She couldn’t sleep. Instead she lay in bed, her mind going a thousand miles per hour as she stared up at the ceiling of her room. Sonoko had cleaned out the dust, but otherwise everything had been left as she had left it. Hundreds of pictures of knives and swords were tacked to the walls. Komora’s own gear was laid out neatly beside her in a pleasing pattern. She stood up on the futon and she looked down at the several hundred kunai and shurikens all laid out on the floor. Somehow the kunai made of ink had survived all of this time… even when Tomo hadn’t been here here for just as long as Komora. She really was just like the twins. They had vanished for so long and she had too. It was just such a normal thing among the Mochizuki’s to disappear for months.. Years… at a time. Why would they bother? They knew their children would always come home here.
This place was a lot of things to her. In the beginning she had struggled so hard to connect with the outside world she grasped onto the first concept she was able to understand. She tossed the ink kunai across the floor and began to fill her kunai and shuriken holsters with the weapons laid across the floor. The floor was left spotless when she was done save the ink kunai. She walked over to the dresser and searched through her things. She briefly held up the outfit she had worn on stage so many years ago. Hmph. It was too small now. She dropped it to the side.All of these clothes were too small. Only the clothes that Akio helped her buy fit.
She turned to the new clothes and looked through everything Akio had helped her purchase. Her father had been a little peeved at the dog’s spending of his money without his knowledge, but when he learned that Komora had returned he and the rest of the Mochizuki felt that the price was just right. They heard the tales of what Komora had become and many of them felt shocked to their core that they had let this go on for so long unwittingly. Tama and Tomo always came back. Komora would too. That was their line of thought.
Clothes soon piled up onto the floor until Komora found something… suitable. It was a black dress. The sparkles were fascinating and the smooth silk of the material was pleasing to the touch. She looked at the Vanity mirror. Her practical clothes were discarded and in their place was the black dress. It had no back and no sleeves, but it was more than just a bodice attached to a skirt. The top covered her front and became a collar that one pulled over the head in order to keep the whole mess from collapsing to the floor.
She looked at her lumpy figure where her holsters weren’t hiding themselves inside of the dress. She didn’t know what it was but it wasn’t right. The dress came off and then so too did the holsters. She grabbed the ink kunai again once she finished organizing her weapons on the floor again. She used the ink of the kunai from Tomo to draw the summoning sigil on the floor around the weapons, and then on each wrist the corresponding seals.
The Ink Kunai had finally been spent. With a reluctance she ground the ink into non-existance. She closed her eyes as she waited for a minute or two before the ink dried. The dress came back on. She began to brush her red hair until it was perfectly smooth. Then she lifted a kunai. She formed a half seal and a miniature fireball seared the metal. Then with all the caution that only someone like Komora could she curled her hair using the hot kunai’s ring.
As she looked at the Komora in the picture she wondered what was missing still. She opened the vanity drawer as she searched for something. She didn’t know what until she found it. Her make up kit. Chou once had helped her put this on for her shows back before...everything. So much wasted time… She couldn’t waste anymore. She lined her lips with red and painted her lashes dark. Her eyes were shadowed and her cheeks were reddened. She put everything back into its place. Without another thought or word she walked out of her room into the silence of the night. It was quiet, and this time was one of the rare times the troupe wasn’t busy with some activity of their own.
Her black dress sparkled in the moonlight while she walked into the big top.She walked through the throat of the beast into the gullet where she stood in the center ring. Some of the targets were still here from the show the night before. Her hands caressed the seals on the opposing wrists. Two kunai came into existence in her hands. She twirled them in her hands before throwing one at a target she couldn’t even see. Bull’s eye. She didn’t even need to look. She could feel it.
The circus had taught her to throw knives. She had been so excited then. She twirled the second kunai and sunk it into its mark Akio was right though. She had only ever made one decision of her own when she ran away to the forest. Sometimes she missed just living that way. People were too complicated.
Two more kunai’s found their ways into her hands. She had just been happy to connect with someone at the time. She didn’t understand a lot of the social rules of the world. Words felt like slippery water. Two more knives into two more targets. 5 kunai found themselves into either hand. Did she even like sharp things? She threw all 10 of the kunai into their targets.
She hadn’t ever thought about it until she had nearly been the death of Chou. She realized the danger that these weapons posed and what they could do. She had given them up so easily then. And now, 10 more kunai in each hand. She had picked up the Inuzuka fighting style because Akio taught to her. Regardless of whatever he had to say he did teach her and he knew what he was doing. She had enjoyed every moment of it but now… she hadn’t even been thinking about it. She was just happy to talk to someone who had the patience to talk.
Some of her kunai hit their targets. Others just dug into the ground. It hadn’t been her decision. 10 more kunai appeared in either hand. When she came back to the academy Akio wanted her to keep the Inuzuka techniques a secret since the clan didn’t like sharing it with others. So she had gone back to what she knew, kunai and shurikens.
She had been so excited to learn about everything. She picked up anything any body told her but now… Akio had left her to find her own way and for the first time in her life she was genuinely thinking about what she wanted. She threw one hand’s worth of kunai directly up into the air and then the second group of kunai met their opposites. All of them changed directions and landed square in the center of the targets that were scattered everywhere. Did she even like Kunai and Shuriken?
Akio demanded to know why she wanted to be a kunoichi. Ten more kunai appeared in each hand.She had just been doing it because he had told her to. It was his idea for her to come back to civilization. She couldn’t fathom why the dog had turned on her. She was just barely beginning to understand. She tossed one hand of kunai into the air. The second hand’s kunai all hit the other kunai’s in the ring. The kunai’s spun around in the air before the second kunais caught slipped out of the rings and were flung in a different direction.
All of twenty of them found targets. Why did she want to be a kunoichi? It was the dogs Idea after all. She hadn’t realized it when she was younger, but despite being a circus family, all of her siblings were ninja. It wasn’t just Tama and Tomo. Sonoko and the others were all ninja. She hadn’t realized how sneaky Sonoko was capable of being. She knew how to take advantage of everything when the opportunity presented itself.
Komora ten more kunai found their way to each of her hands. She extended her arms back as if to throw...but then she suddenly dropped her arms to the side and let the kunai fall from her palms onto the floor. The metal scattered and slid while she lifted her hands up to her face so that she could look at the effects of years of fighting and surviving in the forest.
“Komora will find her own path...” She whispered to herself. She suddenly felt very cold. She turned to look at the entrance of the big top flapping in the wind. A sudden draft was kissing her bare arms and back. She could of course come back to the circus. They would no doubt love to see her here. Was a shinobi supposed to have something to protect? What was the driving force of being a ninja? Duty? Family? Pfft - honor?
She didn’t know what she was supposed to feel or for what motivation would be appropriate for her to fight for? She gritted her teeth and began as torrent of kunai began to form in her hands as she juggled them in the air. The kunai’s being juggled began to be flung into the targetes in a stream just as consistent as the whirling torrent that were twisted before her. Why was Yuii a kunoichi? Or Shouyu? Tama, Tomo, Osu, or even the raikage, Ayumu? Why did any of them do what they were doing? Did they even choose their paths or did some strange other dimensional beings make the choices for them so that they could be entertained by the struggles of mortals?
Komora had never cared about any of those things. The Torrent began to loose cohension as the steady stream of kunai stopped feeding it from Komora’s seals. Finally she stood with nothing in her hands, but a kunai was virtually coating every target in the ring. She caught her breath. She didn’t even realize she had been breathing hard.
Then it hit her. She did have something she wanted to protect. Her own independence.
A look of amazement crossed her face as she grew more excited at the thought. Despite everyone’s doubts, she would choose to be a shinobi for her own sake. She would earn their respect and her own freedom. Kumogakure didn’t like people who were challenged mentally to be in the military force. So what? She would become a shinobi because she wanted to and she would use kunai because she wanted to. They wouldn’t be able to stop her. She had made her own choice. “Komora will become a ninja because she wants to.” She raised her arms up high and bowed to no one in particular.
This place was a lot of things to her. In the beginning she had struggled so hard to connect with the outside world she grasped onto the first concept she was able to understand. She tossed the ink kunai across the floor and began to fill her kunai and shuriken holsters with the weapons laid across the floor. The floor was left spotless when she was done save the ink kunai. She walked over to the dresser and searched through her things. She briefly held up the outfit she had worn on stage so many years ago. Hmph. It was too small now. She dropped it to the side.All of these clothes were too small. Only the clothes that Akio helped her buy fit.
She turned to the new clothes and looked through everything Akio had helped her purchase. Her father had been a little peeved at the dog’s spending of his money without his knowledge, but when he learned that Komora had returned he and the rest of the Mochizuki felt that the price was just right. They heard the tales of what Komora had become and many of them felt shocked to their core that they had let this go on for so long unwittingly. Tama and Tomo always came back. Komora would too. That was their line of thought.
Clothes soon piled up onto the floor until Komora found something… suitable. It was a black dress. The sparkles were fascinating and the smooth silk of the material was pleasing to the touch. She looked at the Vanity mirror. Her practical clothes were discarded and in their place was the black dress. It had no back and no sleeves, but it was more than just a bodice attached to a skirt. The top covered her front and became a collar that one pulled over the head in order to keep the whole mess from collapsing to the floor.
She looked at her lumpy figure where her holsters weren’t hiding themselves inside of the dress. She didn’t know what it was but it wasn’t right. The dress came off and then so too did the holsters. She grabbed the ink kunai again once she finished organizing her weapons on the floor again. She used the ink of the kunai from Tomo to draw the summoning sigil on the floor around the weapons, and then on each wrist the corresponding seals.
The Ink Kunai had finally been spent. With a reluctance she ground the ink into non-existance. She closed her eyes as she waited for a minute or two before the ink dried. The dress came back on. She began to brush her red hair until it was perfectly smooth. Then she lifted a kunai. She formed a half seal and a miniature fireball seared the metal. Then with all the caution that only someone like Komora could she curled her hair using the hot kunai’s ring.
As she looked at the Komora in the picture she wondered what was missing still. She opened the vanity drawer as she searched for something. She didn’t know what until she found it. Her make up kit. Chou once had helped her put this on for her shows back before...everything. So much wasted time… She couldn’t waste anymore. She lined her lips with red and painted her lashes dark. Her eyes were shadowed and her cheeks were reddened. She put everything back into its place. Without another thought or word she walked out of her room into the silence of the night. It was quiet, and this time was one of the rare times the troupe wasn’t busy with some activity of their own.
Her black dress sparkled in the moonlight while she walked into the big top.She walked through the throat of the beast into the gullet where she stood in the center ring. Some of the targets were still here from the show the night before. Her hands caressed the seals on the opposing wrists. Two kunai came into existence in her hands. She twirled them in her hands before throwing one at a target she couldn’t even see. Bull’s eye. She didn’t even need to look. She could feel it.
The circus had taught her to throw knives. She had been so excited then. She twirled the second kunai and sunk it into its mark Akio was right though. She had only ever made one decision of her own when she ran away to the forest. Sometimes she missed just living that way. People were too complicated.
Two more kunai’s found their ways into her hands. She had just been happy to connect with someone at the time. She didn’t understand a lot of the social rules of the world. Words felt like slippery water. Two more knives into two more targets. 5 kunai found themselves into either hand. Did she even like sharp things? She threw all 10 of the kunai into their targets.
She hadn’t ever thought about it until she had nearly been the death of Chou. She realized the danger that these weapons posed and what they could do. She had given them up so easily then. And now, 10 more kunai in each hand. She had picked up the Inuzuka fighting style because Akio taught to her. Regardless of whatever he had to say he did teach her and he knew what he was doing. She had enjoyed every moment of it but now… she hadn’t even been thinking about it. She was just happy to talk to someone who had the patience to talk.
Some of her kunai hit their targets. Others just dug into the ground. It hadn’t been her decision. 10 more kunai appeared in either hand. When she came back to the academy Akio wanted her to keep the Inuzuka techniques a secret since the clan didn’t like sharing it with others. So she had gone back to what she knew, kunai and shurikens.
She had been so excited to learn about everything. She picked up anything any body told her but now… Akio had left her to find her own way and for the first time in her life she was genuinely thinking about what she wanted. She threw one hand’s worth of kunai directly up into the air and then the second group of kunai met their opposites. All of them changed directions and landed square in the center of the targets that were scattered everywhere. Did she even like Kunai and Shuriken?
Akio demanded to know why she wanted to be a kunoichi. Ten more kunai appeared in each hand.She had just been doing it because he had told her to. It was his idea for her to come back to civilization. She couldn’t fathom why the dog had turned on her. She was just barely beginning to understand. She tossed one hand of kunai into the air. The second hand’s kunai all hit the other kunai’s in the ring. The kunai’s spun around in the air before the second kunais caught slipped out of the rings and were flung in a different direction.
All of twenty of them found targets. Why did she want to be a kunoichi? It was the dogs Idea after all. She hadn’t realized it when she was younger, but despite being a circus family, all of her siblings were ninja. It wasn’t just Tama and Tomo. Sonoko and the others were all ninja. She hadn’t realized how sneaky Sonoko was capable of being. She knew how to take advantage of everything when the opportunity presented itself.
Komora ten more kunai found their way to each of her hands. She extended her arms back as if to throw...but then she suddenly dropped her arms to the side and let the kunai fall from her palms onto the floor. The metal scattered and slid while she lifted her hands up to her face so that she could look at the effects of years of fighting and surviving in the forest.
“Komora will find her own path...” She whispered to herself. She suddenly felt very cold. She turned to look at the entrance of the big top flapping in the wind. A sudden draft was kissing her bare arms and back. She could of course come back to the circus. They would no doubt love to see her here. Was a shinobi supposed to have something to protect? What was the driving force of being a ninja? Duty? Family? Pfft - honor?
She didn’t know what she was supposed to feel or for what motivation would be appropriate for her to fight for? She gritted her teeth and began as torrent of kunai began to form in her hands as she juggled them in the air. The kunai’s being juggled began to be flung into the targetes in a stream just as consistent as the whirling torrent that were twisted before her. Why was Yuii a kunoichi? Or Shouyu? Tama, Tomo, Osu, or even the raikage, Ayumu? Why did any of them do what they were doing? Did they even choose their paths or did some strange other dimensional beings make the choices for them so that they could be entertained by the struggles of mortals?
Komora had never cared about any of those things. The Torrent began to loose cohension as the steady stream of kunai stopped feeding it from Komora’s seals. Finally she stood with nothing in her hands, but a kunai was virtually coating every target in the ring. She caught her breath. She didn’t even realize she had been breathing hard.
Then it hit her. She did have something she wanted to protect. Her own independence.
A look of amazement crossed her face as she grew more excited at the thought. Despite everyone’s doubts, she would choose to be a shinobi for her own sake. She would earn their respect and her own freedom. Kumogakure didn’t like people who were challenged mentally to be in the military force. So what? She would become a shinobi because she wanted to and she would use kunai because she wanted to. They wouldn’t be able to stop her. She had made her own choice. “Komora will become a ninja because she wants to.” She raised her arms up high and bowed to no one in particular.
