The Path from Exile. [Req. Entracnce]

[Atsushi Nakamura]

Ao had spent almost two weeks riding in the back of a merchant's wagon, with very few stops. So it was understandable for him to want to enjoy the time on his feet. His path up to The Brothers took much longer than most. Ao found himself constantly turning down other roads exploring the area of the city that was outside of the walls, known as Outer Maruishi. Eventually Ao decided that he had spent enough time wandering around and made his way up to the gates.

Ao was quite impressed with the massive sculptures of the brothers that vigilantly guarded the gates to Stone. He had to move his red-hair out of the way to get a better look at them. Every centimeter was carefully carved with a detail that was beyond anything he could comprehend. Eventually he found himself in front of the gates to the city. Ao knew better than to try and just walk in, so he reached into his robe and pulled out a metallic-looking, fist-sized, ball out of a pocket and began bouncing it off of the ground. He also took the time to draw the jug from his waist to his mouth only to find out that he was going to run out soon.

"Ah man, this is going to be a LONG day, I can feel it..." He said to himself.

 

[Ryu Hime]

As the man waited at gates he would see a little girl from within the village running in his direction. The girl was carrying a back full of groceries, which she was taking home. The Gypsy caravan which she resides is located in the outer Maruishi area. Being gypsies they normally don’t live inside the village, so in case they are forced to move they can easily do so. Many villages prior to Stone welcomed there kind for only so long. Often they are accused of being thieves because underhanded people tend to take advantage and pick the pockets of people distracted by their performance. Other villages asked them to leave due to some of the dark arts they practiced such as scribing curse seals.

As the girl got closer he would likely notice a feathery figure flying just a foot above her. It was a hawk tamed by herself in the most unusual fashion. Is he had a keen eye he may see a curse seal on the hawks head. By using the curse seal to infuse her chakra into the creature she was able to proclaim dominance over it. Now understand she does not mistreat the bird. No she care for it as any child would for a treasured pet. As Fumika notices the man she stops a few feet inside the gate and the animal circles above her once before landing on her shoulder. Because she did not recognize the man she was hesitant to walk passed him, but she does attempt to make some light conversation. “Hello, my name is Fumika. Are you new to the village?”

[mft]

 

[Atsushi Nakamura]

It took Ao a few seconds to realize that he was the one the young girl was addressing. He turned and gave the young girl a smile before he responded.

"My you are a very perceptive young lady, aren't you miss, Fumika was it?" Ao turned his eyes to the hawk perched on the young girl's shoulder. "Ahh I see you have a traveling companion, so do I." Ao said as he raised his arm and extended his hand out from the sleeve of his robe revealing a metal ball half the size of his fist, and something even more interesting. Both of Ao's arms were metal. The metal was shaped as if it were the muscles of an actual human arm if they were exposed.

The small metal ball in Ao's palm then rose into the air, moved towards the girl, and began circling her about half an arm-width away from her face. It made a strange whirling sound, and for some reason the girl would notice a strange taste in her mouth, a sour, metallic taste. That wasn't necessarily unpleasant, but certainly was not pleasant either. After a few passes the ball would move back to Ao and levitate over his shoulder, in a similar way to Fumika's hawk.

"My name is Yamada Ao, and you are right to suspect that I am not from here. I come from the former Village Hidden in the Mist. I staid behind to make sure all civilians that wanted to leave were safe to do so in a manner of their choosing. Now that my task is done I wish to travel the world."

 

[Ryu Hime]

As Ao addresses the bird Fumika smile, “Yes this is Yuki. I train her myself.” However Yuki was not so welcoming to the stranger or found the metal looking ball a threat. When the ball hovered near Fumika the curse seal begins to cover its entire body. The animal stretches it wings out wide in attempt to look menacing. The bird then screeches at the metal orb. “I don’t think Yuki likes your pet. She can be a little protective of me, but of course I trained her that way.” Fumika tries the calm Yuki by petting its feathers and she did seem to take a more relaxed stance, however the curse seal did not revert. After something like that Yuki was keeping a close eye on him.

Fumika looks at the ground with a sad expression after Ao’s introduction. As a part of a nomadic people she doesn’t have a place to call home quite like that. Even though his village was lost at least he had one. “I’m a gypsy. I am not really from anywhere. My clan has travel a lot because no village wishes to keep us. I’m sorry for what happen to your home, but I still envy you for once having it.” She then looks up at him with a small tear running down her cheek and through her watery eye she notices something. The man had a mark it the middle of his forehead which makes her wonder if this guy, was a monk. Yuki nuzzle Fumika it attempts to cheer her up and the little gypsy girl takes a hand and wipes her face. “Forgive me I should not burden you with my own problems. I’m sure you have enough of them on your shoulders already.” She then tries to quickly change the subject by pointing out an observation. “By the way I just notice something. That mark…” She point at Ao’s forehead. “Are you a travelling monk?”


[MFT]

 

[Atsushi Nakamura]

Ao had only been talking to Fumika for a little while, but he was happy that she was the first person he met in stone. He had expected a very serious, and not very talkative, guard to be the first one he talked to. He listened intently to the young girl as she talked about her reality. Being a gypsy was not an easy thing. It made Ao think back to his time in Mist. He had made a very important friend while there, and he too was a gypsy. Unfortunately when Mist collapsed the two had to go their own ways. Ao had to protect the citizens of Mist on their journey out of the now frozen wasteland, and his friend had to lead his people to a new home.

“As do I miss Fumika,<i></i> Ao said responding to her statement about his former home, “I dream about my home all of the time and I fear that that is the only way I will ever see it again.<i></i>” Ao noticed a tear start to run down Fumika’s face, but before he could say something she wiped it away and asked him if he was a traveling monk. Again Ao smiled before he responded to her.

“Well, kinda sorta, I never officially trained as a monk at a temple or anything. But while I was in Water Country helping people get to new homes I found a very interesting book. It was written a very long time ago by monks who lived in Fire Country. Unfortunately they are no longer around, at least not in any official way. So the only way I could their ways was through reading this book. What I read made a lot of sense to me, so I decided to dedicate myself to their teachings while I traveled. I mean if you are going to spend your life on the road, why not help the people you come across on the way?<i></i>”

Now is was Ao’s turn to ask a question. “By the way miss Fumika, does your friend Yuki have a curse seal on its’ head?<i></i>”

MFT

 

[Ryu Hime]

Yuki decided that was a question best for her to answer as she takes off into the air. The curse seal continues to grow and she is enveloped in a blinding light. As the illumination begins to dim they could see and angelic figure flying above where Yuki one was. The angel lands in front of both of them, thus giving Ao a good view of her. The being wore long pieces of red cloths covering her chest and waist but leaving everything else exposed. Her hair was long and green and her wings were that of a hawk’s. This was the power of the seal; this was Yuki’s new form. “My master would prefer you to call it a seal of power. The term ‘curse seal’ suggests an intentional negative impact on the one it is placed upon. This cannot be further from the truth for me. With the seal placed upon me by my master I have been able to see the world far more clearly than ever before. I am no longer a creature driven by instinct; a gift that I can never repay. To show my gratitude I swore to serve my master till her dying breath.” Yuki knew very well of the distaste people have for curse seals, so she was very animate to tell Ao it was a blessing.

“Thank you Yuki I think he gets your point.” Yuki then moves to the side thus allowing Fumika to talk to Ao face to face again. “People call them curses because the one that bares the seal ignores our warnings and misuses it. We tell them they must respect the seal or it will end up controlling them rather than the other way around. It is because of this misuse that people have coined the phrase ‘a gypsy’s curse’ in association with my clan.” Fumika was unsure what Ao response would be, but she will not hide the negative facts of her seals. With Ao being a monk she thinks it more likely he would be upset with her scribing seals, but her clan is also religious and seals are okay with them; each of the three gypsy goddesses bore a seal of power.

 

[Itsuki]

The Guardian laid resting upon the top of the village gates hoping to get some more sleep and shirk off his gate duty for a while longer today. His dream of getting another lazy day seemed to fail as he heard several people outside the village gates speaking to one another. With a sigh the man sat up brushing his long white bangs from his face, reaching into his jacket pocket he pulled a red colored hard candy from it and placed it into his mouth. "Gah, I hate work so much." He mumbled as he leapt down towards the area where two people were conversing along with what appeared to be an Angel or large chicken lady. At this moment Kura figured he should stop drinking before going to work as it was hard to tell if the winged lady was real or just him fading in and out of his own mind again.

"Ello, anything I can do for you both, and the girl with the wings is really there right?" He said with his head cocked to the side with a small grin and look of confusion of sorts upon his face.
"I take it you guys want into the village, I am correct right?" The only reason people ever came to these gates was to leave or enter, never anything fun like to have a dance party or sing randomly. With a sigh he decided he would try to have some fun of sorts.

"Just between us ok, there is a secret dance that will allow you to enter the village without all this hassle. I will tell you how to do this as you both look like you are skilled enough to know this secret knowledge of our ancestors." His need to amuse himself had once again taken over his role as a Guardian of Iwa, why they ever let him interact with people at the gates was beyond him.
With a deadly serious gaze the man's crimson red eyes looked deeply at each of them.

"It is called the Iwa Chicken Dance of the Old Gods, you must dance in a circle as if you are a chicken while clucking for four minutes straight." He knew this would never happen but if it did his day would be made. With wide eyes the Guardian looked at the angel still unsure of if it was really there or not. "Ok, well either way the drunken hallucination of the lady with wings can go through as...ya no I have no idea but that one gets a free pass without the dance of the old gods." This was an odd day it seemed and one that Kura was not sure what really going on at all at this very moment.

[Topic :Entered for Gate Duty]
[WC: 303]
[MFT]

[Edited: Forgot Angel lady was there]

 

[Atsushi Nakamura]

Ao watched as the events with Fumika's hawk unfolded, and what happened was in no way what Ao was expecting.

"I, uh, am not sure what I thought would happen, but a hawk turning into an angel certainly was not it." Ao stammered. As he finished his sentence another person appeared next to the two outside the gates. He initially inquired about the hawk-girl before them.

"I certainly hope she is my friend, if not I believe we may both be in trouble." Ao responded, "My name is Yamada Ao, I am a visitor from the Water country. I have come to see your beautiful city and experience everything it has to offer" Ao bowed to the man he assumed to be a Stone shinobi. "I'm afraid I know nothing about this dance you speak of, would you care to show me?" Ao said with a slight grin on his face.

 

[Ryu Hime]

Angel and lady with wings, this is what they called her form. However that is not what she is meant to appear as. She resembles a Hoshitaka; a warrior handpicked by the goddess Tia herself. The gypsy warns the scribed about the corruption of the seal of power for such tragedies fell upon one their own goddesses. Tia was forced to seal her sister Luna to the moon, which left the Earth in a vulnerable position. Even as an immortal she must sleep at some time and surely then evil will strike then. In order to protect the land she blessed a few of her followers with her power. The power changed them into miniature versions of herself. “Believe me when I say I am quite real, sir.”

The Anbu seems to be quite mistaken with Fumika, which was a little annoying. “Um... I currently live here. That’s my home over there.” She point to the gypsy caravan part right next to the first house of Outer Maruishi from the gates. By the caravan was an old woman sitting on a rocking chair. The old lady gives the both of them a polite wave. “And what do chickens have to do with The Five anyways?” If Fumika recalls correctly the Old Gods of Iwa represented the five elements. She could not figure how the hell a chicken would fit in to that.

 

[Itsuki]

Kura listened to the man speak, he was polite so that was at the very least make doing his job less of a hassle then it often can be. "Welcome to the wonderful land of Iwa...or something of that nature." Kura sighed as he turned his head towards the sky as it seemed this man named Yamada Ao was not going to do this random whim of his. "Anyways Ao, I am called The Guardian of Madness, I did not pick the name or I may have I cannot recall to be honest but...anyways I am that Gate guy at this moment." He had to stop himself from his random chatting and ranting about nothing at this point anyways.

As Kura noticed the lady with the wings speak his attention shifted away from the man named Ao. As the lady spoke of being real and no illusion at all that he had been noticing he found himself smiling ear to ear in a jester like grin at her words. "Ah, well I guess that means I did not need to go get another mental evaluation for the second time today." His words let loose a small chuckle as he never went to those anyways in truth.

Kura also was informed by the little girl that she lived he in fact, she was a member of that caravan that was always there. "Ah, sorry about that lil miss did not recognize you." Kura was not attempting to be rude as for not knowing she lived here he just never did much gate work himself. Kura noticing the old woman waving at them jumped up and down slightly waving joyfully back at the woman with a child like smile upon his face. His face was pulled back into a normal relaxed sense as he realized this young girl was smart and knew of the religions of this land. "Well damn I suppose there is not getting that done this time again and yes I have no idea what chickens have to do with anything myself." He let out a sigh as he spoke back towards the man again. "Yamada Ao, I give you permission to enter our village go have fun and do not break too much stuff, they do not like that it seems."

"With that all settled I will leave you three be, take care and have a good day." He said with a smile as he leapt back up into the air towards the gate.

[WC: 416]
[Access to Village: Granted]
[Topic Left]
[MFT]

 

[Ryu Hime]

With that award experience with the anbu now over, Fumika takes her groceries over to the caravan. Yuki give Ao a polite bow, “It was a pleasure to meet you. I hope you enjoy your stay here in the village.” Yuki then transforms back it her original form and flies off to her master.
[left topic]