Where Elements Collude. [Dual Contract Search]

[Kouin]

The winds were howling against the peak and the walls of the monastery. Being well versed in the the areas of the mountains, and being able to safely navigate the torrential storms, Hibana had asked him to show her some place special. A low rumble reverberated beneath their feet, the seismic activity still a prevalent issue. This is the Monastery of Raiden, it's where young Santaru come to learn more about who they truly are, where they came from. His voice trailed off, he only this from what his father told him; having been born in Kirigakure, he never was brought to the Monastery. It seemed like no one had come here in years, it made the Santaru blood in him sad.

This is where the elements of storm coalesce into a singularity. Lightning and Water, joining in harmonious tandem. They continued up the pathway leading to the desolate Temple, they passed by graves of fallen heroes, treasured Santaru, and beloved members of Kumogakure. Kouin recognized some of the names etched on the stone tablets, and some he did not, though he would still get down on one knee and bowing his head in respect of those that had fallen before his own time. You must remember, and pay respect for the ones that paved the way for us, regardless of our knowledge of them. To ignore the past is to ignore the roots we came from. The shinobi that fell, gave their lives so others may live, and build a future for others. No one is safe from that kind of fate.

A violent rumbled echoed beneath his feet; he could feel a sudden shift in the air around him. Something had changed within the atmosphere, something was displeased with the events that were transpiring within the Monumetum Deo. Kouin's eyes went to the sky for answers; clouds began to drift from the horizon into the surrounding area, even his efforts to make the bend were ignored. That's not good... He looked back at Hibana, How attuned to the elements are you young Touji...

Hibana... It might be difficult, but try sense the earth and fire. Not in your hands, but in the air and ground around you. Try to sense the essence of them. People assumed the elements were just there. Inanimate, abstract concepts, but in reality, every element had a spirit, a living soul that breathed life into every jutsu we cast. They are the silent, guiding force of most destructive forces Shinobi could conjure. Lightning, Wind, Fire, Water, Earth, each had their own weaknesses to each other, creating a balancing act of power and distribution. It was soft line that was seldomly treaded to maintain a harmonious balance in the worlds ecosystem.

Even though he couldn't speak with these forces, Kouin could feel a displacing imbalance in the forces in the sky; the storms harked, and bellowed out loud. They weren't listening to his call his to break or part way; something was angering the air, but what...

[Topic started]
[Dual Contract Search w/ Hibana]
[Using Discovery of your Choice ASP Card for Elemental Contract]
[WC: 502]
[TWC: 502/1500]

 

[Bakuen Hibana]

The winds howled here.

It was as if they were bellowing for the two shinobi to keep out. A message neither shinobi nor kunoichi were planning on listening to. The two would press on.

A splinter group from their earlier team, Hibana had asked Kouin if there were any special areas that they could visit as it was her first time out of the village in this way. She'd hopped to learn something from the tenured shinobi and he responded to her request with a mountain hike.

The had been climbing for what seemed like hours before reaching what Kouin described as the Monastery of Raiden. A place Santaru came to learn about themselves, the older shinobi seemed saddened as he explained to young Hibana. There was more hiking involved and the young kunoichi was beginning to regret her earlier decision in asking Kouin to show her this place as her small legs were beginning to feel the burn of the hours long hike.

Her emotions were assaulted even more as the two passed a graveyard. The sight of It reminded her of her late mother. The thoughts taking prescendence over whatever it was that Kouin was explaining in that instance. Something about Lightning and Water coalescing or something. Hibana's thoughts were with her mother at this time. She missed that woman and was unsure how to express it. Surely she couldn't cry? She was supposed to be strong. So she steeled her resolve and locked those sad emotions away in a box for now, as it was time to focus up.

A tremor brought her back to her senses and the true reason they were on this hike.

Confused, Hibana looked to her sensei.

"That's not good..."

Her heart jumped and her eyes widened.

Those were NOT reassuring words AT ALL!

The rumbling subsided, but Hibana's anxiety had not.

I don't know... Are explosions an element? despite her advanced skills for her age, she was still VERY green to the life of a shinobi. Elemental attunements were for shinobi with a bit more experience under their belt.

But her sensei persisted.

The way he spoke, she assumed it would be something she could just -do-. So Hibana took her sensei's words to heart and would at least try.

She closed her eyes.

She took a deep breath.

She tried to focus.

Could she feel the sensation of fire? The sensation of earth?

She took another breath.

Focusing her chakra throughout her body, she began to feel the cold soil moisten her feet. Was this the sensation Kouin was asking her to search for? Then, a sudden image of a hand reaching from the ground shocked Hibana from her focused state. She screamed in shock.

AAH!

Her eyes wide and darting from left to right, what was that? What had she felt just now? It was cold, yet still somehow familiar

"Is that normal? What was that? Why was something reaching out for me?" Hibana's typically cool demeanor fading away as her anxiety began to surface.


[508/1500]
[MFT]

 

[Kouin]

The ground underneath them continued to rustle and rumble, The noise was obnoxious enough to even raise the dead; thunder boomed across the ridge, and lightning cracked the skies. The ground still rumbled, but the areas around the gravesites seemed to shift ever more so than the rest of the ground. The grass creased and crumbled as hands clawed their way out from their earthly tomb. The storm around the began to intensify, but never putting the pair at risk. Lifeless spawn of the fallen, risen once more, An eerily, ghastly green glow sat in their eyes. Two airy balls began to circle around him , though at first, Kouin would pay them no mind.

It definitely wasn't normal, at least to him it wasn't, No... It's hard to explain.. What should earth, fire, explosion, what should these feel like. Imagine... for earth, a sturdy presence; for fire, think of a warn campfire. His explanation might've been crude, but his natures weren't naturally attuned to earth and fire.

The seismic activity from within the Deo must've jostled the dead awake... He didn't have a large enough depth of knowledge to understand the situation. Than again, the two airy orbs now hovered right in front of his eyes, obviously not a normal effect, and clearly trying to get his attention. His left hand opened out towards them, the pair would laid gently in his hand, and careful enveloping his body. Kouin-san this is this the first time we have spoken, I am Rai, a spirt of lightning, without missing a beat the other to spoke to him, And I am Sui, a spirit of water. They spoke to him, but not out loud, the one was right, this was the first time he had heard their voice, but their presence didn't feel unknown to him; the two together form the essence of storm.

The recent events have rattled the spirits of earth He doubted the the earthen spirit was the root cause of the activity across the entirety of the Deo, but their was no doubt that their disruptive activity wasn't helping the situation at all. We come to you aid in a moments notice in the form of your jutsu and weather manipulation, always helping but never asking.

We ask that you please ease our earthen brethren. They are not normally like this. Help us Kouin of the Clouds.

He listened carefully as the spirts spoke to him, almost begging him for aide, the words they spoke held merits of truth; every jutsu he conjured, and the path that he ultimately carved up until this point. With that in mind, did he really have them to thank, or should he be berating them? He shook his head to himself; no, his decisions were his own. I will aid the best I can Rai and Sui. He could feel their energy swell up in him, in almost an exultant light, as they left his body, returning to the core of the storm.

He's eyes drifted back towards Hibana, Apparently, the recent activity related to the mission, has caused earthen spirits to become enraged... His voice would drift off for a moment as he looked at the shambling corpses rising up from their graves; the very same graves he was just giving grace to for the time that they had spent on this plane already. Our objective isn't to eliminate or knock out, but to calm them down.

[WC: 575]
[TWC: 1077/1500]