Getting Back to Nature [Contract Search]

[Miraku]

As Raku descended down the well, it began to get darker and darker as he moved. Walking straight down, he wasn't able to properly see where he was walking, and seemed to knock some stone loose from the walls as it fell down into the well. 'Oh shit.' he thought to himself as he stopped moving, waiting to hear the outcome. Yori began talking to him once again in his head, telling him to be more careful and that he could have hit the patient, but that gave Raku a bit of relief, knowing he hadn't managed to hurt the patient more. Raku closed his eyes for a moment and began to think, trying to think of the best way to deal with this. Then it hit him, thinking back to earlier in the night when Yori had healed him.

"Yori. I need you to use your powers like you did with me before at the campsite." he began to whisper, trying to keep it quiet so no one else outside were hear him except Yori. "You'll be able to light up the well for me so that I can see down there, and I will use my Crystal Eye jutsu to be able to watch further below where I'm walking to avoid walking on dangerous areas and get down there safely to pick him up and get him out of here." he offered as a plan for how to deal with the current situation.

The only thing that was really worrying Raku about this situation was how weird it was that someone was stuck down here for a prolonged period of time with no help, and that people were still here patrolling the area, which could become an issue if there was a reason this boy was down here. Taking a deep breath, Raku stood there keeping the chakra molded into his feet. Patiently waiting to see what Yori thought about the plan, and whether or not she would go along with it, so that he could then use his jutsu. It would help him see, but the brighter it is, the more useful it would be to help see where he was going. If Yori would agree to do it, Raku would then use his jutsu to control the eye down below him to watch where he was walking and walk down into the bottom of the well to pick up the boy and carry him back up to the top and out of the well hopefully.



[418 WC]
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[Okada Kaji]

Perhaps Raku just didn’t know the amount of toiling it took for Yori to keep a grasp on the child. Down in that darkness, the child was buoyant enough that Yori managed to keep his head above the water by pinching his collar in her mouth and sticking herself against the bricks. They must have been like this for days now, miserably gripping dear life in an effort to prevent the loss of an innocent life. Maybe Raku overestimated the power of Yori when he made his request, hoping to use her mystical gift as his lantern in the dark. Did he not have a flare to strike or more of the plentiful chakra he used to defy gravity during his wall walk?

“We… we will try, but, please hurry...” Yori was desperate enough for his assistance that she obeyed his request, despite knowing that her body at the bottom of the well was already on the brink of exhaustion. Her tiny form flexed every muscle and gripped the child’s collar as tightly as she could as she began emanating a dim glow of green chakra. Her transference of lifeforce— as that is what it was mostly, inspired an awakening of her patient, stirring the child into a fit of coughing. Instantly, the boy was aware that Raku approached despite hardly being able to distinguish the shinobi from the darkness above him. His small eyes stared with wide pupils as he knew his savior had come.

“Ah, please help me, help me,” the boy cried weakly, repeating the mantra over and over, and returning the feeling to his arms and legs as started flailing. “We can’t hold on” Yori cried, blasting Raku with the telepathic empathy of her emotions. Fear and dismay would flood his mind as the slug’s slobbering maw lost its grip.

The screaming was brief before the boy’s head dipping beneath the black waves. Everything her was black, illuminated slightly in traces of green light, which faded in and out from the frightened confliction felt by Yori. She was powerless in this situation and forced to watch as the patient began to sink. “Master save him!” It was not polite, it was not a request, it was a plea that zapped into Raku’s consciousness, demanding that he save this child!

• </I>[*]Visibility at the bottom of the well has improved to Dim.
  [*]<I>The patient will be suffer drowning checks every turn until saved, for a maximum of three turns.
  First Drowning Check 1d20: 15 (Pass)

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[Miraku]

Raku had been trying to take his time and approach the situation slowly and more calculated than usual as this was a very unusual situation for him. It seemed that Yori was having trouble with this. She had seemed so strong earlier when she had helped him, but in that time she must have weakened due to trying to save this young boy to the point where she wasn't able to glow as brightly as before. Obviously drained of her chakra, she wouldn't be able to do much more. This also caused the boy to awaken, which startled Raku slightly as he quickly used his handseals to create the Crystal Eye jutsu, causing a floating eyeball to appear.

The boy began flailing which only seemed to complicate things further as Yori began to lose her grip on him, her strong emotions hitting Raku immediately through her telepathic link, as he realized he would need to act quickly now because there wasn't much more Yori could do about this anymore. He had managed to get pretty far down the well, but there was still a bit to go, and he need to hurry up now. Moving the eye down to the bottom of the well now, Raku could make out where the boy was due to Yori's faint but fleeting glow.

It was then Raku decided he would need to jump down and across to speed up the process. His feet stuck to the side of the well, he bent at the knees, placing his palm against the wall of the well, placing his other than on the hilt of his sword. Facing downward, he pushed off hard, launching himself downward to the opposite wall, landing much further down the well, his feet attaching to the wall once again with his chakra. He then turned back to the wall he had come from, repeating the process again, moving at quick speeds, as if his own life was on the line.

It only took him a few moments to reach the bottom of the well, just above the water where the boy was sinking into the water. Quickly he wove a few handseals, as a thin layer of wood began to cover his entire body using his Wrath of Nature jutsu to make sure he'd be safe. Dropping from the wall, into the water below, he dove in to grab the boy and pull him back up to the surface above. He held his breath, and the wood helped him sink faster as he swam down to the boy. Grabbing the boy once he got down to him, he would pull him back up with himself. Raku had enough practice swimming, coming from Water Country where his entire country was an island.

As they breached the surface, Raku put the boy over his shoulder and moved to a side wall, molding the chakra into his feet once more, attaching himself to the wall, and trying to walk up it this time. It was definitely a harder process with the added weight of the young boy, but certainly not too much for him as a trained Shinobi, having done plenty of weight training. As he was out of the water, with the boy on his shoulder, he released his wood armor, making himself lighter again, and then began to do a few more handseals, his hands began to dimly glow, not enough that it would have helped enough earlier, but he placed one hand on the boy, using it to hold him up on his shoulder but also try to help heal him slightly, using his System Restoration jutsu to try and stabilize the boy until he could get him up and out of here where Yori could properly look after him.

"Let's get the hell out of this well and get this kid somewhere safe." Raku said in a hushed tone, trying to let Yori know everything would be okay now; or so he hoped. Raku would then work his way up and out of the well, trying to get out rather quickly as he didn't feel very safe down here where he was cornered in case someone else were to show up while he was in there.


[706 WC]
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[Okada Kaji]

Raku surged with action, advancing his descent with a flurry of wall-bound somersaults and precise hand seals. He overcame the hindrance of the darkness with bravery reinforcing his will and plunged into the black abyss. A layer of coalescing chakra emanated from Raku as his body embraced the chill of the well. By the time Raku stretched his arms forth to propel himself downward, the shape of the sinking youngling came into view, tinted green by Yori’s faint glow.

Raku resembled a heavenly savior as he grasped the drowning child, moving gracefully in spite of the darkness, the cold, and the peril caused by it all. There was a gasp of relief from Yori when Raku and the child breached the surface. Her hope was renewed, and she found a bit more vigor to hurriedly crawl towards Raku to make their escape. This second Yori resembled the one at the top of the well in every possible way, except for her fatigued state. She slithered up Raku’s arm and onto his shoulder as he began to ascend the well wall again. “You did it M-Mister Raku!” The victory was a cause for celebration, even though they were not out of the woods until Raku delivered them to the surface. As a full-grown Jounin, Raku would not find much trouble carrying the boy or the slug, and as an adept earth elemental shinobi, climbing remained as easy as it was before.

With Yori depleted for the moment, Raku wove a few hand seals together and released some of his own chakra, which began to revitalize both the child and the slug who clung to him for dear life. It seemed as if the exit out of the well took half the time as his descent despite the increased weight he was carrying.

But as Raku made his way up the sixty-foot climb, those searchlights coming from the village were already much closer to the well than before. Yori was watching nervously from above, unable to detect the approaching party until the sound of boots pressing through the tall grass came closer. “Hurry Mister Raku, we have c-c-company!” The light reflecting off of the approaching villagers depicted about five people from what Yori could tell in the dark. They were all carrying lanterns or torches for light, and simple, improvised weapons such as machetes and pitchforks. A couple of them have dressed more appropriately for a fight, with old-era armor that had been phased out by the Kaminari no Kuni’s military years ago. “Get a look at the thing, it’s yuge,” one of the farmers said as he held up his lantern to get a better view of the purple slug. The light they shined highlighted the top of the will, creating proverbial light at the end of the tunnel for Raku and his passengers.

 

[Miraku]

As Raku walked up the wall of the well at a decent pace carrying both the injured boy and the exhausted separate body of Yori up to the surface, he noticed that it began to get brighter near the top of the well as Yori began to tell him that they were approaching and that he should hurry. He began to pick up the pace, taking the pace he would had he been jogging on land, as the light got brighter and brighter. As he was getting closer, he could hear the echo of someone's voice travel down into the well from above, mentioning something 'huge', which Raku could only assume was Yori. One didn't usually see a slug so big, so it would definitely make sense. This thought worried Raku a little bit as it was his job to make sure everything here went off without a hitch.

Picking up the pace again, he began sprinting, and as he got to the top, he bent down at the knees, looking up to the light, and pushed off with a large amount of force, launching himself up and out of the top of the well, slightly into the air, he went over the edge of the well, looking down in that moment to see a man getting close to Yori with his lantern. Raku leaned forward in the air, and began falling to the ground softly right in front of the man, between him and Yori.

"Oi. Could you not?" he asked, looking at the five guys, seemingly equipped to protect the village. "It'd be nice if you could take a step back." he said, in a slightly less than friendly tone. Raku hadn't wanted to deal with these guys in the first place, but it seemed that he had taken too long for that to work out as he would have liked. He would stand there looking at them as he held the boy on his shoulder still, weary to set him down with these men standing around.

They didn't seem like too much of a threat for him. Judging by their gear, it was cobbled together, and they were just basic protection. To Raku, they didn't seem like trained shinobi, at least he assumed they weren't at his level, but appearances could be deceiving. He didn't want to get into a fight, but the fact that the boy had seemingly been in that well for a while, with people like these around, and hadn't been rescued certainly made him cautious about these men and what they would think about him taking the boy out of the well himself.


[440 WC]
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[Okada Kaji]

Nothing short of total tension filled the air for the group of villagers when Raku propelled himself out of the well with a final burst of action. His movement was swift and his shape was abnormal, given he had the child clung to his back and a second slug perched onto him. If any of the farmers had a projectile weapon they would have opened fire at that moment, yet they were all taking defensive stances with weapons raised. Wisely, Raku tried to temper the crowd, as his use of the common tongue offset their estranged reactions. The shinobi became visible in their lantern glows, bringing a bit more ease to the farmers as they were merely confused now, rather than frightened. “You just came up outta’ that well there, boy?” One man wearing a cowboy hat and a bristly mustache spoke with a louder gruff than the others despite a swarm of blathering personalities behind him. The others turned silent, as if the one with the most distinguished facial hair was, in fact, their leader.

“Master Raku, please lay down the patient so that we may attempt resuscitation!” The call of Yori broke through the sounds of the concerned crowd, which was still stepping closer one by one, more curious with Raku. These weren’t simpletons, no, but it wasn’t every day that someone sprung up out of the old well.

Meanwhile, the exhausted slug on Raku’s shoulder simply released her grip on him, and jump to the ground in order to expedite the following… The first companion slug was already on the move, coming to reach the second in order to begin the first ritual of reunion Raku would see that night. “Not so fast” the hoarse old man ordered; he was trying to take control of the scenario, especially once he recognized the child Raku was carrying. “He has the boy, he has Toru” a voice shot out from the crowd and all of them farmers began close in around Raku and the two slugs. “What are you doing with him? ‘Get away from Toru, you and your freaky monsters” another voice in the troupe of guards warned, engaging with fearful, nasty language.

The small crowd let out astonished gasps as the two slugs began to glow with the familiar verdant light, and began merging into a single, larger slug. The new Yori that emerged was roughly four times the size of her previous forms and moved across the grass towards Kaji and the boy he rescued, presumably known as Toru. If Raku would set the boy down, Yori would proceed in efforts to resuscitate Toru, which was presumably doing poorly, according to Yori. However, the villagers weren’t at ease and drawing closer with their anger peaking in the haze of confusion. It was all misunderstanding; perhaps the farmers would relax if Raku placed the child in their care and backed away. The decision of what to do was in Raku’s hands.

 

[Miraku]

The men all around seemed quite surprised by the arrival of Raku as he landed before them from up out of the well. The lot of them began speaking among themselves, unintelligible to Raku's ears as they all blended together. It was then that one man's voice stood out more than the rest. He wore a cowboy hat, speaking with some kind of accent, asking if he just came out of the well, as if he couldn't believe his own eyes at what had just occurred. Before Raku could respond, Yori began speaking to him in her usual way, cutting through everything else as it was within his mind, the others probably not hearing it.

"Yes I did just come out of that well, since this boy was trapped down there and injured." he responded, taking the boy off his shoulder at the same moment, moving to the side slightly away from the crowd a bit to a more open spot, not turning his back to them, attempting to move the boy towards the ground when the old man from before essentially wanted Raku to stop. He raised an eyebrow, as they continued to talk, mentioning the boys name; Toru. Raku became a bit worried as the group began to move in slightly. They then began to tell him to get away from the boy, not understanding what was going on. Raku set down the boy on the ground beside him, then taking a step forward in front of him to keep himself between the boy and the crowd, hopefully giving Yori the chance to work.

It was then that both versions of Yori met and began to fuse together, their glow lighting up the area nice and bright like she did previously at his campsite, maybe even brighter. Raku figured that something like this might freak out these simpletons to the point where they would assume the worst, so he figured now was the best time to try and explain things to them and hope it didn't make things worse. "Hold on. I'm a Shinobi from Kumogakure. I'm here with this creature in order to help this boy. He was injured and needs proper medical attention or he will die. All of you need to step back and give us some room to work." he tried to explain to them.

Raku's hand instinctively moved to his side, resting on the hilt of his sword, in a non-threatening way, but such that if he needed to, he would be able to react and use it accordingly. His eyes began moving around the crowd, watching closely to make sure they weren't planning to attack or make any sudden movements. Raku had yet to see Yori in her newly fused form, but it sounded large from the movements behind him, but he couldn't take his eyes off the group in front of him to make sure everything was okay. "If you all could just calm down and relax a moment, everything will be okay. This shouldn't take too long." he told them, trying to comfort them over the situation, assuming Yori wouldn't take too long now that she had fused together, hopefully being even more powerful than when split.

[537 WC]
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[Okada Kaji]

The lone shinobi from the Hidden Cloud was doing his best to temper the crowd, which was closing in around them. The people were driven purely by confusion and concern and wanted nothing more than to take the child away from the menacing shinobi and his giant slug. Following Yori’s simple instructions, Raku placed the boy known as Toru down in the grass and allowed Yori to commence another one of her healing rituals.

The cleric slug erupted in a mystifying glow of verdant chakra, which tripled anything Raku had witnessed from Yori beforehand. The act was fueling the child with vigor, empowering him to survive— his heart was pumping strongly, as were his lungs, and his the blood rushed through his veins with restored vitality. The sight was frightening to the misunderstanding villagers at first, and nearly provoked them into attacking util Toru began to stir. “He’s alive” cheered one of the first villager’s to comprehend the incident. More villagers watched on, struggling to believe the events unfolding before them.

Humbled by the waking child, the group of village guards began to lower themselves to kneeling positions and set aside their makeshift weapons in an act of surrender. At this juncture, a bulk of them understood their misgivings, especially their leader, who began to approach Raku and the child steadily. Like all of the villagers, he sought to confirm that this was really occurring, and not logical ruse played by the shinobi from the well. “Please allow me to apologize on behalf of the people of our humble community,” said the bristled old man. “This child is Toru, who has been missing from the village for days on end. I know how this may look, but this well is as old as when our village was settled, and we sparsely visit it in favor of a more modern irrigation system installed in our village by your people.” The aged leader arrived by the side of Raku, Yori, and Toru, which was sitting upright and looking around with confusion. There was popping in his old bones as the elder took a knee beside the child, and extended his hand to offer Yori an innocent, patronizing pat on her forehead. Raku could sense a slight groan from the slug as she modestly let the gesture slide.

“Old Man Taiga!” Little Toru had never been so excited in his life when he sprang towards the village elder, and almost knocked his cowboy hat off his head when he sought to hug the elder. He then scooped up the child into his arm, and arose to his feet, carrying the boy in a parental fashion. “It certainly ain’t everyday we have villagers in our quaint little community, like you and; yours” Old man Taiga explained, further attempting to justify his people’s previous transgressions. Then an overjoyed woman arrived, most likely Toru’s mother, who took the boy away from Taiga and offered thanks before retreating gleefully.

Taiga seemed satisfied with it all then and remained there with a hand on one hip, and a lantern still raised with the other. “We really respect Kumogakure around here, I swear,” he admitted proudly, “but I ain’t ever seen a pet like this one. Where’d you find a creature like this one?” Despite the magnificence of Yori’s moment as a savior, the unintended ignorance of Old Man Taiga enforced a sense of melancholy for the slug. He head was hung low, and her light-sensing tendrils were receded to the point of being minuscule nubs on her forehead. She had been down there with the child for days before Raku came along and made the rescue possible… and all she’d received for her efforts was a thorough belittling.

 

[Miraku]

As Yori began to heal the young boy, the glow behind him was intense, brighter than he had ever seen, though he wasn't able to look back at it still as he wanted to make sure he kept his eye on the villagers who were still upset about the situation until the boy apparently began to move and someone recognized he was alive, letting everyone else know. It was then that the villagers began to stand down, lowering their weapons and calming down. As the old man from earlier began to speak again, apologizing for the way they had acted, he explained the situation, which put Raku a bit more at ease, knowing that everything was alright. He fought off the urge to facepalm as they explained that they no longer used this well anymore really, using a newer system which Raku had no idea about. Earlier in the night, Yori had told him they used the well to obtain their water, so he only assumed that it was the truth, but knowing otherwise made things much clearer now.

The boy appeared to be fully healed when Raku turned to look at Yori, seeing just how huge she had gotten now. Toru stood up and ran to the old man, excited to be alright. As the old man picked him up and continued to speak to Raku, he couldn't help but smile sheepishly, glad he was able to help, and that everything was ending up alright. The boy then ran off to a woman who Raku figured would be his mother since he seemed so excited to see her. As the man continued talking about his respect for Kumo and about Yori in general, he see that she was feeling a bit overwhelmed in this situation, and probably didn't feel too great about being seen as a pet, or weird creature that they seemed to think she was.

"This is Yori. She definitely isn't a pet. She's a friend, or a teammate. If it weren't for her, I wouldn't have known to come here or been able to help that boy out of the well so she could properly heal him. She's the real hero here." He said, looking over to her with a smile. "I just helped out." he continued, explaining the situation to the man. "I'm just glad we were able to help that boy in time." he finished as he looked back to the old man.

After a few moment, Raku looked down towards Yori, but his speech was aimed at both her and the old man. "We might have to head out now though if Yori has another job that needs to be done, can't keep people in need waiting, ya know?" He wondered if Yori needed to go, or wanted to get out of here since she did need to finish helping some other people to finish her rite of passage she had talked about previously, and these people didn't really seem to understand her that well, so it was probably a bit uncomfortable for her here. He waited for her signal or words before he would react further.

[524 WC]
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[Okada Kaji]

Yori directed her light-sensing tendrils to Raku as he began to empathize with her feelings, and sought to correct the farmer’s unintended insults. If she had the ability to form a smile with her mouth like orephus, it would have been from cheek to cheek then. “We appreciated that Mister Raku,” Yori told the shinobi. With the record corrected, the grateful farmers began to make their returns back to their little community, but Old Man Taiga went last. “Ah, well my sincerest apologies, Yori,” he said, seeming true to his words, “I meant no harm. I thought to offer you some of our village’s quaint hospitality for the night as a token of our gratitude; you were both timely heroes for your deeds… But if you must be on your way, I won’t hold you up any longer. But at least allow me to provide you something that might aid your cause. Have my lantern,” Taiga stepped towards Raku with his oil lantern held out, sure that the light would help in their journey. “Might it serve as a beacon to let those in need know that their saviors are coming.” Yori gave Raku an encouraging nod, hoping he’d take the offered item.

Almost without warning, Yori began to crawl up Raku’s leg, this time before about three times as heavy as she was before, and was now too large to fit on his shoulder, and clung to his back instead. She then extended her telepathic energies to the old man herself, almost stunning him with her transmission: “Thank you, Master Taiga” went the slug in a kind tone. And then it was time for the duo of man and slug to be off again, over the river and through the woods, onward to more adventure.

---

Once Raku was on his way, Yori steered their path just as she did before— but if Raku chose to bring along that lantern, the added light created a much greater sense of perception for Yori’s tendrils. There was nothing stopping them now. Compared to their first adventure climbing down the abandoned well, collecting the third body was a breeze. Raku and the Yori upon his back came across a nearly sedated bear at the face of a cave, deep within the surrounding forest. Yori was already finished aiding the bear, and it provided no challenge when Raku approached. In fact, Yori’s telepathy also seemed to work on animals as it did humans, and the bear was warned not to see Raku as a threat. The newly acquired body was then paired with the larger one on Raku’s back— at this point, the slug knew how to climb him diligently. But then, the greater weight of the third slug merged back into the main form barreled down upon Raku, testing his strength and endurance for the rest of their journey. “I hope we’re not too heavy” Yori said awkwardly. “Luckily, our last and main body isn't not too far from here, just a few miles. Oh, this has been years in the making, thank you for all of your assistance, Mister Raku.”

 

[Miraku]

Yori sounded happy about Raku's previous words and with such said, the villagers began to take off and head back. It was late, so it was expected they would be tired; at least the ones that had only recently woken up to the commotion, and others would probably head back to guard duty, but Taiga stuck around for a few more moments, apologizing to Yori and suggesting they could stay the night if they needed to, but Raku was certainly more interested in helping Yori finish her tasks while he had the chance. With that, the old man began to offer his lantern to Raku, such that he may use it to light his way through the night.

"I appreciate that very much, sir. I would gladly accept your offer. It will be of good use in this dark night." he said, holding out his hand to accept the gift with a small smile across his face -- not something he was used to showing to random people. It was as he grabbed the light that Yori began to come up from behind and crawl up Raku onto his back, heavier than before, but not too bad, as he had just carried out a child from the well, he would be fine carrying her larger body now. She was certainly too big for his shoulder now though, so hopefully she could hold on. "I guess we'll be on our way then. Thanks for the lantern, and have a good night." Raku said to Taiga as he began to walk off away from the village with Yori on his face, lifting an arm to wave a goodbye with his arm as he began to take off.

Once they had gotten a distance, Raku tried to look back at Yori, not as if he was trying to see her, but as a signal that he was talking to her, "I hope you can hold on tight. We'll get a move on to your next spot~" he said with a chuckle, as he began to take off jogging, and then moving to a running pace, leaning forward, giving her better ability to hold on, arms back as he ran, ready to grab her if she began to come loose.

Just like before, Yori gave Raku directions to their next job, seemingly easier than before now that they had light with them, attached to Raku's belt lighting the area around them. As they arrived at the next spot, the new patient was a bear, which took Raku by surprise, figuring she's stick to humans, but apparently she healed anything. The bear seemed relatively calm with Yori around healing it. It didn't take long before she finished and moved towards Raku and began to crawl up Raku as well, connecting to her larger form on his back, as they began to fuse as well, becoming larger still. He could feel the weight on his back increase and the surface area on his back which she took up grew as well. Yori offered words of sympathy, knowing she was getting heavier, but that wouldn't stop Raku.

"Don't worry. I'll be fine. I'm glad I can help. Let's get this done and then we can celebrate you finishing this thing." he said, smirking, as he stretched his back a bit, feeling the pressure against it. With that, Raku waited for Yori's next instructions on where to go before taking off to wherever she needed to head to next to finish up her final task. A few miles didn't sound too bad for one last task. The idea of being almost done invigorated him slightly, giving him the energy he needed to run this one out.

[617 WC]
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[Okada Kaji]

And so they were off, pushing along the countryside on the final leg of this journey. All in all, it was an adventure in empathy, adventuring in the name of doing good, and helping a creature with an incredible gift complete the quest of a lifetime. The good nature of the shinobi named Raku paired well with Yori, who found no limitation in her ability to aid others once the shinobi lent her his mobility and perseverance. And now, before this night was done, Yori’s march of one-thousand healings was complete. All that was left for Raku’s part in all this was to deliver the form of Yori accompanying him to her final destination, which was a damp gorge in the highlands of Kaminari no Kuni.

Hanging banners planted with tall posts indicated that this was a sacred land, with common and ancient glyphs alike reading warnings in several languages. From here to momento deo, there was a touch of unending winter, yet the special properties of this particular mountain within the range an ideal home for Yori’s Zo Clan.

Yori directed Raku to hang a right and slip through a narrow crevice in the mountainside path, which resembled a slit in the wall once he held up Taiga’s lantern. “This is the secret entrance to our home, meant for the Two-Leggers,” Yori explained, though she had yet to use such a term around Raku. It was safe to presume it was slang for human, though it was almost exclusively used by Yori’s kin. “Not many of your kind have ever come here Mister Raku: you are a friend to us, or else you’d likely be covered in an acid spew before you could count to ten.” Yori led Raku down a narrow passageway, utterly pitch black with the exception of his lantern. “No pressure, but given we— I have not been home for many years and with a two-legger no less… my clansmen have gathered en masse to see the end of my pilgrimage.” It sounded strange to suddenly hear Yori changing her identity of self to a singular one; her mental voice made it sound so unnatural. “I… must sound confused,” she admitted embarrassedly, “my consciousness has been fragmented for so long, I’m afraid I’m struggling to be one person again… part of me thought this day would never come.” As the hefty slug tried to explain herself to Raku, a sudden barrage of dozens, no, hundreds of mental voices entered Raku’s mind, delivered so expertly that even distance affected the volume of the thoughts from afar. The thoughts resembled a room full of conversation as Raku reached the end of that narrow, rocky pass and entered an incredibly vast chamber.

Slugs and snails of various shape, size, and breed lined the walls of a canyon which stood around them. The area resembled an oval pocket which expanded upwards to a hazy, night’s sky, and nothing but outcropping of boulders, fungi, and moss growing along the walls. The chamber was full of the Zo Clan: countless beings who turned their tendrils to focus on the two-legger who entered now. It seemed if all the slugs had something to say; mostly sleights towards Yori for daring to bring a two-legger into their camp, but many were just proud to see her complete the journey. Down at the center of the chamber, Raku would lay eyes upon the vision of a Yori much larger than the one upon his back; the one true Yori. “Master Raku” she proud slug woman beckoned her human ally, choosing to honor him fully around her kin. “The March of One Thousand Healings has taken me seven years to complete, but it was with your help that I have made it to this stage tonight…” The large slug turned slowly to see Raku face to face. “I have completed nine-hundred and ninety-nine healings; and for the one thousandth, the Zo Slugs always reform whole… and it is the return to wholeness, stronger and wiser than before that symbolizes the end of the pilgrimage.” The buzzing activity of the many other slugs sharing their thoughts was muted as they all watched on, viewing the start of Yori’s melding ceremony.

The primary body of Yori towered over the likes of Raku, and she sat in waiting as he would have come forth. “You have done a great service to me and the Zo Clan, Raku of Kumogakure… please, do come forth and present my final missing piece, so that I may commence melding.”

 

[Miraku]

The final journey was underway and it was sure to be more than anything Raku would have expected. After a good run through the lands, the two of them ended up in the mountains, as they came upon one in which many banners were hung, only able to read one of them, warnings, for which he assumed the others said much the same in more languages for all those who may come upon this area. Raku was quite confused, unsure of where they were, and what this final healing would entail. It was then that Yori began to direct Raku further, pointing out a small narrow entrance into the mountainside. Holding up his lantern he was able to spot it, hidden quite well, and pretty small, but just wide enough for a human to fit through, as Yori began to explain further.

Raku felted honoured as he found out that Yori had taken him back to her home, where the rest of her clan would reside as well. He tried not to take any offense to the name 'two-legger' for which she seemed to call humans, as it was most likely a cultural thing for them. A slight chuckle exited his mouth as she mentioned the acid, mostly a nervous laugh in response, not liking the idea of being covered in acid himself. Yori then continued to explain how her clan had gathered to welcome her back at the end of her trials while also trying to keep herself together now that she was becoming one being again.

"Don't worry. It's understandable, if only through what I could imagine it must be like to be split apart like that for so many years. Not that I could actually understand." he said, getting a little tongue tied as he spat out the words, definitely feeling the pressure as they went deeper and the sound of so many voices bombarded Raku's thoughts, unable to discern what was being said with that many creatures speaking at the same time. Reaching the end of the pass, he entered the huge expanse in front of him, filled with many creatures, slugs and snails alike, big and small. The light of the night sky shone down inside, lighting up the center of the area as he walked inside. It seemed as those everyone was watching him, feeling many different emotions coming off of them just by the perceived glares he was receiving. Some felt angry, some confused, some happy probably for Yori's return.

In the center of the room, bathed in the light of the night sky was a much larger version of Yori. Still carrying the version of her he thought was pretty decently sized, he realized she was much bigger than he ever imagined. She began to speak to him once more, explaining in further detail; seven years to complete, and that she had done nine hundred ninety-nine healings and needed one more. Apparently the reforming of their body to be whole was some kind of metaphorical healing to be considered their last and final one of the one thousand healings. Praising him for his help, she only ask that he come forward and present her with the last piece of her body to reform and finish her task. Gladly he stepped forward, getting closer to her before kneeling down to the ground to let Yori leave his back and crawl down on her own to reform with herself. He had learned enough times along the way that she didn't like to be treated like a pet, so he would let her crawl down on her own and return to herself as the proud slug she was to finish her task. "I'm just glad I could help, Yori" he said a little more softly than usual as he knelt there waiting to see the finale of this adventure.

[644 WC]
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[Okada Kaji]

Once Raku presented the last missing sliver of Yori’s mind, body, and soul, the time had come for her final mending to begin. The slug on the shinobi’s back released her grasp on him then, dropped to the floor, and glided across the ground, which was already coated in a slippery ooze from the constant travels of the canyon’s inhabitants. The smaller slug resembled a calf returning to its mother, more than a fragmented being becoming whole, as she moved to press herself against the titanous slug.

The cavern was bathed in vibrant violet light as the final melding took place, merging the two slugs into Yori’s complete and final form. But instead of growing larger as she did before, the source of the light began to shrink, smaller and smaller until it was but a sphere of light shorter than Raku. You see, the final healing was more than a metaphor, in fact, it was truly a restoration of self into a fully realized form; it was a metamorphosis of monumental proportions, seen rarely among the slug kind. Once the light faded, Yori emerged in a new form that was more than a slug, and considerably humanoid to a degree. “The thousand year slug” spoke the crowd— though each creature had their own way of stating the decree, they all knew it to be true. Raku and the others had gathered to see the coming of a prophetic occurrence: the emergence of the savior of the slug kind who was reincarnated only once per millennia, this time through Yori.

“I am complete,” said a voice, this time heard by the ears with a similar sound to the voice Raku received mentally from Yori before. The fading light revealed her as a demure female being, with a frail form and short stature. She was on one knee, bent forward from the exhaustion of her transformation, with long, light-sensing feelers with feather ends extended from her crown. Her supple form was tinted in shades violet accents, with a pale white covering her from head to toes. A collection of long, silvery tendrils with violet ends were grown from her head, resembling long tresses of silky hair. Yori covered herself, recognizing how she might be seen differently by Raku in her new, womanly form— especially since her telepathic empathy was as powerful as ever. Yori instead used one of her newfound ability to extend some of her tendrils into censoring clothing, making something like a frilled bodysuit. “You have helped me realize my true potential, Master Raku” Yori said proudly, fully glowing with adoration and pride.

Raku would never forget this moment, nor would any shinobi who ever came to this place and saw such a sight. The very foundation of the canyon began to tremble as the progenitor of the Zo clan began to stir. The back wall of the cavern shook and cracked, and dust and sediment began to fall as the truth was revealed. That back wall was not a wall at all, in fact, it was merely a massive stony shell, which shifted upwards, revealing a black mass underneath. A wave of slime poured out, forming a pond of the stuff, far behind Yori, as gigantic black tendrils came out from underneath and curved upward, into the sky. They were king-sized, light-sensitive tendrils much like Yori’s in her original form. Then came the head of the creature, which was as black as an abyss, and rising out from within.

“Master, meet my father, and overlord of the great Zo clan: Zo Kuroi!” Yori introduced her patriarch, telling the shinobi of his title in full. As she explained she dropped to her knees in another respectful bow and urged Raku to do the same by her side as an equal.

“Long time no see, little Yori” spoke the Slug King, who sent out mental transmissions in slow, deep tones. Zo Kuroi was as slow as he was huge, and as huge as he was old. “Ah… You have completed your march of one thousand healings… and your inheritance of your rightful place as the Thousand Year Slug has been achieved. You have truly made the Zo clan proud this night, my child.” One of Kuroi’s mega-sized eyes then swung forth at slow sleep, moving closer to his daughter and the shinobi she brought home. “And you have brought a two-legger with you, little Yori” the Titan Slug observed, already adding a bit of tension in his mental message. “Y-yes father,” the slug woman answered, not daring to speak as she resumed telepathy to consort with her father and king. “His name is Raku, and he aided me in my journey… he’s not like most of the others of his kind— the humans are not so unkind, and I— we can trust him, father!” Yori stated her case for Raku, who did not seem to be in trouble so much as under the scrutiny of old Kuroi. And she continued convincingly; “Master Raku showed me compassion, bravery, and understanding when the challenge of my march started getting the best of me. He was a true friend to the Zo Clan tonight!”

“Hmph” Kuroi shot back, seeming unimpressed with Raku, though if Yori made this claim in Raku’s favor, than it meant that the words rang true. “This Raku has two too many legs for my tastes,” the old slug said, which earned cynical laughter from the other clansmen; “but if The Thousand Year Slug has faith in him, so shall we all!” The decree from the eldest slug earned hearty hurrahs from the other clansmen, who never doubted their king. “Yori, you may present your two-legged friend with the Oath of Sakuna; share with him the rites of our kind, and he shall be considered a friend to the Zo clan until death. In turn; the Zo shall aid him as he aided you.” And then, the mighty slug began to make a retreat back into his shell, not really caring to have much more interaction with the human in his home. His descent was slow though, which allowed Raku a moment to speak up for himself if he couldn’t contain himself.

And while the father retreated, Yori arose and bade Raku rise at her side. She held a warm smile, with pinkened cheeks and bright eyes as she looked to her shinobi comrade. She then punched him in the arm, more with playfulness than an actual effort to harm him. But with that punch came a tingling sensation which imbued a permanent mark on him. “There, you now have the chakra mark of the Zo Clan; it will allow you to call upon us with a summoning jutsu whenever you are in need; or even if you just want to pal around a bit.” The young slug woman blushed just at the thought of maintaining a friendship with a human at all and looked away from him bashfully. “I can’t thank you enough for all of your help tonight, Master. If you ever need help, don’t hesitate to call us… I can still turn back into my original form, in case you ever need help in a battle. I’m a lot stronger than I look, ya’ know.”

You have been offered
The Slug Contract
Do You Accept?
Yes or No?​

 

[Miraku]

Everything was such a blur. As Yori merged back together, something incredible happened. She glowed so bright, but did not grow bigger, but instead, smaller, the light just as bright but more condensed as she shrunk to a size even smaller than himself, the light fading out and revealing her new form, her true form. She looked closer to a human than a slug now, though she was completely naked as they obviously didn't wear clothes. Looking away slightly at first, a little embarrassed about seeing such a sight. Raku kept it calm though, looking back at her after she covered herself. The crowed began calling her the thousand year slug, This was surely something special. Hearing Yori speak aloud for the first time, as it reached his ears instead of his mind, he smirked a bit in delight of the change, proud he had helped such a momentous event take place, just as she did.

As they stood there, the ground shook, and from behind, the back wall began to move, only just realizing now that it was a huge shell of a giant snail. Raku's mouth opened in shock at it's pure size, bigger than anythinhg he'd ever seen before. As it moved into position, out from the shell came black tendrils, working their way out, followed by it's head, blacker than the night as it looked around, before Yori began to introduce him; her father and the leader of their clan, Zo Kuroi. She then immediately began to bow, Raku followed suit, so as not to be rude, as he was intruding on their land with Yori's permission. He began to transmit his voice. Hearing it himself, Raku could feel a sense of vibration in his body at the deep slow tones of it. He seemed proud of her as well, though he also didn't seem as happy that she had brought home a human, of which they continued to call two-leggers. The term sounded funny to Raku, but this situation was a little too serious for him to find a chance to laugh at the term at all. Yori then explained the situation, telling him who Raku was and how he had helped her. She was so nice, making him sound like such a good person; though he wasn't sure that was really the case in his usual everyday life with the kind of job he had.

As Zo Kuroi continued to seem unimpressed that Raku was there. Raku found it kind of funny again when he mentioned how he thought Raku had two too many legs, but reluctantly gave in, in the end thanks to the support of Yori for him. He began to speak of things which the man had no idea about; an Oath of Sakuna? sharing the rites of their kind? He was surely confused about such a situation. Did it have anything to do with the summoning contracts they learned about when they were younger? It seemed they were as he spoke of his clan aiding him in the future and being a friend to their clan. But just as quickly as he appeared, he went back into his shell. Raku would have liked to say something, a thanks or anything, but the large snail was intimidating, and he didn't seem completely fond of Raku in the first place, so he figured it best to keep to himself in this situation.

Yori began to get up as Zo Kuroi vanished into his shell, and turned to Raku. He stood up and looked down at her, she seemed happy, a smile across her face, and then suddenly, she punched him in the arm. It didn't hurt, it felt playful, like the kind a friend gave as a congrats or something. Suddenly, he could feel a tingling on his arm, as Yori then explained what was happening. A chakra mark left on his arm that would allow him to summon members of her clan if he needed them, adding that they could pal around as well, suggesting that Yori definitely wanted to see him again in the future; their friendship just beginning hopefully.

"Wow. That's incredible." he told her. "I'll definitely be sure to summon you to hang out once in a while or if I need your help, as long as you're up for it. I'm just glad I could help,
and glad to have made a new friend in you tonight Yori. I definitely won't be forgetting this night. " he said, a genuine smile across his face, excited for what the future would hold for him and the Zo clan working together. But just as the night had started, it was coming to an end, and he would need to head back.

"I've had an insane but awesome night tonight, but I also must head back home, as I'll surely have work to do soon, but don't worry, I'll keep in contact. And thank you for everything." he said to her, saying his goodbyes before he would head off for the night, back towards the village, ready to leave for the night and travel back.

[Contract Accepted]
[Topic Left]
[854 WC]
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