Just Komora Things [Open]

[Shinrya Riko]

There was a show today at the Mochizuki compound. The big tent had been set up and a stage had been prepared. It was now Komora's turn to put on an act.Thankfully Komora was dressed today. She was wearing a dark costume with lots of leather and buckles. A pair of shinobi issue standard sandals were on her feet. Perhaps the only thing Komora contributed to her own wardrobe were the shinobi pouch filled to the brim with kunai that was wrapped around her waist. Yet for as many Kunai as it seemed she had obviously, everyone who knew Komora knew that she probably had more somewhere. A few of members of the audience commented on her odd appearance as she arrived at the stage holding hands with a voluptuous woman wearing a rather revealing costume that matched in theme to Komora’s.

The lady was Chou. She was not a blood member of the Mochizuki troupe, but she had contributed to her new family with her musical talents and beauty. The vixen gently held the hand of the youngest of the main branch as she guided her to the stage so that she wouldn’t get lost, as she was prone to.

Everything was set up just right for tonight’s act. The only prop for the set was a wall that seemed to have experienced the tips of many knives. There was a cart full of throwing knives at the center. Chou led Komora next to the cart. She leaned down and whispered into her ear. ”Wait here. Don’t throw.” There was definitely the temptation. All of those targets were calling her name. Or maybe it was her fans who were?

She picked up a knife and began to examine it while Honda worked the crowd. ”Good Evening! Have we got quite the thrill for you all tonight! Our own Darling Komora - is a mistress of the blade! To help demonstrate the extent of her skill, I will stand beside this wall while Komora throws her knives. A single slip and my very life could end.”

The woman sauntered over to the wall and flaunted herself. She nodded to Komora. The girl picked up a handful of knives and one by one painted an outline of Chou’s body. Each knife had its flat side only centimeters from her flesh. The crowd gasped in terror with each knife throw. Komora began to juggle the knives like she had been told, and then one by one she added more knives to the outline.

Chou did a pirouette while two stage hands removed the knives from the wall. She then began to make various risque poses while Komora threw knives into the spaces between her arms and legs each move. The two stage hands quickly and quietly brought two targets on a stick and handed them to Chou. She began to flourish and dance with them while Komora hit them repeatedly with her knives.

To Komora this was all just a game, and she did enjoy the challenge quite a bit. She reached for another knife, only to be disappointed that she had run out. Chou sauntered over to Komora and took her hand again. ”Time to bow.” She told the girl. In unison they both bowed to the audience each way before exiting the stage.

 

[Junan]

It was a quiet day, nothing much on which was want to happen more and more these days. Things had gone a bit quiet, the loss of one of the branch leaders within the organisation that he worked for had caused that. They would replace her soon enough though and things would slowly increase in activity again. The big boss wasn't stupid, he knew what he was doing.

Getting dressed he looked at the naked body of his lover, unconcious still in her bed. She was older than him, indeed she was his boss, but he loved the feeling of dominating her, knowing she was more powerful than he was, that she could order him destroyed and he would have to fight for his very existence, knowing this, and yet knowing that at night he could push her face into a pillow and delight in her screams of passion.

Putting on his shades he stepped out into the world.

He wore extremely flambouyant clothing, it was something which had come from his own personality, not the personality of the man whose life he'd taken over. Something which his family had struggled to get to grips with, though passing it off as some kind of reaction to some secret mission, a coping mechanism, or some shit like that. He didn't care of course, he would dress and do as he pleased as long as it was within the confines of his orders. Thus he wore tight pants, heeled shoes, and a bright pink boa. His hairless chest and abdominals out for all to see.

This was of course doubly ridiculous for those of Cloud, this freezing weather, no-one in their right minds dressed like this. Some women did to attract a guy, or just to flaunt what they had, perhaps that was why he did. But then unlike most of them he didn't feel the cold. He only felt what he let himself feel, for he was a puppet of his own design.

Still, as he had the day to do as he pleased he decided to go and watch a show.

The Mochizuki Clan were an entertaining lot, and he often wondered what kind of positions he could flex their members into as he crashed his pelvis against theirs, how would they scream, how would they moan. The thought would have been enough to give him an erection if he'd let it. Still, he liked to simply watch for now. Perhaps he would get a job in which to kidnap one, and during that he might find out, but until such a time he wasn't allowed to indulge his fantasies. He was after all a shinobi of Cloud and he was to do nothing which might cause this title problems.

Entering the compound he paid his ticket and went to take his seat.

The acrobatics were such that even a shinobi of great skill would find impressive. Their lithe forms dancing in the air, spinning, bending, flexing, everything was perfection. Yet the majority of the crowd were peasants, people who like himself, three years ago, knew next to nothing about being a shinobi. So to them it was magical.

A woman moved towards a board, and a young girl threw her knives. Junan hoped that the girl would make the other bleed, just a knick, the slightest prick of blood. It didn't need to be life threatening, but just enough to send shivers down her spine. He was disappointed of course, but sobeit, this was simply something which was going to happen.

They juggled knives, the other dancing with a couple of targets, they moved before the audience, flashing ever so quickly, the blade flung directly towards a member, and just as the member thought their life had ended the natural movement of the target had meant it were hit instead of the audience member. It was a dance in which you couldn't tell who the more skilled was. The dancer who seemingly caught the knives, or the thrower who seamlessly hit the targets.

They finished their routine and the crowd clapped. Junan simply grinned.

 

[Shinrya Riko]

The bleach blonde haired girl was one with keen eyes, and a unique perspective on things. It was difficult to keep her attention on things that it was supposed to be on, and while Chou tried to lead Komora off the stage, the older woman had found Komora to suddenly be looking out into the audience. Komora had not actually looked at the audience in any part of the performance. She had been so focused on the game that she hadn’t realized that there was such a strange person in the audience. The man stuck out like a beacon. She felt her giggles bubble out of her as her excitement spilt over. To her, it seemed that this man was like herself. He dressed differently similar to how she would dress herself, that is to say, he seemed to have as much of a disregard for clothing as she did.

Komora decided to investigate. Once they were off stage, they were supposed to get ready for another act, but Komora didn’t have time for another game right now. There was something much more interesting in the crowd. She began to tug at Chou, and when the woman tugged back Komora let relaxed her hands and used her sweat to escape the woman’s grasp. ”No! Komora! Where are you going!?” This was the first time she had disobeyed so blatantly in a long time. It had seemed that she was finally starting to mellow out, yet this proved that the opposite was in fact true.

She slipped through the crowd and swam through the sea of guests until she found herself besides the bare chested man. She grabbed the end of his boa and began to smell it before deciding that tugging it to get his attention would be a good idea. ”Komora likes Green Beans.” She explained to him. The best part was that she was being completely serious.

 

[Junan]

There was an intermission as the next act prepared for its display. Junan was unaware of what was taking place until he felt his boa move, and then a slight tug on it. Attached to the end of his boa was the young girl who had thrown the knives during the previous demonstration, a fact of which wasn't lost on the crowd around them. The cooing and speaking to her as an adult would a child, so many "wow, you should be really proud of yourself young girl" and like comments made Junan sick, but he ignored them.

Instead he simply stood there and looked down at the girl, not smiling, not scowling, just looking at her from behind tinted glasses.

Before he could ask "what do you want?" she spoke.

What she said amused him. Komora likes Green Beans. A smile crept upon his face as his amusement showed.

Does she? What do you like about Green Beans, Komora? He asked. He didn't know what to expect from a reply, nor did he really care. Right now she was amusing, a thing of entertainment more than just knifeplay, but a curiosity, something different from the mass of sameness which plagued this world.

He didn't look up to see if she were being followed, he didn't care, this young child was the only thing in this place worthy of his attention, and so to him there was no-one else around at this moment in time. The people that surrounded her disappeared from his vision, their voices drowned out by their own purposelessness. Mindless drones which acted as they had been instructed all their lives, lives which served only to serve. Lives which would one day fulfill their true purpose. What that purpose was wasn't for him to know, nor did he care, but one day they would serve it none-the-less. And then they would die.

 

[Shinrya Riko]

Does she? What do you like about green beans, Komora?

Komora pressed a finger to her cheek as she tilted her head back in an exaggerated manner as though she were lost in deep thought. The answer to the question was complicated. It was complicated because Komora’s brain had to take the long way around to even figure out what he was trying to say. It was frustrating to not understand the way other people thought, but she dropped her finger and righted her head. A hopeful smile crossed her lips as she gazed up at Junan’s expectant face. ”Yes. Komora - she - she likes them.” She said perhaps a little bit louder than necessary. She ran her fingers through the feathers of the boa. The mesmerizing pink color had stolen her attention from Junan’s question as she explored the texture between her fingers. She then paused and looked back up at Junan.

She briefly took in the whole of the crowd and suddenly began to feel the weight of their eyes as though they were walls that were creeping in on her at a terrifyingly slow pace. It made her feel trapped. She folded her arms as a sudden chill ran down her spine. She gestured for Junan to lean down to her. She cupped a hand to her mouth and whispered to him. ”Komora thinks you look like a bird.” She held up her end of the boa so that Junan could look at the feathers too.

”Komora!” There shout came just barely over the crowd. It was the pair of stage hands, along with Chou. They were looking through the audience trying to find her, but due to her relative height to the people in the crowd she was well hidden. She also did not seem to be paying attention to their frantic cries for her name. ”Komora! Where are you?”

 

[Junan]

She answered him, but it seemed as though her attention was elsewhere. Her fingers ran through his boa. She looked up at the crowd that were all staring at her, her attention diverting to them also diverted Junan's attention in their direction. He looked back down to the girl who seemed scared of them, and instead gestured for him to lower himself to her level.

He did so, but perhaps not in a way that the others around him would have anticipated, he instead bent at the hip, his head flew past a couple of others who'd been staring at the girl, snapping them back into reality as they reacted to the sudden movement. Small amounts of adrenaline entering their bloodstream causing their hearts to flutter before their brain could realise that they weren't under threat, simply a strange man making unusual movements.

As they regathered themselves and prepared themselves to tell Junan off for moving in such a way Komora whispered in his ear that she thought he looked like a bird.

Pulling away slightly he grinned, looking at her through the corner of his eye, for the first time she would be able to make direct eye contact as he quietly replied I am a bird. There was a mischievous glint in his eye as he said this.

Just as he'd been ignoring the crowd, including the telling off he was getting for his earlier movement, he now also ignored the call for the girls attention. He remained in his position, looking at the girl through the gap between his glasses and his face, maintaining eye contact, his grin spread wide across his face as he waited for her reaction to his statement.

 

[Shinrya Riko]

The man leaned forward. His pose fetched no reaction from the girl, even though it drew scorn from the crowd. She just didn’t understand what anyone was talking about. She had simply whispered her secret to him without a moment of hesitation. He pulled away, and tried to lock eyes with Komora. ”I am a bird” His grin began to stretch across his face. In fact… it seemed to stretch from ear to ear… In fact, to Komora, it seemed that his smile was going from one eternity to the other. The star struck girl gaped at him. As she looked up at him, she forgot that she was standing and suddenly found herself stumbling backwards onto the ground.

The awe and shock lasted a moment more before suddenly. A giggle. Komora began to giggle uncontrollably. She rolled to her feet and hopped in place in a circle giggling. Bird, bird, bird, bird, bird! She chanted in a sing song voice. ”Komora found a bird!” She announced to everyone. Komora grabbed a random faceless woman and pointed at the man. ”Green beans taste good.” She tried to explain to the woman, as though that explained the presence of the bird man.The throng gathered around must have begun to attract the attention of the people searching for Komora because they began to dig their way through the crowd.

”Komora!” It was Chou, still in her leather outfit from their performance from before. The two stage hands soon exploded behind her. ”There she is.” One of the said to the other. Chou breathed a bit of relief. ”Komora, you’re interrupting the show. Come on. Come with me.” A frown immediately crossed Komora’s face, but as Chou took her hand she didn’t seem to put up any resistance. She just moped as she let herself be pulled through the crowd and away from the bird.

”Aww...look at her.” One of the stage hands chuckled to the other as Komora choked back a sob. ”Chou, you went and broke her heart.” Chou didn’t stop but she looked over her shoulder at the pouting Komora. ”Akira, we’re going to have to cancel all of Komora’s acts tonight. She just isn’t in the mood for it.”

One of the stage hands, presumably Akira, trotted away from Chou, Komora and the other stage hand. ”We’re going to get you out of those stuffy clothes okay?” Chou said in a bright cheery voice. Komora nodded, ”Buh-bird.” She said through the tears that had begun to stream down her face.

 

[Junan]

The little girl looked at him in shock at first before she started giggling, Junan started to chuckle quietly as well, his shoulder shaking slightly as he did so. She began to hop around beneath him while singing the word "bird" multiple times followed by "Komora found a bird". Junan found this all very entertaining.

Junan's breaking point was when she grabbed a bystander, pointed at him and said that Green Beans taste good. His head tilted back and he let rip with a laugh that could shake the foundation of a building. Green beans taste good.

The woman from the earlier show broke through the crowd, cutting Junan's mirth short as he heard her voice cut through saying the little girls name in a tone which signaled the end of his fun. Yet then there was relief on her face, the concern of where the girl had gotten to clearly draining the woman slightly, yet then the words told Junan that actually the concern was on how the girl had been interrupting the show.

Taking Komora's hand she went to drag the young girl away, Junan followed, his grin slipping to a faint smile as he did. From a distance it might almost look like he were stalking his prey, thankfully no-one could see this from a distance due to the crowds around him.

Voices called from the crowd, and the woman looked at the young girl who was clearly getting upset at being dragged away from where she had been.

One of the group moved away, and Chou told Komora in a bright cheery way that she was going to be changed, Junan's presence unnoticed until the shadow fell on the paid of them as he stood between the light and them.

Green beans taste good. He said, humour and something else which might alert one to potential danger simultaneously seethed through the words. His small smile slowly grew into his vicious grin as he looked down at Chou.

 

[Shinrya Riko]

It was easy to miss things when the entire world’s eyes were upon them. It was a feeling that Chou had gotten used to as a performer of the Mochizuki troupe, but it made it easy to miss the sensation of a predator stalking through faceless people as though they were nothing more than tall grass. Suddenly a threatening shadow fell over the pair of females. The Puppet King stood with the lights at his back. A grim smile painted face in a terrible light. ”Green beans taste good.” His words might not have sounded like they carried any kind of negative tone, but Chou couldn’t help but feel a little creeped out by the way he said it. Maybe it was the way he was standing against the light? No, it had to be that crazy grin he was wearing.

Komora was still choking on her sobs although it seemed she had calmed down some. The Lines of tears were still apparent on her face. She glanced at Chou and then back at the bird man. The expressions on their faces should have been something that any ordinary person would be able to read, but Komora was illiterate to such matters. Chou’s terrified eyes and the maniacal cheshire grin on Junan’s face could have no meaning in Komora’s brain. She pointed at Junan, specifically at the happy colored boa around his neck. ”F-feathers Chou.” She tugged on Chou’s hand trying to get her attention. Chou took a step back from the man. ”Chouuu, Feeeeathhersssss.” She pointed again with renewed strength. Chou simply drew Komora closely to her side in a tight hug.

Komora struggled to free herself. She didn’t want to be hugged right now. Yet, as she did so she felt like that there was something wrong. She looked at the faces of the people in the crowd. To Komora they were all faceless. They had no expressions and it was impossible for her to tell what they were thinking, but their eyes… the way their eyes fell upon her as though they expected her to know what they thought intimidated her. She looked down at her feet, no longer crying, but feeling extremely uncomfortable with all of these unreadable faces around her.

Komora looked up in curiosity as the stagehand who had remained stepped in between Chou and the tall man. He wasn’t built like a fighter, but his steps were carried with a sense of chivalry that was lost on Komora. ”Excuse us please.” the stagehand inclined his head in a slight bow. He put his hand on Chou’s back and began to lead them to the backstage.

Another act was already setting up for the viewing pleasure of the audience as a whole, but the events going on right here in the throng seemed to have caught more than its fair share of viewers.

 

[Junan]

He stood there, his eyes unblinking as they stared into Chou's, she would know that he could sense her fear, his grin unwavering as he would appear to loom even larger above her, but it was just an optical illusion.

Rudely another member of the troupe arrived, a man, lithe in form, but Junan knew that this was simply the way they were built. Built for acrobatics, agility and speed were their weapons, strength and force were worked around, and Junan chuckled slightly as the man did what he did, a chuckle which showed that to him, it didn't matter how many of them there were, or which ones, there was no fear, no feeling of self preservation behind his eyes. For in his mind he had nothing to fear.

Instead he replied in a most unusual way.

You have my permission.

It was said in a most normal way, as if the man had been requesting it. As though it were required for them to be able to leave his presence. It was both an insult and a threat, but at the same time neither as he was allowing them to leave.

His eyes mocked the man as he led them backstage, to safety, though they weren't in any real danger. Junan knew he'd be thrown to the wolves had he done anything, and though his actions here were unusual, and could be read into to mean what they meant, he also knew that there was nothing he had done or said that was illegal, or could do anything more other than make those specifically involved concerned.

A hand raised, his fingers waving to Komora.

Until next time little one.

He then turned, the movement showing the massive boa, the feathers ruffling in the wind, and yet then he seemed to vanish. A small number of feather gently floated towards the ground showing that he hadn't simply been a mirage, but the man himself was gone.

[topic left]

 

[Shinrya Riko]

Within the safety of the staff area Chou breathed a sigh of relief. That man seriously bothered her, and she sincerely hoped that he stayed away from the Komora in the future. The way that he seemed to shower attention on Komora. The girl was still looking, or trying rather, to peek back into the audience where the bird man had vanished. ”Come along.” Chou dragged Komora all the way to the changing area. Komora just rag dolled while Chou attempted to help her out of her stage clothes. Then suddenly Chou yelped. There was a thin red slice down the palm of her hand. Komora watched her curiously, unable to understand the expression of pain on the woman’s face as she tried to nurse the palm of her hand. She picked up a nearby white cloth and pressed it to the palm of her hand.

”Seriously!?” She growled. Komora tried to peak at the woman’s hand, but she jerked it away. ”Stop Komora!” She shouted. Komora didn’t. ”Let Komora see, she wants to see!” Komora was strong for a 9 year old. A lot stronger than Chou. She forced Chou’s hand onto the table. ”Komora knows what to do! She does!” She remembered that time when she stabbed her own hand and then that magical blood bunny had showed up, magicked her hand and then ahd wrapped it up. Komora knew just what she needed. With one hand forcing the struggling Chou’s hand against the table, Komora pulled out a hidden kunai from her clothes.

”K-Komora! What are you Doing! S - Stop!” Chou Panicked as Komora moved her knife closer to Chou’s arm. The woman jerked free, and suddenly… she was on the flow with a kunai in her chest. Komora looked at her blankly. ”Komora knows what to do! Trust her!” She told Chou. She pulled the kunai out of Chou’s chest and then she cut up her own clothes and part of Chou’s in order to make bandages. ”S-see, Komora knows!” She said excitedly.

But Chou didn’t seem to be better. ”Chou!” She happily giggled. ”Chou no sleeping! No sleeping!” She patted Chou’s face. Komora wasn’t the kind to read faces but she was beginning to get the feeling that something was wrong. You can’t sleep with your eyes open. Komora had been ignoring the pool of blood spilling out onto the floor. She began to shake Chou. Komora didn’t understand what was happening but it was making her feel uncomfortable.

”Chou - Chou - CHOU WAKE UP! ITS NOT NAP TIME!!!” She screamed. Suddenly the door to the dressing room exploded. It was the giant of a man that had on occasion walked Komora around the town before Chou was her caretaker.

”K-Komora whats -” His voice caught in his throat. ”Shit.” He peeked out the door. ”WE NEED SOME HELP OVER HERE!” He bellowed to the stage hands. Immediately a pair of men accompanied the big man as they looked Chou while Komora stood frightened in the corner. ”Wh-what the hell happened here?”

The big man met eyes with Komora’s scared face. Some sympathy seemed to flash into his eyes as he realized that Komora didn’t even know what she had done. Sympathy and pity. ”They were practicing for their next knife throwing routine, and Komora accidently hit Chou.” The big man explained. ”Shit - we don’t have time for the stories. She’s still alive! WE have to get her to the medical tent.” The big man scooped up the fragile woman on the floor in his arms and raced out of the building.

Komora was still holding a Kunai in her hand. She realized for the first time in her life what it meant. That time she had felt so sleepy when she had stabbed her own hand. Her hands began to shake as she dropped the metal object to the ground and watched its tip sink into the wooden planks that made the floor.
She reached into her clothes and dropped another and another. She was shaking as she stepped out of the room on her own. This was the first time that she had felt anything like guilt or shame, and she just couldn’t take it. She remembered the ancient forest that she had explored on at least one occasion. She squeezed her hands together determined to never touch a blade again. Her hands would suffice from now on.

She walked unopposed out of the mochizuki camp. They may have been good, but they weren’t shinobi like Komora was training to be. She didn't even give this two thoughts for her reckless abandonment of the troupe. It was dangerous in the forest but she didn't care. She was going to live fight and die in the woods with her own two hands from now on.

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