Splintered Glass

[MedeaMoirae]

It was a beautiful day, and the last thing Hikari wanted to be doing was training. Yet here she was, stuck out here with her mother’s idea of the perfect man for her, Shoshiki Arata. He was showing off a jutsu of some kind, molding glass in his hands. Yet Hikari was ignoring him. She was staring at a grouping of trees, a family of hawks in its highest branches. If Hikari didn’t know any better, she’d say the hatchlings were learning how to fly. She was watching them with avid fascination as one by one, after much hesitation, they took turns jumping off of the branch, and flying away. Of course they were only flying in small circles, before returning back to their branch, to their home.

”Are you even paying attention, Hikari-chan?” Arata’s voice came across her silent world in sharp contrast.

Hikari wrinkled her nose at the interruption. ”Nope. Not at all. Don’t plan to.” Hikari turned and grinned at Arata, before taking off at a sprint towards the village, and the marketplace.

Arata groaned. Hikari was almost always like this. She never stuck to her training like she was supposed to, and was always goofing off, looking for something fun to do. What she found most fun was simply running around, usually with one of her brothers chasing her, or in this case Arata. He hated this foolishness, but he had to do as his family asked. The only reason why his own family wanted him to one day marry Hikari was because of her parents, and their reputation. Yet their daughter was wild enough that it was as if she wasn’t theirs at all, maybe not even a Shoshiki. Her pre-occupation with other ninja who either weren’t apart of clans, or other clans, particularly pissed him off. She often hung out with someone from that paper clan, and he knew she had a crush on the guy. Yet he put up with it, all in the interest of making his family happy. And so, in that same interest, he turned and chased Hikari.

She led him out of the training area, and out of the Shoshiki compound, heading towards her favorite place, towards the market. He should have known, she always went there. He hardly had to watch her to know where she was going, even as she turned sharply into the bookstore, he knew that would be her destination. He followed her inside, rolling his eyes as she walked behind a curtain to an adult section. He could feel the tips of his ears burning before he even stepped behind it as well. ”Really? Of all the books…”

”Oh shut up with your holy crap. I’m getting tired of you acting like you don’t read this stuff yourself.” Hikari snapped at him as she browsed the titles, looking for a title in particular.

Arata rolled his eyes before staring down at the floor. This was not what he’d had in mind for his day. He stayed that way until he realized Hikari was heading for the cashier. He followed her with his hands in his pockets, staring down, and in the same position after she’d paid and they walked out the store.

Hikari led the way around the corner and into the alley. She wanted to stop by at a place where she could get some food, but going in the back was easier when getting food from certain fancy places. She hated going in the front, and since she’d been out training she wasn’t in any shape to try and buy anything from the front door. She’d have to try and convince a cook to let her get something through the back door.

Arata wasn’t comfortable with this. He’d gone with Hikari before when she was so desparate for decent food that she went to the back door, when in Arata’s mind she should’ve just gone home. But he wasn’t going to leave her by herself. As they walked down the alley, he heard something. Maybe it was the rattle of a bottle hitting the ground, or footsteps, he wasn’t sure, but when he turned to look, all he heard was a scream. It was Hikari’s scream. His head spun back to the direction where she had gone and he started racing down the alley. When he came around the corner he saw a man trying to grab a hold of Hikari. But he must’ve caught her by surprise, he had a hold of her already, he was stronger than her, and she was kicking furiously, kicking and trying to bite at him. He had a needle in his hand.

Arata took off running at him, yelling for him to stop, forming several handseals. It was then that the world went dark for the young Shoshiki, a darkness from which he would never return.

Hikari saw Arata come around the corner. She was fighting for her life against this man, he much larger than her, and she could see the needle in his hand. Never in her life did she think she’d be so glad to see Arata, he was much stronger than her as far as jutsu was concerned, and she smiled to see the hand seals he was forming. But what came next struck her with absolute horror. From somewhere behind her she heard the weapon before it flew past her. The kunai struck Arata dead center of his forehead. His body went limp, his head snapped back, and he fell. Hikari was screaming his name over and over again, or at least she thought she was, she couldn’t quite tell.

The man holding her injected her, she felt the needle, but Hikari kept screaming.

Another man came around from behind them, knelt by Arata to check him before ripping the kunai out of his forehead, and leaving his body where it lay. ”Let’s go, someone will have heard all this.”

The world began to fade, and Hikari was having trouble hearing. Her body was unwilling to move and she felt herself go limp and she was carried. And the world fell away into darkness as Hikari wondered just what was about to happen to her.

[MedeaMoirae]

(For best results, listen to ‘Coming Undone’ by Korn)

Darkness. She had thought she had opened her eyes, but had she at all? She waved her hands in front of her face and could only just barely see movement, but not shapes. She tried to scream but found no sound came out, it felt as if someone had grabbed her by the throat and was holding it. ’A nightmare? A jutsu? Oh god please be just a nightmare…’

Her hands reached out and touched wood, feeling along it’s surface and kicking with her feet she realized she was in a box. ’A coffin…’ Dismay filled her mind, hopelessness pulled at her heart, and panic took over her mind. She kicked, punched and wiggled her body with everything she had, every contact hurt, pain becoming so severe that she swore she saw flashes of light cross her eyes. ”No no no… please god no…” she whimpered the words, these she could hear but her voice scraped. No nightmare, no jutsu, her throat was just raw, and this was no nightmare.

The wood at her fingertips was real. The blood she felt running down her knuckles was real. The panic that took over every sense she had was like a blanket that had enveloped her and threatened to suffocate her with it’s very existence.

”No…. no no no… NO!” The last word she shrieked as loud as her lungs could handle at this point, kicking with all her might at her coffin and punching at it. She felt a crack, but not in the wood, it was a cracking that she felt splinter along her right fist and wrist, down to her elbow and light flashed across her vision and she screamed, holding her arm against her body. Her body arched with the scream, her voice horse and breaking off at the end.

And so the next point of panic set in. The hopelessness seeped up from her heart and into her throat with the scream. Her body relaxed, and curled. The coffin was rather large for a girl of her size and so she was able to pull her knees up to her chest, her arm resting between her chest and her knees as she cradled it and the sobs started. ’Why is this happening? Why to me? What did I do?’ It was as if the thoughts were on a cycle, repeating again, and again. She rocked slightly, back and forth. Back and forth. Her quiet crying turned to sobs, her face wet with the tears, a certain emptiness to the sound, until the panic came in with the hopelessness. Her sobs turned to screams. She screamed for her father. She screamed for her mother. She screamed for her brother. She even screamed for her friend Yutaka.

One at a time she screamed for everyone she knew, and she heard no reply. Silence fell over her. She was remembering, remembering so much time wasted, all the times she was supposed to be training.

’Arata…’

She stopped everything she had been doing as she remembered him. She remembered his death. He had tried to save her. She had dragged him away from what they were supposed to be doing, she had forced him to come with her, and to what end? He was dead. She remembered the kunai, coming from somewhere outside of her vision. It had struck Arata in the forehead with such precision, the blood spray had been minimal, his head snapped back and his eyes glassed over.

She felt as if she had physically seen his spirit leave his body.

He was gone.

It was her fault.

She curled up into a ball again, cradling her broken arm, and let the despair and hopelessness take hold once more, and she simply cried.

Arata was gone. Her family had no idea where she had gone. Her friends didn’t have a clue. Who would save her now?
---------- (For best results, listen to ‘Broken’ by Seether ft. Amy Lee)

Shoshiki Kenta was pacing in the living room of his own home. It had been several hours now, and the sun was rising in all her splendor, yet Kenta felt her joy not one little bit. His wife, Shoshiki Itsune, was sitting on the couch, sobbing uncontrollably into the shoulder of their son, Shoshiki Daisuke. Their other son was away on mission, and, though a ninja had been sent to give him the news and bring him home on an emergency basis, it wasn’t likely he’d be home any time soon.

His wife was a wreck, the loss of their only daughter would cripple her if this couldn’t be fixed. Even Daisuke had a connection and fondness for his little sister that caused Kenta to worry that perhaps she would not be found.

Yet there were ninja scouring the village, and even outside of it.

Finding Arata’s body had brought an entirely new dismay to the family.

Yet even as other Shoshiki came to try and comfort, to help, some even cooking meals or bringing food and gifts, Kenta found no comfort.

”Daisuke. Stay here with your mother.” He finally said. He was a proud man, proud of his family, and proud of his village, yet right now he could not sit idly by and let someone else handle what he saw as his business alone.

”Father. Most of the village is out looking for her. I’m sure they’d welcome your help, but I doubt-.”

Kenta cut him off. ”No. I am the head of this family. This is my responsibility.” His face was dark as he collected his things, his weapons and his vest, and he walked out the door.

He had no idea where he was going to start. But a witness had said she’d seen someone she thought she recognized as a slave trader in the alley after Hikari was taken. Right now he knew there was a group camped outside the village of such reputation. Even if they weren’t the same group, perhaps they had information.

He’d have to stop at the gate and get a couple more ninja to back him up in case of trouble, but he would find his daughter, or die in the process.

[MedeaMoirae]

(For best results, listen to ‘My World’ by 3 Doors Down - Acoustic)

Just as his shoes hit the pavement, the reality of it all came crashing into Soshiki Kenta’s mind. His only daughter, his princess, was gone. Like the careless and carefree little girl she was, she had ventured out yet again, only this time the results had been more than simply mixed, they had been simply aweful. He knew his daughter had been naive and had an unrealistic view of this world, but never had he imagined such a thing would ever happen to her. He knew that one day the life as a ninja would slap her in the face and she would be forced to choose between the bloody path she was on, or to step away into something quieter.

He had always expected her to quit before her first chunin exam, to step away from the life and open maybe some kind of candy shop or a book store. He had never pushed her to be a ninja, simply because she had never seemed the type to want it, or to be suited for it, and yet she had chosen that path.

Maybe it was his fault. He had never trained her, never pushed her to be tough, had never encouraged her to be anything other than a woman. As a child he would sing to her, and he remembered the way her eyes would light up, as if her very soul responded to the sound of his voice, or perhaps the song itself. She’d always loved to sing, from the time she could talk, she had always loved to dance as well. She would dance down the streets, singing at the top of her lungs as if there was no one around.

Kenta had secretly loved that about his daughter. It made him remember when he was a young man, when he first met his wife, Itsune. He did not win her heart through an arranged marriage, but through song. The day they got married, that very night, he sat in their bedroom and merely sang until she fell asleep. Life and Clan had forced them together, but they had made the best of it. Yet that tender part of him he had never shown to his daughter.

If anything he had spent most of his time ignoring her, it was like he never saw his daughter and who she truly was until the moment when he found out she’d been taken. And now he knew one thing. Even if they got her back alive, she would never be the same girl. His little girl was gone, and she wouldn’t be coming back.

As he walked along, hands in his pockets, head down, he simply watched as his feet stepped from one point to the next. Never in his life had his heart felt so heavy. He had lost teammates, he had lost friends, but losing a child was something entirely different. A father was never mean to outlive his daughter, physically or emotionally.

He would do anything to have her back.

When he finally looked up he realized he had come to the village gates, staring at them, as if he was trying to remember what he was doing, just as one of the guards came running up to him, a ninja of his rank at the least. But this ninja was not seeking instructions, he had something to say. ”Yes?” The lack of emotion in his own voice surprised Kenta. Sadness, or even a coldness maybe, but his own voice was flat, devoid of any and all emotions. His training, his life, had kicked in and he hadn’t even noticed when it did. He cleared his throat, trying to bright a light into his notes that he didn’t feel he had in him. ”What is it?”

”Kenta-san.” the ninja said, putting a hand on his shoulder likely meant as a small comfort. Obviously he knew Shoshiki Kenta, though Kenta himself couldn’t place his face just at this moment, his thoughts far too clouded by the situation to make sense of it. ”We’ve received a message, a ransom.”

Kenta’s eyes widened as his mind interpreted the words, and he felt like he’d been struck in the chest. A ransom? They could retrieve her after all, just at a cost, but he would pay any price to get his little girl back, even his life. ”Tell me.”

”Sir, we need you to come back to your home before we say anything more. Please.”
-------- (For best results listen to ‘We Are Broken’ by Paramore)

The night was so very quiet, it was so very still. The air had a chill to it, yet she found she loved the goosebumps it raised across her flesh. Hikari was high above the village, on the roof of some great building, leaning against a railing looking down into the darkness, admiring the lights of the village.

The view was breath taking, and though she was afraid of heights, she found she didn’t feel it here. There was no rush to her head, no nausea, no disconcerting loss of balance, there was only the quiet, and the smile she couldn’t wipe from her face. Tonight was just too beautiful, it would be too perfect.

She admired her own attire once more, the beautiful cerulean blue dress that went just past her knees at an angle with a single strap that come up and around her neck. Yet her hair was loose and flowing, the wind playing and dancing with it as if it were some long lost lover.

”You shouldn’t look so nervous.”

His words were like music to her ears, even as he wrapped his arms around her waist and bent his head down to rest his chin on her shoulder and to whisper into her ear.

”You look beautiful.”

Hikari turned around to face him, even as he kept his arms around her waist, and she reached up to wrap her arms around his neck, though she had to stand up nearly on the tips of her toes to do it. She grinned and giggled when she realized his ears were red up to the tips and she pulled his head down to hers to kiss him lightly upon the lips. ”Thank you, Yutaka.” she replied quietly, whispering the words to him.

Gently she let her head rest against his chest as he held her, and she let her arms slide down to wrap them around his waist. ”I don’t want this to end.”

”It won’t, keep sleeping and it won’t ever have to.”

”What are you talking about…?” She looked up and suddenly she had her arms wrapped around only the dirt.

Her screams echoed within her small prison, her coffin.

[MedeaMoirae]

(For best results, listen to ‘Diary of Jane [Acoustic]’ by Breaking Benjamin)

Kenta felt the emotion rising deep from within him as he walked home, his strides quick but long, his pace quick enough that the ninja escorting him was practically jogging to keep up. The anger welled up within his chest. Who would dare to take HIS daughter?! Who would dare try to get a RANSOM?! The only thing he would give them was death, and he would ensure it was neither quick, nor painless.

Someone had brought in the ransom request, here was a physical human being he could hold accountable for what had happened! No longer did he need to yell at the phantoms of his mind nor sit helpless. He would soon have a name! And a face! Before he’d had only ghosts and rumor, such things a man could not put his hands on, such things do not bleed, they do not scream, and they cannot be bothered with revenge! But a human being was something else, it was something he needed.

Kenta’s entrance into his own home was like an explosion, throwing the door open with such force it slammed into place, his own wife, Itsune, jumped from where she sat on the couch. Across the room, behind her, were two Iwa ninja, and between them was the messenger. A man with no forehead protector, no symbol of any village allegiance, and obviously no shame as he grinned from ear to ear, his hands clasped behind his back, staring straight at Kenta.

Kenta’s anger boiled into rage at the sight of this man, the insolence in his eyes as they burned into him. How dare he!!! In three strides he’d crossed the room, one more step and he was over the couch, leaping over his wife who screamed and buried her head into the cushions. Yet as his feet slammed into the floorboards in front of the man, his hands inches from his target, the two Jounin on either side of the messenger each grabbed Kenta and slammed him onto the floor with enough force that the resulting ‘BOOM!’ echoed through the entire home, just as a third Jounin stepped in front of the messenger, hands ready to form the necessary seals should Kenta manage to throw off the other two, though that was unlikely.

Kenta struggled and roared as both Jounin struggled to hold him down. While the Shoshiki were not known for strength, quite the opposite really, Kenta was not a weak man, especially not with such a rage flowing through his body.

”Kenta! Calm yourself! This man is only a slave, a messenger. He’s not your daughter’s kidnapper!” One of the Jounin was yelling in Kenta’s ear, trying to calm him, trying to stop the man.

After a while Kenta started to calm, and he looked past the Jounin to the messenger, suddenly realizing the man looked fearful, he was cowering behind the ninja in front of him. He was dirty, unkempt, uncared for. This man was a slave. How had he not seen it before? Had Kenta really been eager to just kill any man if it would bring his heart a little peace? Had he seen nothing at all?

”Okay, okay.” Kenta replied, panting. He hadn’t realized how hard the two Jounin had slammed him down, or how hard he’d been fighting. He got up when he was permitted to, leaning back against the couch to half-sit on top of it.

Itsune was on her knees on the couch as she wrapped her arms around her husband’s waist, her forehead resting against his ribs. Kenta could feel her shaking. He turned around and bent down to wrap his arms around her, kissing her gently on the cheek to let her know that he was indeed himself again, there was no rage, only the fear that he might never see his only daughter ever again.

He turned to face the trio of Jounin, two of them stretching their arms. ”Now. What’s the message.”

The Jounin stepped aside and the messenger stood there shaking, backing up against the wall. His arms were crossed around him as he shook with fear. ”My master sends me. She says the only ransom she will take is a trade. The father, for the daughter.”

Kenta froze and silence reined in the home.

Itsune turned an ashen white, sinking into the couch cushions.

Daisuke said not a word from where he stood in the doorway of the home.

It was several moments like this before Kenta finally spoke again. ”Who is your master?”

”She says you know her father, a man you know as Katashi.”
-------- (For best results, listen to ‘Welcome Home’ by Coheed and Cambria)

Hikari wasn’t sure just how long she had laid there in silence. She had no more tears to cry, despair had long left her and there were only the facts of her situation that remained. She rolled onto her back again, carefully cradling her broken arm, as she examined the ‘coffin’ she had been buried in.

”I am a ninja of Iwagakure No Sato.” She whispered to the box as she looked around, mentally telling herself that these were the risks of being a ninja, that this was the life she had signed up for, whether she had realized it or not. No one was going to come to help her, she had to help herself.

She examined the surface of the wood in front of her face and found a three inch long crack, perhaps naturally formed, or perhaps from her struggle. Yet she had nothing to force into the crack to split the wood. Or did she?

”I am a ninja of Iwagakure No Sato.”

She released her broken arms and gritted her teeth against the pain as she forced herself to do the proper hand seals. Her hands would now be protected against her own glass element, and Hikari forced herself to smile at the wood in front of her. This coffin was her target, it was her enemy, and now it would pay.

”I am a ninja of Iwagakure No Sato.”

She forced herself to form another set of hand seals, forming the Garaton in her mouth and spitting it into her hands. It was difficult forcing her fingers to move, but she found herself grateful that most of the break must’ve been along her arm and knuckles, not the fingers themselves. With much difficulty she formed four makeshift kunai from the glass. Her weapons had been taken, but now she had four new ones thanks to the jutsu of her own family and clan.

”I am a ninja of Iwagakure No Sato.”

With her good hand she forced the tip of one of the kunai into the splintering wood and heard a faint crack. But she couldn’t force it all the way through. She took the kunai out and picked up one of the others, reforming the end of it so that the handle was instead flat with rounded edges, and put it into the crack.

”I am a ninja of Iwagakure No Sato.”

She rolled over onto her stomach, laying both hands flat on the wood before her and taking several deep breaths. With a cry of anger and pain she pushed herself up, her back hitting the ‘hilt’ of the kunai and forcing it with her body weight the rest of the way through the wood.

Several sounds akin to cracking and splintering were heard and the dirt began to fall around her as Hikari laughed in relief.

”I am a ninja of Iwagakure No Sato.” she said proudly.

[MedeaMoirae]

(For best results listen to ‘Hey Hey, My My’ by Battleme – Sons of Anarchy soundtrack)

Every eye in the room rested on Kenta. He could feel the stares, the questions, yet in his own mind he felt the world sink and fall away from him as if he’d just lost control. This was unreal, that man, that mission, was it really coming back to haunt him? ”Tell your Master we will make the exchange.” he heard himself say, his own voice hollow with the hopelessness of the situation, of the moment.

”Love, no, what are you-.” All of them started at once, but his wife’s voice stood out the most. Itsune’s pleading tone as she came around the couch and touched him on both sides of his face, forcing him to look at her with gentle hands. He could see the fear in her eyes at the look of resigned hopelessness in his own.

He interrupted her, reaching up to take both of her hands from his face and into his own, kissing them gently. ”We must.”

”Sir, we can’t allow you to trade yourself. We can’t allow them to take a member of one of our clans, the Tsuchikage would never allow-.” The voice of the ninja who had brought him there interrupted the quiet moment between husband and wife.

Kenta merely turned his face in the direction of the voice. ”They won’t take me. She’ll kill me, and you will collect my body.” he told the ninja coldly, interrupting whatever the man was about to say. Kenta stood to his full height, noticing the look of horror on his wife’s face out of the corner of his eye. He took her into his arms as she buried her face into his chest and sobbed. ”A father should never outlive his daughter.” he told her quietly. ”If this is what I must do, then I will do it.”

”A wife should never outlive her husband either!” Itsune screamed at him as well. She saw the messenger nod to the ninja and turn to leave, and she reached towards him as if she could stop the message. ”No!” she shrieked. Her legs buckled and gave way, and Kenta caught her, lifting her up into his arms and walking slowly back to their bedroom, the ninja, and even his son, staying behind, watching in silence.

He laid her on their bed and kissed her on the forehead. She had passed out, yet now her body was getting much needed sleep, and Kenta couldn’t help but smile at the look of peace upon her face. He pulled the blankets up over her and kissed her gently on the lips. ”Goodbye, Love.” he whispered.

As he returned to the living room his son came alongside him. ”Who is this Katashi, Father? Can’t you explain that much, as to why you’re so willing to do this?”

Kenta could see his son was fighting tears, and he couldn’t help but smile at his son’s strength as he managed to keep a serious face. ”Katashi.” he started, walking towards the door with three ninja and his son following. Once he stood on the porch he stopped and turned to face them. ”He was once a ninja. Yet he felt he wasn’t making enough money and had turned to selling slaves to gain extra coin. Not necessarily a problem, but the village asked me to look into it anyway, to be sure that was the only thing going on, that his loyalties hadn’t changed. Well as it turned out, there was kidnapping involved. He had kidnapped the children of half a dozen clan members from the village, and tried to sell them to the highest bidder. We recovered three of them, alive, the other three we found dead. He was trying to kill a fourth when I got to him. Instead I killed him. His name was dishonored, and his family left, his wife and children, none of which were ninja, nor would they ever be with their father’s name so dishonored. Sounds like his daughter has decided to take revenge. I won’t risk Hikari’s life on this.” His story seemed so simple, yet even to the ninja present it symbolized a risk very few ninja thought about, or encountered, after a mission. Yet every one of them understood why he would do what he needed to do.
----- (For best results listen to ‘I Will Not Bow’ by Breaking Benjamin)
There was no time to waste. Panic and Dismay thrown aside, Hikari found hope as that dirt slowly rained down around her. She rolled over onto her back and without a second thought she reached up into the broken wood and, using two of the glass kunai she had made, pulled boards away and dug at the dirt above her. It fell in her face and so she had to close her eyes, she even found herself spitting some out of her mouth, but she didn’t care. She didn’t need her eyes, she only needed to go up.

Her broken arm pulsed with the pain, light flashing across her closed eyes as she forced herself to ignore everything and dig at the earth above her. The earth was soft from having been dug up in order to place her there, and made her job simpler. Clawing at the earth with the two glass kunai, before long she was standing, and shortly after that light hit her closed eyes, and it wasn’t from the pain of her arm.

She dared to open her eyes.

She had made a narrow tunnel up, jagged in shape from her ‘tools’, and the earth, her freedom, was just a foot over her head. She could see the bright light of day and it stung her eyes, yet caused her to smile in relief. She stuffed the kunai in her pockets, with some worming around since the tunnel was so narrow. She reached up to pull herself out, but found she had not the strength required.

She should’ve known she wasn’t alone though. Who buries a ninja and then leaves her to her own devices when her clan is known for creating their own weapons?

Just as she was working out her freedom and how to reach it, hands reached down and grabbed her by the arms roughly, a scream ripping it’s way from her as she was yanked from the hole, her broken arm making unnerving snapping sounds as she was slammed to the ground on her stomach. Her arms were pulled behind her and bound at the wrist, a cloth tied around her face to gag her mouth, and she was pulled to her feet.

They went through her pockets, removing her kunai even as tears ran down her face leaving trails in the dirt. She cried and begged for her freedom, yet they couldn’t understand her through the gag, and neither of the two burly men would have cared anyway. They were getting paid for this, the coin was all they cared about.

One of them looked down at her as they tossed her in the back of the wagon. ”Just hold still kid, it’s nearly done.”.

Her mind ran wild at the thought. ’Done?! What the hell does he mean? Are they taking me somewhere to kill me? To ransom me?!’ Yet as she panicked again, she realized in an amazingly calm thought that either answer meant one thing.

Soon she would be free.

[MedeaMoirae]

(For best results listen to ‘The Day the World Went Away’ by Nine Inch Nails)

Everything was darkness. Some two hours back the two rough men who had retrieved her had gotten tired of her constantly looking around, looking for an escape, and put a black sack over her head so that she couldn’t see anything. Yet it didn’t matter to her anymore, she didn’t care if she could see. If this was her end, if she was to die, she didn’t care anymore. She lay back in the cart, staring up at the sky, or at least she would’ve been if she could see it. Closing her eyes, she could almost swear that she could hear the beautiful voice of a woman singing her to her death.

The trip had taken a couple of hours, yet finally they came to a stop. When the bag was yanked off her head, Hikari confirmed by quick glances around that they were indeed in the middle of nowhere, though she suspected they weren’t far from the village. After all, they’d want her body to be found right? Yet there was one thing she wasn’t expecting to see. As one of the men lifted her out of the cart and set her down she noticed that across from them, maybe 400 meters or so away, appeared to be four ninja, two of them she easily recognized as her father and brother.

Was this indeed a ransom? Would she survive after all?

Tears stung her eyes at the thought and she couldn’t help the laugh of relief that came from her. She had thought she would never see them again, yet here they were, a blessed sight even so far away. She couldn’t believe it, her father, who had ignored her most of her life, was here, he was making an exchange to get his daughter back.

It was her father whom she first noticed taking steps towards them, just as one of the men who had brought her grabbed her by the elbow and started leading her forward towards him. As they walked a woman Hikari had never seen before walked up beside them. She couldn’t have been more than twenty, her eyes carried a cold stare that caused Hikari to shiver visibly. When had she joined them? Was this the one behind it all? The cruelty of her nature came off of her in waves and Hikari was certain this woman had no soul of her own.

It felt like hours before they stood at the middle point, and Hikari was looking up at her father. ”You listened.” The woman said, her voice like ice and fire mixed together, a harsh feeling of which Hikari was unfamiliar.

Hikari’s father nodded. ”Please, just one moment.”

”Take it.”

The man released Hikari’s arm, and she was feeling rather confused. Her father didn’t appear to have anything with him, not his weapons, not some large sum of money, what was being exchanged for her life? Or had her father really shown up at the exchange merely to disown her and let her die after all?

Her father knelt in front of her as her two captors took a step back, and he laid his hands on her shoulders, looking her from head to toe, his eyes lingering on her right arm, before he pulled her close in a hug. ”I have always been proud of you, little one.” he said quietly, letting her go and kissing her on the forehead, reaching out with his right hand to touch her cheek, his eyes memorizing every feature of his face. ”No matter what, I will always be proud of you. No matter what you may think, this is worth it. Remember, every drop of blood spilled to protect family and those you love is always worth it.”

Hikari opened her mouth to say something, tears forming at her eyes even as he touched her lips with a finger to keep her silent. Something was wrong, and she didn’t like it.

”Run as soon as you can.”

It was about to get worse.

It was about to become crystal clear, as clear as the glass that Hikari herself could form within her little hands.

Her father stood, and had just barely turned to face Hikari’s female captor when it happened. Hikari’s female captor took one long step forward, her arm flashing out. Hikari saw the glint of steel in the sunlight, a flash of red, and something warm splashed across her face.

Without so much as a sound from his lips, Shoshiki Kenta’s body fell to the dirt.

Hikari froze, staring at his lifeless body, her mind conscious of nothing else, not of the two ninja and her brother running straight at them, not of her captors turning and running the opposite direction, nothing except the eyes that stared at her and the lips that smiled at her as the light left his face.

Hikari dropped to her knees beside him, her hands still bound to her back as she bent over him, resting her head on his chest as she began to sob. She didn’t care that more of his blood was getting on her and her clothing, all she knew was that her world had changed, it had shattered, and she wasn’t sure she could pick up all of the pieces.

Yet this new world came back to her in a rush, as her brother grabbed her and lifted her clear off the ground, not bothering to untie her as he carried her back towards their cart, towards him, she was certain she was screaming. It was such a simple word, and until now she’d never realized how underused it had been in her life. ”DADDY!!!!!!!”

[MedeaMoirae]

Yesterday had been just horrible. Hikari wasn’t sure what to make of it, her mother’s silent glares had now turned into tirades against her and how she had ruined the family, how she was at fault for her own father’s death. She wanted to hope this was just another part of the grief process, but the fact was, the words still hurt. Nothing could remove the sting of them, or the bad taste they left in her mouth.

Today she’d decided early on that she just simply didn’t want to be home, her brother would be back tomorrow and perhaps things would get a little bit better then. But today it was just her and her mother again, so Hikari rose as early as she dared, leaving the house before her mother awoke. Today she just wanted to be away from the house and on her own for a bit, she could use some quiet.

Her feet took her from the compound without much thought from her, her eyes simply wandering as her feet led the way, taking her down to the marketplace. Hikari had never really been there this early before and was surprised by the amount of activity. None of the restaurants were open yet, but it seemed people were getting ready for the day, the doors were unlocked and people were inside busying themselves with cleaning or setting tables or something similar. Her bookstore was technically closed, but the shopkeeper stood in the doorway talking to a ninja, and there appeared to be several carts in the roadway.

As Hikari walked forward to take a closer look she realized that while most of the carts appeared to have supplies and people’s belongings in them, the last couple of them had a single large cage in them, filled with people. They were dirty, filthy, and all of them wore expressions that suggested the kind of hopelessness Hikari had become familiar with during her kidnapping incident. She glanced around to see if anyone had seen her and was glad to see none of them appeared to be paying much attention to her. Yet as she drew near one of the cages a rather large looking wolf jumped out and started snarling at her. ”Easy now…” Hikari muttered as she took several steps back, her hands in front of her and open to try and show the wolf she meant no harm to her.

As she stepped back, the wolf calmed, and Hikari thought maybe she’d gone far enough. It wasn’t until she bumped into someone standing behind her that she realized that the wolf’s master was right behind her. She turned around slowly, stepping to the side and out of the large and rather burly man’s way. ”I-I’m sorry…” she stammered.

The man laughed. He motioned to her cloth belt, bearing the Iwa insignia, as he spoke. ”Let me guess, little ninja. Never encountered slavers before?” he asked, crossing his arms over rather large chest.

Hikari’s glare was like ice, if looks could kill, this would be one. ”I’ve never seen slaves before, no, but slavers? Yeah, I did.” her tone was like stone, alluding to her kidnapping.

A rather interesting look crossed his face. Getting into the village that morning had been extremely difficult for his group, more difficult than it used to be. The ninja at the front gate had told him of a young ninja being kidnapped and had mentioned what clan she had been from. In this case of this particular slaver he had made it a point a long time ago when he started making these trips to figure out the differences between the clans, it gave him a good idea of how to deal with certain people, and who to avoid. Now that the girl spoke in such a way about slavers, looking down at her he could guess her clan, and her age. ”Dear God, it was you wasn’t it?” he asked incredulously. ”I heard about what happened, Kid. I’m sorry you went through that, but I will assure you here and now neither me nor mine have any ill intent against you. We’re only here to sell our wares and get supplies. In fact those at the gate tell me that those who wrong you were killed just two days back.”

It was Hikari’s turn to be surprised, she didn’t realize that they had been dealt with, though that thought left her with a bitter note, realizing that she couldn’t exact her revenge herself for what they did to her, or for killing her father. She would have to speak to her brother when he got home tonight, to see what he had heard.

”You know… a wolf is a fine companion for a ninja like yourself.”

Hikari gave the man an odd look before looking over at the female wolf. ”I really don’t think she likes me all that much.” she replied.

The man laughed, a great guffaw that echoed in the early morning, and would likely earn glares from within nearby homes. ”Oh don’t you worry, I didn’t mean that little bitch. She’s been with me a few years now, she’d never leave even if I kicked her away. She has a pup around here somewhere. He’s a good little pup, still young enough to learn plenty, knows a couple things already as it were.” he said as he calmed down. ”How would you like to meet him?”

Hikari thought about it a moment before nodding. ”Sure, why not?” came her reply.

The man nodded and motioned for Hikari to stay put while he went around the cart to the other side, looking around under the cart and in the wheels before she heard his exclamation of triumph. ”There you are you little shit!” When he returned he was pulling along behind him on a leash a young wolf, pure white coat, except for the streak of red that ran down his back, his eyes were a brilliant blue that looked up at Hikari with pleading in his eyes. ”What do you think?”

Hikari knelt down in front of the wolf, looking at him a moment before she held out her hand, open, palm facing the sky. The young wolf sniffed at her at first, without getting close, before trotting over and sniffing her hand directly, nuzzling at her fingertips and licking them. Hikari couldn’t help but smile. ”He’s adorable, and he seems friendly.” she commented. It wasn’t long before he’d moved from his owner to her, nuzzling his way into her arms and sitting down in front of her, leaning against her chest. Hikari laughed.

”Looks like he likes you alright.” The slaver said with a chuckle. ”He doesn’t have a name that he actually answers to, and I can’t get him to chase the runaways the way his mother does so he’s of little value to me really. In light of what you’ve been through, I’d like you to have him.”

Hikari looked up at the man in shock, she hadn’t expected kindness from a stranger, much less a slaver.

”Just because I sell slaves don’t mean I can’t give an animal a better home.” he added.

Hikari did her best to stand to thank him, considering the young wolf was sitting between her feet. ”I think I’m gonna name him Arata.” she told him as she took the leash from him when he offered it to her. But looking down at Arata she had a thought and looked at the man again. ”My brother once told me that slavers use hawks to watch over their caravans and watch out for trouble sometimes, is that true?”

He laughed once more, the sound echoing off the buildings as he nodded. ”That is true, at least for us. And before you ask, I do have a young one, but he is of use and is very good at giving us a warning, though his mother is nowhere near being ready to retire.”

Hikari nodded, taking in the information and looking around her. She hadn’t realized that a couple of the ninja who were overseeing the caravan and their doings had walked over to stand nearby, listening to every word that was said. It hadn’t occurred to her that they would probably see her talking to the slaver as a risky activity, she’d have to apologize to them later for her lack of thought, or risk her mother finding out and tanning her hide for it. ”How much?”

The man thought about it a moment and sighed. ”It’s not cheap little one.”

”How much?”

”Five hundred ryo.”

Hikari did everything she could to keep from going pale upon hearing those numbers. She’d been planning on buying new equipment today, and she had brought her savings with her. But at that price the hawk would cost her entire savings to purchase. She weighed her options, also knowing that if she purchased the hawk she’d have to turn around and go home to face her mother, having two new pets would really get her in trouble. Yet Hikari had a feeling that it would be well worth getting into trouble for. ”Get him.” she said, digging the money out of one of her pouches.

The man’s eyebrows shot up, watching her count the money, and merely shook his head as he went looking for the hawk. Before long he came back with the animal, small tethers around his ankles, and a hood over his little face and beak. He slipped a glove on Hikari’s hand that was at least two sizes too big, but set the bird on her hand as well. ”Don’t take that hood off until you’re home and let him adjust before you take him anyway. You don’t want him flying away on you now.”

Hikari nodded and smiled. ”Thank you. These two will make excellent companions.”

”And excellent protectors.” He replied. ”What will you call the hawk?”

”I’ll call him Kenta.”

(1663//1600)

[MedeaMoirae]

The last few days had been horrible. Hikari didn't even want to think about them. Fact was she'd become so stressed over what her family was trying to do to her, her mother specifically, that she couldn't sleep. Frankly as soon as she could tell Kazuya was asleep, she carefully slipped out of bed and grabbed her things, walking out of the house without a sound. She didn't like sneaking out on him like that, but the fact was she really needed to do something with herself. She was tired of moping, she needed to get better with her jutsu, she needed to get stronger. The fact was, sitting around wasn't going to do that.

She made her way to a training ground, looking for a few 'targets' and found a few posts in an open training area. Yet for now she decided against the target practice and stepped beyond the posts to a body of water. As she reached the edge she formed the seal and focused her chakra, stepping out onto the water.

It seemed like a simple enough task, but if she wanted to get a better handle on her chakra, it was often the simpler techniques that worked best for that sort of training. After all something like this was about precise control, and the longer she managed this, the better she could handle the more complicated jutsu. She strolled across the water in silence, trying to enjoy the quiet. Yet in this quiet she found her mind ran wild, imagining what would happen if her mother successfully wed her to Hoten. She definitely wanted nothing to do with such a thing. She cared about her friend, but not that much.

Hikari knew she would tire easily, but thinking about the attempt at an arrange marriage had her antsy and she started to jog around the small pond. It was a bit more difficult than simply walking seeing as she had to spread the chakra differently. Walking meant keeping a steady flow of chakra to keep you afloat, unfortunately running was entirely different. Walking was a set of simple steps, most of them applied at the same pressure which was what made it so simple. Of course running was different. When your foot first landed it was hard and heavy, the rest of your foot applies pressure to the water's surface at a different rate. Though this was all done with the same technique, the chakra had to be applied differently, especially depending on how the individual ran.

Hikari herself ran more heel to toe than anything, not exactly a proficient way of doing things as it meant that her heels would hurt if she ran too much, but it told her how to apply her chakra. As she ran she had to apply the most chakra to her heel first, letting it even out across the bottom of her foot as it moved across the top of the water, and she had to consciously do this for every single step. Of course Hikari knew she'd have to adjust how she ran eventually, and even change how she does this, but for now it was good enough as is.

As she ran, she really tried not to think of her father, but she couldn't help it. She couldn't help but wonder, if he was here, would things be different? Her father had always been so stern, but she knew that if he had survived that incident so long ago, it would have changed him just as it had changed her. Would he have been kinder? Would he have told her to 'follow her heart'? Or would he tell her that duty to clan was as important as duty to village? In moments like this, she wondered what it was like outside the village, if she could find a way to get away, would she? But she remembered a Shoshiki that had left, that had been labeled a missing ninja, and had simply been dragged back to the village. Was it worth it? She couldn't think that it was. Right now, among everything else that was going on, she still had Kazuya, and right now he was everything to her.

As she continued to run, she could feel herself tire and suddenly dropped to the water, redistributing the chakra again, this time to include hands and the like as she skidded across the water's surface and came up to her feet once more, this time choosing to walk. After all, she was not trying to tire herself out physically, she simply trying to push herself when it came to controlling this jutsu. If she could increase her ability to control something so basic, then everything else can fall in line.

She walked in circled, even twirled, danced, and did whatever she could to simply keep moving. After all this was probably some of the most boring training she could possibly do. It was training she could only do when she was this bored after all. If someone were watching they might think they were watching the child that was once Hikari, the little girl that had been kidnapped so long ago. And in many ways, that's exactly what this was, the wild and carefree little girl was having her final dance. She was tired of letting so many others decide things for her, and in many ways, though she'd had her little rebellions, she had always gone along with these things. Even Kazuya and his family had looked after her and decided things for her ever since she had left the clan. Hikari knew it was time to finally leave the coy little girl behind, and become the strong-willed, albeit bull-headed, woman she was meant to become.

In this walk her desire for revenge on the one who had killed her father had been temporarily replaced by a desire to become her own woman, and to do that, she needed to become stronger than ever before. Shoshiki were known for their physical weakness and limitations, and yet, Hikari aimed to change that thought pattern. It's amazing what a simple walk can do.

Training InformationShow

~WC: 1,025/1,000
Training: Control Stat
*[Act of Water Surface Walking]
D-Ranked Ninjutsu
A variation of the Act of Tree Climbing technique, this jutsu requires the user to focus a precise and balanced amount of charka into the soles of his/her feet. By doing so, the user is able to walk on the surface of water as though it were a solid surface. Users with low control 2 or lower are much more likely to fall through the surface of the water, while users with average control 3 or higher will be able to use this technique functionally. It lasts for a number of posts equal to the user's stamina stat times 3.

[MedeaMoirae]

Hikari's inability to sleep seemed to be carrying into every night. For the second night in a row she found herself making her way carefully out of bed while trying not to wake Kazuya. They spent their days trying to do normal things like most couples, Kazuya really was just trying to help her feel normal after all, despite the things her mother was trying to do. Yet right now Hikari didn't want normal as people defined it, she wanted to be a ninja. She wanted to fight, she wanted to train, and so that was what she was doing.

Today she left much of her normal garb at home, wearing her shirt that didn't cover her stomach and a pair of shorts. She left her gear, her scrolls, and everything else behind. Tonight would be a moonlight run. Speed could be found in many things, and it was something Hikari needed to work on. Speed aids not only running, but also how one performs their jutsu.

As she stepped out the front door, she moved at a light jog, her hands moving along with her feet, after all she needed more than just her feet to be strong. As she jogged, her hands moved forward and back as if pulling some invisible wall in front of her to keep herself moving forward. This motion kind of sucked in a way, because on top of moving and trying to maintain even a small bit of speed with her movement, her muscles were moving and contracting with these hand movements. She was definitely going to be sore after this one.

Hikari chose a path to run that would take her down through the marketplace, loving the feel of the night air on her pale skin. The night was the best time for a Shoshiki to run, their skin being so very pale and susceptible to the harshness of the sun. She had come to see herself as a child of moonlight, with skin just as pale as its surface, and tonight she felt like she belonged to it. The cold brought a slightly numbing sensation to her appendages, her fingers especially, seeing as she wasn't wearing gloves. Yet the cold felt wonderful to her, it refreshed her skin and even her mind. She could only smile and enjoy the way the cold breeze played with her hair as she ran.

The path she ran was almost completely deserted, there were so very few people out this time of night, except for those like Hikari who couldn't sleep. As she got into the market place she first passed some of the little shops that sold trinkets snacks, even her favorite candy shop. She remembered how she'd gone in there for sweets before with someone special to her once, but his name didn't come to mind anymore. It was too bad it was closed, it might have tempted her for a break.

She passed her favorite book store where she used to pass her time before she was kidnapped. It had been years ago, but Hikari could remember it like it was yesterday. In the display she saw that yet another adult book had been released and she grinned as she remembered how she used to hide there because her brother's were too embarrassed to venture there and as such always refused to pursue her in there.

She passed the book store with a smile on her face, and chuckling at the memories. She had spent so much time hiding in this market place as a Genin or even just as a kid, it was hard to turn a corner without remembering something. She even ran past the place where she had traded with slavers in order to buy Arata and Kenta. It truly was unfortunate that both animals had to go back to wild ways. The young wolf had started to become hostile, and the hawk had begun to hunt others' pets. Eventually she'd had to set them free. She had cried so much that night, but it couldn't be helped. Sometimes wild animals are just that, wild animals, and they have to be put back into a place where they could be at home. Hikari just hoped neither would be hunted.

She pushed such thoughts aside and continued her job, picking up the speed to a bit of a run. She was panting already, even passing the place where she had once dragged a boy from the Genkouyoshi clan to dance. He had been so embarrassed, it had amused her to no end. Of course since neither had really been old enough to be there, they'd both had to race out of there. She still wasn't sure how they'd beat that guy out of there, except maybe because she knew the back ways in and out better than the bouncer. A thing she still found odd.

She picked up her speed a bit again, sweat pouring down either side of her face despite the cold air, her breathing becoming a bit ragged. Yet she had to keep reminding herself that she just had to keep moving, one foot in front of the other was the only thing she concerned herself with. She simply had to keep moving.

She jogged past a few restaurants, remember various meals she'd had or nights with family or friends. Most of her nights with family though had always been at home in the clan compound. She had to admit, she kind of missed those nights. Her mother had taught her so much about cooking, she'd become quite good at it. Her and her mother would cook in the kitchen for her brothers and their families, it was a shame her father didn't get one of her meals more than once really.

At the end of the market she turned around, just in time to see the sunrise start to come over the horizon. She had to increase her speed, following her path back towards Kazuya's home. Not only did she need to get back indoors before the son came out fully, she also wanted to bathe and get dressed before Kazuya was up. She'd fix him breakfast and act like she'd merely gotten up before he did, rather than having been awake all night like she had.

When she was finally home, she sat down heavily in front of the house, trying to take a moment to catch her breath.

Training InformationShow

~WC: 1,047/1,000
Training: Speed Stat

[MedeaMoirae]

How long she laid there staring at the ceiling, she wasn't sure. Kazuya had fallen asleep while talking to Hikari, he seemed to have noticed how restless the girl was getting. It was hard not to notice though, waking up every morning to find her already up, it was getting to be a bad habit. She rolled out of bed and stumbled to her closet, getting herself dressed cautiously enough to remain quiet. She made her way out of the home and walked the path to a small training ground she and Kazuya had set up for themselves. It was a small open area in a grove of trees, and he had spent some time here trying to teach her taijutsu, something Hikari had finally decided was pointless.

She took up a simple position in the center of the training area, drawing in a deep breath before she began. She needed to get stronger, she needed to train, she needed to know there was nothing her clan could force her to do.

She started with something simple, forming the seals and protecting herself from her own jutsu first. She flexed her fingers when it was done, as if she'd be able to see it working, really she couldn't and she knew that. She formed another set of seals and felt the chakra forming within her mouth, letting it gather before spitting it into her hands. She played with the shapes a bit, keeping the molten glass moving so it wouldn't harden on her. Though after a few minutes she had to give in and began to shape a rather rough looking mirror. She didn't bother with a perfect square or circle and the edges came out kind of lump. She couldn't help but smile at it though, she knew that Kazuya's mother would hang it up if she saw it, she seemed to like these strange kind of things.

As Hikari finished making the mirror, she gave it time to harden before taking a nearby rock and suddenly smashing it to pieces. She picked up the shards and tossed them all over the place before beginning again. She formed the seals and allowed the Garaton to gather in her mouth a bit before spitting it out and forming another mirror. This one she again laid on the ground, allowing it to harden and the moment it did, she took a rock and shattered it to pieces. She needed to work on her Ninjutsu mastery and everything she was doing so far, aside from smashing the mirror with a rock, was Ninjutsu.

After she had created and smashed about five mirrors, she stood up straight and dusted herself off, finding herself a good place to stand before turning her attention to what was right in front of her. For the purposes of training, Kazuya had erected a post in the middle of their little training area, just for them to have a good target to aim at.

Hikari carefully positioned herself just shy of five meters from the post and grinned as she formed the necessary seals. After the seals, she lifted a hand and every glass shard in the area, including ones from past trainings, began to shake and rise from the ground. And as she grinned, she seemed to flatten her hand and every piece of glass within that five meter radius rushed forward and slammed into the post. There was no smoke, and though some dirt was kicked up by the sudden movement and even some splinters flew, Hikari's view of the post was never obstructed. When she lowered her hand and saw her handiwork, she saw the glass protruding from the post, she couldn't help but grin.

If Kazuya hadn't realized she was sneaking out to train before, he was likely to notice now by the shape that post was in.

But Hikari wasn't up to ending her fun just yet. She still had some she could do and she could feel that her chakra reserves weren't depleted yet. Forming another set of seals, different from the first, she flooded her mouth with the appropriate amount of chakra and felt the glass begin to gather. She spit it out into her hands but made no attempt to form it into any particular shape, except maybe a ball. When complete it was about the size of a baseball and didn't take long to harden. As weak as she was, Hikari did her best to throw it at the post. Judging by the trajectory, this wasn't actually going to hit the post. It was about to hit the ground just in front of it even, but just before it touched, Hikari formed one more hand seal.

An explosion echoed through the little training area and shrapnel flew everywhere. Hikari herself was thrown backwards, forgetting the range of her own technique. She stood carefully and could feel a few small cuts on her arms from when she threw her arms up to protect her face from the blast. They weren't bad, mostly superficial, but she knew this for sure meant she couldn't hide her training from Kazuya this time. He was bound to notice.

Hikari sighed and looked at the mess, deciding to create herself a fun little arena next time she sparred with Kazuya. It was time to lay a trap for later. She formed the hand seals and spit the glass out into her hands. She shaped it less than carefully, soon having a poorly shaped pane of glass that she changed into a mirror, yet again laying it on the ground and smashing it with a rock. She did this three more times and threw the glass around, creating a great area to use the same jutsu later. She'd just have to remember that next time she trained with Kazuya.

With an evil smirk on her face she turned and left the training ground, heading back to the home she shared with Kazuya as the sun came up over the horizon. But she didn't bother going back to bed at this point. She went straight to the bathroom to clean up and bandage herself before starting on breakfast.

Training InformationShow

~WC: 1,031/1,000
Stat Training: Ninjutsu

~[Glass Element • Improved Protection]
C-Rank Ninjutsu
Because of their bloodline, users of Garaton must handle molten glass both in their hands, and in their mouth. Because of many generations of doing so, the clan has developed a way to keep their own molten glass from harming them. This only works on C-rank molten glass, but also protects the user from being cut by glass of any form.

~[Glass Element • Make]
D-Rank Ninjutsu
After forming the needed hand seals and flooding their mouth with chakra, the user will begin to create molten glass. The glass may then be spit out and formed over the next post as it cools and hardens. This technique makes enough glass for four kunai.

~[Glass Element • Mirror Creation]
D-Rank Ninjutsu
After forming the needed hand seals and flooding a nearby piece of glass with chakra, the user will cause it to have reflective properties, much like a mirror. This may only be used on glass within 5 meters of the user.

~[Glass Element • Glass Shuriken]
C-Rank Ninjutsu
After forming the needed hand seals and flooding a 5 meter area with chakra, the user will cause any glass shards in the area to rise up off of the ground and fly toward a single opponent at a speed equal to the average between the user's control and ninjutsu up to 8.

~[Glass Element • Shrapnel Bomb]
D-Rank Ninjutsu
After forming the needed hand seals and flooding their mouth with chakra, the user will gather molten glass, much like [Glass Element • Make], but giving it explosive properties. The user will then spit the molten glass into their hand in a baseball-sized mass, and will shape it into a ball. Then, they will throw the hardened glass at an opponent. It can then be exploded with the use of a single hand seal, exploding with the force of a single exploding tag, and sending glass shrapnel flying in all directions.

[MedeaMoirae]

Hikari was smiling to herself with almost pride as she snuck out of the house tonight. She and Kazuya had been looking for a place to get time alone together that didn’t involve training but also didn’t have his parents hovering over them. And this time when Hikari couldn’t sleep, it had given her an idea. She remembered as a child when her father had told her a sentimental story, something he had never really done before. But he had told her about the glass igloo he had once built for Hikari’s mother as a surprise for her. Her mother had loved to draw when they were younger but had no place to go where her family wasn’t there to interrupt and so he had built what sounded like such a beautifully thoughtful gift.

And now Hikari wanted to build one. She already knew the jutsu, it would take time, but it was also be some good training for her. Two birds, one stone?

Hikari found a good place, seemingly out in the middle of nowhere but with some tree coverage overhead and couldn’t help but smile as she formed the seals to protect her hands against her own glass. This was probably going to be a long process, but she really hoped it was going to be worth it. She formed another set of seals, allowing the Garaton to fill her mouth before spitting it into her hands.

She shaped the glass into a decent sized square, trying to make it as perfect as possible. The hardest part of this was yet to come, but for now she was enjoying the work. Once it cooled and hardened she set it on the ground and formed the seals, spitting more glass into her hand. She formed the glass into another square as close to identical to the first as possible. She laid it next to the other one, looking at them both as she tried to figure out how she was doing the next step. It wasn’t figuring out the jutsu that was difficult, it was how to hold the glass, and it was going to get a little bit awkward. She sat one piece on its edge, leaning over it to hold it in place with her own body. She formed the hand seals for a jutsu normally used to repair broken glass before picking up the other piece. She held the two edges together, flooding the pieces with chakra as she kept herself awkwardly balanced and trained to maintain what she was doing. It took awhile, but this was going to be the most difficult part. After this it was going to become much simpler.

Once she was done with this small part of her work, she looked down and smiled at her work. You could still see the seam but that was okay. The pieces of glass were connected at just enough of an angle to allow Hikari to stand them up. She wouldn’t have to bury anything in the dirt to steady it or give it a solid base, after all this was only a temporary surprise. And so with a smile she moved on to make another piece.

She spit the liquid glass into her hands and set to forming it into another square. This was obviously going to take some time, but Hikari didn’t mind that. It wasn’t like she was sleeping much these days anyway.

She stood up this new piece of glass next to one of the others and held it in place with an elbow as she formed the hand seals. She took a hold of it in her hands, and of the piece she was attaching it to, and did the same as before. Before long, the two pieces were one and all that was left to hint that they’d once been separate was the seam. She couldn’t help but smile at the thought of just how beautiful this would be in the sunlight. Even now in the moonlight it looked quite beautiful. Given the tree cover, you couldn’t see it all, but rays shown through here and there, just enough to allow her to see just what she’s doing.

Each piece was created carefully and meticulously attached to the others. Before long, the entire bottom row was done, with a space left to allow entry. Admiring her handiwork she was happy to see she had made sure there would be enough room to walk in, and enough space to sit on the floor with Kazuya, or maybe even lay on the floor. The thought made her smile grow.

She set herself to the task of forming another piece of glass, this one would be much taller, and just a bit thinner than those on the bottom. Though none of the glass was necessarily thick to begin with, she didn’t want to risk too much weight on the bottom row as it might cause the glass to crack and shatter. The idea of that happening was just sad, but the idea of it happening while she was with Kazuya inside of it was even worse. Such a thing could prove dangerous, maybe even deadly.

The hardest part of the second row was getting the pieces in place and holding them there while working on the seams. The first one she formed the seals for the proper jutsu before picking it up and holding it in place with both hands, her fingers holding it while trailing down to the piece below and her head kept it from moving by letting it lean against it just ever so slightly. It was aggravating really and Hikari found herself wishing that Kazuya was there to help her, and chiding herself for the thought as this entire thing was supposed to be a surprise for him in the first place.

By this point Hikari had to do her jutsu again to protect her hands against her own glass. It hadn’t quite worn off yet, but it was better to be safe than sorry in this case. She shaped another piece of glass into just to right shape, and another, and another. Each time she had to place it carefully and try to find a way to keep it in place while she created her seams. Each time was harder than the last. As she finished the second row, she simply smiled, looking around her at her start of her igloo, at this point she was closer to being done than she had originally believed.

There was quite a large space for a doorway, Hikari reminding herself that Kazuya was taller than she was had made it tall enough that she could walk through unhindered, though Kazuya would still have to bed down it wouldn’t be as bad as if she had made it more for her own height.

The next row of glass panes would be much smaller, but they would come in at a sharper angle. Though she had to find a stump nearby to stand on to put them in place, she found herself balancing them on her head to put them into place properly. In this case, she checked measurements and made each one very carefully first, stopping only when she had several small panes in front of her. She was starting to feel tired and was even sweating as she got on her stump and began putting them into place. These probably took longer than all the rest simply because she was balancing them on her head carefully for a period of time

She nearly fell more than once, and at one point even had to break a pane and make a new one to replace it because she didn’t have it sitting right, it was ‘flat’ rather than tilting upward. But the real challenge was going to be the final piece of glass. Using a length of wire she measured each side, having been careful before to keep each edge the same length, that was the easy part. The hardest part came after she spit the garaton out and began to shape it with her hands. Getting specific shapes was one thing, but getting the measurements exactly right before it hardened was something entirely different.

The final product was quite beautiful. Trying to catch her breath that she’d lost in her own frustration she couldn’t help but smile at the beauty of it. The last bit of hard work to be done was getting it into place. She stood on the stump once more, carefully balancing it on her head as she made the first seam. Once that was made she was able to reach one hand up to hold it in place and the other to touch the piece of glass she was binding it to. From there it was much easier, she just had to maintain her balance while she finished with her seams.

Once finished she stepped outside of the glass igloo to examine her work and smile. In total she’d made seventeen sizeable pieces of glass and, in a manner of speaking, sewn them together. It made for a beautiful final product.

Training InformationShow

~WC: 1,526/1,500
Stat Training: Ninjutsu

~[Glass Element • Protection]
D-Rank Ninjutsu
Because of their bloodline, users of Garaton must handle molten glass both in their hands, and in their mouth. Because of many generations of doing so, the clan has developed a way to keep their own molten glass from harming them. This only works on D-rank molten glass, but also protects the user from being cut by glass of any form.

~[Glass Element • Make]
D-Rank Ninjutsu
After forming the needed hand seals and flooding their mouth with chakra, the user will begin to create molten glass. The glass may then be spit out and formed over the next post as it cools and hardens. This technique makes enough glass for four kunai.

~[Glass Element • Repair]
D-Rank Ninjutsu
After forming the needed hand seals and flooding a piece of glass with chakra, the user will repair the glass, causing any cracks or breaks to be fixed with little noticeable seams. This can be done at a rate of 9 meters squared per post. The repaired cracks are weaker than most glass, however, only being the strength of D-rank glass.

[MedeaMoirae]

It was shaping up to be a pretty boring day for Hikari. Kazuya had taken off with his mother for the day for more training, and Hikari knew this meant she’d likely be helping him with bandages and ointments when he got home. She really didn’t feel like spending the day at the house, so she wandered off on her own. Truth be told she had plans to meet one of her brothers in a training ground. Despite her confrontation with her mother, both of her brothers seemed to understand Hikari’s view on the entire situation and wanted to see her happy. She was their little sister after all.

By time she arrived, Daichi was already waiting for her, arms folded across his chest and leaning against a tree. Before Hikari could even greet him, he spoke. ”Show me a sample of what you know.” he told her.

Hikari frowned, but obliged. He was here to help her with her ability to use Genjutsu after all. She formed the seals and formed her chakra appropriately. Daichi was keeping his eyes on her the entire time. On the final seal, she had hoped to see him become ill, but the most that happened was he wrinkled his nose at her. Much to Hikari’s disappointment he immediately formed the seal and kai’d the technique.

”Not bad, satisfactory enough to say you know the technique. But that’s about it. You can’t be satisfied with merely affecting your target. What you really need to do is weave your will into the chakra. Pour whatever you’re feeling into it and force them to feel it. Genjutsu isn’t fire and forget, you can’t just do it and it work as it should. You know the jutsu, now feel it. Try again.” He had pushed himself off the tree now and taken a couple steps towards his little sister, standing and waiting for her to do it again.

Frowning at his words, Hikari formed the seals again. She hoped she understood his intent right as she molded her chakra, trying to follow his direction. She tried to picture her own desire as something tangible she pushed in with the chakra, a desire to see her brother’s reaction to smelling something so vile he’d likely vomit on the spot. Yet as she formed the last seal and released her chakra, she saw barely a reaction out of him. True, he didn’t simply stand there and wrinkle his nose this time, there was a movement in his shoulders to suggest a tensing up the moment the smell hit his nose. But this wasn’t really the reaction she was looking for. With a heavy sigh she waited as she watched him kai the technique once more.

It wasn’t until he had dismissed the technique that Hikari saw her brother swallow hard and clear his throat, taking a moment before speaking, a moment in which she couldn’t help the slight smirk that formed across her face. ”Much better.” he told her, looking up in time to see the smirk spreading across her face and shaking his head with a chuckle. ”It could be better still though.” he added, much to Hikari’s disappointment. ”Hey Genjutsu needs refined just like everything else, don’t give me that.” he added when he saw the smirk leave her face leaving behind only disappointment.

With a sigh, Daichi crossed his arms once more before speaking, though at least this time he was smiling a bit. ”You need to put everything into your genjutsu. For this next attempt, I want you to target me as you would our mother. Think of everything she’s put you through. Think of how much she’s ignored you, hurt you, and how she’s trying even now to discard you. Remember how she’s trying to ruin the one thing that makes you truly happy, your relationship with Kazuya.” As he spoke, Daichi could see the expression on his sister’s face change, darkening as he spoke. This was exactly the reaction he was hoping for. ”Good.” he muttered under his breath before continuing. ”Now I want you to take all that hurt, and all that emotion, and pour it into this jutsu.” Daichi swallowed hard, knowing if his sister did this right, this was about to become an experience was going to regret.

Hikari didn’t notice her brother steel himself for the next technique, as he had spoken she had felt those emotions wash over her once more, including the same rage that had ended in her drawing the blood of her own mother with a kunai. She could almost feel that anger, the rage, pouring through her even as she formed the seals and formed her chakra. She let it seep into her work and into her chakra, letting go of any form of emotional control and just letting it all come together.

If rage was a tangible thing it would have been a seeping black mass that was mixing in with her own chakra, even as she pushed forward and released the technique. By time she had completed, Daichi had been taking steps towards her, intentionally trying to rush her into action. The poor man felt like he’d hit a brick wall of the smell of decay. Coughing, he doubled over and dry heaved. For a moment he felt like he must’ve been surrounded by corpses that had been left in the son for too damn long. Despite it being a lower ranked technique, it took him a moment to kai the technique, only because he was distracted by the twisting in his gut.

When Daichi straightened up, breathing in the clean air, he realized his sister was standing before him with tears rolling down her face. With a smile he walked over and pulled her to him, hugging his little sister close. ”It gets easier, before long you’ll be able to do this without concentrating so hard or even feeling the tears.”

Hikari looked up at him and smiled. ”At least it’s improvement.” she replied.

Training InformationShow

~WC: 1,003/1,000
Stat Training: Genjutsu

*[Smell Of The Deceased]
D-Ranked Illusion Genjutsu
An illusionary jutsu that, after performing the necessary hand seals, causes the target to begin to smell rotting flesh and decaying bodies. The jutsu can cause nausea and vomiting from the target, depending on how sensitive their sense of smell is, and begins once the victim witnesses the user perform the hand seals. The smell of the dead can also cause some mental stress on the target. This genjutsu lasts for three (3) posts.

[MedeaMoirae]

Another day had come and gone, but Hikari was nowhere near where she wanted to be with her training, and so after the sun had set and Kazuya had fallen asleep, Hikari made her way out of bed and out of the house to find some time to herself and her father’s notes. She walked and walked until she finally got to the glass igloo she had put together for herself and Kazuya. She made her way inside and lay on her stomach, spreading her father’s notes out in front of her. She really hadn’t spent any time with the notes since she’d gotten them really, except to just glance through. With a sigh she began to read, almost feeling like her father was sitting in front of her, speaking to her the words she was reading.

”Genjutsu is something that cannot be performed without strong emotion. Those who are most proficient are the most twisted of mind and thought, perhaps even desire. I’ve never met anyone who was truly proficient that did not have a twisted pattern of thought. After all, the best genjutsu are formed with the worst sort of world in mind, pulling the target into that world at the will of the user. Someone who truly loves their fellow man cannot twist the target’s mind the way they truly need to.” Hikari frowned at the words. Her father had been a stern man, but she had never considered him twisted. It made her wonder just what sort of mind her father truly had, but she also knew that the further on she read, likely the more she’d learn of her own father’s mind. Just about now, that thought was scaring her.

”Creating the simplest illusions are a simple task of picking at your target’s thoughts and picking out certain portions and changing them. Changing simple perceptions is simple enough and a great way to hide yourself or your movements. It doesn’t take a complicated mind or even a twisted mind to do such a thing.” Hikari had to resist the urge to mutter under her breath about ‘tell me something I don’t know’ as she was reading this. Naturally it was almost as if he heard her as she read on.

”Complications and twisted imaginations come in when trying to affect your target. Causing damage and injury to your opponent requires doing more than picking at pieces of their mind and mental process. You have to be able to alter and change their mental perception to the point where their mind is working against them. It’s just like the immune system. A body’s immune system is built to fight infection by attacking it, but sometimes our bodies can get confused and attack healthy parts of our bodies. These are the reason for certain types of disease. Using a stronger genjutsu to physically harm your opponent is much the same. You are taking their mind and their perception of the world, causing their mind to attack them. After all, you are not touching them, or at least not always. The best genjutsu is the one that forces their own mind to cause damage to their body.” Hikari’s brow seemed to wrinkle forward a bit as she read this portion. The analogy involving the immune system made sense to her, but she wasn’t sure if she was capable of such things. To cause someone’s mind to harm the person themselves? Her father was right, that would require a rather twisted mind, and Hikari wasn’t sure she could be so twisted. Yet as her mind wandered over her own past, pausing on that moment two years ago, buried alive in that coffin, she realized she could. Trapped and panicking she had dug her own way out, to the damage of her own body, and only to be caught and captured the moment she thought she was breathing free air. A devious smile crossed her face and Hikari realized that she could indeed be that twisted.
”The most difficult thing for a new genjutsu user to realize is that to cause their target pain, they must witness it in every facet. The best genjutsu users have lived the terrors they impose on others, because by living it they can make the experience far more genuine. How can someone cause their target to feel flames licking at their limbs, if the user has never felt the heat of flame?” It made perfect sense to Hikari, and it reminded her of what she had once said to her friend Hisao. Back when she wanted nothing more than to hunt down those who had hurt her and killed her father and force them to feel what she had felt. Having felt what it is like to be buried alive, she realized that she would be best capable of genjutsu that give that same feeling to the target. Could she smother a target with such a jutsu? It was an interesting thought, and one she would have to revisit later.

”The fact is, no matter the mind or heart of the user, Genjutsu can only truly work, if you truly mean your actions. Your desires, your emotions, all must align with the jutsu and be poured into with a passion. Someone like my little Hikari could never be proficient in such things, not unless something horrible happens.” The last sentence caused Hikari to pause as she read it. It saddened her to know her father thought she wasn’t capable of proper genjutsu, but at the same time she knew he meant it not in reference to her ability as a ninja, but in reference to how she used to be. Before her father’s death she had been so sweet and innocent even, carefree and only doing harmless things in her spare time. It made her realize how much she had really changed.

Pushing aside the revelation about herself and her father’s thoughts about her, she focused on what she had just learned. She knew now that as she used and trained her jutsu, the true secret was her need to pour all of her pain, her rage, and all other emotions into it.

Training InformationShow

~WC: 1,029/1,000
Stat Training: Genjutsu