Spirit Tamers (part 1)

[Kanade]

Dawn found the village hidden in the rocks standing firm against the cool wind that was blowing out the last of the summer heat and blowing in the first of the winter chill. With the changing of the seasons and the winds they had seen a changing of stations and a general rising of the next generation that would defend the timeless walls that stood resolute, unbreached for centuries. The sheer age of the village nestled into the landscape like it was put there by the gods themselves.

Change that was met by the steadfastness of time, and Kanade felt both of them to her very marrow. She had recently seen so much change, but felt at the core of her being that there was nothing that changed at all. She was, after all, the same core person that she had been those years ago in Kumogakure no Sato. She remembered Haruka, Hanako, and all of her friends there, had felt the sting of all of them severing ties with her, had lost more than she could ever recover, and had loved and lost. The village, however, went through many cycles, the people that built the stones were no longer here, they were as much a part of this land as the walls and streets that the people walked along.

She shook her head, inhaled sharply and wiped a tear from the corner of her eye. A side-effect of being human was the very human feelings that seemed to bleed out of every orifice in a messy fashion. Funny enough, she didn’t remember being so emotional when she had her human body before.

Kanade was tasked with escorting a new shinobi in the village, or relatively new that is, on a task that involved spirits. The landscape spread out far ahead of her and the wind that crept over the walls and pushed past her, making her molten hot hair send cascading, instantly cooled beads of obsidian crackling down the cobbles like a rainmaker. She sniffed the air and descended the wall with a little water walking technique to head out to the gate to meet the little kunoichi she was to be supervising.

Her butterflies went ahead of her and trailed behind, coalescing around her mostly, but spreading around her like fog on a frost-licked lake in the middle of winter. The undulations of their patterns didn’t obscure her vision, but they flitted about in dizzying patterns known only to them. She enjoyed their company, and if it weren’t for them, she was sure that she and the others would have died.

Unfurling the scroll, she looked it over once more at the gate, leaning lazily against it, her hair scorching the earth, but not burning a hole in it as she did so.

‘C rank mission:

A spirit has recently entered the outskirts of Iwagakure and has been making a ruckus. A spirit is trying to get into the world and is using the local pet population as a conduit for its misdeeds (dogs biting their owners, cats scratching priceless furniture, snakes constricting around arms until they go numb, etc.) Please serveil this menace and if possible put an end to it, report it to the tenkujutsu division.


Difficulty: Moderate.
Risk of injury: low.
Supervision: required.’

Kanade rolled the scroll up once more, placing the ribbon back around it and scanned the interior of the gate for the girl that was supposed to be meeting her there. Kanade had a point for being early. She had arrived a half hour early, and the timelessness of being an elemental body showed in her general glacial take on moving throughout the day. Thus, it wasn’t a problem if she had to wait for a half hour or even an hour for the girl, she would be unperturbed.

[Valkier]

Kanade may have made a point of being early, but Hachiya Kotori, young kunoichi and jinchuuriki of Iwagakure, was blessedly unburdened by such concerns as punctuality. Instead, she sat perched upon the parapet of the legendary village wall, kicking her legs against the stonework and smiling up at the open air. The morning breeze tickled her skin and made the hairs on her bare arms stand on end, and the promise of clear skies overhead reminded her of home. Her first home, anyway, before she'd come to the village. It wasn't that she didn't care for the mission—far from it; she needed the money—but she'd come to learn that a little tardiness posed little threat to someone in her particular shoes.

Eventually the wind died down and the birds ceased singing quite so loudly, and she dragged her attentions away to face the task ahead. Rising and stretching, she strolled casually, fingers laced behind her head, along the top of the great wall and to the nearest guardtower. She nodded to a few resident guards—most of them knew her face by now, if not her name, and all kept one wary eye open when she was nearby—until she found one that she knew to be amiable. She stepped up beside the man and nudged at his sleeve, then asked to be taken below. He gave her a searching look, hesitant, until she sighed and showed him the mission scroll with her summons. Even so, he took a long look at the seal and signature at the bottom before finally agreeing.

A few minutes later, Kotori emerged side-by-side with the guard as he shaped a passage through the great wall until she emerged only a few metres away from where Kanade waited. She waved her farewell and then stepped up beside the Enkouten.

"Hey, hey," She turned her wave around for Kanade and smiled as if she was quite on time, "I'm Kotori. You must be..." She hesitated and checked the scroll again. "Kanada, right? Good t' meet you. So, what's the plan?"

[Kanade]

Kanade looked Kotori up and down, so this was the new Jinchuuriki of Iwagakure no Sato. She remembered escorting Akihiro, or rather he escorting her to a fishing village in what seemed like a lifetime ago. Her thoughts momentarily drifted toward him, wishing him well before they snapped back to the girl who had introduced herself and looked much too comfortable with being a celebrity, and saw that she had let it get to her head with the cocky wave to the guard after handing over the scroll. The thought to reprimand her right then and there and call attention to the fact that people could be dying while she took her sweet time danced through her mind. It was an echo of Maido's own training that she would have had. Then Chiaki's own softness bled through and told her to forget and forgive the whole thing.

Kanade was neither Chiaki nor Maido though, she was turning over a new leaf, and while she wanted to instill a sense of duty in the young kunoichi, she didn't want to put the fear of Kami into her either. "You're late." She frowned and sighed, then shook her head, "While it may not be necessary for you to be on time for every mission, and this one certainly, repetition leads to habit, and being late could cost lives in the future." She opened her disappointed eyes and let their glowing orange irises rest on the child for a moment before continuing.

"I'm Kanade, yes, and you are Kotori, recently turned Jinchuuriki, like my friend Shinjiro." She nodded, "who has been the Jinchuuriki for the beast Vorashu for a good long while." She considered him friend, even if she had received the sharp edge of his tongue more often than not. She had hoped to be of help to him, but in order to do that she had to learn a sense of duty herself, do missions, get stronger, ablate the essence of Chiaki until nothing but Enkouten, Kanade was left. She then smiled fondly at the girl, "I can speak with your spirit as well, but won't intrude, as I know it's something special to you Jinchuuriki's, that special bond being only between you two, but I also know that they can hear what you hear. So I ask that your guardian genma there remind you of the time next mission, not for your sake, but for the sake of the people that you're working for, the citizens of Iwagakure." She held up a finger and kneeled down to Kotori's level, "Remember Kotori, there is no such thing as a mission too small, it's missions like these that allow for Iwagakure to function, and be as lovely as she is right now. I know that you don't mean to let them down. Because you are a Jinchuuriki, people will look to you to be an example of what they're supposed to be, so if you don't care about being late, neither will they. You need to be the golden standard when you're on missions. When you're not, there's plenty of time to be a kid, trust me."

That was enough of a lesson for now, Kanade assumed and opened the scroll, "What experience with spirits, other than your own, do you have?" She raised her eyebrows to the girl and smiled the ghosts of the past dancing behind her gaze, coloring everything with rosey nostalgia, "This reminds me of when I went spirit hunting with my previous protoge."

[Valkier]

Kotori had to resist the urge to raise an eyebrow; who was this woman, to chide her so? Yes, she was a little late, but not terribly so, and the mission was only marked as a low-risk one. But she schooled her face to calmness and bowed her head in acknowledgement all the same. Like it or not, this Kanada was her superior in rank, and she'd slipped up by being too much at her leisure. But that didn't mean the telling-off didn't grate. Nobody likes being treated like a child, least of all if you are one.

Luckily that bad introduction was quickly forgotten, washed away by the surprise of the jounin's next statement.
"Wh-- You know Shinjiro, too?" So, she was someone important. Someone who rubbed shoulders with that older Jinchuuriki from Kirigakure, one of those who seemed so in control and in tune with his genma. How much did Kanada know about what they were? The woman's lecture and appeal to Nolosha did, unfortunately, resonate with the phantom beast within. Kotori felt the influence of the genma stir and pulse with perceived agreement, and that made her scowl. Two against one was just unfair. She took an unconcious step backwards, one hand going up to grip her tunic over the top of where the jinchuuriki seal lay burned into her skin, not wanting the two of them to start talking directly.

But then Kanada knelt down to continue her lecture, and those earlier feelings of disgruntlement came flooding back like a dam bursting. This time Kotori could not hide her disgust. So condescending! So demeaning! She did not like this woman. She waited in silence until the frustrating lecture was done and fixed the older woman with a look for a long moment before answering. Kanada thought she knew so much about her. She was wrong.

"Aside from the one clawing at my gut, whispering into my mind? The one that tore through a dozen skilled jounin in half a second trying to level the village in its attempt to get free?" She avoided adding the "like you" to the end of "jounin", instead looking away and shrugging with feigned indifference. "I've come across another, once, a little less... powerful. My team and I fought one on a mission just a few months ago. Less powerful, but still strong." She grew more serious and met the older woman's eye again. Dislike or not, she supposed the mission was going to be a serious one, after all. A jounin at her back might be useful; the sum of her experience already told her that spirits were not to be taken lightly. "It tore my friends arm apart and almost killed me the first time we met it. He'll never be the same again, and I'd be dead if it weren't for... Well, you know." she tapped her heart with a resigned palm.

"What about you?" If she did indeed know Shinjiro, she must have some first-hand experience, right? "What do you know about this one today? How do you think we'll be able to find and stop it?"

[Kanade]

“I do know Shinjiro, he and I have been on many different escapades. Though, unfortunately, we seem to have been a bit stagnated as of late. The last great threat to Kirigakure is gone and with it Shinjiro seems to be itching for something.” She knew that if Vorashu wasn’t sated that he got restless as well, and that Shinjiro sometimes had a hard time recognizing himself apart from vorashu’s will. Even if he did have a tight rein on the beast inside of him, he couldn’t completely control the bestial urges and so Kanade knew that he would always be a danger, not only to the ones that opposed him, but to anyone in his way when he was bored.

Kanade nodded along with the very apt and poignant portrayal of what was in the child, though she doubted that the thing was clawing at her gut as the seal that held the beast inside her was quite intact. She had done some research on Kotori, but only as a subject of the genma, not as a person, and apparently her own interpersonal skills were slipping. Kanade always got into a mood whenever she was on a mission or training the youngsters. Maybe the soft approach would have been the right one after all.

“Spirits are almost always powerful because they don’t have a physical body to keep their strength in check.” Kanade nodded, “What about me?” She paused and let a small smile escape, “I have helped tame a spirit that almost killed four Jonin level shinobi, trapped a spirit that killed four chuunin before they could blink, and wrestled a fox-spirit back into a temple before it wrecked the nearby village that it was bound to.” She went through the list quickly. She didn’t want to brag, but if the child wanted a list of her past escapades, then surely she could give her a list of them. “I also sealed Vorashu when he got loose in a spar not to long ago, and survived the encounter with his wrath through Shinjiro.” She sighed and kneaded the bridge of her nose with her thumb and index finger. She still had nightmares about that encounter.

“As for the spirit today, I don’t know any more than what’s on this paper.” Kanade dangled the paper in front of her and grinned, “Which is why we are going to investigate. Perhaps you’ll pick up some spirit-hunting and spirit-binding techniques along the way, perhaps not.” She shrugged, a nonchalant gesture casting off the doubt she had about the mission, “First thing’s first though, I should probably place a protective jutsu on you so that if you do get into trouble I can make sure you’re safe.” She waited for Kotori to give her the go-ahead to cast a jutsu on her. She didn't want to treat the kid like a child because, after all, she was a soldier for Iwagakure. She couldn't help but see the stature, the small movements, and the underdeveloped frontal lobe however. She knew that it was going to be rough dealing with this kiddo if she got off on the wrong foot. While she waited for Kotori to give her a sign to proceed she stated, “As for finding it, the spirit should be rather easily identified once we’re in the right area as it possesses pets and surrounding animals and tends to go after people by biting them and leaving the poor animal confused as to why it's biting a human. Stopping it will be relatively simple.” She pulled out a flask that had a binding seal on it before wiggling it a bit, “We just have to get it in this.”

It was lucky that the mission wasn’t too far away, the outskirts of Iwagakure, actually, and that the spirit was more of a nuisance than an actual terror. There was little likelihood of the jinchuuriki getting hurt. Even if she did get hurt, that was why Kanade was there, to mend and to mentor. She frowned to herself looking at where the spirit was and then looked back to Kotori, “How’s about this. How about you lead the mission and I’ll follow along and support you?” She grinned, trying to make it a bit more of a game, “So, what as a leader would you like to do first? Is there anything else you would like to know about me before we get started?” Kanade’s butterflies flitted about, ready to go, apparently, but rushing this sort of a situation was bad enough with an experienced team that had worked together previously. These two had already had a rocky enough start, and any tension between them would make it that much more difficult to keep Kotori safe.

[Valkier]

Kotori's attitude towards Kanada sobered as the conversation went on and she came to understand the depth of the woman's experience—and something of her station, too. This was no run-of-the-mill shinobi, but someone about whom stories would one day be told. She didn't know much about Kirigakure, except that it was some far-away place with far-away problems, and while Kanada's initial accomplishments were impressive, they paled in contrast to the final one. Her jaw dropped a fraction and she stammered:

"Y—You sealed Vorashu!?" She realised with a sudden sense of clarity that her own assignment to work with this woman was unlikely to be happenstance. It was no secret among Iwagakure's upper echelon that Kotori was new—and therefore still struggling with—her connection to Nolosha. And here was a woman who claimed to have subdued one of Her brethren genma and survived its host, too. It also meant that Vorashu had escaped, and that even Shinjiro, that awe-inspiring figure of legendary strength and accomplishment, had once slipped in his control of his phantom beast, just as Kotori feared about her herself. Something seemed to click into place within Kotori's head, and she began to look at Kanade in a new light. She decided to start treating the jounin with a little more respect, too. Just a little. Now and then, incase it went to her head.

She shook her head, part in amazement and part in disbelief, but quickly changed it to a nod as Kanade outlined their assigned task.

"All right, yeah. Let's do it. I.." She hesitated just for a moment, unfamiliar with ever admitting she had something more to learn. She forced the words out anyway. "I'd love to learn anything you can show me that could help. And don't worry about me keeping up!" She stepped forward and nodded her agreement to receive the offered protective jutsu. A frown crossed her face as the explanation continued.

"I've never seen a spirit possession before... It sounds kinda horrible. But luring it into a seal shouldn't be too hard, right? You can count on me." As was common for Kotori, her initial doubts started to fade once she began talking. Her own voice had that effect, sometimes. She opened her mouth to suggest Kanade lead the way onwards, only to be beaten to it.

"Me? Uh.. Yeah! Of course, no problem." No problem... Kotori turned around and scanned the horizon, then pulled out the mission scroll and reread it again. "Sure. This way, then, follow me!" And she began striding away from the walls of Iwagakure, trusting to her instincts to keep her heading the right direction. Her instincts, as in so many cases, were decidedly wrong.

"Hmm.. Tell me about your friends," Kotori asked, looking back at Kanade over her shoulder. "Who are you closest to? What makes your connection so strong?" It might at first seem like a very random and inappropriate question, but Kotori had her reasons. The company someone chose to keep could tell you a lot about a person, as did how that person regarded their peers. She knew already—assuming everything had been truthful, and she had no reason to doubt it—that Kanade was a capable ninja. But she didn't know a thing about her as a person. And Kotori had until they arrived to learn whether or not she could put her life, potentially, in this woman's hands.

[Kanade]

“I did.” She had done it in a moment of desperation, but had almost died in the process. Kanade could still feel her skull being stomped on, the megallium crunching beneath the beast’s heavy paws as one would squash an egg. She could feel her hips being crushed, her bones cracked, her right arm being torn off, and had only touched the bear’s snout by pure fate. Yes, she had channeled the correct jutsu, yes, she had managed to land a blow on Vorashu and instantly seal him away until she unsealed him later, and yes, she had managed to bring Shinjiro out of a rage that had consumed him, but she was the one who pushed him over the edge to begin with. Ultimately she had lost, and if Shinjiro had been more callous than he was, he would have killed her.

No need to tell the girl all the gritty details yet though, that could be saved for later. She considered the girl’s words and then carefully channeled chakra from herself into Kotori. Kanade smiled as the fuuinjutsu appeared on the girl, “This is what Natsumi calls ‘fight the power’. It’s a protective seal that can be activated and will keep you from harm’s way for a long duration.” She had actually only had one person break it, and that was Vorashu, “It’s an invisible barrier like the concave barrier jutsu.” She explained, “And it redirects harmful chakra back.” And physical blows, she had seen someone knock themself out when punching the barrier before. “I’ll also assign you a small bit of these little lovelies. They can understand rudimentary speech, so I’m sure you’ll be able to communicate with them. They respond more to pheromonal signals than anything, but I doubt that would be in your wheelhouse right now.” Kanade noticed a lack of a swarm and didn’t want to overstep.

Nodding she followed Kotori as the girl started to go out toward their destination. A good sense of direction, and a purpose. Kanade herself had a horrid sense of direction, and if it wasn’t for the morning sun rising in the east, she would have no idea where she was most of the time. She usually went by land marks, and easily got lost, even then. She trusted fate to guide her, even if it had led her into bad situation after bad situation.

Kanade always loved seeing someone come into their own, put the mantle of responsibility around their shoulders. Kotori seemed to have a straighter back, had a better set to her jaw, and seemed to have forgotten the churlishness that had started their interaction. Kanade added a tick to the scoreboard for ‘good choices’.

The question wasn’t meant to hurt, the one about the friends, but it stung Kanade enough for her to stop for a quick heartbeat and start again, mentally chiding herself so that she kept up with the stride. Should she lie to Kotori? No, that wasn’t the best thing now.

“My best friend, the one I’m closest to is probably Shinjiro now.” She decided, thinking more about it, “I used to have a lover named Karari. She was an elemental body of water, and she used to make such lovely colors with the power of refraction and looked like a liquid prism.” She nodded, “She could also just change the color of her liquid if she wanted to. When she would hunt she would become this inky black with glowing red eyes.” Kanade laughed, “And when she was feeling cuddly she would go this lovely shade of purplish pink.” Then she shook her head, “Living away from her, doing the ninja thing, moving and doing missions, we grew apart, and she went back home. I can confidently say that I think she feels like I abandoned her, moved on, you know?” She thought for a moment longer as they walked, the way Kotori had set out still, “The other friends that I had all went the same way as Kirari, I grew apart from them and they from me until I was left with-.” She shrugged, “A long distance friendship with Shinjiro. He even has his moments of not enjoying my company, I think he still blames me, partly, for the death of Muramasa, Maido.” A sigh escaped her as she felt herself deflating, and rubbed the back of her neck to keep the tears that burned behind her eyes from slipping out. It was a soothing stimulation.

“So, yeah, I’d say Shinjiro, though he’s the world away from me is my only remaining friend.” She shook her head and looked at Kotori, “Don’t do what I did, and think that if you have more power, you’ll have more friends. Or that you’ll be able to save the friends that you have from harm.” Kanade wore a tired, sad smile, “I used to say, ‘if you’re not dead, I can fix it.’ but I need a new motto.” She hummed, “I want to save the world, but I also don’t want to do it alone. It’s become quite lonely, and I need someone, desperately.” She realized she was talking to a child, and a genin, and that this was probably way too deep for that. Why did she always have to open her big, fat, stupid mouth?

“Sorry Kotori, that was too much information, why don’t you tell me about your friends, and your family, and all that. I want to get to know you, as a person, as well.” Kanade smiled, the light came back into her eyes. She was genuinely curious about the girl, and even if she made friends with a girl that was very much her junior, it was a step in the right direction, unlike how they were making strides, slowly, in the wrong direction.


[wc: 970/???? NANOWRIMO]

jutsu usedShow

[Fight the Power]
A-rank Force Fuuinjutsu
The user will channel the needed chakra and touch either themselves or an ally. Depending on the [Control] it is casted with, the fuuinjutsu will cover between 25%-90% of the users body. Once struck, the fuuinjutsu will activate and reflect strikes until broken. Ninjutsu will bounce back in the direction they came from and taijutsu strikes will rebound upon the opponent's body. Attacks that break through will not be reflected.

[Valkier]

Kotori accepted the offered protective jutsu willingly, especially given that it originated from Natsumi, whom she'd had a rather fruitful recent meeting. She could trust Natsumi and her techniques. The swarm was new and excited for her, though, and while they walked she marvelled at the small butterflies and how they reacted to her voice, even if she didn't have a 'pheromone'. Whatever that was. She probably couldn't afford one, whatever it turned out to be.
Once they begun walking, crossing from one path to another several times and turning often—sometimes intentionally, sometimes not—she instructed the butterflies to fly where she pointed with a simple word, or to shoot upwards, and to scatter on command. Then she tried to make them form shapes in the sky, or to do multiple things at once, but the commands were too complex for her control. Oh well, no matter. They responded so quickly—seemingly even before she finished her command, really—that they'd be very effective if she needed them to do something later.

Eventually, and after walking back past some suspiciously familiar sections of wall, Kotori eventually stumbled upon the correct path and began to follow it more by luck than judgement. She was by now wholly engrossed in first the butterflies and then, as Kanade began to regale her, in the stories and concerns of her mentor for the day. Kotori mused quietly while the older woman spoke, thinking that the jounin's life must have been so exciting and dramatic, but also perhaps a little lonely. About how she's an Iwagakure ninja, but her best friend is half a world away, in Kirigakure, and a famous bannin as well. Then again, she considered, I bet at their level they can do and go whatever and wherever they please! One day, Kotori. One day... The thought was thrilling. And the lower with a body of water? She'd never heard of such a thing, and almost thought that Kanade might be messing with her, but the way she continued on without missing a beat of the conversation suggested otherwise. Perhaps it was really so.

Finally, after Kanade's conversation began to wane, Kotori chuckled. She looked down at one hand and flexed her fingers absently. "Power seems to come whether I seek it or not. I thought it would surely help me protect them, too. Though, if we're being honest, they don't really need my help anyway. Not really." She didn't want to come out and say it, but the truth was that Setsuna and Kotetsu both were more capable than Kotori herself by half. It was usually them saving her form harm. But it wouldn't always be so. She'd sworn so, and intended to keep that internal promise.

She perked up at the next part. "...Save the world? Save it from what?" She peered back at Kanade curiously. Was there truly something threatening the world? But then the conversation moved on again before she could really delve into that.

"Oh, ok. My turn? Sure..." She paused to gather her thoughts, then dove into the subject with aplomb. Friends were still a new experience for Kotori, and she was always keen to gush over them. "Well, friends first, since they're here. There's my teammates, Ishiwara Setsuna and Okubo Kotetsu. Kotetsu is... Well, he's tough, and strong. Determined. He's always the first to get stuck in and the last to complain. He's all spit and grease, y'know? But loyal to a fault. He's already almost died for us, and I know he'd do so again at the drop of a hat if it ever came to it.

Then there's Setsuna. And wow, Setsuna. She's everything I'm not. Refined. Classy. Beautiful. Talented. And so fast! Her hands and her mind, I mean. She's a natural leader, even though sometimes I don't think she really likes being a ninja much." She decided to stop before talking about who exactly Setsuna's family were and spilling too many details. She was starting to get to know Kanade, but not enough to start laying her friends bare.

"Hmm, and after them? There's Hiroko, the..." She stammered a moment, then remebered to whom she was speaking. Kanade probably knew about Hiroko already, given her revelations about Kotori's own situation. "Well, you probably know. She's the other village jinchuuriki, a chuunin with the power of the Order genma. She's older and obviously strong, like, she controls her genma so effortlessly. Never so much as a quiver of concern or hesitation about what she does with Otsukoki. But she worries a lot about pretty much everything else. Sometimes I wonder if i'm the older one! It's endearing, though. I haven't seen her much lately. I hope she's okay.

There's also Amaya. She's a bit eccentric and weird sometimes, but a skilled Jounin who knows what she's about. She's a Shoshiki, and works with the village defensive organisations. And also Shizuo, who I thought was a total ass at first but turns out is actually really nice, and honest, and helpful where the others aren't." She eventually trailed off, counting the number of friends on her fingers. No, that was all of them. Heiya wasn't really a friend, and definitely wouldn't see Kotori as one. Nor Natsumi. She'd met a nice young Kenitsuna boy recently, but only time would tell if they'd get to know one another more. The same could be said for a young Fukusha she'd sparred with once and never seen again since.

"As for family... well... I suppose the people I've mentioned are about as close as I have now. My parents vanished in the war, and most of my village with them." She fell quiet for a long moment, eyes wistful on the horizon, hair flickering ignored in her face from the breeze. "I didn't grow up in Iwagakure, but in a small place in the mountains. It was beautiful. Hard, but peaceful and honest. I loved it. But it's gone now, I think. I haven't been back since we had to leave. I... Lost track of all the others that left then. I don't like to think about it too much. Best to keep my focus on the here and now, I reckon. Speaking of—isn't this it?"

She leaped forward a step and pointed at a signpost nearby, identifying the small suburban district of the village mentioned in the mission scroll.

"All right! Butterfly army, go find us some spirits!" She thrust an arm into the sky, waited a moment, then wilted as the swarm failed to interpret her command again. A few spun and fluttered in a playful arc nearby, and she figured that was probably close enough. "Good job! This way!" And she strode off towards the nearest cluster of buildings.

[Kanade]

As they walked Kanade kept the question of ‘save the world from what?’ percolating in the back of her mind. She wondered how much Kotori knew, how much she should preserve the small bit of childhood she had left, and how much she could protect this precious little spitfire that seemed head strong like she had been.

She listened to the recounting of the teammates and smiled at Kotetsu, who reminded her of Mariya, all spit and grease was right up her alley, and then Setsuna reminded her of Maido, or at least the mask of Maido. She outwardly looked like a princess, when she was hiding what people called the blood witch beneath. She had been a ruthless teacher, but had said something about Chiaki being her redemption. Kanade hoped that this second go-around meant that she could be that savior that Maido had wanted.

“Oh, Hiroko, I was told to watch over you both, but she seems to need less looking over, and more just general guidance.” She nodded, “Shinjiro told me about all of the hosts that he knew about, and I told him about some that he hadn’t figured out before the last festival in pebble. Apparently he met with you all there.” She smiled as she recounted the time that she had there, meeting new friends in Tousha, getting into trouble, having fireworks, one of the last times she saw Kirari was at that festival. She stopped reminiscing as soon as Hayate taking away Hanako surfaced and she shuddered visibly. “Cold spots, cold spots are indicative of spirits.” She muttered looking around, “You know, we could use this super secret nifty jutsu to see whether there is any spirits around us.” She knew of the spirit sight and wondered whether or not she could get away with transferring it to Kotori with the Kyoukan thread or whether she would be found out and have to spill the beans.

The girl, Kotori, continued to tell her about Amaya, another kunoichi she had never met who was eccentric and weird, which didn’t sound like much of a compliment to give a skilled jounin. She couldn’t help raising an eyebrow at that and wondered whether or not she was being serious or if she just didn’t understand the burden that the jounin of the village actually had. She nodded at the mentioning of Shizuo and hadn’t met them either. Iwagakure was a wide village with a swathe of people living in it, and she had barely scratched the surface of active shinobi in it. She wondered whether or not she had met Yukino.

She wondered if she could be a shield for this little one and fulfill her promise to Shinjiro or if Kotori too would slip through her fingers, and had her motherly instinct kick into overdrive when she had mentioned that her parents were gone. She shook her head to clear it, pretending there was some insect that had flown too close to her face to do so. She couldn’t walk down that road again. Memories of Hanako and the disastrous results that followed in the wake of taking her as an apprentice and then thinking of her as a little sister or a daughter flooded her memories. The memories of Chiaki, and with them they brought forth a torrent of hurt, guilt, and shame. She couldn’t do that to this little jinchuuriki, but she could protect her like Shinjiro had asked.

Shinjiro had a letter that was being delivered by a butterfly that would soon bring him to the village. She felt very much alone as Kotori listed off her friends, but had hope from the description that maybe some, if not all of them would come to think of her in a friendly way, even if they weren’t ‘true’ friends.

“I’m sorry to hear about your parents hun.” She moved to pat Kotori’s shoulder and hesitated, not knowing what the appropriate response was at that point in time. She wanted to reach out and comfort the girl, but they were on a mission, perhaps when the mission was over they could sit down and have a meal and talk over the things. Now probably wasn’t the time.

She sighed and nodded, “you have a lot of wisdom for a girl your age.” She had no idea what Kotori’s age actually was, she seemed to be in her early teens, so she gathered probably around 13 or 14 years old. Just starting to act out and see the world through an adult lens without the proper tools to work through some problems. Though, she wondered if some of that wisdom came from the spirit inside of her.

“You know, I came from a small congregation outside the village too.” She didn’t mention that it was outside of Kumogakure and not Iwagakure, “We would do marriages, funerals, coming of age ceremonies, ritual bathing, guided meditation.” She smiled, “And then I left to become a Kunoichi because I thought I could help more people that way.” She laughed, it was one full of regret, but the act of it helped to release some of the self doubt she was having. Kotori was helping to slowly heal her soul.

They came upon the signpost that was mentioned in the scroll and Kanade nodded at the name. It took way longer to reach than she had expected and she looked at the scroll again. She was wondering why it said just outside the city gates when they had been trying to get there for what seemed like a very long time. She looked up and down the dust-covered streets to the people who seemed to be going about their business, except that they kept looking over their shoulders at pet dogs, or kept glancing through the windows at pet cats. They kept their distance from their pets, and their pets seemed to not know why. It was like a parent who was afraid of their child, a pitious sight to see.

Kotori, however, had a different take on how to find the spirit, and read the butterflies like others read tea leaves, taking the random playful arc as a sign to where they should be going. Kanade’s swarm was no more attuned to the spirit world than she herself was, maybe even less so, with the Animus tying her to the mortal realm rather than the physical body. Or rather ‘with’ the physical body she was in. She sighed and shook her head again, the random intrusive thoughts had no bearing on this mission.

“Getting toward noon I think, it’s actually one of the prime times for spirits. The heat from the sun, the energy that is bursting from the plants, the laziness of you humans that turn their third eye toward an afternoon siesta rather than keeping it aware of the spirit world.” She looked at the cats who were napping in nearby windows, on top of roofs, and other different animals were starting to settle down as well. The mid day nap was always a time for spirits to come out, but usually they were more benevolent spirits, not the malevolent or trickster spirits. Why this town?

She looked up and one of the cats got up from the roof and started to raise its hackles, soon its tail was twice the size, in the shape of a chimney brush and then its eyes went wide, it hissed and then its eyes glowed red, “Maybe we won’t need the jutsu to see spirits after all, you know, unless it jumps again. Try not to hurt the cat Kotori.” She gulped, and wondered how big and nasty this thing was, whether it was human before it became yokai or not, and whether this was going to be easy to convince it to come out of its host or whether they would have to use force.

[wc:1317/??? NANOWRIMO]

[Valkier]

Kotori shrugged, feigning indifference about her parents, but only because she was still trying not to dwell on it. It hurt to do so, and without fail made her feel so very alone. It was not a good state of mind. Instead she shook her head and latched on to the next part of the conversation instead, hoping the sore topic would be forgotten.

"I am quite wisdomous, aren't I?" She forced a grin sideways at the older Jounin, then fell quiet again to listen about Kanade's upbringing. "Ritual bathing? What even is that?" she managed a chuckle, hoping it wasn't too disrespectful, but then continued a little more soberly. "Actually, ever since I was sealed, I've tried a little meditation. It's weird; I could never sit through it before, but lately it feels right. Kinda calming, like giving my mind a chance to settle helps keep things in balance." She remembered Kiyoshi suddenly, and felt a flicker of warmth from the beast within. Perhaps one of those two were responsible for the new habit. "But I'd like to hear more about your village and traditions and stuff, maybe once we're done with all this? I do like hearing new stories."

When the topic rotated back to spirits and their task, Kotori was about to ask for the technique Kanade had mentioned that would help her find their target, only for the Jounin to raise the alarm instead. Kotori almost couldn't believe they'd just stumbled into the creature and hadn't needed to search, after all. She reasoned that Kanade must really know her stuff, after all. Kotori spun to face the way Kanade was looking, hesitating just for a second, then frowning. Where was it? All she saw were a few passers-by, and a few local cats. One looked a little larger, perhaps a little bolder, but that wasn't unheard of, right? She'd chased a lynx once, back in her village, and almost caught it. It couldn't have been much different in... Oh. She finally saw the cat's red eyes, and its defensive crouch took on a more aggressive tone.

"Whatcha mean, 'don't hurt it'?! Aren't we here to do exactly that, and put a stop to it?!" she dared not glance sideways at Kanade, but if they couldn't hurt the spirit, then Kotori's options became a lot more limited. All right, all right... Don't hurt it... She wasn't close enough to the spirit to try and capture it with a simple technique, unfortunately. She could try and do so with a more complicated jutsu, but that would be slow and costly, and give the cat more than ample time to leap away. So instead of immediately resorting to force, she stepped very slowly forward away from Kanade and, near the edge of the building, crouched down to make herself look as small and as unthreatening as possible. Hopefully the butterflies would be ready to swarm inwards to her if the spirit attacked, but until then, she hoped to try and calm it. She spread open palms slowly out, showing that she held no weapons, and found herself making gentle hush-hushing noises.

"Easy. It's okay. My name is Kotori. I'm kindof like you, y'know. Why don't you come down, and tell us why you're here?" She didn't know if this spirit could actually understand her, so she tried to keep her voice gentle, but confident. Show no weakness, she reminded herself. Then she waited, hoping for some reaction aside from flight or fight. But she'd be prepared for either, just in case.

[Kanade]

Kanade said in a low tone, a calming tone, “Try not to hurt the cat, she hasn’t done anything wrong.” She certainly hoped that the cat was a she, because she hadn’t taken the brief moment to verify this, but most of the cats she had around the neighborhood were females. Maybe that was why she referred to all cats of unspecified sex as ‘she’.

FOCUS KANADE. An inner voice roared.

“Right, we need to stop it, but that’s probably someone’s pet.” As soon as the butterflies caught onto the fact that Kotori was nervous, they began to flutter in the space between Kotori and the stressor. Not obstructing the view, but ready to deal with the problem should it become more of a problem.

Kanade used the opportunity of Kotori’s edging forward to cast out with her Kyoukan tether and give the girl two beneficial jutsu. The first was being able to speak with it, sensing the girl’s want to connect with the spirit that was inside the creature rather than capture it or attack it. Smart girl. The second was to give her the sight that she would need to realize if or when the spirit left the body of the cat.

These were done as surreptitiously as possible, always moving so that she was out of Kotori’s direct line of sight, lest the girl ask what the tether was for and break the tenuous staring contest between her and the cat that had its hackles raised.

In response to the low and unthreatening tones of Kotori, the spirit possessed cat hissed and spit at her. Then it let out a howl that was much too deep to be performed by the vocal chords of the cat that the spirit possessed, followed by a deep grumbling growl and sibilant hissing laughter.

The spirit, unbeknownst to Kanade who was pulling out the container for the spirit the entire time was actually speaking to Kotori. It could not only understand her, but understood that it could be understood by this little unassuming snack of a human.

So far the spirit within looked much like an ordinary cat, it blazed forth with a red-hot fire, making the eyes seem like dark red coals, but the spirit’s shape was no different from the cat’s.

“Pain, Pain.” it growled, “Why was I ripped from my bed and set upon this village?” It leveled another deadly gare at Kotori, “Can’t run away, Pain by those with metal bands like yours. Pain when leaving the village, pain when resting for a day.” It laughed and growled at Kotori, “But now I’ll make the pain stop, You’ll join me in my bed.” Its eyes darted from Kotori to the graveyard, and then back to Kotori.

It opened its mouth and a wad of blood shot out, quick as anything that Kanade could have done, The butterflies were unable to intercept it, and it careened into Kotori, activating the fuuinjutsu that she had on her, refracting back and hitting the butterflies that had tried to stop the missile in the first place. A good ten or so dropped to the ground, their bodies being eaten away by the acidic nature of the blood that it had ejected.

Foamy blood dribbled out of the sides of the mouth that was stretched to the limits. The lips bared in an unnatural way the fangs that lay beneath as the hackles raised further. The claws started to hiss and crack the stone tile roof beneath the paws and the bloody foam hissed on them as it pattered down.

“Tricks and sorcery!” the Spirit howled, the flesh of the cat controting and splitting in a couple different places, almost unable to contain the spirit within as its fury rose. As splits in the skin formed, the blood poured from the wounds, too much blood for a cat to have ever held in its body to begin with, and the red steam rose up around it, or it looked like it to Kotori at least, showing a large war-tiger, red in color with dark red stripes.

[684/????]

jutsu used by KanadeShow

~Tenketsu Tethering: Link Up II
C-Rank Ninjutsu/Iijutsu
After a set of hand seals, the Kyoukan family member will make fire off a pink wisp of chakra from themselves at a target at a speed of [Control] and up to [Control] meters away. If contact is made, a tether will form. This tether can stretch up to [Control] x 2 meters and lasts for [Control]/5 posts. When stretched further than this range, the tether remains but will be unusable as a medium for tether techniques.

~Teketsu Tethering: Shared Technique
C-Rank Ninjutsu
After a set of hand seals, the Kyoukan family member will send jutsu through the tether at [control (50)] speed to the specified target and use them as the base for their own jutsu. All jutsu are cast from the target rather than the Kyoukan family member unless specified by the Kyoukan family member. This only works if the target is willing to be the target of such jutsu. The target can attempt to resist their being the origin of the jutsu without any effort, and should this happen the jutsu instead manifests as if it were cast from the Kyoukan family member.

*Shizumeru • [Vision of Spirits]
C-rank Tenkujutsu (Nin)
Pre-Requisite: Sensory Concentration
After performing the needed hand seals, the user focuses chakra to their eyes, causing the Maroon chakra to flare up around their eyes. This works similar to a doujutsu, but with no physical change to the eye itself, allowing the user to see the chakra of spirits and spirit related objects/people as an aura of Maroon. While useful for a quick glance, it can be used up to [Chakra Pool]/5 posts, before needing to be refreshed.

*Shizumeru • [Voice of Spirits]
C-rank Tenkujutsu (Nin)
After performing the needed hand seals and focusing chakra into their hand, the user places their hand on the head of a Spirit host, or on the object containing a spirit. This allows them to speak directly to the spirit in a telepathic link.

[Valkier]

Kotori stepped very slowly forward and started to crouch so as to seem unthreatening to the cat-spirit, right up until its hisses turned into a gut-churning howl. Immediately all the hairs on her arms rose to stand on end, and a chill ran down her spine. She was momentarily thrown back into memories of Team Seven's desperate flight away from the aggressive owl spirit that'd taken Kotetsu's arm. Her gut instinct in the moment was to turn and run again, and put as much distance between herself and the cat as possible.

In that moment she looked down as saw the pink-hued tether snared around her, pulsing with energy feeding through to her from Kanade behind. The older woman seemed to be hanging back, supporting and watching, and that gave Kotori the confidence she needed to hold her ground. Partly because she knew Kanade already seemed to have her back, but mostly because she couldn't bear the thought of breaking and running away under her watchful gaze. She'd never live that down. She squared her shoulders and looked defiantly back at the cat spirit, and then... And then it spoke to her, and she froze rigid. That hadn't happened before! She could speak with Nolosha, of course, but with a random spirit encountered in the wild? She hadn't expected it, and now sorely hoped that this little cat wasn't of a comparable strength to the genma. Surely not...

"Pain? From ninja?" One hand went to touch her forehead protector when the spirit mentioned 'metal bands', and she grew hesitant. Was this spirit an escaped slave or captive of Iwagakure?! She caught the glance towards the graveyard when the spirit mentioned 'bed', and thought she understood. A deceased soul, lingering on after its body expired, clutching at whatever nearby life it could find. She didn't know if such things were possible—it sounded like fairy stories, because in her experience "dead" usually meant, well, dead. But something was clearly afoot, more than apparently suspected according to the brief mission description.

And then suddenly she was on her back in the dirt, skidding and rolling away from the cat. Butterflies smouldered and died around her, absorbing something which she swore had ricocheted away from her own chest. She appeared unharmed, though, and quickly scrabbled back to her feet to face the threat.

"Hey!" She shouted, thumping dust off of clothes with a closed fist, and psyching herself up at the same time. "Fuck you too!" She burst alight with channeled energy, slamming a hand down into the ground at her feet and causing a minor tremor to emanate from her touch. Five large chunks of rock, each a meter in diameter, slowly tore themselves free of the ground in a rumbling wrenching of earth, then began to hover around Kotori's position. Sorry, Kanade, she thought in the split-second before firing, I know you said not to hurt the cat, but this bastard has it coming!. She thrust a hand forward towards the creature bursting free of the cat's body and sent two of the boulders soaring forwards to try and hit the spirit directly. The other three she kept in front of her, one as a shield between herself and the spirit, the other two circling slowly ready to intercept or be fired as needed...

Jutsu UsedShow

[Doton • Rock Control]
D-Rank Ninjutsu
After channeling chakra into the earth, the user can control up to 5 rocks, no more than 1 meter in diameter, breaking them out of the ground or using existing rocks and hardening them to up to their control in strength. Then with hand gestures alone he can launch them as a group at an opponent at a speed of [Control] and strength of [Control]. The user has limited control over the launch of the rocks, being able to send them in an arc or change their direction one time. They can be sent a maximum distance of 15 meters and must be within 10 meters of the user when initiating the technique.

[Kanade]

Kanade watched the splits in the skin, fur and muscle start to crack the cat like a crazed vase and she winced. She now certainly hoped that the cat wasn’t completely aware of what was happening and the pain that the unnatural splitting must have caused.

Kanade would let Kotori do the talking, as the cat was focused on her, Kande was readying another jutsu, just in case the cat had more of the tricks that it had shown previously hidden somewhere beneath the fur and fury that was the cat. She couldn’t see the spirit, just the splits. Kotori could hear it, and was obviously conversing with it, so best to let her handle it.

Watching the blood globule hit and rebound on the barrier was a good sign, one that meant that the thing wasn’t as strong as her, but as the rebound hit her butterflies and rendered a good chunk of them useless for the time being, the relief turned to doubt which turned to shock as Kotori stood up and retaliated. The cat, while Kotori was channeling split in half, revealing a maw that took up a good portion of its body and it howled, sending the remnants of the natural critters scurrying for shelter. Kanade’s hair stood on end as it undulated and masticated, showing row upon row of sharp talon-like teeth, and a gullet far too deep for just being contained in the cat.

The spirit controlling the cat had crouched on all fours and had announced, “Time to reveal my true face.” Tears in the skin ripped through the fur, sinew, and skin to reveal upwards of thirty different eyes, six of them were watching Kotori, a couple were watching Kanade and the others revolved, watching for signs of any others that were going to join the fray.

The two boulders came at the spirit and a tongue which seemed to be made out of the flesh of the gastro-intestinal tract of the cat lashed out, obliterating one, but missing the second as it smashed into the cat’s frame, breaking the already deformed hind leg of the cat.

The spirit shrieked in pain and fury as more of the eyes focused on Kotori.

“Stay calm Kotori, I’m here.” Kanade said in the even tones one would use to calm a spooked horse.

“I’ll wear your flesh and eat your family whole! I’ll revel in sucking their innards out through their stomach with your mouth! I’ll wash myself in their blood and offal and parade your flesh naked through the streets! Oh, what fun I will have with a human again. I haven’t had one since that cultist before.” The spirit howled. Kanade couldn’t understand it, but knew the connotation.

“Whatever it’s saying is a bluff, you hurt it.” Kanade coached, “Do you have any way to pin it down?” She was looking in quick motions from the creature to the features of the buildings surrounding it, wondering whether or not she should step in. So far there wasn’t anything at risk here. She was still waiting to put up the second barrier on Kotori should the thing attack and break her shield.

The cat pounced and her butterflies rushed to meet it, tearing at the flesh of the cat but passing right through the spirit. Each laceration seemed to turn into another tooth, claw, barb, or stinger as they tore at the flesh of the thing. Kanade was just as horrified now, as the creature bobbed and swayed in what seemed to be midair not ten meters from Kotori.

The mouth opened and closed, speaking to Kotori again, “Come little girl, to bed we must go.” Half of the eyes looked to the graveyard and half were fixated on Kotori. The creature contorted the flesh of what once was the cat into a hideous half moon. Kotori would see a bipedal creature, hunched down, ready to spring, wearing the cat as a face.

Kanade took out the jar and placed it next to her as an insurance policy, should things truly go south. At least she knew where to aim.

[Valkier]

Any rush of elation that Kotori might have felt from the successful strike of her rock control technique was tempered by the stomach-churning sight of the spirit creature tearing itself apart before her. It's form shifted and bulged with the writhing of appendages, the glinting turn of teeth in its midnight-shrouded maw, and the twisting reveal of just too many eyeballs. It stopped Kotori in her tracks, her rocks hanging momentarily forgotten, until Kanade's voice broke the horrific spell. What in all the hells is this thing?! The owl spirit she'd fought previously was bad enough—aggressive and relentless—but it had behaved largely similar to a wild creature of this world. Predicable, physical. But this? This was some eldritch mass of possession and shape-changing terror. How do we fight this?!

Trying to take Kanade's advice to heart, and drawing resolve from the pink-hued tether connecting her to the jounin, she waved her arms forward and sent her three remaining boulders shooting towards the creature. There was little chance they'd stop it, but if they distracted it just long enough, she thought she could follow up with what Kanade needed. The first two rocks were aimed not directly at the creature, but instead to slam into one another, and the ground, right in front of the cat-spirit-thing. Kotori hoped the two rocks would splinter and shatter under the combined force of the impact, scattering a showering wall of dust, debris, and fast-moving splinters of stone into the spirit. This would hopefully cover the approach of the fifth and final boulder, shooting through the rising dust to slam into the head of the spirit and stagger it backwards for a moment.

Meanwhile, she began moving backwards and channeling as much chakra as she could, pushing the building energy down into the earth around her and shooting it forwards. It gathered in the ground in front of the dust cloud, and she sorely hoped she was fast enough. If she was successful, a grasping spear of doton would burst up and around the spirit as it tried to move past, snaring the horrid creature in earthen jaws and binding it in place. It was unlikely she would be capable of holding it long, if at all, and so she hoped that Kanade was already planning about what to do next...

Jutsu usedShow

*[Doton • Binding Formation] - Cast at 18 control
D-Rank Ninjutsu
After channeling doton chakra into their foot the user will slam the ground within 5 meters of a target's feet with their heel, causing a formation of rock to shoot upwards at [15] speed binding the target's feet at [21] strength.

[Kanade]

Kanade watched as the spirit's face which used to be the cat lunged for Kotori, and looked at her butterflies which swarmed around it, slowing it down enough so that the spear that shot up from the ground impaled the thing through the cat, stopping it quite effectively while working in tandem with the butterflies.

The thing writhed around it's face, tearing at the spear with hands that couldn't grasp the bit of earth while forming another mouth to shriek at Kotori, promising to defile her before killing her once more, but in more graphic detail. It was hard to get a word in edgewise with the spirit screaming, so Kanade stayed silent. She moved the jar toward the spirit and as she was forming the hand seals to bind the spirit into the jar she was hit in the back by an arrow, the head burying itself deep into her shoulder.

Wincing in pain she sucked in a breath, channeling her chakra took all of her energy right now, so she didn't have time for the unseen assailant. The spirit screamed at her, an earsplitting noise that she was unable to block and then the world quieted to a ringing in her ears. Temporary hearing loss. Kanade had heard of it happening before, and wondered how long it would persist for.

She jerked her hands, and the spirit came loose from the corpse of the cat, still impaled on the doton spike, she grabbed hold of it, feeling it wriggling and shoved it deep into the jar before corking it. Her butterflies had intercepted another missile, Kanade opened her mouth and shouted, though she was unable to hear, "Did you see who shot the arrow at me?"

jutsu usedShow

*Ochiiru • [Temporary Housing]
S-rank Tenkujutsu (Nin)
Pre-Requisite: Storage & Force Fuuinjutsu Concentration
After doing the needed hand seals and writing the correct seals or having them premade on a storage device (such as a pot), the user is able to take advantage of a spirit that has been recently ejected from a host/object or one that has been defeated. As long as this jutsu is used the post after the spirit was ejected/defeated, the fuuinjutsu consumes the spirit, trapping them inside until the seal is broken or it is purposefully released.

[Valkier]

Kotori stared while concentrating on her binding technique, once again surprised that her attack had succeeded until she noticed the fluttering movement of butterflies surrounding the spirit. It was surely only due to their help, slowing and guiding the creature into her trap, that she'd been able to have any effect. But, if the flood of howled curses aimed at her was any indication, her distraction had at least allowed Kanade to position herself and her swarm effectively for the trap. Because suddenly the jounin had produced a large sealing jar, and begun her work drawing the enraged spirit towards it with expert movements.

Kotori was watching the display in awe when her attention was snatched away by a blurring streak of movement as the arrowshaft shot through the air and struck Kanade from behind. Her awe turned rapidly to gawping surprise; who in the hell—?! She frantically looked back and forth around them until she spotted a figure hunched in the shadows of two large boulders not far away, right as they loosed a second arrow.

"Hey, you! What the—" Her shout cut off as the figure darted up and began to run. Kotori spared a glance back at Kanade and noted that she seemed to be winning her struggle against the spirit, edging the creature moment by moment closer to her glowing jar. Then she spun back towards the fleeing figure and lurched into motion.

"I'll cover you! Keep going!" She called over her shoulder, sprinting in the direction of their assailant and placing herself between the archer and Kanade while beginning a set of hand seals. Their attacker was hooded and cloaked in a stone-grey cloak, perfect to blend into the natural surroundings and for concealing both identity and weapons. Her mind went back to the spirit's earlier words: Pain by those with metal bands like yours. Was this one of those ninja, upset at Kanade coming to ruin their plans? Kotori scowled and unleashed her technique towards the running stranger. Right underneath their feet the ground began to slicken and undulate, before rapidly liquefying into deep, slick, and sucking mud. Kotori slowed with the casting, taking hold of a nearby spur of rock to steady herself as the exertion of the high level technique hit in. She'd been burning too much chakra, but if this jutsu landed like the others had, they could catch the attacker and question them... Or finish them off in the trap...

Jutsu UsedShow

[Doroton • Liquefaction]
B-Rank Ninjutsu
The user surges a wave of Doroton chakra into the ground beneath them, flooding an area within 60m of their position and up to 60x60 metres in size with a depth of up [controlx2] metres with mud chakra. The targeted area then liquefies at [control] speed and begins swirling around like a giant whirlpool of frictionless mud, sucking any targets in the area down and into the ground with [control] strength. Any targets sucked down to the bottom of the technique will find themselves encased in a prison of [control] strength thick mud, binding their entire bodies and preventing any movement. Targets will be unable to break free and escape the area of the technique unless they have strength enough to overcome the swirling, dragging and binding pull of the mud’s [control]. This technique can remain active for up to 6 posts.[/spoiler[