Private Dear Diary...

[Koga Akane]

Sunday, Koga Residence, 0700

Akane had already been awake for two hours. The groggy young girl kept her nose in her books and a pencil in hand. Down within their basement a makeshift classroom had been organized to continue the teachings of her people's god. A black chalkboard adorned the wall with various scriptures and writings littered across it. The yellow light illuminated the room but gave no warmth to Akane. Her mother kept the place cold to keep her awake, a cynical move on her part but she’d be a liar if she said it didn’t work. Out of her home-schooling, her mother was good natured and very kind to those around her. At first glance anyone would believe she was nothing more than a caring housewife. Other people never got to step foot inside the house though, for they would see her wicked side. Akane’s father was the one to train her in combat while her mother had been completely trained by sisters of devotion from the Tenouza. This turned her into a dictator when she was teaching. Akane’s bright and outgoing personality turned into a silent obedient one when at home. It was a waste of breath to try to even reason with her on certain topics for everything was absolute.

"As for anyone who presumes to disobey the priest appointed to minister there to the Lord your God, or the judge, that person shall die. So you shall purge the evil from Tenouza.” Her mother uttered those holy words to Akane, and she swiftly wrote them down in her booklet. They lingered in her mind like a stain on a shirt. The teachings given to her pulled Akane in two directions. To sway from the path her parents have ever-so graciously laid down for her and her sister would have her exiled from her family. Even at 14, she had known this to be true. Her own brown hues have witnessed it happen in front of her. A friend questioned a priest's teachings during church, swiftly beaten to compliance and nobody bat an eye during the sermon. A lump formed in her throat, swallowing hard. On the other side… she was plagued with unholy thoughts. ‘What kind of god wants everyone to be punished with heinous acts just for… thinking…’ Akane grit her teeth in contemplation. Distracted, her mother slammed a heavy book next to her, nearly making her jump out of her skin.

Heart racing, she quickly looked up at her mother. “Pay attention Akane. You don’t want to disappoint your Father and I, would you now?” That phrase felt like a gaslighting demand rather than motivation. “No Mother. I was just focused on comba-” “Quiet. You will focus for the remainder of our teachings.'' Without spouting another word her mother turned back around to write more details on the board. Akane held her sigh in her chest erasing those fragile thoughts that led her astray from her teachings. ‘The people around here make me sick anyway.’ At that moment she refocused her gaze onto the board and listened closely to her mothers holy words.

[On-going Private Thread.]
[Topic Entered]
[WC:520]

 

[Koga Akane]

Wednesday, Outer Village Zone, 1545

The smell of burned wood and decayed life were pungent throughout the area. The dirt roads that made up most of the outer village zone were packed with travelers, merchants and farmers that were facing delays in their schedules. The reason; ninjas dressed in grey vests and black garb were preventing anyone from passing through the forest. ‘The Masked Ones’ a phrase an old rice farmer kept using as he babbled on about his delayed trade route to his old wife. Akane’s hues peered over a tall black cloaked woman's shoulder with the sneakiness of a fox. To her surprise there were only two of them posted evenly within the width of the road. Frozen like statues, the one on the right stood with an intimidating stance with their arms folded across their chest and the one on the left stood sideways, looking up at the sky into the distance. Their white masks resembled animals that were possibly native to this area, a mask with horns like a deer and another with prominent bug eyes like a toad. ‘Only… two of them? This mob of people can easily push by.’ Her words whispered in her head, and as if someone were writing her life word for word, an average sized man stepped forward. “What’s the hold up! You guys just stand there and refuse to let anyone through let alone speak about why we can’t pass through!” His face got red, fueled by anger at his delay. The tall woman Akane used as a shield to peer over let out a faint chuckle. “This’ll be good.”

Without provocation the man got closer and closer to the figures on the road. The embodiment of the word bold the angry man got right into the toad masked ninja’s face. His shouting was enough to clear a field of birds but the toad masked figure didn’t move an inch. Audibly the man growled at the toad mask's lack of empathy and cocked his arm back and with as much force as he could launched his fist at him. It was over within a blink of her eye.

There was nothing but a cloud of dust as the angry man hit the floor at mach speed. The crowd gasped and held their breaths. The man with the toad mask remained frozen still. Subtly his left hand pushed a shiny metal rod back up his sleeve, concealing it within his person as his gaze continued towards the sky. Akane froze in confusion. Her dark orange locks swayed side to side as she shook her head in disbelief. “Nobody’s that fast…” She whispered to herself, forgetting that she was on the shoulder of a massive woman. “That’s elite ninja for you.” The woman chuckled, after which she shook her shoulder to get Akane off her.

Akane landed on her feet, “Elite Ninja? The people with masks?” Akane voiced her question to the large woman. She didn’t answer. Simply she moved towards the back of the crowd to find a different route to take. Akane turned to watch her walk away then redirected her eyes back to the man on the ground. With a loud groan he failed to find the strength to get up multiple times. Nearly giving up he crawled his way back to the disassembling crowd. Once they witnessed that freak show nobody else dared to cross the path. ‘I’ll have to warn my mother.’

[WC:575]
[MFT]

 

[Koga Akane]

Saturday, Koga Residence, 1738

The cold air tainted exhausted lungs with its sharp sting. Heavy were her gasps of breath as the young teen traversed through the forest from the mountain range. A massive explosion shook the ground hours beforehand while she was out. Smoke trailed up into the sky that turned its blue hue into a desaturated gray. Liable to follow the trail down to the epicenter, she had noticed the academy roof steadily emitted smoke. This made her stop her rigorous training and bolt down towards her house. The only thoughts that rain on her mind were another Tenouzan plot to destroy Kumogakure. Something she had been mentally struggling with ever since she arrived in Kumo a year ago. Physically as well, her mother was stuck in old timey ways of punishment.

As much as she loved her family there were conflicting feelings about each one of them. Personally she felt the weakest and least loved. A Cinderella story of sorts but rather than three mean sisters it was one who was showered with unconditional love and support while she got the chores to do and the regular beatings inside the ring during a spar or simply for being misunderstood. A father who barely looked her way other than being told what to do and a mother who’s overbearing devotion towards Tenouza molded her mind to believe they were impervious to crime and ill-intent. Her sister was an entirely different story. Outclassed in every situation while her sister was the beacon of hope in her mother and fathers eyes. The worst thing, her sister knew it too and ate it up like a fat kid eating cake. But, what was she to do? Abandon those who were her blood and roam the world alone? Too much for her to bear. A shame, since even those within Kumogakure hadn’t shown her much respect or companionship. ‘A lowly genin’. Akane completely ignored the fact that she had outperformed everyone in her class and became a genin quite quickly.

Leaves rustled as she broke past the forest line towards the outer village area. A moderately sized village district that was a pit stop for many merchants and farmers. The roads were partially deserted as most took shelter in their homes like spooked turtles at the signs of danger. It felt oddly unpleasant seeing deserted carts and the occasional wild dog roaming the street. Even as she passed through the courtyard, windows and doors shut abruptly like she herself was bringing the plague to the village. Akane shrugged it off, continuing her sprint towards a hidden alleyway. In the distance was her mothers house and without thinking Akane kicked open the door as she regularly did in a state of emergency but this time there was no reaction from her mother. The house remained still and quiet, which was particularly unusual. “Oka-san?!” Akane called out, waiting for a response that never came. Bewildered she moved towards the kitchen area and on the counter top laid a note underneath the paperweight of a Tenouza light novel. The note read:

“Akane,

Word spread fast and after relaying messages back and forth with your father, grave news has arrived. Tenouza has fallen by the time you read this message. By god’s holy grace your father and sister have moved prior into Bear country. They will begin rebuilding our great nation again but it will take time. Your father tasked you and I with sending supplies over to them. For now, I am making my way towards an outpost they overthrew. I’ll be back in a few days. Fuel us with shinobi supplies in the meantime.

Do not disappoint us.”

Akane stood motionless in the kitchen. Too stunned to move an inch. Her homeland was destroyed by Lightning. Who knows if any one of her past friends had survived the war. All those faces she remembered during her childhood. Her heart slowly began to sink as their image began to fade in her mind. Perhaps she was overthinking. Surely only the pope had fallen and the city had to be abandoned. “Yeah… Yeah! I’ll have to see for myself. No way in hell did Kumogakure level the place.” A spark of optimism ignited her heart. What she felt inside wasn’t anger but confusion to her people of Tenouza and the people of Kumogakure. Who were the real villains in her story? With haste she neatly folded the paper note and stuffed it in her inner breast pocket. “First things first, I need supplies to venture back to Tenouza. I’ll see for myself the remnants of my home.” Her hand balled into a tight fist before relaxing yet again. After a few moments she headed into her room and gathered her belongings. She knew full well how the bomb at the academy affected her and her people. Hopefully the shinobi that were at Tenouza were returning back to Kumo.

[mft]
[WC:813]
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