It was an interesting experience, knowing your bare feet were on grass but your brain picking up the signals as just ‘there is feeling there’ and having to confuse yourself to know what it was. Tenken looks down at the metal protrusion that, honestly, did kind of look like a foot if someone poured mercury over it. It was only seven years ago they got these mechanical replacements for their limbs, seven years and a lifetime. Tenken sometimes tried hard to remember what it felt like to run barefoot through a dew covered land and more often than not lately couldn’t even get close to that memory.
Their life had been chaos since the moment that shinobi from Cloud tried to kidnap them, took their legs and one arm, and killed their parents. Training in the Academy was about the opposite of order due to the maelstrom of emotions the child was going through at the time. To lose everything, and be forced into a new way of life so different than the carefree life they had before was enough to make some people give up and crawl into themselves. And Tenken had done just that before Tsu. Devoted themselves to study and training and keeping people at a distance because they didn’t want to get hurt.
Tsu changed that. He befriended the confused student. He invited Tenken to his house for dinner, played games with them, and showed them some social spots to hang out with people. Tsu didn’t just open Tenken up, he invited others to open up to Tenken. And while Tenken would have many loose friends, only Tsu would dominate in such a manner. And when they were hitting their teen years, and hormones were flying high, it only felt natural for Tenken to let Tsu deeper into their heart.
He didn’t shame Tenken for their body, or for their identity. He didn’t judge, or insult, or recoil. Such acceptance was more than Tenken could bear, and it led to crying instead of the planned first time, but that came later. What was important was just how much Tsu showed Tenken that the world was worth fighting for, that there was good and it would beat the bad.
And so now Tenken stood in the Valley which had been their first view of Fire Country. The two colossuses of centuries past keeping their vigil over the land that was Tenken’s new home. This was a place Tsu loved, also. The waterfall was beautiful and created rainbows as it crashed into the lake below. Tsu liked to compare it to the nature of human beings. So beautiful, and yet the thing which gave them their beauty was also the thing which gave them such destructive potential.
Tenken pulls the paper boat from the box they carried this distance. Tears mar their vision as they recall the tales Tsu had told of this place. Of how the ravine was formed by the two shinobi looming above them now. How they had fought and neither could beat each other, so their fight ended with them frozen in time, petrified into stone to keep their home safe from others like themselves.
And the tales of strange animals that could be found here if you went looking, or if you got lucky. Tsu always said he wanted to come camp out here for a few nights to see if he would get lucky and have one of these unique beings visit him, or even claim him and let him borrow their time. Tenken rarely put stock in rumors but he seemed so insistent. Claims of people leaving here with monkeys or turtles in tow, or one person who had a dog they sword talked but could only say the word ‘rough’. He said some people woke up to slugs on their bodies that drained their ills away and left them hale and hearty.
Tsu said a lot of shit. Like he would always be there for Tenken. And he would never leave Tenken alone in this world.
The AiT sets the paper boat down on the box and pulls more things free. A small tealight candle was the first, hand made by Tenken in this past week; it was not the most elegant of things with bulges and bumps in the wax. But it was from their hands. Or their hand and the mechanical thing that Tsu claimed didn’t detract from Tenken’s form. This is laid in the boat, not quite center due to the inability to see clearly.
Next is the lock of pink hair. Taken from Tenken’s own head. It was wrapped roughly around a stone almost in the shape of a heart. Not heavy enough to sink the little boat, but large enough to make sure the shape could be seen. This is laid in the back of the craft to allow it to take dips without sinking.
As Tenken goes for the next thing their hand brushes something in the box. The mechanic mandible rises to show a spider crawling along their arm, confused at the hard surface that it was now clinging to. Golden eyes regard the arachnid for a long moment. It was a large specimen, so likely a female. No egg sac, and no markings that would lead one to think it was dangerous. Tenken lowers the arm to the ground and watches as the thing happily scurries into the grass and flees the giant who had given it a ride.
Then comes the next item. It was a strip of cloth. Dark green, with some stitching on it that look like the kanji for a sun. Tenken rolls it up upon itself into a cylinder and uses some string to tie it tight, sitting it just beside the hair. The cloth was from the shirt he wore on that fateful mission, it was one of the few things Tenken had to remember him by. Tsu’s mother, upon hearing of her son’s death, blamed ‘that freak’ and refused to let Tenken near the boy’s remains. They hadn’t even been able to attend the funeral, forced instead to mourn from a distance.
Now for the final part, Tenken wanders the Valley for a time. A unique plant could be found here known as a Lily of the Valley. It had a sweet smell to it, with white bell shaped flowers that bloomed up the stem. Some thought it to be a poisonous thing, so people had been going out of their way to eradicate it for years now. This made it hard to find one.
Tenken rummages through the flowers they do find. Dandelions, hibiscus, some hydrangeas. The Lily was important, it was his favorite. As the sun began setting beyond the western horizon, Tenken finally locates it. A small group of them growing under a rocky overhang. The teen falls to their knees, offering a small prayer to the spirits as they cut part of the plant off. It would heal, and regrow and flowers do. Tenken only needed a piece.
Tenken heads back to the box and puts the sprig of flower in the front of it aimed back, so the bells lie across the hair and the cloth. For a long moment, they do nothing except sit and stare at the offering they’ve made. Tsu would have called them needlessly sentimental for this. But it was the only closure Tenken could have.
Wiping the tears from their eyes, they pull the matchbook free. Tenken was no expert at fire jutsu, barely knowing even the basics of the craft much less being able to just summon a flame to their fingertip as many higher ranked ninja could. They would as likely set this whole thing on fire than light the wick. With a quick strike on their arm, the flame flares to life, flickering in the twilight air and dancing hypnotically.
Tenken lowers it down, lighting the candle almost reverently. ”I know you would laugh at me for this. But I have to. You have no idea how hard it is for me. But I won’t give up. I will keep my promise to you. I’ll fight for this world, for these people. And I will make them as safe and sound as you made me. I miss you. I love you.”
Tenken lifts the boat, lowering it gently into the water and putting a simple paper lantern over the flame before letting it go. They watch as the craft flows downstream from the waterfall, the light flickering. And then suddenly the lantern rises, the flame hitting it and giving it lift. It flies into the air and dances across the land on the breeze before fading away into ash. The small boat keep going, its light fading out as distance, and tears, make Tenken unable to see it anymore.
Tenken moves to the box and closes it up, then grabs the other item they brought with them. A simple sleeping bag. Tsu always claimed this place was home to strange, unique animals that would offer companionship. Tenken needed some of that right now. They unroll the bag and fish out some jerky from their pocket, eating a small dinner before crawling into their bed and looking up at the stars twinkling overhead. The sound of the stream babbling is the last thing heard as they drift off, hoping to awaken and find such an animal has chosen them.
Tsu said a lot of shit. But he never purposely lied.
(WC: 1587)
Their life had been chaos since the moment that shinobi from Cloud tried to kidnap them, took their legs and one arm, and killed their parents. Training in the Academy was about the opposite of order due to the maelstrom of emotions the child was going through at the time. To lose everything, and be forced into a new way of life so different than the carefree life they had before was enough to make some people give up and crawl into themselves. And Tenken had done just that before Tsu. Devoted themselves to study and training and keeping people at a distance because they didn’t want to get hurt.
Tsu changed that. He befriended the confused student. He invited Tenken to his house for dinner, played games with them, and showed them some social spots to hang out with people. Tsu didn’t just open Tenken up, he invited others to open up to Tenken. And while Tenken would have many loose friends, only Tsu would dominate in such a manner. And when they were hitting their teen years, and hormones were flying high, it only felt natural for Tenken to let Tsu deeper into their heart.
He didn’t shame Tenken for their body, or for their identity. He didn’t judge, or insult, or recoil. Such acceptance was more than Tenken could bear, and it led to crying instead of the planned first time, but that came later. What was important was just how much Tsu showed Tenken that the world was worth fighting for, that there was good and it would beat the bad.
And so now Tenken stood in the Valley which had been their first view of Fire Country. The two colossuses of centuries past keeping their vigil over the land that was Tenken’s new home. This was a place Tsu loved, also. The waterfall was beautiful and created rainbows as it crashed into the lake below. Tsu liked to compare it to the nature of human beings. So beautiful, and yet the thing which gave them their beauty was also the thing which gave them such destructive potential.
Tenken pulls the paper boat from the box they carried this distance. Tears mar their vision as they recall the tales Tsu had told of this place. Of how the ravine was formed by the two shinobi looming above them now. How they had fought and neither could beat each other, so their fight ended with them frozen in time, petrified into stone to keep their home safe from others like themselves.
And the tales of strange animals that could be found here if you went looking, or if you got lucky. Tsu always said he wanted to come camp out here for a few nights to see if he would get lucky and have one of these unique beings visit him, or even claim him and let him borrow their time. Tenken rarely put stock in rumors but he seemed so insistent. Claims of people leaving here with monkeys or turtles in tow, or one person who had a dog they sword talked but could only say the word ‘rough’. He said some people woke up to slugs on their bodies that drained their ills away and left them hale and hearty.
Tsu said a lot of shit. Like he would always be there for Tenken. And he would never leave Tenken alone in this world.
The AiT sets the paper boat down on the box and pulls more things free. A small tealight candle was the first, hand made by Tenken in this past week; it was not the most elegant of things with bulges and bumps in the wax. But it was from their hands. Or their hand and the mechanical thing that Tsu claimed didn’t detract from Tenken’s form. This is laid in the boat, not quite center due to the inability to see clearly.
Next is the lock of pink hair. Taken from Tenken’s own head. It was wrapped roughly around a stone almost in the shape of a heart. Not heavy enough to sink the little boat, but large enough to make sure the shape could be seen. This is laid in the back of the craft to allow it to take dips without sinking.
As Tenken goes for the next thing their hand brushes something in the box. The mechanic mandible rises to show a spider crawling along their arm, confused at the hard surface that it was now clinging to. Golden eyes regard the arachnid for a long moment. It was a large specimen, so likely a female. No egg sac, and no markings that would lead one to think it was dangerous. Tenken lowers the arm to the ground and watches as the thing happily scurries into the grass and flees the giant who had given it a ride.
Then comes the next item. It was a strip of cloth. Dark green, with some stitching on it that look like the kanji for a sun. Tenken rolls it up upon itself into a cylinder and uses some string to tie it tight, sitting it just beside the hair. The cloth was from the shirt he wore on that fateful mission, it was one of the few things Tenken had to remember him by. Tsu’s mother, upon hearing of her son’s death, blamed ‘that freak’ and refused to let Tenken near the boy’s remains. They hadn’t even been able to attend the funeral, forced instead to mourn from a distance.
Now for the final part, Tenken wanders the Valley for a time. A unique plant could be found here known as a Lily of the Valley. It had a sweet smell to it, with white bell shaped flowers that bloomed up the stem. Some thought it to be a poisonous thing, so people had been going out of their way to eradicate it for years now. This made it hard to find one.
Tenken rummages through the flowers they do find. Dandelions, hibiscus, some hydrangeas. The Lily was important, it was his favorite. As the sun began setting beyond the western horizon, Tenken finally locates it. A small group of them growing under a rocky overhang. The teen falls to their knees, offering a small prayer to the spirits as they cut part of the plant off. It would heal, and regrow and flowers do. Tenken only needed a piece.
Tenken heads back to the box and puts the sprig of flower in the front of it aimed back, so the bells lie across the hair and the cloth. For a long moment, they do nothing except sit and stare at the offering they’ve made. Tsu would have called them needlessly sentimental for this. But it was the only closure Tenken could have.
Wiping the tears from their eyes, they pull the matchbook free. Tenken was no expert at fire jutsu, barely knowing even the basics of the craft much less being able to just summon a flame to their fingertip as many higher ranked ninja could. They would as likely set this whole thing on fire than light the wick. With a quick strike on their arm, the flame flares to life, flickering in the twilight air and dancing hypnotically.
Tenken lowers it down, lighting the candle almost reverently. ”I know you would laugh at me for this. But I have to. You have no idea how hard it is for me. But I won’t give up. I will keep my promise to you. I’ll fight for this world, for these people. And I will make them as safe and sound as you made me. I miss you. I love you.”
Tenken lifts the boat, lowering it gently into the water and putting a simple paper lantern over the flame before letting it go. They watch as the craft flows downstream from the waterfall, the light flickering. And then suddenly the lantern rises, the flame hitting it and giving it lift. It flies into the air and dances across the land on the breeze before fading away into ash. The small boat keep going, its light fading out as distance, and tears, make Tenken unable to see it anymore.
Tenken moves to the box and closes it up, then grabs the other item they brought with them. A simple sleeping bag. Tsu always claimed this place was home to strange, unique animals that would offer companionship. Tenken needed some of that right now. They unroll the bag and fish out some jerky from their pocket, eating a small dinner before crawling into their bed and looking up at the stars twinkling overhead. The sound of the stream babbling is the last thing heard as they drift off, hoping to awaken and find such an animal has chosen them.
Tsu said a lot of shit. But he never purposely lied.
(WC: 1587)
