The land that time forgot. (Solo)

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LunarCataphract
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The land that time forgot. (Solo)

Post by LunarCataphract » Sun Feb 20, 2022 9:49 am

Fujikawa sat upon a rock in the middle of the training grounds, legs folded over each other, her eyes open and her arms resting upon her legs. She was in a meditative pose, her breathing slow and purposeful, her breath flowing in and out in heavy patterns. Before her was a scroll, a simple piece of parchment detailing the ins and outs of the Spiritual Technique, the most basic fundamental of summoning jutsu. Hand Signs, chakra flow, the nature of forming a contract with a summon and all sorts of other details.

However, it was these details that gave Fujikawa pause, namely that regarding the need to form a contract with a creature in order to be able to summon in the first place. Fujikawa quite simply had no idea where you would even find a creature to form a contract with. Would any animal suffice, provided they could agree to the contract? That was what the pharmacist was led to believe and in that, lay the issue: finding an animal intelligent enough to both communicate and give agreement was…difficult.

Still, logically she could still at least practice the hand signs, no? It should just fail and fizzle out, being little more than an expenditure of chakra yet it would at least grant her that most valuable of things: experience. Experience and a wide repertoire of abilities was what Fujikawa believed set the experienced shinobi apart from the rank and file amateurs, the chaff that carried out the mundane and dull missions. It was a separation she would make apply to her, if only to support her own long term goal of making the world tremble.

Anyway, enough distractions and tangents she thought. Fujikawa was here to practice and learn, was she not? The pharmacist returned her attention to the scroll before her, reading the hand signs necessary to engage in this most fundamental of summoning techniques. Boar. Dog. Bird. Monkey. Ram. It was an easy enough series of hand seals but the challenge? That lay in the chakra. It was, according to this scroll, very demanding on a user’s chakra levels to summon something.

It was time. Enough back and forth, enough umming and aahing, enough pondering. It was time for action. Fujikawa breathed deeply, closing her eyes to concentrate. Focus. Feel the chakra, that most fundamental of energies, flow throughout your body. She felt her energies, both spiritual and physical, melding together, flowing freely, spreading through the eight gates of her body and then….her fingers danced. Boar. Dog. Bird. Monkey. Ram. The red head slammed her hand into the ground before her and…

Nothing. Nothing happened. Fujikawa had genuinely expected ger summoning to fail but she had hoped there would be something, anything, to indicate she at least got the basic formula down but no. That did not seem to be the reality. Hmmm…. Back to the drawing board she supposed. Maybe inquiring at her old academy with her tutors would reveal a way to form a summoning contract. Perhaps her clan could? Yes. The Hirohito’s intel network would definitely be able to help her find someone with helpful information on forming a summoning contract.

Yet, just as she decided on her next step and began to rise from the rock she had been sitting on, Fujikawa’s world began to warp. Colours blended together, her view skewered and she felt herself starting to fall…no. That may not have been correct. The sensation was definitely that of falling but, much to her surprise, she seemed to be rapidly falling upwards towards a cloud. She impacted against the cloud, finding it wet and...salty? Fujikawa blinked suddenly, jumping to her feet, realising she had not crashed into (or would that be through?) a cloud but into the gentle surf of a beach.

She rolled over suddenly, coughing and sputtering, spitting out the salty seawater. She spent a few moments in a daze, staring upwards at the blue sky before a sudden bird-like chirp made her sit upright. She scanned the soft white sands, eyes running along the length of the shore line but she saw absolutely nothing. No people, no animals and definitely, nothing that was responsible for that chirping she had heard. Perhaps it was just a bird that had flown away?

How…did I end up here….?” She jumped to her feet, reaching into her layers to remove both her kiseru and the tobacco but, alas, she swiftly discovered the tobacco had been soaked to the bone, by the salt water obviously. Unfortunate. She sighed heavily, returning both the items to her clothing before deciding to walk towards the undergrowth. No good would come from simply staying on the beach. She needed to figure out where she was, how she got here, how to get home and failing that…she would need shelter.

The foliage immediately consumed Fujikawa, casting her into a world of dense undergrowth, buzzing insects, humid air and the ever present sounds of animals. Bird-like chirps, the subtle rustling of foliage, movements in the corner of her eye and the occasional crunching of undergrowth. She was definitely not alone here. There was an animal nearby, one that she could not shake the feeling was stalking her.

The constant rustling, the movements around here, the oppressive nature of the dense foliage and then there was that smell. It was the scent of rotting meat, a foul and offensive odour that levelled an aggressive assault upon her nostrils. Hmmmm…. Was it merely paranoia that made her feel this way? Was she simply taking the natural ambiance of this dense environment as a sign of being stalked? She could not deny that she was rather on edge after all.

Then, she was suddenly through the dense foliage, breaking free from the oppressive plant matter to find herself in a…field. And what she saw there, quite simply astonished her. She stared in astonishment at the thing before her, the thick and muscular leg of a simply titanic animal. Yet, this was not the only one of its kind in the field. There were others of its ilk in the field, some of the same size but many were far smaller. It was all a lot to take in.

Fujikawa’s gaze travelled up the full length of it, following the powerful limb towards the body, up the massive neck and finally to the surprisingly compact looking head. Then: she realised it was looking at her. She had expected its gaze to be clumsy and dull witted but there was a definite light of intelligence in its gaze.

Fujikawa’s crimson eyes met the blue gaze of this creature, it having stopped eating to focus upon her. As the animal’s head turned towards her, bending down to stare right into her face, she realised it was definitely not some mere animal devoid of self-awareness and sentience. After all, it had started to talk.

Small thing. Smells foreign.” It talked. How..? No. It was not speaking. Fujikawa noticed its mouth had not moved and, now that the initial surprise was over, she realised it was not a voice she heard but a voice she felt. It bounced around the inside of her skull, demanding to make itself heard over anything else.What on earth was this?... Fujikawa was just….what? She could not help but stare in astonishment at this clearly intelligent animal. Sure, they seemed to struggle with the finer points of articulating themselves but they at least had a grasp on the basics of speech.

Yeah. I woke up on the beach. I was practising a summoning jutsu and now I am here.” The creature snorted, blowing air through its nose, blasting hot air right in Fujikawa’s face. Was it an insult? A display of amusement? Or simply annoyance? Whichever of the free it was, the red head was not exactly happy with it. Possibility of catching something aside, the very idea this big derpy looking animal was belittling her filled her with fury.

Not first. Other human visit. Need help you?” Fujikawa’s mouth snapped open, her eyes twisted into a frustrated glare. She was about ready to give this animal a tongue lashing, to give it a right good piece of her mind but upon hearing what she assumed was an offer of help, her logical side caused her temper to abate. She DID want to get home after all.

Yeah. Sure. Where am I anyway?” The creature paused at that, its eyes turning away from Fujikawa to stare at the line of foliage behind her then, it stomped its feet before dropping a scroll at the human’s feet. It was covered in saliva but that was not at all a problem. She was a medical ninja after all. Having a strong stomach able to tolerate the gross and nasty came with the field. She unfurled the scroll and, much to her surprise, it was revealed to be a contract scroll.

Help small. Small help me.” So that was the arrangement. Form a contract with this creature, whatever they were called, and they would assist Fujikawa in returning home? It was a tempting offer but wasn’t this all happening too quick?! There was the question of trust, not to mention what exactly Fujikawa would have to do in return! This was a giant creature! One that Fujikawa had only just met! The reverse was true as well! Just who would accept this deal blindly?!

Hang on hang on! I won’t deny I need your help but I don’t even know your name. And you don’t know mine. I feel we have a simple matter of trust to resolve, no? ….Ah. Yes. My name is Fujikawa. Pleasure to meet you….?” Her voice trailed off, leaving the metaphorical floor open for this animal to share their own name, if they had one. Hopefully they did. Was rather difficult to form a contract if the two parties did not know each other’s identity.

Name…Matriarch. Lead herd. Protect herd.” Ah that did make sense. A name that was a role. Fujikawa supposed it was good enough. She did wonder where Matriarch picked up such a word. Perhaps it was one of those other humans that had visited? That was the most logical answer.

Alright. And what do you get out of this arrangement? What help would you require?” Matriarch turned on her ponderous legs, moving with a controlled grace and weight of movement, to face the rest of the herd; namely those who were the smallest and youngest of the number.

Charka. Protection. Give chakra. Help protect herd. Last human strong. Saved life.” Ah that was it, hm? This Matriarch simply wanted chakra and someone to help protect the herd. Yeah that made sense. To survive, to breed, to continue getting on day by day. They were the fundamental driving blocks of existence for the majority of the creatures on this world. Life did, uh,, always find a way.

Agreed.” In one swift moment, Fujikawa signed the scroll with her blood, her name standing boldly against that of the past contract holder. Its name was faded and worn, age having taken its toll, but Fujikawa could at least make out part of the name: Yamato. Another thing to question this Matriarch about in the future. Still, over the coming days and weeks idle conversation and training would fill her days, until finally….she was ready.

True mastery of summoning eluded Fujikawa yes, mostly due to her own chakra being insufficient to summon Matriarch, but it was enough to summon some of her smaller children, such as the cat sized like version of the dinosaur eating from Fujikawa’s hand. They were rather cute actually, possessed of an eager but clumsy gait, not to mention a truly voracious appetite.

Ah…I have learned rather a lot under your tutoring Matriarch. If you ever require my assistant, simply summon me. I am a businesswoman after all, breaching my contract is death. I will be returning for training in the future…and perhaps to explore your home.” A simple trumpeting sound was the only response Matriarch made, genuinely happy as she watched the youngest of her children scramble and clamber all around the newest member of their herd.

Once she did return to her village, there was a lot of explaining Fujikawa had to do but with assistance from the Hirohito, yet another favour that would undoubtedly be called in some time in the future, she managed to get out of being suspected of treachery or betrayal; it helped she had a contract scroll to prove her story was the truth.

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