Private Walk the Razor's Edge [Training]

[Kaji Hirohito]

It's almost 4:00 am and the chilly, foggy, overcast morning sky threatens all manner of miserable weather as Kaji departs his home for the gates.
Packed with three days worth of food, his toolbag, a pair of trench knives, a raincoat, and a waterproof apothecary satchel smelling pungently of rosemary, he felt satisfied with the preparations he had made.
However, it was a long ways, and he marched for some time before he finally arrived at the massive structure obscured by the low hanging fog. Remembering the first time he saw those massive doors from the outside, a shiver creeps along his spine as he tugs his coat a little closer.
A little anxious of the road ahead, Kaji stops to say a prayer at the small shrine near the gate. Holding in his hand a requisition list of herbs and mushrooms stamped with the business seal of his mother's shop.

The destination? Monumentum Deo. The herb he was looking for: Nermelious Temporus, is a rare root like herb that grows along the sheer and jagged cliffsides in this region. To make things more difficult, the best quality ones are in places the mountain goats can't get to. There was one thing he had going for him, he already knew roughly where to look. Though he did have several other plants to gather along the way, several of which he found a short walk off of from the more rugged paths.

After a full day of travel he finally reached it. A sharp, 90 degree gorge crossable only by a single narrow rope bridge. It took some effort to fully cross the rickety old thing, but he felt better once on the other side. But know came the hard part. Gazing over the edge, he saw the root he needed half way down the cliff face. There was only one, but it was quite large so he would need to be exceedingly careful.
Reaching into his bag, Kaji produced a small mallet, a long iron nail, and 50 ft. of rope. He tied the rope with a climber's knot, slotting it around the nail before beginning to hammer it into the ground. Ping.. Ping.. Ping.. The nail rang out, echoing across the rocks and shattering the serene silence of the fog. Soon Kaji was satisfied, and tying one end around his waist and over his shoulders, he prepared to descend the cliffside.
The rocks stared up at him like hungry teeth, almost daring him to come closer. But he would not be their meal, not today Kaji thought. Slowly shifting his gear to the side, he inched his way over the side until he stood almost perpendicular to the rock face. Then he began to walk backwards, descending slowly and carefully until he came to rest at his destination. Luckily there was a small outcropping, just enough for him to stand on his toes and use both hands. It was extremely uncomfortable, and awkward, but after what felt like forever he was finally able to pry the root from the rocks and place it securely inside his satchel.
Now to get back up, he thought. Kaji lifted his left foot in order to regain his previous horizontal orientation, but before he could get any further, the ledge gave out from under him. It took Kaji to the edge of his slack, scaring the hell out of him. But he was still okay, for now. Something did catch his attention however, and he looked below himself only now realizing just how close the river below him seemed. He had hear the delayed splash, and was curious as he had no knowledge of a river in this particular gorge. However, he had had enough and needed to get off of this terrifying cliff. He began to pull himself upward, slowly walking up the cliff face until he heard a loud chunk.



Suddenly, Kaji began falling backwards toward the ground. It was gut-wrenching, and it would only get worse when he found out the hard way that people aren't the only things that like cliffs. He smashed his left side into the log of a long dead cliffhanging tree, breaking it and sending it hurtling down the cliff with him. To make matters worse, through the adrenalin he could tell that the collision had just severely broken his arm. Kaji's mind raced, and in the short seconds before hitting the water, he was able to right himself to fall in feet first.
One moment the world was passing him by, the next, his eyes and ears were filled with the torrential roars of the river. As it fought to steal the breath from his lungs, and snare him with the still attached makeshift harness, Kaji quickly drew a trench knife with his right arm and cut the rope. Then, with all of the strength he could muster, he paddled along the current to attempt to reach the log that had splashed down behind him. Thankfully, he was successful, if only barely and was now being tossed about as he clung to the log for dear life.

WC: 854

 

[Kaji Hirohito]

The waves had Kaji in their cold merciless grasp, and aboard the log he was thrown in all manner of directions as the river churned on. Before long, he could no longer tell which way was up, down, left or right. trapped in this white-blue hell, water filled his nose and choked his every breath. The only thing worse than the sensory overload was the crippling fear that stayed his hands. The log was slick with moss and covered in vines, and he feared that if he moved even an inch he would lose his grip and be swept away amongst the chaos.
This went on for what felt like forever, but after some unknown amount of time had passed, the river seemed to calm itself. At last Kaji was able to clear he water from his eyes, but what he saw made him wish that he never had. The river seemed to be accelerating, and quite noticeably too. Scrambling up onto and lying along the log, Kaji breathed in deep as he emptied his mind. Something was very wrong, and his gut told him that the danger was only just beginning. At a glance, the river had gained a terrifying amount of speed since he had last seen. And it wasn't long before the reason would be revealed.

The river, rounding a corner brandished the true power of nature with a mighty, continuous roar. The quickly approaching waterfall heralded the doom of Kaji Hirohito. But he would not go quietly, his eyes snapped around frantically searching for a path to safety, which they found. Along the left shore of the river, the cliff steeply flattened out into a small patch of land lightly covered with trees. This was his chance and he knew that with seconds to act, it would be his one and only.
Forgetting his injuries for a moment, he attempted to straighten himself into an upright position. But his left arm crumpled under the weight with a sickening crunch almost sending him over the side, the pain beginning to cut through the numbness of the cold.
His time was up, and it was now or never. Seizing the last of his consciousness and willpower, Kaji threw his weight upward with only his right arm and legs. There he balanced precariously for a moment before hurling himself upwards and towards his only escape. Soon, he was amongst the waves again, fighting towards the shore. The current was violently pulling him along until at last he felt his feet touch the rocky bottom.
Kaji stood and scrambled from the water as it clutched and grasped at his ankles, almost dragging him back in. Crawling up the shore, he was safe, he had made it, and not a moment too soon as the edge of the waterfall rumbled nearly thirty feet away.

But his struggle for survival had only just begun...

WC: 483

 

[Kaji Hirohito]

Kaji was soaked through and absolutely chilled to the bone. Time was short, and he'd only just escaped his last ordeal. "Talk about out of the pot and into the fire!" , he thought. Dragging himself to his knees with scratched and stiff hands, he sheathed his trench knife. With some effort, Kaji shakily came to his feet and made for the tree line. They were sparse and a fair distance away from the shore. This was good for him, as it meant that there was at least the possibility of finding some temporary shelter. As he looked over his shoulder, he could see the somewhat frigid view from beyond the brink. Had it not tried to kill him, he may have once thought it to be beautiful, now, not so much.

Thankfully, surviving in the wild was not a concept that was foreign to him. After all, he used to go camping all the time back home. He knew how to hunt small game and scavenge food from the bushes. He had even helped his mother make practice survival huts on the rare occasions that she had come to visit. So his goal right now was simple, find shelter and make a firepit to dry himself. However, he quickly assessed that he would find neither here, as the wood was far too damp to properly burn, and the sheer cliff faces were exceptionally dangerous with any sort of weather. There was also another matter to attend to, that being his broken arm. It wouldn't be long before the numbness and adrenalin would wear off, and he needed to make sure that he wouldn't be going into shock just yet. So he took shelter in between the large roots of the nearest tree and single handedly wrung out a set of spare clothes, hanging them to dry while he worked.

With some effort Kaji was able to pull the medkit from his bag still faithfully hanging from his back despite being much worse for wear than he. It was still intact, and in it he found a splint, two large bindings, and a packet of pain medicine that his mother had packed along with it. Next, he unpacked his badly dented canteen and swallowed the powder with a couple gulps of water to wash it down. As he huddled against the underbrush Kaji felt surprisingly warm, but he ignored the feeling, believing that his mind was just playing tricks on him as it began to enter hypothermia. Shaking his head, he focused on the task at hand and, after biting down on one of his spare socks, set about the splinting process. Thankfully the break seemed to be a simple fracture of the humerus, and it had missed his brachial artery as there was very little swelling or bruising, the former possibly due to the cold water. It was more painful than he had expected, and it startled him for a moment, causing more pain. Eventually, he gently brought the splint to rest against the outside of his arm, and tied it firmly at the shoulder and elbow. Now it was just a matter of tending to the myriad of other cuts and scrapes across his body. And in no time he was fully bandaged up and ready to go.

Relieved, Kaji could feel the pain medicine slowly spreading through his body inch by inch as he put everything back. Standing slowly and scanning his surroundings, he realized that sunset would soon be upon him. With no shelter in this cold, he would be a goner for sure. But there was still the matter of his clothes, while they weren't very dry, they ones that he had hung were a great deal more comfortable than what he had been wearing until now. Satisfied with the change of wardrobe, he explored the length of the cliff face, searching for some deadwood and a way to get down from here. Both of which he found with little effort, to his own surprise.

Wrapping the scraps of his old shirt around the large stick of deadwood, Kaji held it between his knees as he gingerly weaved the signs for thermal maw, and controlled the stream of flame that burst forth from his lips to light his newfound torch. "Finally, some real warmth." , he thought, and he set about down the narrow and precarious path that descended steeply into the chilly forest below...

WC: 738

 

[Kaji Hirohito]

As Kaji carefully navigated his way down the steep and slippery slope, he was able to stop at points and lookout over the land below. As it was, he was nearly seventy feet above a small section of forest. The mass of trees were lightly dusted with snow and stood almost perfectly still, as no wind was able to make it this far down the mountain side or around the steep gorge at its sides. In the distance, he could make out his path to freedom; a small and unremarkable footpath leading up through a large slope leading out of the gorge. If he was lucky, he could make it through the forest in less than a day. If not, he would be forced to stay the night, as it would provide him some protection from the cold, cruel wind. Deciding on the latter and ultimately safer option, he continued down the treacherous slope.

Now safely at the bottom of the path, Kaji found himself at the entrance to the woods. It was much noisier than he expected, with the echoes of the howling wind from the cliffs above fading amongst the branches. It was oddly unnerving, but he didn't have much choice. So, torch in hand, he pressed onward and entered the forest. It was cold, despite being isolated from the winds, here the chill hung in the air like the frost on the grass. Everything around him was barren and dead, he could feel the solitude, he was well and truly alone. Continuing his search for shelter, Kaji sorted through the dead branches among the trees, the red glow of his torch shining amongst the trees. After some time, he was able to acquire a large bundle of sticks and several handfuls of starter. Now all he needed was a place to stay. He searched for some time before deciding on a decently large tree with roots extending into a wide V shape. There, he made all of his preparations, from staging a fire pit to crafting a stick and mud hut structure to sleep in for the night. By the time he had finished, it had gotten late, and the sun was starting to set on the horizon. Kaji hurried to quickly start a fire before the sun went down and he had to work in the dark. His torch had long since gone out by now, and he was not down to leave himself exposed out here, even if he was alone. So he got to work, utilizing his mother's teachings, to make what he didn't have. Thankfully the advantages of chakra-based flames were still with him. Weaving the signs, he cast a few infernal embers upon the tinder, and with a little help guided it into a full campfire.

It was warm, the first warmth he'd felt this whole blasted day, and it was heavenly. Satisfied with the amount of wood he had burning on the fire to keep through the night, and he was confident that it would ward off any unwanted visitors.

WC: 509

 

[Kaji Hirohito]

Kaji awoke suddenly late in the night, the horrific sounds of the forest creating such an awful din that he could barely hear himself think. His eyes wide with fear, he shot up and drew his trusty bangstick, both for protection and a badly needed sense of security. Despite the deafening racket he moved as quietly as possible within his small shelter of sticks, mud, and moss to don his full ensemble, not wanting to draw its attention just yet. And with his club in-hand Kaji slowly crept towards the makeshift door, coming to steal a glance out at the forest around him through the cracks. There was nothing completely in sight, but the fading fire revealed small glowing eyes curiously studying the camp before disappearing into the bushes. The noise, he decided, was probably just some small nocturnal scavengers fighting over scraps. Though it probably wasn't going to be his problem, it was better to be safe than sorry and stoke the flame. He watched for some time, mustering the courage to embark once more upon this dark and dangerous world.

Kaji emerged from the safety of his hole and began tentatively layering more wood over the fire. But all was not well as he had foreseen it. The forest was quiet, too quiet. The noises had stopped, all of them, and far too suddenly. It was almost as if his heartbeat had begun to echo among the trees. An ice like chill ran along his spine, he was not alone anymore.

The forest had ears, and eyes, and teeth. All of which were waiting for one foul move, one moment of hesitation. The leaves rustled softly in the gentle breeze, rolling and swaying like waves in the sea. Something wasn't right, even more than everything up to this point. There was a detail, somewhere that he had overlooked. A fact so important that it was the key to his survival. The skin on the back of his neck turned to pins and needles, the blood in his veins stopped cold. In this place, there was no breeze.

They were here. He spun on his heel to witness the horrors that had attempted to sneak up on him. Two wolves with eyes glowing an unnatural shade of white had nearly gotten the drop on him. It was nightmarish, the wolves had frozen in their place, perched alongside one another on one of the roots that had made up his home. The drool, the malice, the deep, slow growls that emanated from deep within their gaping maw it intimidated him for a moment. But the words of his grandfather struck him, "Wolves are pack hunters, Kaji, show no fear. Get off the ground, be loud and fight if you must but always guard your throat and neck.". That thought turned fear into action, as from behind he sensed the rest of the pack moving in for the kill. He needed a power play, and he needed it now.

It was close but he willed his chakra forth, priming the explosive seal within his club. "Now or never, once again." , he thought and charged the two closest wolves. At first they seemed surprised, startled even, that he hadn't been paralyzed from fear. And as soon as Kaji had leapt forth, so too would the rest of the wolves. The two, overcoming the shock, gnashed their jaws and lunged together, but it was too late. With a single arm, Kaji swung the club horizontally, screaming with all his might as it impacted the skull of the leftmost wolf. In an instant, the exploding seal detonated, obliterating the flesh and skull in its way and ripping through the wolf on the right with a thunderous *BANG*. The world was still, Kaji's ears rang, and white spots flashed in his eyes, but he was the first to recover.

|

With some effort, he turned to face the crowd, stowing his weapon. There they were, their matted, ravenous forms writhing on the ground as they recovered from the explosion. He wasn't in much better shape, as the explosion had jostled his arm a fair bit, and the pain was almost excruciating. But right now, it was fight or die, and he wasn't about to curl up and call it quits. Stowing his weapon and haphazardly weaving signs, his lips glowed red as he rapidly spit forth a stream of flame. *FWOOM* Many of the wolves that had recovered their ability to stand, scattered save for one particularly unlucky soul who was torched in it's wake, dying almost instantly from the blaze. A few of the assailants fled into the bushes, seeking refuge from the fire breather, but a majority remained. Infuriated, their blood-lust led the closest to surge forward in retaliation. Kaji had barely enough time to dodge, bounding to one side as the wolf collided with his former house, crashing through the poorly built structure. "Time to go!" , he decided, leaping into the low hanging branches of the tree above. Surrounded, the wolves jumped and snapped at his feet, each coming terrifyingly close to his precarious perch, and getting closer.

It was time to consider his option, glancing upwards, he spotted the moon. It was in the far right of the sky, with a faint glow from beyond the horizon on his left. Morning was almost here! Not that that mattered, because that meant that his exit now lied squarely across from him and directly over the pack of vicious wolves. Suddenly, he was snapped back to reality as one of the attackers glanced off of the branch. It shook violently, and Kaji was only able to remain where he was due to his soles being firmly stuck to the woody surface. Thinking fast, he remembered some of the students from the academy, more specifically during their training to scale walls or trees with their feet. There were a small few who had a problem with overcompensating that had ended up launching themselves like missiles. This was his new plan.

With a hop, skip, and a jump away, Kaji crouched on the trunk of the tree, angling his trajectory to achieve maximum distance. By this time he had noticed a fire beginning to spread in the bushes at the edge of the trees, almost definitely his fault, but it would work as a good distraction to guard his escape. And with that, he forcefully repelled himself from the tree. The yield was far smaller than what he would have liked, but he made it to the adjacent tree nonetheless. Unfortunately, the fire had spread much further than what he had initially believed, and several trees were almost completely ablaze in his path. The only way forward would be over land.

This time drawing his trench knife, Kaji descended from the branches at a sprint, forcing a path through the burning woods and leaving the destruction in his wake. The wolves however, were back on the trail momentarily at a much slower pace, giving Kaji time to put distance in between them.

With the red glow of his campsite growing fainter and further away, there was finally time to take a deep breath before pushing onward. But he dared not wait long, and re-established his previous pace as he blazed through the forest in silence. Fortunately, the sound once again returned to the forest in all of it's creepiness. Crows cawing and owls hooting, punctuated by the occasional snap or crack of falling branches and trees now left far behind. He was making good time, but he needed more if he wished to escape this graveyard alive. The wood had also changed however, from the fresh and young trees at the beginning of his expedition, to the dried and dead husks that now littered the land. Even if Kaji had wanted to, he could no longer return to the safety found high above the ground. The fog grew thicker, almost too thick to see. The moonlight piercing through the skeletal eaves being his only line of sight. It would not be long now before he reached the final stretch, and he was starting to regain an ounce of confidence and hope.

That was until he stumbled across the edge of the gulch, more specifically a hole in the gulch. For a moment, he had almost believed it to be the way out, instead what he found was much worse. Little white dots, first one, then two, then three pairs of eyes rose from the shadows followed by dark, shadowy figures as they stepped into the moonlight. Once again, with the same prickling feeling, Kaji found himself surrounded. He was running out of tricks, but he still had one more technique up his sleeve. Slowly going for his tool pouch, Kaji searched its contents until he found the item that he needed.

Before either end of the welcoming party could move, he quickly struck the item against the ground as he threw it. *PAF-PSHHHHH* It exploded outwards, coating the area in a thick coat of smoke. A smoke bomb, go figure, gave Kaji just enough time to scale the wall and run along it. This confused the wolves, who attacked each other in the cloud as he escaped.

WC: 1541

 

[Kaji Hirohito]

Soon, Kaji desperately dashed along the cliff face, not stopping to check if the wolves were fooled by his ruse. The howls of pain and surprise slowly but surely fading with each step. Eventually, he was forced to return to the ground, as the stone was brittle and slick with moss. But there at the base of the wall was a footpath, likely worn by the many feet of the wolves. With no other choice, he reluctantly pounced down onto the path.

Following the wall of weathered rock and wood, he pushed forward through the fog until the light of dawn poured forth from the sky. Suddenly, the path rounded inward, the walls curving into a small patchy road. The exit was before him now, and the enemy, he was certain, behind. For a moment, he allowed himself a glimmer of hope, but there was still the matter of it's navigation.

The road looped and weaved through the rocks. A few of which broke the path, forcing Kaji to squeeze around their sharp, broken edges at his own peril. The stones cut and gouged him, and his ribs groaned in protest when pushing through some of the tighter spaces. Once he was finally through, the walls that had once enclosed him now fell away, replaced by fields of boulders in every direction. The terrain was rough and unforgiving, and in some places slowed his progress to a crawl. Yet he'd seen neither hide nor hair of the wolves, and yet, by his estimations they should have easily overrun him by now. Something was off, "None of this makes sense, why wouldn't they follow me? I'm injured prey trying to escape in their eyes, So why...." , wondering aloud, he cut his words short. There was something out there, he could feel it, and it could hear him. In response, Kaji slowed his breath and steadied himself, quickening the pace. Soon after, the sloping land brought him to it's apex where the boulders now started to clear. He looked back down onto the path below to see if he was being followed. But there was nothing, no movement, no pursuers. Yet he felt that strange feeling once again, like he was being watched, or rather observed. From then on the road became straighter, flatter, and more visible. He remembered now the warnings of his mother, how she had told him of the many horrors of this world. He had always believed them to be children's tales, nothing more than works of fiction. However, any more thoughts of home were soon dashed as he bore witness to what lie ahead.

A field of eerily placed stones, encircling a large, flat rock at it's center. Opposite his position, he observed the road as it followed a steep incline up the cliff face, rising into the tundra above. "Too late to go back now." he thought, walking towards the stones. Jagged, rib-like pillars and skeletal trees invoked the memories of an old myth, a legend about the land of the dead from long ago. It was a grave and gruesome story, and with it came a vision. Suddenly and without warning, he was there, staring down at himself in the torch light. His mangled body set upon the flat stone, covered in blood. There were others in the fuzz of his tunnel vision, cloaked in deep crimson robes. A disturbing and unnerving sight, bringing with it a renewed sense of fear and urgency.

As it should. He was sweating, more than before. A cold sweat, cooled by the ice now flowing within his veins. "What... what was that? Me... Here... When? Why?" , he stuttered, more questions to be left unanswered. His instincts called to him once again, and waking from his trance, Kaji observed his surroundings carefully. He was right, something, somewhere was watching him. The trees much further back along the cliff rustled loudly, several crows fleeing their perches with all due urgency. He didn't need to see it to know what was happening. Nor did he need to be told twice to run.

Squeezing his left arm tightly to his flank, Kaji lowered his head and bolted. In no time at all, he was high above the open field on the mountain path. Drawing forth bangstick, Kaji charged the club's explosive seal as a last ditch effort to delay those monsters. Turning in time to see the shadows bounding across the field, he struck the path behind him with tremendous force.

*BOOOM*
All at once, several yards of sheet stone collapsed into the field, completely destroying the way back. Narrowly avoiding the rockslide of his own making, Kaji dropped the club, and with the what little chakra he had left, blasted his flames down the slope. Hopefully catching a few of them on its way down.

Slinging the club across his lower back, Kaji turned and fled one last time into the unknown.

WC: 820

 

[Kaji Hirohito]

Final WC: 4,945

(Topic Left)