Birth
Twelve years ago a woman and her tribe travel the perilous mountain ranges of the Utsusu to their religious birthing grounds. This woman, named Rosuto, is holding inside her a baby that would be born into darkness. A strange mixture of screaming and drum beats filled the air as the tribe danced around Rosuto and their Shaman, wearing a mask made of clay and crow feathers with the only light coming from the few torches they brought and the light of the stars and moon. A scream was followed by a slight ripple that rumbled through the mountains. Rosuto’s daughter finally appeared and for a moment everything was calm and then celebration began and then ended just as quickly.
A violent rumble shook the mountains and every tribe member to their cores. Everyone stopped cheering and the Shaman, holding the baby, clutched the infant to her chest and stared down at her whimpering form to see a true horror. The baby’s face flickered, as if it were in multiple places at once. The Shaman dropped the baby and she landed in a pile of hay that was laid for Rosuto’s comfort. Everyone looked on in horror at the baby, including the baby’s father and their family. Only Rosuto knows the cause but she doesn’t dare speak for fear that her words will make things worse. Instead there is a moment of silence amongst the tribe members with an alarming and somewhat upsetting howling coming from the baby.
“This baby is not right,” says the shaman. “She is an abomination; An affront against our Lord!” The tribesmen hoot and holler and smack their staffs and feet against the rocky ground. Rosuto feared for her child’s life but also her own, so she rose to her feet and weakly stood with her baby between her and the shaman.
“You cannot do this Shaman, you don’t understand.” Rosuto pleaded with the masked woman but the shaman didn’t want to listen.
“I am the wisest in this tribe, Rosuto. How dare you question my word? The earth shaking was a sign, daughter; do not question the acts of our Lord!” Rosuto breathed heavily but had no words to speak, and the pounding and yells from her fellow tribesmen made it hard for her to concentrate, especially after what she had just gone through. Instead she scooped her child from the hay and disappeared with a speed that made it impossible for anyone in the tribe to follow. Bloody footprints show the direction she was headed however, and the Shaman orders the quickest and the best trackers to follow her.
Some kilometers away Rosuto comes across a small village guarded by Sunagakure Shinobi, it was a familiar place where she had gone to acquire certain items her tribe couldn’t produce. Still covered in blood she approached the gate as a shambling zombie, collapsing to the ground in front of the first guard that had gone to her aid. He knelt down next to the strange, bleeding woman and noticed the baby right away. He takes the baby from her mother’s arms and then searched for the woman’s pulse and found only a weak one.
“Miss?” the guard speaks. Rosuto’s eyes moved lazily in his direction. “Miss what happened?”
“Keep her safe, guardian.” Rosuto mumbles. “Her name… is Soru.” Rosuto’s eyes fell and the light faded as she drifted into the void.
“What’s going on, Koken?” Another guard approached but it was too late to help so Koken instead ordered the guard to bring the body in so it can be disposed of. He chose to take the baby in as his own and raise her next to his then three-year-old son Ubu. In that home Soru lived for a few years without anyone coming for her. Three years passed and then Koken received word from his family in Sunagakure that his father had passed, so he picked up and moved back home to help his family, the Tamashi. What was supposed to last only a few months became permanent when he realized how much his father did to keep the family together. A new leader was to be chosen, and all agreed that despite Koken leaving home to be with ‘some woman’ he was still next in line. So Koken took up his old job there in the village, guarding the gates.
Sungakure, early years
Four years passed and everything was going well for the Tamashi family. Koken had taken over the Tamashi family as head of house and Ubu had joined the academy and was looking to soon become a genin. Seven-year-old Soru didn’t want to join the academy, instead she wanted to be a civilian and work with her aunts selling baked goods in the commercial district. It was a simple life and Koken himself was relieved to hear this; he never wanted his son to join the academy either and so not having to worry about two children was just fine for him. Still he cheered on his son and when Ubu was eleven he participated in an open genin exam and passed. There was a celebration that night with much food and merriment, but Koken had to work and left early to head to his post at the gate.
Koken was proud of his son but also scared for him. He took up gate duty because he knew how hard it was out there for a shinobi when they went out on missions. You never knew when you would return home alive or at all. While deep in thought about his son’s future Koken heard footsteps in the sand coming closer from the darkness. He readied himself fully expecting it to just be some curious beast, but instead a woman appeared wearing a tribal gown and a mask made from clay and feathers.
“I know you,” said the woman, muffled by the mask. “I saw you that night.”
Koken was confused and didn’t say anything right away.
“I know you, guardian.” The woman said, stepping closer.
“Don’t,” Koken said, getting ready to defend himself and the village. “I don’t know what you’re talking about lady, but you need to show me some papers or go back into the desert where you came from.”
The woman paused, and then chuckled. “I made a mistake… Back then? That never happens. I thought I could let you raise that child, as long as she wasn’t a part of our tribe I didn’t want to spark bad relations between Suna and our small tribe.” Koken knew now this woman must have been from the tribe Soru’s mother came from. “I am the shaman of my tribe, guardian. I am the wisest, I was chosen because I was the wisest of anyone… But I made a mistake, and now I must rectify that mistake for our Lord has come to me and told me the truth about her.”
“I won’t let you get to her,” Koken spoke softly attempting to keep his cool but the shaman could practically taste his fear.
“I’m afraid you don’t have a choice, child of the Tamashi.” The shaman rose her hand and quickly performed a series of seals and shadows enveloped them both. The shaman disappeared into the darkness and the shadows began to grab onto Koken, pulling him to his knees. “I am much more powerful than you, guardian, and little Soru will one day be much more powerful than you can imagine. She just needs some… motivation.” Koken screams as the woman began doing something terrible to him in the shadows, and then when the darkness disappeared the woman emerged licking blood off of her fingertips under the mask as she sneaked her way inside. Koken’s body was found and a man hunt issued throughout the village attempting to find the intruder but no stranger is ever found and no more bodies ever turned up. It’s eventually decided that whomever killed Koken got what they wanted and must have escaped.
Academy
After Koken’s death Soru changed her career goals and entered the academy right away. She didn’t know who his killer was or that she was still in the village but Soru knew that the only way she would be able to kill her was to get stronger. Against her brother’s wishes she joined the academy shortly after Koken’s death and quickly began learning everything she needed to learn in order to become her strongest self, fueled only by the rage she felt. She didn’t care about how she compared to her classmates, all she cared about was becoming stronger for the sake of one day getting revenge on someone she may have never found.
One day Soru was taken in as a pupil to a teacher at the academy, a young woman who attempted to dispel the rage that was built up inside Soru. This teacher attempted to teach Soru that love was a much more powerful tool than hatred. Soru began to flourish under her mentor’s tutelage and began to notice that she was becoming much faster than other kids at her level and when under emotional stress Soru found that her body would flicker as if looking at an image in a broken mirror. It wasn’t something she found herself able to control, and no one in the Tamashi family had any answers for why this was happening to her. Her teacher had a guess of what was causing this, but only a small guess, and would try to help Soru but by that time it seemed it was too late.
Genin Exam/Bloodline
Soru was twelve and hoping to soon become a genin like her, now Chuunin, brother before her. At the time of her Genin exam she felt she was ready to advance. The exam itself was a private affair, being proctored by Soru’s teacher as well as a couple of chuunin including her brother Ubu. Soru was competing against just a few other kids, and through several tasks and challenges she was able to make it to the final round. That’s when Soru’s mentor and friend decided the exam was finished and stepped into the testing area to shut it down. The chuunin attempted to explain that they still have to finish the exam, but then all three of them were stopped in their tracks.
“I am not who you think I am,” She said merrily. “I am Kishin, shaman to the Ankoku Tribe. That is where you belong, Soru.” As she spoke her form slowly changed, her clothes turned back into tribal gowns and her mask became visible. It was not Soru’s teacher anymore.
“Teacher, I-” Soru was cut off by a shadow covering her mouth for just a moment so Kishin could continue to talk.
“Soru, I made a mistaken in thinking that you were an affront to our Lord. He told me the truth and I’ve come to awaken you. I’ve come to awaken your gift.”
“Kishin!” Ubu shouted. “It was you wasn’t it? You were the intruder that killed our father outside the wall?”
“Unfortunate that it was he who found me, I meant to rescue you without any deaths but he wouldn’t let me have you.” She said to Soru with a fake empathic tone. “Soru I can give you a great power, but it needs to be awoken. Your teacher didn’t know what she was doing, so I had to kill her, too, of course. She was ruining everything.”
Something inside Soru snapped and she was unable to control herself again. Her image flickered and her body twitched as something began to rise up within her. Kishin was visibly excited through her body movements, even without being able to see her face you could tell this was the response she was hoping for.
“I don’t understand,” Soru said, barely able to spit the words out. “I don’t understand why you’re doing this.”
“You don’t belong here, child! You belong with your people; these men who raised you were not your family. They stole you from us and I’ve been looking for you ever since!”
“Don’t listen to her, Soru!” Ubu shouts. Ubu was too young to remember the whole truth; their father tried to convince him that Soru was his true sister but still had a feint memory of the night she was brought home.
“Hush, young man!” Kishin raised a shadowy hand to cover Ubu’s mouth. “Soru, you need to face death with your own eyes and then you can release the power. Kill this boy and you will become stronger than you could imagine.” Kishin grabbed the student that Soru was fighting and holds him still while Soru’s flickering intensifies. Inside her something is urging Soru to attack this Kishin and so Soru leapt from her spot and then jumped over the young man. In a flash she’s in front of Kishin but not entirely in control. A primal force inside her pushed her to enact her revenge even though the reasonable part of her brain was telling her it’s a suicide mission.
“You chose poorly, Soru.” Kishin easily dodges Soru’s attack and moves to the other side of the room. “I’ll just have to kill them all myself.” Spikes shoot from the kids’ shadows and pierce them like pin cushions. Soru’s flickering intensifies and she drops to her knees as the power becomes too much for her. “Let’s kill the older kids, too.” Kishin does another handseal and snaps the necks of the chuunin behind Ubu. “Last chance, Soru. Killing your brother will definitely do it.”
Soru lets out a cry like the one she gave as a baby. It echoed through the air and through the streets prompting Shinobi from nearby to approach. Soru’s form became nearly impossible to detect as her image strobed and seemed to bend the space around her, even the shaman herself was unsure of which flicker was the real Soru. She grinned to herself and pleased to see that she had in fact accomplished something she felt it was time to take her leave.
“Let him go,” Soru spoke, clenching her fists as if this awakened power suddenly gave her an edge.
“I can see you’re still not ready, that foolish mentor of yours filled your head with peace and serenity but our Lord is a dark one, and soon I hope you’ll see the world for how it truly is and come back to Him.”
“Stop talking!” Soru prepared herself to attack again and Kishin quickly turned to finish Ubu. Soru moved swiftly before Kishin had a chance to make a move and blocked her handseals. “I will never give you what you want.”
“What I want is you, child. Not this you, though… So I’ll leave, and let that feeling of hate return to you.” Soru attempts to strike the shaman but she dodges effortlessly again. “Just know that I’ll be back to claim you, and to kill off anyone that tries to keep you from your potential.” Soru moves on Kishin as Ubu is released, Ubu stops Soru just as a couple of Shinobi popped in after having heard the cry. They watched as Kishin’s form sank into the shadows, Ubu attempted to strike Kishin but it was just an image, and not the real Shaman. She had left already, leaving behind a shadow clone as a distraction.
“Soru!” Ubu ran to his sister and wrapped his arms around her. The power she felt sank back down into the core of her being, once again sleeping in order to wait for her to reach her true strength. The flickering calmed down as well, and the shinobi called in an intruder alert to try and capture her before she got out of the village.
“Ubu,” Soru spoke sorrowfully. Her face showed apathy but tears going down her face spoke a different tale. “That woman killed my teacher. She killed our father… She killed all these people… Because of me.” She whispered the last part so only the two of them could hear and then she her face began to wrinkle and her tears turned into a whimper.
“I know,” Ubu held his sister tighter and not she returned his embrace.
Aftermath
The hunt for the shaman Kishin was an odd one. She made it blatantly obvious where she was, seemingly purposefully stepping in front of the men who were chasing her just so they could see when she had slipped over the wall and disappeared. Ubu and Soru were questioned before they were allowed to return home. Soru was allowed the rank of Genin following a debate over the legitimacy of her exam. She was found to be more than capable due to her aptitude in her classes and the recommendation given by Ubu and some of Koken’s old friends. The children never admitted what Kishin was truly after, and as far as anyone was concerned the other chuunin died helping Ubu take her down and were given medals posthumously for their bravery, which Ubu felt they deserved anyway despite how they actually died.
After that day Soru decided to continue what she was taught in order to not given in to what Kishin wanted from her. Even if only out of spite, Soru vowed to fight for what she believed in and the people she loved instead of for hate and revenge. If she let her hate influence her power she would become the person Kishin intended to make her into instead of the person she knew her father would have wanted her to be. Ubu on the other hand sought nothing but revenge, and despite Soru’s pleas to not give in to temptation he eventually left the village with his team to find this Kishin but never returned and have ceased contact. They are all presumed dead or outlaws.
