Standing braziers among the bazaar remained lit throughout all of the night to provide small warmth against the desert night. An ordinance placed into act by the 11th Kazekage to help not only fight the night’s icy claws from digging into the shoppers; but also the homeless who were ever near by in the alleyways. Their warmth was a familiar promise of the sun’s rise and a reminder to hold hope against the long night. As Michino walked by the blazing flames bursting from iron baskets, his right hand gently glided over the flames. They licked at his palms, but no heat created by man could harm him, so it was akin to a faithful dog’s mindful lick. Reminding him. Steeling him. Encouraging the hard thump in the warrior’s chest to still.
At the end of his path was a raised podium surrounded by a little more than fifty different shinobi; the core of the Rebellion. All of them were unique in their own ways, only a handful of them sharing bloodlines as the Toraono’s elite came to aid their wayward lord in his coup. The rest were trusted advisers, capable fighters, and powerful public figures who had been waiting for this day for some time. His foot reached the first step, and began to ascend the stairs to the speaking place in the center.
In the time span of one year, Sunagakure lost their Kazekage and found themselves at the hands of a tyrannical beast of the Chikimatsu clan. Without hesitation, Wei sold out the services of Suna to the highest bidder - two oil barons in Soon who wanted to control the desert and, eventually, the world. A war against the local nomadic tribes of the desert who were holding major oil wells started soon after. Without the aid of Ryuu Tama, ANBU, the Sennin, and Sousuke’s Old Council - the current Steward probably would have easily rolled over the Nomads. Yet through the machinations of the old guard and those with a heart for their desert home refused to allow themselves to be just another mercenary force, Wei’s hand had finally been shown…and not a moment too soon.
There was a leak in their ranks, and without hesitation the tyrant jailed a number of royal families, locked down the Toraono Dojo, and halted all Academy classes. The moment he began to make such flagrant power grabs the entire public raised a collective eyebrow. Sousuke, untouchable in his position of fame, continued to stoke the public’s ire with a subtle fan from the sidelines. He didn’t need to be public, he had people who could do that for him that were far more relatable than some old leader. Before the week was out the rebellion which had been but a handful of shinobi now included a majority of the village. Those that had come today, came to watch the rise of the next Kazekage, the man they would be following into the maws of hell to take back their home.
Michino’s foot raised to the next step. He was wearing very casual clothing. Jeans, sneakers with special soles for desert movement, and a gray muscle-shirt. Covering his arms was a sand-colored bomber jacket with white dunestrider feathers for the collar. His hair was bushy, his face unshaven with a small beard grown in. His fists were clenched in both righteous fury and sheer nerves. After all - this was entirely out of the man’s way of doing things. His purple eyes were ever wreathed in the same-colored flames that looked off to the horizon between taking glances at each recognizable face in the crowd.
To go through such subterfuge was against his own self-imposed laws; Toraono Michino was an honest man, after all. Hated subterfuge, always played a the ‘straight man’, especially when it came to things as important as replacing the leader of a village. Had Suna come to ask him to be next in line because Wei had to step down, then he would have accepted without hesitation. Instead, She came asking he throw down the current government, and take over with an internal coup built up by the local shinobi looking to return to an older time of stability and independence. Wei’s crime were many, and by all means did the idiot deserve the beatin’ that was coming…but the way he was asked to do it sat ill with him. So though he was “stepping up”, Michino had a plan, a goal in mind to change the village entirely and keep another Wei from happening.
That final step did his foot take as he raised up to the center platform and look down at everyone. His softly glowing eyes in the darkness gazed around through the faces in the crowed, recognizing many of his fellow servicemen, friends, and family. His brother was mysteriously missing, but Tama was ever a cat that did his own thing. There was no doubt in his mind that the scientist was helping in his own way before absconding back to the desert to plan some new foil. Uzu was also missing from the crowd, but that was probably for the best…no doubt an ANBU Captain had better things to worry about with a live coup about to start…
The Toraono leader raised a hand to still the murmuring of the people gathered. His eyes closed to regain composure before opening again to speak with an echoing baritone,
“Children of Sunagkaure, my brothers and sisters, and all creatures that call this place home. We stand in a time not seen since before we broke beneath the ground and raised ourselves to the surface. A time of strife. Grief, terror, and an unknown future have placed a heavy burden on our shoulders. Together, we have carried that burden so that a single man could relax and be at peace.
“While our blood muddies the dunes, he dines on the finest foods. While we hold our comrades dying in our arms, he holds beautiful women and lounges in his golden ball atop the Kazekage tower.” His voice began to raise. There was something about recounting the Steward’s crimes aloud that gave strength to his purpose.
“We have been forced to imprison children of our friends, the Nomadic tribes that have ever been a boon to us in this hostile environment. Forced to strike down their parents, raze their homes, and all for what? Greed. Control. Power. It is time that we remind Chikimatsu Wei and his leeches the consequences of such hubris!”
The raised podium Michino stood within the center of ignited in a purple flame, the same color that burned in his eyes. It lit up the night with haunting colors that painted the village in hues that could only normally be seen in the desert’s dusk.
“It has been asked of me to take on a great task. To lift the burden on Suna’s Children so that they may be free once more. Free to decide, free to fight, and free to run! And so I shall take upon my shoulders that weight from you!”
“I, MICHINO OF THE TORAONO CLAN, ACCEPT THE TASK AS THE THIRTEENTH KAZEKAGE! WE STAND STRONG AS THE MAELSTROM BLOWS!”
His voice shouted, strong as ever, echoing off the walls of the old buildings. Something rose within him that he had never felt before, something like a strength unknown to anyone but those who made that promise to lead. In his heart he would throw away his own life, gladly, to take on the very things that sought to destroy their world and life. That had never been a question he had to ask. From the very first time he nearly died tried to save that old couple from a maniac, to returning to shinobi life at an advanced age to save his home…Michino would always give his all to Sunakagure.
“…and now, the first task.” The flames around Michino died back down until the podium was returned to its original form with a slight char. He stepped back down as the crowd parted before their next leader,
“We go now in the night to tear Wei from his bed, and make him answer for the terror he has placed upon our heads. Do your best to still your blades against those that still guard him. Capture and arrests, so that we might sort out those who are loyal and those who can still be saved. We go now, into the dawn!”
As if planned, the dawn of the next morning cracked upon the Eastern horizon and bathed their world in shades of red. A battle was about to commence. A fight that would hopefully result in little of their fellow man’s blood spilt as they reclaim what the Chikimatsu’s Steward had taken from them. Michino removed his jacket and tossed it onto the ground before the purple flames erupted from every pour on his skin, turning him into a walking elemental wreathed in flame that darted forward towards the Kazekage Tower with alarming speeds.
The trail he blazed ahead was left for others to follow.
At the end of his path was a raised podium surrounded by a little more than fifty different shinobi; the core of the Rebellion. All of them were unique in their own ways, only a handful of them sharing bloodlines as the Toraono’s elite came to aid their wayward lord in his coup. The rest were trusted advisers, capable fighters, and powerful public figures who had been waiting for this day for some time. His foot reached the first step, and began to ascend the stairs to the speaking place in the center.
In the time span of one year, Sunagakure lost their Kazekage and found themselves at the hands of a tyrannical beast of the Chikimatsu clan. Without hesitation, Wei sold out the services of Suna to the highest bidder - two oil barons in Soon who wanted to control the desert and, eventually, the world. A war against the local nomadic tribes of the desert who were holding major oil wells started soon after. Without the aid of Ryuu Tama, ANBU, the Sennin, and Sousuke’s Old Council - the current Steward probably would have easily rolled over the Nomads. Yet through the machinations of the old guard and those with a heart for their desert home refused to allow themselves to be just another mercenary force, Wei’s hand had finally been shown…and not a moment too soon.
There was a leak in their ranks, and without hesitation the tyrant jailed a number of royal families, locked down the Toraono Dojo, and halted all Academy classes. The moment he began to make such flagrant power grabs the entire public raised a collective eyebrow. Sousuke, untouchable in his position of fame, continued to stoke the public’s ire with a subtle fan from the sidelines. He didn’t need to be public, he had people who could do that for him that were far more relatable than some old leader. Before the week was out the rebellion which had been but a handful of shinobi now included a majority of the village. Those that had come today, came to watch the rise of the next Kazekage, the man they would be following into the maws of hell to take back their home.
Michino’s foot raised to the next step. He was wearing very casual clothing. Jeans, sneakers with special soles for desert movement, and a gray muscle-shirt. Covering his arms was a sand-colored bomber jacket with white dunestrider feathers for the collar. His hair was bushy, his face unshaven with a small beard grown in. His fists were clenched in both righteous fury and sheer nerves. After all - this was entirely out of the man’s way of doing things. His purple eyes were ever wreathed in the same-colored flames that looked off to the horizon between taking glances at each recognizable face in the crowd.
To go through such subterfuge was against his own self-imposed laws; Toraono Michino was an honest man, after all. Hated subterfuge, always played a the ‘straight man’, especially when it came to things as important as replacing the leader of a village. Had Suna come to ask him to be next in line because Wei had to step down, then he would have accepted without hesitation. Instead, She came asking he throw down the current government, and take over with an internal coup built up by the local shinobi looking to return to an older time of stability and independence. Wei’s crime were many, and by all means did the idiot deserve the beatin’ that was coming…but the way he was asked to do it sat ill with him. So though he was “stepping up”, Michino had a plan, a goal in mind to change the village entirely and keep another Wei from happening.
That final step did his foot take as he raised up to the center platform and look down at everyone. His softly glowing eyes in the darkness gazed around through the faces in the crowed, recognizing many of his fellow servicemen, friends, and family. His brother was mysteriously missing, but Tama was ever a cat that did his own thing. There was no doubt in his mind that the scientist was helping in his own way before absconding back to the desert to plan some new foil. Uzu was also missing from the crowd, but that was probably for the best…no doubt an ANBU Captain had better things to worry about with a live coup about to start…
The Toraono leader raised a hand to still the murmuring of the people gathered. His eyes closed to regain composure before opening again to speak with an echoing baritone,
“Children of Sunagkaure, my brothers and sisters, and all creatures that call this place home. We stand in a time not seen since before we broke beneath the ground and raised ourselves to the surface. A time of strife. Grief, terror, and an unknown future have placed a heavy burden on our shoulders. Together, we have carried that burden so that a single man could relax and be at peace.
“While our blood muddies the dunes, he dines on the finest foods. While we hold our comrades dying in our arms, he holds beautiful women and lounges in his golden ball atop the Kazekage tower.” His voice began to raise. There was something about recounting the Steward’s crimes aloud that gave strength to his purpose.
“We have been forced to imprison children of our friends, the Nomadic tribes that have ever been a boon to us in this hostile environment. Forced to strike down their parents, raze their homes, and all for what? Greed. Control. Power. It is time that we remind Chikimatsu Wei and his leeches the consequences of such hubris!”
The raised podium Michino stood within the center of ignited in a purple flame, the same color that burned in his eyes. It lit up the night with haunting colors that painted the village in hues that could only normally be seen in the desert’s dusk.
“It has been asked of me to take on a great task. To lift the burden on Suna’s Children so that they may be free once more. Free to decide, free to fight, and free to run! And so I shall take upon my shoulders that weight from you!”
“I, MICHINO OF THE TORAONO CLAN, ACCEPT THE TASK AS THE THIRTEENTH KAZEKAGE! WE STAND STRONG AS THE MAELSTROM BLOWS!”
His voice shouted, strong as ever, echoing off the walls of the old buildings. Something rose within him that he had never felt before, something like a strength unknown to anyone but those who made that promise to lead. In his heart he would throw away his own life, gladly, to take on the very things that sought to destroy their world and life. That had never been a question he had to ask. From the very first time he nearly died tried to save that old couple from a maniac, to returning to shinobi life at an advanced age to save his home…Michino would always give his all to Sunakagure.
“…and now, the first task.” The flames around Michino died back down until the podium was returned to its original form with a slight char. He stepped back down as the crowd parted before their next leader,
“We go now in the night to tear Wei from his bed, and make him answer for the terror he has placed upon our heads. Do your best to still your blades against those that still guard him. Capture and arrests, so that we might sort out those who are loyal and those who can still be saved. We go now, into the dawn!”
As if planned, the dawn of the next morning cracked upon the Eastern horizon and bathed their world in shades of red. A battle was about to commence. A fight that would hopefully result in little of their fellow man’s blood spilt as they reclaim what the Chikimatsu’s Steward had taken from them. Michino removed his jacket and tossed it onto the ground before the purple flames erupted from every pour on his skin, turning him into a walking elemental wreathed in flame that darted forward towards the Kazekage Tower with alarming speeds.
The trail he blazed ahead was left for others to follow.
