to the limited visibility of the storm, and the sleet that turned the buildings into exotic, glacial shapes.

In the distance, a small glimmer of light managed to cut through the haze; it was a sign of life, and maybe even a beacon of hope for the misplaced wanderer. Perhaps this journey wasn’t for naught after all. A streak of red smoke swirled within the blanket of whiteness which tried it’s hardest to erase the signal before it could reach Ao’s sight; yet the flare succeeded in it’s purpose. You are not alone.

Once he’d come close enough, the traveler would discover just what he had been lured towards; a timeless stone and mortar landmark he might have visited as a child; the village’s smithy. It was a sturdily-built facility, with streams of black smoke disappearing as they billowed from the roof. While the signal flare glowed from atop the roof, the front door was a most-tempting entrance. Like every opening in the city, the windows and doors were boarded from the elements, probably by the last villagers who attempted to hunker down for the storm. But little did they know that this weather trend would last much longer than a few hours, or days. But with no pliable entrance available, Ao would have to improvise.

“You have to kick it open!” Through the deep, echoing howl of the wind came a small voice that must have been screaming to be heard from within the barricaded hostel. Again, the voice shouted through the walls, instructing the visitor to “kick the door open!”

From within this base of sorts, Jomei nervously stood in waiting as the being he flagged down drew closer. Using his telescope and a second floor vantage point, Jomei had peeped Ao from afar through a hole big enough to do the job. For the last fifteen minutes he set his operation in motion, diligently working to coerce the traveler into finding him. “He saw the flare, he saw it!” Jomei was still covered in a layer of snow as he awaited Ao’s arrival, and climbed down from the hatch in the ceiling so he could meet him on the ground floor. The snow hiding his appearance was shredded with haste once Jomei stepped besides the furnace burning at the center of the chamber. However, the numerous layers of warm clothing and armor Jomei had donned would still leave him a mystery to his new company. After a few attempts at speak from beneath his head gear, Jomei removed his mask and shouted a third time, “You have to kick it open!” The young ninja's face had tired eyes, and new stress marks from his adventure at large. His cheeks and jaw were now covered in thin hair as nature molded him into a young man. He hardly resembled the boy who left the village months ago. A glance at the front door revealed that that the original locking mechanisms had been destroyed ages ago, and a thick coat of webbing was the only thing keeping the elements out of the oven he converted into a shelter. Once the faint sounds of footsteps stopped dredging towards the door, Jomei anxiously considered the many instances that could occur the moment that door sprang open.

MFT | Entered Topic.
And yes, I enjoyed The Hateful Eight.

 

[Atsushi Nakamura]

The snow came down in a flurry all around Ao. He could not tell of the state of the weather had grown more severe, or calmed since he had left the village a few years ago. He opened the palm of his right hand and caught some of the snow as it fell. Instead of melting upon contact, like the snow would do in a hand of flesh and blood, the snow held its shape due to Ao’s hands and arms being made of metal. Ao focused his chakra down the length of his right arm and the metal began to heat melting the snow in his palm. He smiled to himself, even though he knew what he was doing, he liked the idea of being normal at least for a time.

As Ao approached the center of town he passed his old family home. He stopped for a second in order to pay his respects, but there was little left for him to pay his respects to. Most in the buildings in Kirigakure were not constructed to withstand this severe weather for such an extended amount of time. Many had crumbled due to the weight of the snow and ice and the intensity with which it fell. All that remained of Ao’s family’s once cozy two-story home was some of the outer walls, portions of the roof, and the doorframe which he currently stood in front of. Ao focused again on the palm of his right hand and created a small fire emblem, similar to the mark on his forehead; he then took some twine out of his pack and attached the emblem to it. He then hung the emblem from the door-frame and moved on. This was the very last time he would see his former home again, that fact did not bother him as much as he thought it would.

It was then that Ao noticed something, possibly a flare; the red glow was a stark contrast to the blinding white that surrounded him. Ao made his way towards the flare, realizing that it was coming from the former Smith’s home. He made his way to the building, approaching the boarded door at the front of the building slowly. Ao thought he heard someone, but was unsure, so he placed his ear against the cold wooden door. “You have to kick it open!” someone shouted loudly, Ao was caught by surprise and almost fell over backwards. Ao straightened himself back up and shouted back “Ok, stand back!” Ao was not sure if this person was in trouble, friendly, or some sort of bandit but he was about to find out. And besides what was the point in living if you never took any risks?

Ao took the index finger of his right hand and used it to trace the outline of the door, in the process he would leave behind a miniscule amount of the liquid metal he used to form bombs thanks to a combination of his bloodline and Kinjutsu abilities. After he had outlined the door with the substance he made the appropriate hand sign and the sound of wood popping coupled with a small cloud of dust and smoke flew both towards Ao and away from him into the building. The door remained intact as it began to fall backwards into the building. Ao caught it and moved inside while holding the door; once inside Ao placed the door back to where it was originally and turned towards the person who was inside. Ao made eye contact and bowed. “Thank you for letting me in, my name is Yamada Ao”

[MFT 250+]

 

[Okada Kaji]

As the webbing seal came undone around the factory’s door frame, and Jomei rushed down a flight of stairs from the second floor of the factory. It had been months since he’d another person aside from his companion Sara, but even she went missing some time ago. Now it was just Jomei, who has barricaded himself here for the time being. Traveling within the village could only be attempted when the sun was at it’s highest, and daylight breaks through the weather for a few hours of the day. Otherwise, the atmosphere was much too harsh for human survival. When the webbing began to snap thread by thread, the wind began to whistle through gaps in the wooden frame. Once the door was completely set free, a flurry of sleet rolled in and washed over the warm hostel Jomei created. had and snow the roaring furnace at the center of the factory turned pitch black and winter’s bane destroyed the only comfort Jomei had seen since setting foot in the snow here. Though the force of wind and the stranger’s presence caused a nervous stir in Jomei, he didn’t lose sight of the situation and hurried to restore heat to the furnace. Moving hastily was a troublesome task under layer after layer of heavy winter apparel. He had a bulbous, bloated appearance once he dropped down to the floor by the fire chamber and began forming hand seals. He resembled a turtle… or the last survivor of the hidden mist, who managed to stay alive by hunkering down with the vending machine and a large oven of sorts.

When Yamada Ao introduced himself, Jomei was spitting a stream of flames into the central chamber of the forge. He fired pure chakra, taking shape with energy bursting into the spark needed to save something critical to his survival. A sea of grey stones kept a faint glow between every blaze. Jomei’s fire release was puny and newly-learned, but with his determination to survive, it would suffice for saving his hide. Once the furnace was secure he collapsed to the floor in front of it, and almost burned his jacket sleeve while cozying up to the fire. “Look what you’ve done” Jomei said disappointedly as he observed his company. “If I can’t sustain enough heat in here, this’ll place will become our grave before nightfall. I didn’t survive this long just to die in a freezer… No way. Especially not with some stranger, no offense.”

Still laying in front of the fire, Jomei began to relax himself once heat began to permeate the floor beneath him, to the point that the hardwood felt comfortable. “So what are you doing out here, Ao? No one just drops by this place for kicks? I actually thought you might have been someone else, but either way, I couldn’t let you pass up the chance to see another genuine human being one last time before marching into oblivion… Welcome to Kirigakure. The last place you’re probably ever going to visit. Now pull up a chair.”

While his spirit may have wavered, Jomei wouldn’t put this moment with company to waste, and picked himself up off the floor. Heat was circulating through the facility once more, and it became warm enough for Jomei to shed his heavy outer shell of clothing. His Iwagakure Uniform was revealed underneath. The young ninja beneath the winter apparel was a third his size without the shell, and familiar to the wandering Ao, who had just come from Jomei’s home; the mountainous port-city of Iwagakure. “I hope you have a very good reason for coming here, Ao” Jomei admitted. In his tradition of keeping busy, he began to gather a kettle and a glass bottle of frozen water from besides the forge, and hung the objects by the kettle’s handle in front of it churning flames. “I'm Jomei, one of two ninja from the stone here on an expedition. My partner Sara and I have been roaming the outer islands for about a month or so now, but we got split up once we set foot on this island; in the center of it all.”

[MFT]
[Revealed Minor Elemental Affinity: Fire Release.]

 

[Atsushi Nakamura]

Ao watched as the young man in front of him scrambled to get the fire that Ao had inadvertently put out by opening the door back to life. It did not take long for Ao to realize that this young man was not some civilian, but a Shinobi from the village he had recently left and a fire user at that. After the Stone Shinobi brought the fire back to life Ao moved over and sat cross-legged across from the young Shinobi.

“That is a very good question, one without an answer I’m afraid. I recently finished a three year long training session with a monk from Iwagakure. I wanted to return to my homeland one more time before I began traveling the world. I suppose I wanted to say my final farewell to the life I thought I was destined for.” Ao caught himself drifting back to the past, a place he was careful not to go back to, and pulled himself back to the present. He lifted his head and smiled at the Stone Shinobi. He listened as the Stone Shinobi introduced himself as well as inform Ao of his lost friend. Ao showed concern on his face, getting lost it this frozen wasteland was most likely a death sentence.

“Your homeland is a beautiful place Jomei, why did you and your companion travel all the way to this now frozen wasteland; if you don’t mind my asking?” Ao pulled some food out of his pack and started to use the fire to prepare it while he talked. “ Do you have any idea where your friend was headed when she disappeared? While it has been a while since I’ve been here, and everything is vastly different from when I was younger and lived here, I should still know the general area fairly well I would imagine. I’d like to help you find your friend if possible.” Ao offered a smile to the young Shinobi as well as a bowl of soup that he had put together while they sat and talked.

 

[Okada Kaji]

The Basilisk Theories

Was it luck or fate that brought this stranger all the way from Jomei’s home in Iwagakure, to this factory in the middle of no man’s land? And a monk, no less. It must have been fate, but the red monk was still far too late to prevent the diminishing of Jomei’s courage in this expedition. As the conversation continued, Jomei stayed busy but browsing the shelves by the furnace, and selecting a blue, ceramic jar of ground coffee beans. By now, his bottle of water was thawed and almost boiling. “While I do appreciate your offer, I think any attempt to travel further into the village again will cost us our lives. Last time, the elements were so harsh that they drove Sara and I into the first shelter we could find; a temple that was possessed by bound spirits… Before this journey, I wasn’t even the slight bit superstitions, but now I know the truth. Not just the truth about the devils that haunt us from our pasts, but the truth that this expedition was damned from the moment we set foot out of the village hidden in stone. The truth that we, and now you, have signed our death sentences by walking onto this shore.”

Now he brought two mugs to the table where Ao sat, and began to brew his coffee using the kettle, bottle and a strainer from the jar. His sense of smell was overcome with the rich aroma and brought excitement to the moment, despite Jomei’s bleakness.

“This started out as survey expedition, actually.” He set the kettle down at the table, and turned to grab a small glass of sugar. “If you were in the stone for as long as you say, then you must have at least witnessed the Basilisk attack that happened last autumn. After it happened, our researchers and elders started looking into every possible theory of what triggered the event. Those creatures had not appeared for who knows how many millennia, yet there they were; abominations at our doorstep.” In fact, Jomei still carried prints of the photos he took that day. While mid web-swing, he took aerial photos of the monsters who appeared that day, and the irreversible damage they caused. He removed several photos from his jacket pocket, and set them on the table for Ao to observe if he wished. “There were several major theories in discussion by the High Council, about how or more importantly why it happened. The most orthodox theory was of course a contract summoning, but the elders insisted that the mother Basilisk was much too powerful to be controlled by ninja alone.” The photos depicted a day of reckoning in the hidden stone as countless lives were lost, homes decimated, and left the village’s infrastructure crumbling in the wake of the attack. “After that theory bit the dust, the religious fanatics had their turn at the wheel and said that the basilisks were a reincarnation of Netvok; an ancient dragon or something. Netvok was supposedly meant to be an ending to our story of creation, and destroy Marushi, so that is enough cause for reasonable doubt, since the village still stands. As we speak, the Basilisk’s head it being converted into a trophy to be mounted on our village walls. And that brings us to the whole, what brought us here matter. I suggest you try some of the coffee, or else this next part might put you to sleep.” Jomei then poured his brew into the two mugs, providing warm drink to accompany the soup, which Jomei pondered about in the back of his mind. How was the soup not frozen solid after his trek through the Kiri perimeter? Scared to try the food, he stuck with his beverage for a moment, and took small sips between his chatting.

“In time, I developed my own theory behind the Basilisk event, and it was viable enough to explore further. See, I also have ties to Kirigakure. My father came here a year ago on an expedition of his own, and based on his findings, I began to speculate that the phenomena here caused a chain reaction of events that caused the basilisks to migrate from their natural habitat on the northern sea, to warmer, safer climate. When the mother arrived on our shore, she came with offspring. Lot’s of ‘em. As you know, the Water Country used to have a tropical, which is why the sudden eternal winter destroyed the population so well. And for a meteorological phenomena to be so strong, it must be having made a major impact on the trade winds that sweep up the coast to the northern lands and Lightning Country as well. Once my hypothesis was recognized by my Division and then the high council, a small expedition was approved for a two-cell team to survey the chain of islands, and determine if this storm could have really been to blame. Given the state of the village, we couldn’t afford to send more experienced ninja on this quest, so I was allowed to oversee this quest myself. Of course, not a lot of corpsmen wanted part from the village at a time like this just to look after a mere boy on a hunch, so I was paired with Sara, who was considered just as expendable as me. Only she was brave enough to do this with me, and look where that got her… She’s probably dead. Shit, look where it got me, too. If she died out there I’ll never forgive myself --and there’s no way I could report that back to the village. They’ll never forgive me for this, either. I’ve decided to wait it out here until either the wrong type of visitor kicks in that door, starvation sets in, or the cold gets me.”

[MFT]

 

[Okada Kaji]

“Well, look at the time... It won’t be long until nightfall.” Jomei suddenly needed a change of pace, and stepped away from their table, along with thoughts of the Basilisk attack. He was now two sea and several lands away from the Stone, and it’s problems pailed in comparison to the struggle of existing here. While his guest made himself at home, Jomei crossed the facility into a workshop he had arranged during his extended stay. Various doo-hickeys were on a long, crescent-shaped table with a variety of tools and machinery surrounding the station. “While I may not be ready to leave the island so soon, I don’t plan on putting my last days to waste, and have been working on a couple pet projects in here.” He set his sights on an large scrolls that sat on the desk’s center. “Make yourself comfortable, Ao. You’re not going to find another place this hospitable for a hundred miles, and then some. Shake up the vending machine if you want another snack. Tomorrow morning I am going to see if I can scope out more of the perimeter of the island, if you want to venture out with me. The more, the merrier. That, and anything of use to me out there will probably require two people to carry.”

Mere seconds passed and it seemed as if Jomei has already forgot about his company, and his attention became locked onto the workbench, and the blueprints he unfurled, printed in hidden mist gibberish, which Jomei managed to learn bit by bit; enough to transcribe valuable information.


< MFT >

< Topic Left Unless Stopped >

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