Staring Toward the Effervescent Heavens [Contract Search]

Kawakami Hotaru · Jul 10, 2015

Venturing toward the Heavens for mere men was nigh impossible, the best they could hope for was to gaze at it's wonders from years away sitting in their mortal toils, many men ventured into these mountains to come closer to the heavens above, to gaze at it's effervescent beauties. It has been said that the at the tops of these mountains men could reach out and touch the Heavens above them, to ever so briefly feel it's rapture, it's bliss. They say that once in contact with the skies above most break down into tears of joy, gaining the feeling of a new lease on life itself; however, our young heroine did not believe a single word of any of that nonsense.

"Why does it have to be so damned cold?</COLOR> Chiyoko asked her Sherpa rubbing her gloved hands together, cupping them and pressing them a few inches from her lips exhaling a mixture of smoke from the cigarette clasped between her lips and the condensation of her breath from the cold. For a quiet moment she pressed her hand against the left side of her face, tracing the lightly-tanned leather eye patch that hid her disfigurement, her missing eye. The Sherpa shrugged his shoulders, patting the rump of his mule and expecting his provisions, Chiyoko had learned since the beginning of trips in the mountains that her particular Sherpa did not speak much of the native tongue. From what little she had learned from the man he was of a small tribe of nomads that traveled these mountains, all benign folk who made their money by doing just as he did, escorting idiotic city-dwellers around the mountains for one reason or other. Quickly the young woman readjusted the hood of her black fur-rimmed parka, she had recently purchased this one as the last parka she had owned ended up drenched in the blood of two men and was filled with some decidedly bad memories.

Flecks of snow beat against her nose and cheeks which were flushed red from the circulation of her face, the snow seemed to pick up over the past few minutes leading the Sherpa to pause briefly, checking for the signs of a potential snowstorm. The slightly worried look on his face indicated that there was a good chance one would be coming on soon, Chiyoko looked toward her guide unsure of her present situation before he suddenly blurted out, "We go now." heavily gesturing with his arms that the two best hurry on their way lest they be caught in a potential storm. "You're the expert here, man." Chiyoko replied, taking the cigarette from her lips and flicking it off into the snow, watching as the man slapped the rump of his mule in order to get the stubborn animal to move with him. The man looked back toward the teenage girl in his company, the worried expression still sitting upon his face as the snow began to beat down upon the two "Too far go back, we stay night. Somewhere safe." while his grammar was atrocious she knew what he meant, they were several kilometers out into the mountains, too far out to make it back to the village before the storm set in, they would have to find somewhere to camp and wait for the impending storm to pass over. "Be fast, stay together. Separate bad, separate bad!" the man continued making sure to put emphasis on the fact that the two potentially separating would be very, very, very bad. "Right, stay together." The young woman replied, attempting to keep up pace with the seasoned guide. Her weakened vision making the proposition even more difficult, the snow was enough to obscure the vision of a normal person but for her it was damn near blinding.

***

This whole damned trip had been a bad idea since the very beginning, for her it wasn't some shit-show sight-seeing trip, she needed to prove to herself that she could still function in the Shinobi world after her injury. This trip in the abominable weather would prove to her that she could continue to do what she did before, that while she couldn't do certain things nearly as well as she could before that they were still doable. So, traveling up a mountain in sub-zero weather with obscuring weather was a start, she would get to the peak of these mountains or be damned. With her ego and pride on the line she wouldn't have gone back even if her guide had suggested doing so, this was do or die, so to speak. Chiyoko's moment of silent thought was suddenly interrupted by the sound of a man yelling and something that seemed like an animal yelping. Jogging forward toward her Sherpa as best she could the young woman yelled out, "What's going on?!" only to see the Sherpa standing over the mule which had busted it's left hind leg and had sunk into the snow, "The Hell happened, man?!" she asked staring down at the mule and man as he hunched down onto his knees to inspect his animal. "<COLOR color="blue">Sunk in snow, hurt leg." Her guide replied fairly evenly as if he had ran into this situation previously, though he still looked quite worried. It became obvious what the man was planning to do about the poor mule as he drew a fairly large hunting knife from the back of his waist, "No live, in pain. he acknowledged simply before putting the mule out of it's misery, wiping the blade upon the cold snow afterward. The man quickly grabbed several items from the satchel still attached to the dead mule, pulling out blankets, flint, spare food stuffs, and a couple extra jackets he jammed all the items into the leather bag slung across his back. "Keep going." The snow was getting worse, there was no time to mourn the animal as the two needed to continue to search for refuge.

***

It was nearly two hours traversing the snow before they found a suitable spot to camp, and nearly an hour later before a startling realization hit the young woman. It wasn't until the two were out of the snow and perched beside a small fire under a sort of pagoda made from a jagged outlier of one of the mountains that she saw it, crimson washed the lower stomach of her guide staining his coat, what the hell had happened? It wasn't the blood of his mule, no there was far too much for that, it was his. Pointing at the stain she asked her question over the sound of the crackling fire, clearly concerned if not for him but for herself, with no guide the trek down would be even more difficult in the snow "What happened back there? That's a lot of lost blood." the Sherpa waved her questions away resting his back against the rock behind him and breathing raggedly, she was no medical expert but with all the blood it didn't seem he would make it through the night. "Let me see it, I'm no expert but I could at least try to stop the bleeding." her guide no longer spoke, but instead simply removed his jacket and lifted up his thermal shirt which was even more soaked than the jacket exposing a jagged wound, as if he had fallen on a sharp rock. Had this been what he was yelling about earlier and not his animal? It seemed likely. Glancing at the wound Chiyoko quickly realized that he would not likely live, though she would have to at least try to save the ailing man. "You have a first-aide kit, right? I'm going to try an clean it out and suture it up." her words moved in tandem with her hands which searched through the man's bag finding a white box with a red cross marking the center of it, bingo. Flipping open the box her vision darted back toward the man whose eyes were slowly beginning to shut as his breaths became even shallower.

Outside of the basics taught to every field shinobi in the academy she knew little of healing injuries in the battlefield, she wasn't a medical ninja, she was a main-brancher for God's sake. Her hands darted to the alcohol in the kit, quickly taking the top from it, the wound was far too large to apply the alcohol with the swabs that were also in the kit, she would simply have to try an pour it over the wound as evenly as possible. "This is going to hurt. the man groaned out airing his grievances before gritting his teeth and bearing the alcohol, the man had a surprisingly high pain tolerance. She was unsure of the next step in the process, so it seemed logical to move to suturing the wound, wrapping the suture and holding it over the flame for a moment she hoped it would be enough to sanitize the string. Unfortunately her efforts were in vain as she looked back toward the man, who was no longer breathing. "Hey buddy, you alright? She asked, slightly worried, no response and no movement from the man's eyes. Nothing. Shit, Shit, Shit! She thought aloud, lightly prodding the man's leg with her foot to no response, "Hey, buddy? Buddy?" She questioned moving in a bit closer to the man, pressing her hand against his wrist to feel his lack of pulse... This was bad. "What the Hell happened to you?" She asked quietly, moving her fingers over toward his eyes, closing her guide's eyelids.

For a few minutes she returned to her spot, staring at the dead man and mourning, for the man, and more so for herself, her guide was dead, she was blind in one eye, and she was a city-dweller who knew shit-all about these mountains...This was not ideal...

Her small hands grasped at the dead man's ankles dragging him away from the camp site and resting him in the snow several yards away, for a few minutes she covered the man in snow using the trowel in his pack that had earlier been used for, eh, other uses. Once the man was fairly covered she returned to the fire, she didn't know the man and felt it oddly difficult to feel bad about his death, which in itself was worrying...There was little time for sentimentality now, Chiyoko quickly took to looking through the man's bag in search of things that would help her through her oncoming lone journey back down the mountainside. Rope, some weird pick-ax climbing tool, rations, and a few other things sat in the bag, along with a lamb-skin flask which she quickly removed from the bag while hovering over the fire. She had her own canteen still attached to her hip, half filled with roughly a gallon of water, but this flask held something different, something that would help her through the long cold night.

Red wine should be served at room temperature, but in this weather there it was chilled and damn near frozen, she would take what she was given. She quickly took to drinking from the flask, and soon found it receding as a feeling of drowsiness washed over her, worries began to melt away as she looked toward the night sky and gazed upon the stars above. Soon sleep overcame the young woman as she pressed up against the hard wall, huddling into a ball a couple of feet from the fire.

***

The fire had burned itself out by the time she awoke the next morning, the storm had began to let up, though visibility was still fairly low. Standing for a moment the young girl held her stomach, feelings of nausea and pain washed over her both from her hangover and the fact that her guide had died the night before. As an unseasoned drinker the young woman resisted the urge to vomit, grabbing the dead man's bag, slinging it across her back before walking over to where she had, somewhat, buried his body. The storm had done the rest of the job as she stared down at the lump, under which laid a man. Chiyoko thought of telling the man she was sorry that he had died in such a way, but it wouldn't have mattered. He couldn't hear her. Instead she lit another cigarette readjusting her parka once again, "Guess we all have to go sometime." she muttered moving away from the man and beginning her trek down the mountain.

Hours passed as she pressed her hand in front of face, ever pushing downward toward the base of the mountain. She estimated it would take around two days before she would make it down the mountain, until then she would have to make sure to keep warm and well rested. After a good while of traveling the young woman paused, admiring a pause in the beating snow to look upon the clear skies above her, reaching her hand toward the sky she clasped the sun balling it into her fist before letting it go...

This was why people came to these mountains.

((WC: 2181 Choice 1: Fox Choice 2: Bear))

Sukuna Kiyo · Jul 11, 2015

Re: Staring Toward the Effervescent Heavens [Contract Search

You found a Kami! Do you accept?

Kawakami Hotaru · Jul 11, 2015

Re: Staring Toward the Effervescent Heavens [Contract Search

I accept. (Thank you for modding)

Sukuna Kiyo · Jul 11, 2015

Re: Staring Toward the Effervescent Heavens [Contract Search

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Shinha The Wanderer

A young Kami who went by the name of Shinah, was enjoying a nice stroll through the snowy mountain side he called home. Today was like any other boring day so far, Shinah was bored of the same thing, it snows, then it stops, then it snows again. He could always adventure off somewhere new, but he would rather take a nap.

Shinah had spiky blue hair that almost reached his shoulders, and emerald green eyes that could pierce a soul. He stood at five foot, nine inches.His skin is pale white, with red markings in various places on his body, including his face and neck. He wore a blue robe with a white overcoat, very thin layers, he wore a fox mask over his face, hiding it from anyone's view. He had a whitish arua that glowed faintly around him, it'd be very hard to spot, or notice, especially in this white snow.

Shinah was kinda a loner, just look where he lived, in the bloody freezing mountain tops. He was never bothered by the cold, well he couldn't feel it. He enjoyed others company, though he'd never admit it willingly. He took daily hikes, every so often he'd run into a 'tour' group, and either tag behind them, or carry on. The natives seemed to know this place better than him sometimes, as often he would either get turned around, or just plain lost, even though he had lived out here for years. He remembered the other day he saw a young girl, a mule, and one of those Natives heading up the mountain. He did not follow those two, even though it did seem weird that such a young girl was traveling so far from home.

While Shinha was walking along, he spotted a lump in the snow, it seemed off to him, so he decided to wipe away the snow. It was a dead mule, if he remembered correctly it seemed to be the same one from that small little group he saw the other day. He frowned deeply. "Probably going to find the other two dead out here somewhere." He muttered harshly, it would not be the first time that he had found a whole tour group dead, frozen to death, or mauled by a wild animal. Though he did not know why these humans just trying to climb this mountain. The view was quite beautiful up there for, he didn't think it was worth dying over.

Shinha continued down the path, well more like flat snowy area. He was not sure what he would find, but he guaranteed a dead body would be somewhere out here. He came across a cave, it had an ash pile, and a few blood stains in it. But no body... "Did they eat each other?" He said out loud, though, he'd never seen two humans consume each other to where nothing was left.
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He walked out of the cave, and noticed a rather large lump of snow not to far from it, with small indents in the snow. It was foot prints that were being covered up by the snow.

Shinha walked over to the snow pile, and looked down at it. "There's one...." He muttered, then looked down and around. He saw a trail of footprints that were almost all the way covered by snow. He decided to follow it, maybe the girl was still alive? He hoped so, but he was ready to find her corpse as well. He followed the path at a quick pace, though it seemed a normal speed for him. It seemed like an hour of walking, but Shinha really did not have a sense for time. But soon enough he saw the girl standing there, and reaching out to the sky.

Shinha walked up to the girls. "Well I am surprised you made it out of that storm last night." he stated to her in a soft tone of voice, it did not hint to harshness, or bitterness, but it did have a slight hint of worry in it. Shinha stood at least five feet from the Chiyoko, he looked down at her, his mask hiding any facial expressions. "Do you think you will make it down these mountains alone?" He wondered out loud in the same tone of voice.

OOC said:
You are welcome! Pm me if you sot any flaws in my post.

Kawakami Hotaru · Jul 12, 2015

Re: Staring Toward the Effervescent Heavens [Contract Search

An oddly serene tone breached her ears as the young girl took her hand from the sky, her vision immediately shifted toward the voice who had already alerted her to a degree. The man, or what she presumed to be a man from his voice, had just stated that he was "Surprised I made it through the storm last night" the statement in conjunction with such an even tone was distressing, had he been watching her since the previous night? ... Was he one of the mountain hillbillies that she had been warned about in the village, the type that preyed upon weakened women and children who had the misfortune of being caught in the mountains? For a moment she stared at the figure before her, the first thing that caught her attention was the fox mask covering his face, was he ANBU? Her gut immediately told her no, what would ANBU be doing in the middle of the mountain. She hadn't been gone long enough for the village to send a search party, she doubted they cared enough to go after a lone Genin in the first place.

The figure stood several inches taller than her, wearing a white coat under which laid blue robes, the young girl also noticed the odd markings on the man's skin as she quickly glanced over toward his hands to inspect if he was holding a weapon. He was not. A brief sigh escaped from her lips letting out a long stream of condensed breath, her body began to relax slightly as she continued staring, her gut was telling the young woman that the man was benevolent. Still, what was this man doing out in the mountains and how did he know she was out in the storm the previous night? He certainly didn't seem like a tourist, she would have expected someone not familiar with the area to not question her so calmly, as far as the latter question she figured he most likely had seen her in the previous days of her travels, but then why didn't he ask about her guide? ... The whole situation was still very disconcerting even if the man didn't seem harmful.

Once again the man spoke questioning if she would make it down the mountains alive, she had to hold her prideful tongue back as she thought about telling the man she would damn well be fine, but if that were the case her guide wouldn't be dead and she would have already seen the summit of these mountains and would be back in her cozy home. Instead she chose to reply honestly, adjusting the guide's bag which she had slung around her back "I'm not sure if I will or not, my guide died last night. I think he fell and hit a rock when we were travelling. I tried to help him, but he was already gone." she was unsure of why she was giving the man those extra details, but something about the man seemed to make her want to explain the full extent of her situation to him. "Think his name's Shin," she paused for a moment to correct her tense, the man was dead, he was Shin but is no longer "Was Shin." for a moment she thought back to the night previous and the mementos she had found in the man's bag. Namely a badly beaten picture of the man holding a woman of similar age in his arms, one hand clasped around her extended belly, clearly the woman was with child. The child, the gender of which she did not know, no longer had a father now. A forlorn look quickly crossed her face, though she managed to erase it as fast as it had first came; she would have to return the photo and his belongings when she returned to the base of the mountain, but for now she needed to focus upon getting down the mountains at all.

Her eyes strayed from the figure for a moment, digging into her coat's pocket for her cigarettes which at that point felt like the only source of heat in her body, a few moments passed as he lit it with a small spark from her index finger, only after taking off the mitten which was draped over her hands, taking a long drag. Replacing her glove she spoke once again, "I would like to return his belongings to his family, and maybe bring them to his burial site...Need to get to the bottom of the mountain first, though." it seemed obvious what her next question would be, swallowing her pride she would ask this man for his kindness. "Sir," the word felt unnatural as it exited her mouth as if she was unused to referring to someone as 'sir' "I know you don't owe me anything, but I could use your help, my guide -- Shin's family at least deserves to know where he died. I think I can make it down on my own, but I'm not sure, and I don't know, you look like you might know your way around." the normally proud woman bowed her head ever so slightly, as if asking forgiveness from the man.

After she had returned the man's belongings she had already decided to return to the mountains, this time there would be no guide, no mule, she would not be getting anyone else killed. Despite the ordeal she fully intended to scale these mountains peak, dangers be damned, if she couldn't do this there was no point in pushing forward. Her nature compelled her to push onward, for a moment she thought of telling the mysterious man her intentions of climbing the mountains despite the ordeal, but quickly decided against it. She didn't know if he would even help her return the man's belongings, she certainly doubted he would if she mentioned she would be coming back to climb the mountains again.

Sukuna Kiyo · Jul 17, 2015

Re: Staring Toward the Effervescent Heavens [Contract Search

Shinha watched the girl curiously, she seemed weary of him, he didn't blame her though. She was probably all shaken up from the death of her guide, mule, and being lost out here. He wasn't sure if she ran into anything else up in these freezing mountains. He listened to her as she spoke, watching as she adjusted the beg on her shoulder. He listened to her story, and made a sympathetic face, though his mask blocked it from her sight. It was obvious what he wanted to do for her, but he had two sides. He wanted to leave her, and watch from a distance, she'd die some day either way. He also wanted to help her get off of these mountains.

He seemed a bit shocked to see such a young girl smoke, but humans were weird so he did not question it, he just stayed silent during her story. He wanted to see if he would have to offer help, or if she would ask him. She went on to about returning his stuff to his family, then there it was, she asked him to guide her down the mountain. He could tell she was sincere about her question and her goal, it made it harder for him to choose to just leave her behind. Shinha had came to his decision, and he let out a loud sigh. It wasn't an annoyed sigh, it was more just to breath out.

Shinha looked at the girl through his mask, his Emerald eyes could be seen through the eye holes if she looked close enough. He thought for a moment, he couldn't do it just for free, and he noticed she never really made it to the top of the mountain, she was close though. It'd be interesting to see if she could stand on thee very top of the mountain. The second time was always better than the first anyways. "I will help you. But do note, you will owe me in return. I will guide you down the mountain, so you can return the belongs back to your old guide's family. In return, I want you to get me something from the very tippy top of this mountain." He paused her a second, and looked up to the peek of the mountain, then back to the girl. "Its a flower, not any kind of normal flower though, regular flowers would not grow up there, this flower is a white lily. I planted it up there a few years ago. If you pick one, and bring it back to me, Then you'd owe me nothing, and you will have impressed me." He explained to her, he didn't expect her to want to come back up this mountain though, since she almost died, and witnessed death the first time.

Shinha had almost forgotten to give her his name, but he thought back to what she said her guides name was, it was kinda Ironic. "My name is Shinha, by the way." He stated then held his hand out to her, "So do we have a deal?" He asked her, while grinning underneath his mask. At least this day wasn't so boring anymore, if she accepted, it would be less boring for a little while.

Kawakami Hotaru · Jul 20, 2015

Re: Staring Toward the Effervescent Heavens [Contract Search

The man that stood before her was still an undefinable mystery, she felt that there was something intangible about him or almost ethereal, though she couldn't quite put her finger on what it was about him that sparked this thought. She wanted to see his face, to gaze upon the man that had found her in the mountains, feeling that if she could do just that he may become more tangible, as if he were currently a mirage brought on by hypothermia, but at present she decided to avoid asking him to remove his masks in case that her sentiments offended the mysterious man. She literally knew nothing about him other than the fact that he seemed to be benevolent, though his earlier tone made her feel that he was a bit indifferent to the situation adding on to his mysterious appeal, who was he? Soon she would have his name, but this did not answer her question, it should have been 'what was he?' rather than 'who was he?'.

His sigh returned to her reality, knowing that the man no doubt found the situation to be troublesome at the very least. She couldn't blame the man for that, if their roles were reversed she would have been aggravated to no end that some little shit was begging for her assistance, though it was likely that she would've helped the weary soul that ended up lost in the mountains, if only for a great price. Help never came free, and as she was about to find out Shinha wanted something in return for his generosity, something that she couldn't particularly get mad at, as his request was befitting of her initial goal in the mountains. It was a fair and even trade.

Chiyoko listened attentively as the man spoke, he would be helping her after all. Attempting to avoid interrupting the good Samaritan she continued to listen, though a Cheshire grin crossed her face as he mentioned that he wanted something from the top of the mountain, clearly this man was different from most normal men. They would have insisted that she did not return to the mountains, that it was out of her reach and unsafe, but he requested just the opposite, almost as if he wanted her to meet her unstated goal as well. A white lily at the crest of the mountains that he had planted years before, the request was romantic in a way. Her thoughts on the man not being just that, a man, persisted as he exclaimed that he would be impressed with the young woman if she were able to complete the task set before her, outside of the Sherpa(s) no average man could live up in these mountains, and he had stayed long enough to have his flowers bloom... What was he? ...

His name was Shinha, an irony that wasn't lost on the girl as she briefly thought back to her dead Sherpa, "Shinha-Sama." she repeated flicking away her cigarette before giving her own name as the man extended his hand in order to seal in their deal, "And I am Chiyoko, I accept your deal Shinha-Sama." her expression was one of happiness and relief as her hand gently grasped his, the prominent scar upon the palm of her right hand could be felt even under the thick glove, a reminder that she could endure more than others, an innate ability to push through adversity, an ability that would suit her suit her to this day.

Touching the man's hand also gave him a sense of tangibility, that he was in fact there and was not just a figment of her imagination, he felt real but still seemed ethereal...

Packing for the travel only took the girl a few minutes, taking a moment to rummage through her guide's back to find the beaten picture once again. Her fingers traced the woman in the picture's face before she muttered a short apology to her once again, "Moushiwake arimasen deshita" placing the picture back into the man's pack she looked over toward Shinha-Sama, indicating that she was ready for the trek down. Minutes passed as the pair walked, Chiyoko remained largely silent as she began to work up the courage to ask the man a certain question, her gaze remained forward as a stern look sat upon her face, looking a bit unfitting for the young woman. Finally she managed the courage to question the ethereal-seeming man, "Shinha-Sama, what are you?" she chose her words with purpose, it wasn't 'who are you', but 'what are you' as she had thought of earlier. Chiyoko continued with her question, looking toward the mysterious Shinha-Sama, "Your request for the lily, and the feeling I get around you like you're not really even there. You're not a normal person, are you? We Shinobi are pretty good at telling this sort of thing, it's almost as if you're a ..." her voice trailed off as she thought of her final word, a Spirit? A Kami? No, that couldn't be right could it? Why would one appear to her, a lowly criminal, weren't they supposed to only appear to good people? People that had a purpose in their life?

Or perhaps she was just imagining this, her brain having begun to freeze over from the elements, and Shinha-Sama was just another good Samaritan, and she was just a lucky woman to find him? ... A look of confusion settled upon her features as she awaited a reply from the potential Kami.

[MFT]

Sukuna Kiyo · Jul 25, 2015

Re: Staring Toward the Effervescent Heavens [Contract Search

Shinha watched the girl's body movements closely. He smiled under his mask as she accepted the deal, and shook on it. He could sense she was no ordinary girl, the fact she was still alive showed that she must be different. He had seen many little girls get lost up here in the mountains, and die later on. "I am glad you accepted, Chiyoko." He said in a low tone.

Shinha stood by as Chiyoko packed up her things. He didn't need anything to go down the mountain, though it had been a really long time since he was down in a populated area. He gazed down the mountain, he wondered how much it had changed, and whether or not he would be successful in guiding this girl back down the mountain. He was more interested in watching her climb back up the mountain to attain the flower. Though there was no rush on that, since he never put a time limit, he still looked forward to it. He looked back to her, seeing that she was ready to get going he started to walk. He walked beside of her, a little more in the front though. A few minutes of silence took place, all he heard was their foot steps. It was peaceful.

The silence was soon broken by a question, an awfully straightforward, and blunt question. Shinha glanced to the side, looking at her. He stared at her, so she was a Kunoichi. He narrowed his eyes slightly, though she wouldn't see his facial expression, he still gave her a curious look. He let out a sigh, debating on how he should reply. Should he just tell her out straight? Or... He pondered for a moment, he realized he let it go silent again. He removed his mask, and attached it to hand on his left side. "I am not sure how to answer that, for, I am indeed here." He stated to her with a pause. "I am a Kami. I have lived on this mountain for many years, though time does pass by fast it seems, so I don't really know how long." He explained to her, as he looked back at her. His emerald green eyes gazing her over, he started to wonder if he should have told her, though he believed she'd find out one way or another, no point in keeping it a secret.

Kawakami Hotaru · Jul 29, 2015

Re: Staring Toward the Effervescent Heavens [Contract Search

Her left hand clenched against that of the man as he stated his appreciation of her acceptance of Shinha-Sama's terms, her right hand still lightly grasped at his hands as her other hand covered the two as a slight smile still sat upon her face. He seemed to be a kind man, though she would soon find out that he was not a man at all, he was something different entirely.

After the two set off for the bottom of the mountain the young woman worked up the courage to ask the man, ask him what he was, and to her surprise he removed his mask before answering her question with another surprise. Before he could speak she took a moment to gaze upon the being that was helping her, and by extension helping the family of her lost guide. She found herself thinking for a moment as she stared at his piercingly emerald eyes, finding them as resplendent as her own when she retained both of her eyes. It was also evident that his markings likely covered most of his body as they also appeared to be displayed prominently on his face as well, outside of his markings she felt the man, the being rather, was handsome in the traditional sense of the word. Chiyoko shook her head for a moment as the man explained he was as she had guessed a Kami, but they didn't exist right? Fuck, she didn't know, the world was as confusing as ever. Despite a certain amount of skepticism her gut told her that Shinha-Sama was telling the truth, he was in fact a Kami, a God amongst men. "Kami-Sama, I don't really know why you would help someone like me, but I appreciate it." her feet continued to push onward as her lips moved, continuing their conversation. She still couldn't get over the fact that she was meeting with a Kami, she couldn't help but think that she was the farthest possible candidate for someone to impress a Kami, yet this one had clearly stated what that would take, and she was more than able to comply with his request.

The trip down the mountain was long and silent, Chiyoko felt a knot in her stomach as an odd urge to discuss the past few months events fell upon her, to confess to a higher being as she hadn't been able to tell many of her tribulations, the fact that she had killed two men, lost an eye, and had nearly been violated in ways far worse than death. "Kami-Sama, I came up these mountains to test my ability to continue on as a Shinobi, my first mission out of the village and I lose my eye..." She paused to readjust her parka, shivering a very slight bit at the cold before continuing, "We, my superior and I, got into a bad position she tried to sacrifice herself, or at least I think that's what she was trying to do. Anyway, I ended up going back, I guess I'd figured that I might be able to get her out of there..." once again she paused remembering her time spent under the canopy of a tree in the marshlands, slowly dying "When I went back I put a blade in a man's skull, his brother chased and pinned me...Put out my fuckin' eye and said he would do some truly terrible things to me, Kami-Sama. Ended up killing him too. Thought I was going to die, but no, instead I live on with a face full of scars and one eye, maybe I lived on to meet you, Kami-Sama. Aren't there stories like that, people living through extraordinary situations to meet with the Gods, so that they bring them a reason to live?...Or maybe it's all just a coincidence, shit I don't know." toward the end of her speech she nearly sounded bitter, catching her tone the young woman bit her tongue, silently trudging forward closer to her guide's home.

It wouldn't be long now before the two were back, it was time to start thinking of what she would say to Shin's wife and his child. The young woman was never any good at apologizing, and was unsure if she should apologize at all for the situation, she hadn't gotten the man killed, he had done that of his own accord. Wasn't her fault he fell, or did whatever he managed to end up bleeding like a stuck pig. "What do you think I should tell them? He had a wife and at least one kid, I'm not really good at giving bad news. 'Hey kids, dad's dead. So, sorry about that.' " She looked toward her new guide, requesting a bit of assistance on the matter as they only seemed to be a few kilometers away.

[mft]

Sukuna Kiyo · Aug 5, 2015

Re: Staring Toward the Effervescent Heavens [Contract Search

Shinya watched the girl curiously, he wanted to see how she reacted to him being a Kami. He was quite surprised at how calm she seemed. Though he frowned as she started to call him "Kami-Sama". He had his name for a reason, and for that reason was why he wanted to be called by it. Humans seemed to dense, he didn't care who she was, or what she has done. He didn't know, and didn't care to know either. Shinha placed he mask back on his face as they walked down the mountain. "I prefer you call me by the name I gave you. That is what I am called." He said simply.

The trip down was a silent one, though to entertain himself he'd look back at her, and make a face, hidden beneath the mask. He found it oddly entertaining, though he had to keep himself from chuckling a few times. Then Chiyoko broke the silence with a story. He let out a silent sigh, it sounded like a bad incident indeed, but as he saw it it didn't really matter what she has done, or is going to do. At least to him, he didn't understand the humans and their needs to have some sort of conflict in their lives. Whether it be actual fighting, or silent arguments, it was always something. He barely spent time around humans, they were interesting indeed, but they just did not know how to relax. He believed if every human could just sit down, and relax, instead of battle, then their wouldn't be so much conflict in their lives, then again, he also believed they had a need for conflict. "Nothing you did, or are going to do caused me to come to you. I just happen to find you around my hiking route." He said, hearing her bitterness in her tone. It was hard to tell if she was naturally bitter, or just trying not to be. Though throughout her story, she was calling him Kami-sama. He really did not care to be called that, it made him wonder how she'd be towards him if he did not tell her right away. Was this her true face?

As they approached the old guides house, Shinha started to slow down. He really did not want this girl to cause a crowd, and either way he always drew the humans attentions whenever he came this way. He looked toward Chiyoko as she asked him what to say. "Tell them the truth, He fell while guiding you, became injured, and lead you to safety before he died. The you found your way back down here." He said to her, then he he snapped his fingers, making it to where she would be the only one to see him now. "You can tell them a spirit lead you back, but you are the only one that can see me, I hate drawing crowds around me." He explained simply. he planned on following her into the guides house, after that he planned on leaving her to scale the mountain. He'd be there, but he didn't plan on helping her at all during her hike back up. Maybe he would make a few challenges for her, so it wouldn't be too easy.

Sorry for the wait, again.

Kawakami Hotaru · Aug 8, 2015

Re: Staring Toward the Effervescent Heavens [Contract Search

"Shinha-Sama it is. She replied as the Kami seemed to prefer his name rather than being called what he was, it was understandable and she would try to accommodate his request to the best of her ability, though her tongue did slip near immediately afterward. His next comments hit home with the young girl, while the Kami probably didn't mean to speak on the fact that predestination was a bunch of garbage, he did none the less. Their meeting was of chance, nothing more nothing less. "Guess I'm just lucky then, Shinha-Sama. she replied, her tone even and fairly monotone as if she was still focusing on the lack of predestination in the world. Even in a world filled with Kami, Youkai, and mortal men with powers beyond their own very nature there was no such thing as fate. Everything was a roll of the dice. The thought made her feel decidedly insignificant in the world, but this was no reason to not continue on, if she was not significant now she would damn well make herself significant. Shinha-Sama had masked his expressions under his mask, without eye contact the young woman felt no reason to continue on with the conversation, trotting silently down the mountain.

His request to remain hidden within the village of Sherpa was met with a simple nod, as was his advice on simply telling the truth to the widow. Sighing heavily she stood at the base of the small outpost of a village steeling her nerves for the conversation she was about to have. Her feet moved of their own accord as she approached a group of three men, and one small boy perched around a small fire cooking a recently caught herring, clearing her throat she called out to the three as she moved a bit closer, "I'm looking for a man named Shin's wife, do you know him or where I could find his wife?" she asked quaintly as the three stared at her obviously confused, it took her a few seconds to remember that most of the people here probably spoke in a different tongue than her. The three men looked toward the young boy who relayed her question in a series of odd throaty sounds, quickly met by more from the men though theirs sounded a bit angry about the question, one grabbed a spear that sat toward his left springing up and holding the blade out toward her. Such actions were to be expected, she was carrying his gear around her back and he was no where to be found, it was only logical to expect something to be wrong. Raising her arms above her head Chiyoko stared at the man silently as the other two had began to stand with their weapons at the ready as well, the boy looked toward her worriedly speaking in her native tongue, "Why do you have his gear?" he asked awaiting a reply as the first man inched closer putting the blade from the spear to the nape of her neck, applying just enough pressure to draw blood. For a moment the young Kunoichi thought of snatching the blade from the man and turning it back toward her, but that would ultimately lead to bloodshed, she was hear to deliver bad news not to start any conflicts. Once again the boy asked what she was doing with Shin's pack as one of the older men reached toward her grabbing the pack from her shoulders, causing her head to recoil back slightly digging the spear-head a bit more into her neck. "He passed when we were travelling, I'm here to return his belongings and see his wife." the boy's eyes teared as she gave her explanation, and within seconds he ran off toward a tent without giving explanation to the men. That wasn't good.

"Hey guys I know you can't understan--!" She couldn't finish her sentence as the blunt end of one of the man's spear caught her against the left side of the face, opening the scar tissue and causing a good amount of blood to trickle from her cheek and moving her backward a few feet. The men all began yelling in a language she did not comprehend, though one finally said something she could make out, "Sit! SIT!" the man reared his spear back once again readying to whip her again if she decided to ignore his request. "Alright! Alright, I'll sit." she replied, kneeling next to the fire as one of the men stood over her once again, the spear pressing down against her neck. The other two men began to trot off both heading in the direction of the boy, one holding the sack he had just taken from her shoulders. the young woman lowered her hand pressing it against her face to feel the warmth of the liquid pouring out the left side of her head, looking up toward the man who still had his spear-head pressed against her neck, "That shit really hurt, you know I wouldn't let someone hit me like that, but this is a special case." clearly not understanding what she was saying the man spat onto the cold ground beside her, obviously very angered by her presence. By this point a crowd had begun to gather around the outsider, all wondering what was going on, the man yelled out some guttural sounds toward the crowd who seemed to understand him. Though there had to be a few speakers of her tongue in the crowd, "I'm not here to hurt anyone, I just wanted to apologize--" once again her statement was cut short as the blade pushed a bit further against her neck, the man was obviously telling her to shut the hell up. Still the situation wasn't beyond her control, she was a trained Kunoichi and these were just mountain folk if the situation got any worse she could bolt, though she still held hope that her initial plan would still work. Silently the young woman looked toward the ground, awaiting the return of the boy, or at least some deliberation on what was to be done with her.

Her wish was soon granted as the boy returned clinging to the leg of the woman she had seen from the picture, she held Shin's satchel as a look of disbelief sat on her face, while the face of the boy was stained red with tears. The blade against her neck retracted a few inches, removing itself from her neck and allowing her to look toward the woman and her boy. While homely the woman could be described as somewhat pretty, soot black hair braided sat atop her head which accented her large brown eyes well, even though they were still wide with disbelief. Surprisingly the woman spoke to Chiyoko, her voice shaky holding back tears, "What happened to Shin? What happened to my husband? What did you do?! Chiyoko stared at the woman searching for her words, finding none. Instead she crouched further down onto her elbows and knees, the sudden movement causing the spear to press against the back of her neck "Moushiwake Arimasen Deshita" she replied pressing her nose against the snow beneath her watching the trickles of blood dot the white ground crimson. Once again the woman asked what happened, though Chiyoko now had enough resolve to fully reply, "We were travelling up the mountain, first his mule broke it's leg, then I don't know what happened. We stopped travelling and made camp a few hours later, he was bleeding bad from his stomach. I think he might have fallen on a rock, though I'm not sure...I tried to suture the wound and bring him back, but he died." sounds of tears filled her ears, both from the boy and his mother. The blade no longer pressed against her neck, though she remained pressed against the snow in apology, the woman spoke once more her voice cracking "Leave outsider! Leave!" silently Chiyoko stood looking toward the woman solemnly, though she had collapsed to her knees holding her young boy as they both sought comfort in each other as their tears streamed. Her job was done, it was time to leave. Her gloved hand still pressed against her cheek as the blood began to thicken against the side of her face, she would have to see about dealing with the wound later, she still had a small amount of goods in her own pack which still sat attached to her side.

"Well, that went well." She remarked about a kilometer outside of the camp cleaning out her wound and once again readying to traverse the mountains.

Sukuna Kiyo · Aug 13, 2015

Re: Staring Toward the Effervescent Heavens [Contract Search

Shinha nodded to Chiyoko, she was indeed lucky. He was little more at ease when she called him by his name instead, though he really didnt understand why she was calling him sama... It was probably better than 'grandpa' or any other name. He didnt see himself as her superior, just someone curious about her. She seemed noble, yet claimed that she wasnt, because she killed two men. He has heard of 'saints' who have killed hundreds. Though those saints were probably very corrupted. "You are very lucky, I believe luck is on your side here." he stated to break the silence as they trotted down.

Shinha stood by as she entered the village. The people could not see him so he was at ease. He stood close by, curious to see if these people would show her mercy. As he watched the scene, he noted that she was being sincere. A few times, he almost felt the need to jump in, especially when they started to draw blood on her. though he did not understand why he worried about her well being, and became anxious whenever the prodded her with the spears. Maybe he was growing a soft side for her, or maybe he just didnt like seeing them poke at a child with weapons. they had their reasons to. Which is why he stood back and watched.

Soon enough they told her to leave, and as she walked out, he walked beside her, making himself visible to everyone as they exited the village. Once she stopped Shinha looked at the cut on her neck, and face. "Those people don't know how to treat a lady right. But I am glad they didnt decide to kill you." He stated with a firm nod to her. Her then reached his hand out, and then waved it over her head, very similar to a medical ninjutsu, her used his chakra to heal her small wounds. "It'd be bad if you lost too much blood before you decided to journey off again." He explained, as he believed she would take a break, and come back another day to retrieve the flower for him. Which, at that thought, made him a little sad, as he enjoyed the company of humans.

Kawakami Hotaru · Aug 18, 2015

Re: Staring Toward the Effervescent Heavens [Contract Search

Condensed breath forced it's way through her nostrils as the young woman continued to press forward, Shinha's comment on her luck was likely correct, though even as she had said earlier it seemed that she was the unluckiest lucky person in the world, lucky would have been to have Shin survive his fall, yet he still died, but even in his death she met a God among men, a Kami. "Lucky, yeah. Doesn't feel like it most days." She stated, watching at the indention her feet put into the fresh white snow beneath her feet, a feeling of unease still sitting in her stomach as they closed into the village where she would soon be assaulted, further lending to her feeling that she was both lucky and unlucky simultaneously.

...

She couldn't help but chuckle a bit as her new friend commented that the villagers didn't know how to treat a woman properly, he was certainly right on that account. Still she withheld judgement on the people, they had just lost one of their own and had she been in their shoes her reaction would have been the same, and would have perhaps even been more severe. "Thought about grabbing that spear and shoving it right up the man's ass, constraint can be pretty difficult sometimes, Shinha-Sama... They were in shock from having a man in their tribe die, I guess their reaction was to be expected. Guess not too many Sherpa die up here." The young woman tried her best not to flinch as the Kami moved his hand a bit closer to the woman, unsure of what his intentions were. There was something to be said about a man pointing a spear at her, she knew exactly what his intentions were, these friendly gestures not only from the Kami but from most people she knew were disconcerting at best, as if she was more expecting a sudden incursion rather than a helpful hand. Her wounds seemed to close near immediately as the man waved his hand, which was a pleasant enough surprise. His comments felt caring and warm, as if to reinforce to the fact he was a Kami, though she quickly brushed them off exerting that she would be fine regardless, "Appreciate it, but I've gone through worse and kept kicking." her face held a small reassuring smile, a thank you gesture to the man.

"Guess we should get going, flower isn't going to get itself." She stated pressing off from the ground and pressing a gloved hand to her face checking her wounds had been adequately healed, which they had. Of course they still hurt like Hell, but that was the nature of most healing techniques getting rid of the hurt and leaving the pain. Once again she began to press one foot in front of the other, beginning her journey once more.

[MFT 488]

Sukuna Kiyo · Sep 5, 2015

Re: Staring Toward the Effervescent Heavens [Contract Search

Shinha nodded in response to her, she was a ninja after all, he'd expect no less. Still better safe than sorry. Though he was surprised to see her start again, without any rest. "Well when you do retrieve the flower, take it to a cave, east of the peak, a little bit down, but still close to the top of the mountain, its well hidden by trees, and snow covered shrubs." He explained to her, then started branched their paths off. "I will meet you up there. If you make it, that is." He explained, then smirked behind his mask. He did want her to make it, it would be uplifting.

Shinha took a different pat, mostly to get ahead of Chiyoko. He believed it would be too easy for her just to walk right up the mountain again, so he thought he would be a bit of annoyance. That, and he thought it would be boring just to wait. So he went up, then through the wilderness, to the path she would probably be taking, the path was thin, but it was one of the very few paths that were available, for if a human tried to go through the deep snow, they could easily fall in a hole, or trip over a rock. He decided to cause a small rock/snow slide to block the path, then he moved on. She would probably get past that easily, but maybe it would slow her down to give him a little more time to set up traps. He didn't plan on causing her death, he trusted she was skilled enough to go through any situation.

A bit further up the mountain, after covering his tracks, Shinha set up a trip wire under the snow, thin enough to break when stepped on, or pulled against. The wire connected to a net that was well hidden in a tree. The net was full of snow, so when the wire broke, the snow would fall on top of its victim. After making sure it was well hidden, Shinha covered his tracks, and hurried to the peak of the mountain, setting up smaller, and inconvenient traps, none of which were deadly in anyway, just childish.

Once at his cave, Shinha, laid down, taking his mask off, and waited for Chiyoko to get up the mountain. Though it was not timed, he wondered if she would make it up quickly, or take a few days. He just knew, if he didn't see her within a week, he would assume her either dead, or she just gave up.

OOC said:
Sorry for the long wait. I have been sick, and it made me loose the will to write for a while.

Kawakami Hotaru · Sep 8, 2015

Re: Staring Toward the Effervescent Heavens [Contract Search

"If I make it? I think you mean when I make it, Shinha-Sama." She retorted as the God explained where to meet him atop the peak and that he would be taking a separate path, seemingly to make the endeavor a little more interesting. She took no issue with the fact that he wanted to split up, even before meeting with her Sherpa she had initially wanted to climb herself, and this was an opportunity to do just that. Patting the side of her face the young girl tried to sooth the pain that still shot through her cheek which was made worse by the cold winds beating down upon her, she wished that she had more alcohol in order to at least give her a feeling of warmth, but going back to the outpost where she was nearly stabbed to death didn't seem to be the brightest idea, she would be making her trip sober if less than serenely. Kneeling down once again the girl took a few seconds to readjust her snow boots, brushing them off and ensuring they were tied properly, the last thing she needed was to lose a few toes on her voyage.

Heavy breaths burned her lungs as Chiyoko made her way toward the safest path made available to her in the dense snow, though it seemed even the safest path had been obscured by the deep snows that had killed her guide only a day and a half prior, she knew what the snows concealed and made an effort to move as carefully as she could manage through the snows. Unfortunately even the most careful of people can fumble, her left foot sunk a good three feet into the snow beneath her leaving the girl to yell out a loud 'Hmph' as she braced for a fall into the snow, falling face first though she managed to brace her fall with her arms. She was proven to be lucky once again, a small branch caught her arms piercing the cloth of her parka and giving her a few minor cuts, but she managed to avoid any major injuries as she sat up digging her foot from the snow. Removing her leg proved more difficult than she had first expected, the whole affair took a good ten minutes as she struggled to pull her leg from the off-white ground, though the affair did give her enough time to enjoy a quick cigarette again, her habit seemed to be growing worse.

She found the next surprise several kilometers and several hours later as Chiyoko froze in her spot, noticing a translucent string reflecting light poking from one of the trees. For several silent minutes she observed her surroundings surmising that there was only one trap in the area, or so she thought. Dispatching the trap would be easy enough, cut one side of the thread and make sure to be out of the way of whatever it was holding above. Of course there was a small issue of cutting the wire itself, she had given up all of her guide's equipment and didn't carry a blade on her, which left her with two options: the first was to use a bit of fire ninjutsu, if she could manage to heat it up, to melt a part of the wire until weak and simply pull it apart, option two was to find where the wire had been tied and unravel if from there. She could tell near immediately the first option was unlikely to work, the wiring appeared to be metallic and melting it would take far too much time an energy. So it seemed her second option would be coming into effect as she followed the string until it faded into the snow below, cautiously she sat on her elbows and knees gently tracing the wire as to not set the trap off, she had soon found it's tying origin and made fairly quick work untying the trap and making sure to avoid it's contents as the snow came crashing down.

The rest of the traps she encountered were juvenile at best, though one did manage to scare the piss out of the young girl as a mannequin fashioned from twigs, leaves, and a burlap sack for a face shot out toward her from behind a tree prompting her to scream an obscenity and reactively cook the inanimate object with a bit of fire ... She then took several minutes putting her fire out, not particularly wanting to burn down a tree in a God's domain. Didn't seem like a good idea. The rest of the trip was fairly menial, the sites were what she had expected upon attaining the flower staring out toward the heavens above close enough to touch them with her gloved hands. It was rather unfortunate that she had somewhere to be as the landscape was truly a thing of beauty, but ultimately she could not keep Shinha-Sama waiting more than he had already, she estimated that her stops had already put her a couple of hours behind when he probably expected her arrival, and the night was slowly encroaching.

The flower sat behind her right ear as she entered the Kami's dwelling, watching as he laid maskless waiting for her arrival. "Miss me?" She asked with a slight chuckle, removing the flower from her ear and the parka from her head as she offered it to the man and sat, night had already began to fall and she had no intention of venturing back down the mountain in the pitch black. Without request Chiyoko removed her jacket placing it beside her, obviously getting a bit more comfortable for the night "So how'd I do, Shinha-Sama?" she asked cocking her eyebrow up a bit, expecting at least a bit of praise.

Sukuna Kiyo · Sep 10, 2015

Re: Staring Toward the Effervescent Heavens [Contract Search

As the hours past, Shinha laughed to himself as he heard the fumbles of the girl. He was entertained at just listening. Later on, her did start a small fire, to heat up his little cave. The cave had an open entrance, covered by only some cloth, and branches. Inside was decorated with little items, like toys, and paintings. There were huge pillows for seats, much like bean bags, and a mat on the ground in a corner. The fire pit was right in the center, and the only source of light in the cave. Shinha sat on only one of the pillows, laying back, and relaxing as he continued to listen for Chiyoko.

Shinha showed her a huge grin as she arrive much earlier than he expected, it was night now, so he was not cruel enough to send her back down. But a memory seemed to crawl up on him, the last time he became close to a human ended in misery. He shook it off, and watched Chiyoko sit down, becoming comfortable. He took the flower, and traced the petals with his finger tip. it had a faint glow to it. "Ah, its in perfect shape. Thank you." He stated, then he put the flower to his nose and smelled it. "You did amazing, I expected it would take you a day or two, but you really are not like other humans, huh?" He explained with a soft smile. This flower was something more than a normal flower, it was special. Shinha handled it delicately.

He then looked directly at Chiyoko, holding the flower on his lap. "Make yourself at home, just dont touch that doll on the shelf over there. Be careful with everything else." He stated, then pointed to a small stuffed doll, it looked like a little childs toy, old, and worn out. It was separated from all the other toys, and nick knacks he had collected over the years.

Kawakami Hotaru · Sep 11, 2015

Re: Staring Toward the Effervescent Heavens [Contract Search

Shinha seemed pleased that she had returned with the flower, she wondered if the Kami had expected her to return at all as he noted her speed, and how it would take others to make the trip. "A few years in the academy gives you all the survival skills you need out here, but I wouldn't say I'm different from anyone else. Thank you though, Shinha-Sama." she remarked gazing around his den which, while sparsely decorated, was certainly comfortable and a bit homey. The fire was warming and the seats were comfortable, she certainly wouldn't be complaining as it seemed the Kami would allow her to stay in his domain at least until dawn. Pressing her hands to the fire the young girl sat warming slowly, looking out at a world that was further enveloped in the gentle falling snow. The world, while harsh and cruel at times, was an absolute thing of beauty as displayed by the scene outside of Shinha-Sama's den, Chiyoko could easily understand why someone would live in such a place so far removed from the disparaging nature of humans.

Chiyoko gazed toward the items on the shelves as Shinha noted they were off limits to touching, or at least the small rag doll was, it was obvious that the doll held some sort of sentimental meaning for the God as did the rest of the mementos scattered about. "Get a lot of visitors over the years, Shinha-Sama? Looks like you have a few mementos." she commented absentmindedly still looking over the items. Her gaze was soon drawn back to the small doll, faded from age and use she assumed, she was fairly uncertain about the reproductive cycle of the Gods but she didn't think they could have children, "I think I've seen a doll like that before, aren't they antiques now? How did you end up with one, if you don't mind telling me." she pondered readjusting a bit closer to the fire, removing her shoes and placing them to melt the ice that had formed on top of them from her travels. The young girl yawned stretching her back for a moment and readying for a story from the Kami.

Sukuna Kiyo · Sep 14, 2015

Re: Staring Toward the Effervescent Heavens [Contract Search

Shinha nodded to her response, though he didnt meet many ninja up in these parts. For him, she was different. As she mentioned visitors, he glanced around for a moment, "Not exactly visitors.." He mumbled slightly, thinking back on it. True she wasnt the first human here, but the first in a few decades. He glanced over to the doll as she pointed it out. It was an antique now? He was surprised at how fast time flies. He didnt mind telling her, he just didnt like remembering certain things. He gave her an awkward smile though, trying to fight a frown. "I got that doll from a very close friend of mine. When I was younger, I used to hang u=out with a group of kids, they are all grown old, and dead now though." He explained simply, then he looked down at the fire for a moment, before looking at her.

"How about you? Why'd you come all this way?" He asked curiously, with a small smile. He wanted to know more about her, but he guessed she really wanted to know about this kami. Not every day you get to meet one after all.

Kawakami Hotaru · Sep 17, 2015

Re: Staring Toward the Effervescent Heavens [Contract Search

Eternal life was as much of a burden as Chiyoko had initially thought as the Kami explained where his mementos were from, and how the people who had given them to him were long since dead, she wondered how many lives Shinha-Sama had seen come and go and the burden that it must be upon him, God or not. Such a lonely life to watch so many come and go while you sit trapped in an immortal coil, "Shinha-Sama, if it would be alright with you I'd like to visit again after I've returned to the village, I can't help but think you probably need some companionship out here. I mean I understand if not, but I know I couldn't live out here so far away from other people." she remarked pressing her hands a bit closer to the fire. The warmth was pleasant as she found herself able to feel the tips of her fingers for the first time in the last few days, sitting in quiet introspection as the Kami asked why she had taken a trek up the mountains in the first place. "Pride." She remarked drawing her fingers from the fire and pressing them against her cheeks, a pleasant tingling shooting through her face as she thought of how to further explain her motivations.

"After Kagoshima in the marshlands, when I lost my eye, I couldn't half see. Still can't, really. So I thought to myself, I need to prove to myself that I can still do what we do, what Shinobi do, so my brilliant idea was to scale this mountain while still half injured on medical leave." Pausing briefly she quickly thought back to Shin, a man who she damn well have indirectly killed due to a childish sentimentality of not being good enough to continue on. It would have been easier to blame his death on his own ineptitude, or just bad luck, but that was not the honest truth. "My guide died after we stopped, only took a few minutes for the color to drain from his face, and there I was in the middle of the snow with nothing else to bury him with than the trowel we used for covering our own shit, Raiden rest his soul. He died because I wanted to travel through the storm, because I was too proud to say that we should have waited, because I wanted to prove something to myself...But I made it, I guess. I climbed the peak and here I am now, with a bit more blood on my hands than before. Not that it's anything new." she tired of thinking about the subject placing her hands back toward the fire.

"So, Shinha-Sama not afraid to admit that I didn't think that there were Kami out in the world before I met you, never been much of a believer in anything to be honest with you." She stated gazing toward her savior and back to the fire. "Anyway, how long have you been up here in these mountains?" Chiyoko questioned rubbing her hands together still quite cold.

Sukuna Kiyo · Sep 18, 2015

Re: Staring Toward the Effervescent Heavens [Contract Search

Shinha was a little shocked she offered to visit him... But at the same time he felt happy about it. He missed having people around him after all. Though he wasnt sure if she was saying it out of pity, or if she was sincere. "I dont mind at all, in fact, I will welcome you here." He stated to her. She was an interested girl after all, at least to him. He liked her, even with her bloodied hands. After all, Kami were not 'good' as people portray them to be. some were more greedy than humans, others were as angelic as it could get. It just depended on the kami.

As she explained why, he listened to her. It seemed like she blamed herself for her guides death. It was true that it was her own arrogance that put them into that situation, but it was his own as well. "Don't blame yourself, if you keep getting stuck on the past, you will not know when to move forward again. True, if you waited, he'd be alive, but he could have absolutely refused. he could have allowed you to go on your own, but he did it anyways. Dont let his kindness go to waste." spoke to her, he stopped himself from rambling though, he just didnt like others blaming themselves for things that they could not predict, or control.

Shinha, laid back a little more on the bean bag chair, and yawned softly. He didnt need to sleep, but he liked sleeping. He looked into the fire, she stated that she did not believe Kami were real. He didnt blame her for that, they didnt appear often to others. Most lived in more solitary than him. Then there were the ones who had a contract with humans, or lived in groups of other kami. "I don't blame you, we Kami are strange. there are some like me, who live in solitary, others that live in our realm, and then there are the contract kami that are around Humans often." He explained to her with a firm nod.

Her question for him took him off guard a little. "Well, since I was young. In my... I believe you guys would call it, a childhood. this was my hide out, where I would bring others my age, and slack off. I am not sure how long ago that was though, maybe a few decades.' He explained to her, then hummed gently. He would love to get back out in the world again. Wasnt like he was aging though, he felt he had plenty of time to make up his mind.

Staring Toward the Effervescent Heavens [Contract Search]

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