A Nameless Enkouten's Trial

[Kanade]

Chiaki, walked on feet that were not her own toward the Enkouten facility. She had been looking out of eyes that did not require her to blink, and as such she had to force her autonomic response system to do what it normally did on its own. She felt as if she had been newly born. Thabisa had given her the Enkouten body, to save the Enkouten people that had gone on the mission, Tandala and Cherisa, but also to save Fukusha Haru. Haru was not with the three Enkouten as they entered the compound.

Thabisa's body wore a black veil as it walked, which itched Chiaki's nose. Yet another thing that she had not missed about having a flesh and blood body. She felt each touch of every thread on Thabisa's body. Her chest still hurt, she had decided to keep the scar that she had contracted by Thabisa's sacrifice, as a testament to the woman's sacrifice. She wondered if the elders would see it in the light that Thabisa had, or whether they would correct the girls' mistake.

Tandala led her by a rope that was binding her hands, keeping her from making seals. She didn't need them in order to perform jutsu, but it would make it a hell of a lot harder. Her butterflies flitted around her, still processing the fact that her body was different. It was only a small number that she had kept through the battle, and even less when the ones that didn't recognize her had dispersed, but as soon as she, Tandala and Cherisa were healed, the swarm had recouped the losses, and was as strong as ever.

Chiaki had given up her silicone body, felt naked, even though she was clothed in a traditional Enkouten garb for those who were awaiting trial.

"Come, nameless." Tandala's deep voice echoed off of the stones beneath her, and from the bare walls of the buildings that surrounded her, "We need to pick up the pace or we will be late and the trial will be over before it has begun."

Cherisa nodded, "I understand that your body still is new to you, but there is nothing we can do right now to remedy your unfamiliarity with it." The woman, whose skin glinted with sweat, smiled back at her. She was if anything more nervous than Chiaki herself. No, Namelss one." Chiaki corrected herself. She was no longer Kyoukan Chiaki. She had died on the boat with Cros, had broken every tennant that she had been taught by the Kyoukan peoples, and had even broken the Hippocratic oath. The sun beat down on her black veil and unadorned brown clothing as she ascended the stairs, before entering a large circular chamber with seating all around.

The first thing that was unnerving was the amount of people in attendance. Chiaki could see all of them were Enkouten clan members. She saw disdain, distrust, respect, awe, and even a couple of friendly smiles in the crowd. The crowd wasn't completely against her at least. She still had no clue as to what the trial would be, nor what she would have to prove in order to gain her life, her liberty back. Perhaps she was already condemned, she started the descent down to the middle of what seemed to be an arena. The crowd was shaded by tarps which blew in a hot wind which granted no respite from the heat of the sun. There were fans being distributed to family members by vendors, and people that were passing around cold drinks.

The nameless Enkouten squeezed the brand band in her hand, formerly belonging to the body that gripped it, but not the person that was now inside of it.

"We bring before you a nameless Enkouten, here to answer for her crimes, she walks to the stand unbound and proud." Tandala spoke, making a show of cutting the bindings on her wrists before sheathing the knife.

"I, Cherisa Enkouten, vouch for this Nameless Enkouten, in a life-bond that was made in the Spirit's Nest." Cherisa called out, before motioning the nameless Enkouten to stand behind the table. She stood to the side of the table.

The nameless enkouten looked around to see who was the judge of this trial, she couldn't pick out who it was exactly. She was unable to figure it out, being accustomed to the trial.

"I, Tandala Enkouten, vouch for this Nameless Enkouten, in a life-bond that was made in the Spirit's Nest." Tandala took a stand next to his wife, giving a defiant stare to a couple of murderous faces in the crowd. Chiaki gulped, and felt smaller than she ever had, looking to the crowd in the stands. It wasn't completely full, but it was an uncountable number of clan members in attendance. She was staggered by the amount of people there.

[Kao]

Word spread quickly within the Enkouten clan compound. Despite its vast size the clan was famous for being tight-knit and, perhaps even moreso than the infamous Akari, jealous guardians of their bloodline. The threads between each individual family were tightly intertwined with one another, so when tragedy befell one family it spread to others like a plague. Enkouten Thiabasa was a well-known upstart in the clan who had just begun to make a name for herself. Talented with youton and kouton, her strength and prowess led her to be known as a jewel in the rough, soon to be polished until she brilliantly shined. But her potential was lost, snuffed out by an outsider if the rumors were to be believed.

Dozens upon dozens of pairs of eyes watched as the woman was paraded through the grand hall. Heavy silence fell upon the crowd at once, followed by buzzing gossip and hissing whispers. They were curious. Furious. "An Enkouten? I see nothing more than an imposter." A low voice sounded from the front of the room, like rolling thunder approaching from miles away. A mountain of a man leaned forward from the raised desk, peering down at Chiaki as if she was an ant beneath his heel. He was flanked by five others on both sides, each of them in flowing robes in varying shades of red and brown. The Nameless One stood before a mountain range of twelve men and women collectively known as the Council of Elders of the Enkouten Clan.

For an elder, the man in the center didn't appear to be very old. Grey hadn't yet touched the hairs of his head and beard, though he had strong creases on his forehead that were no doubt from decades of furrow. He was quite noticeably a decade or two younger than the rest of the council. Once handsome, his face was now scarred from battles both recent and old, and his dark brown skin was dry and flaky from the unforgiving arid air. The entire room fell completely silent the moment he uttered his first word. Authority radiated from him. "Careful who you vouch for, Cherisa and Tandala. I have half a mind to put you two on trial with her for allowing this to happen."

"Patience, Lord Kaizen," said a gentle, airy voice to the man's immediate left. An older woman, eyes grey and sightless, smirked and leaned back in her chair. Her white dreadlocked hair fell wildly past her shoulders, and she twisted a thick strand between her fingers almost playfully. "We're not to past judgement until we've heard all of the facts. You speak from rumors and secondhand reports. We are hear to hear from the woman herself. Weren't you the one who wanted to meet her the most?"

"That was before I saw her. I didn't want to believe it but...Thiabasa...!" He took a moment to compose himself by turning his head to the side with his eyes closed. After several tense seconds and deep breaths, he turned his golden eyes back to the woman before him. "Do you even know who we are, girl? I am Enkouten Kaizen, leader of the great Enkouten clan, and we are the Elders of the Enkouten. So tell us, girl. What happened to our Thiabasa?"

[Kanade]

Tandala, who seemed to be more confident than his wife when they approached the stand shrank back from the large man as his scarred face came into view and he threatened to put the both of them on trial for their hand in this. Cherisa, however, maintained a collected poise which didn’t shrink from the man. Chiaki, in her new body could feel her heart racing, her pulse pouding in her ears as her breathing came in quick gasps now, trying not to breathe as he menaced the three of them.

The older woman whose white dreadlocks seemed to frame her face gave Chiaki the confidence to move forward, after being introduced to Kaizen. She bowed before him, and then bowed again, addressing the council. It was part of a ritual that she had learned in the hospital, two bows before engaging in conversation seemed to calm the nerves, and being back in a human body, she was a bundle of them. Her butterflies flitted angrily around her, wondering where the feelings were coming from, having been used to putting out pheromones of their own to mask that Chiaki lacked them. She took a deep breath and her butterflied hummed, before doing a soothing dance around her. The calming pheromones permeated the area in Chiaki’s immediate vicinity, and as she opened her eyes the words came to her.

“Council members, esteemed Enkouten-sama, Kaizen, and the clan members gathered here today-” she began, making a gesture to the audience and talking from her diaphragm, her words echoed off of the walls. It was a good thing that Thabisa had a good set of lungs on her, no doubt from her warcries, her large laughs, and her hearty songs. It was too bad she wasn’t here to greet them, “I come to you, nameless, carrying the brand band of one of the most brave and strong women that I have ever encountered, and will ever encounter.” She held up the brand band of Thabisa, before offering it to the council.

She took her steps back, resuming her position, “I bring this to you so that she may be remembered for her deeds, and so that her death may be recorded, in its entirety, the whole truth. If I should lie, Tandala and Cherisa may correct me.” With these words she looked at Tandala and Cherisa. Cherisa nodded her head serenely, closing her eyes as she did so. Tandala just cleared his throat and gave a stiff nod, not taking his eyes off of the elder. He might as well have been the one on trial.

“I cannot speak for the mission which was led beforehand by the three Enkouten that set out from Iwagakure no Sato to retrieve this spirit, so I will not do so, but I will say that Thabisa and I did not start off as quick friends. She, like many of you, did not trust me and thought that I was better left to the village than brought along on the mission.” She moved her arms in slow, placating gestures, wondering whether or not the pheromones were what gave her courage, or if it was just the fact that she was telling the truth. In her mind, she was already guilty, and would accept retribution if it was warranted. After all, she had broken the Kyoukan code, had killed, and had done it, in her mind, for selfish reasons. Her words were the cold hard facts, and were formal and metered like she was performing an interview. They respected the authority of the council gathered before her, and were polite to the people that were gathered around her. She had no idea whether it was the council's decision or the village's in a democracy what would happen to her. A bead of nervous sweat rolled down her cheek.

“When Enkouten, Thabisa and Fukusha, Haru were paired with me, we exchanged our expertises, he being frontline, Thabisa being backline, and I being support. A well rounded scouting group to bring back three of your clan members which had gone into the Spirit’s nest during the Sunagakure conflict and hadn’t been heard from since. The task was to retrieve them, dead or alive, and report back to the village.” She held up the mission scroll, and offered that, too, to the council.

“As we traveled, Thabisa became more and more my friend, along with Haru. Haru and she seemed to be closer than the other to were to me, and as we traveled, it became apparent that something had to give. We had a heart-to-heart meeting before we arrived on the threshold of the Spirit’s Nest and talked it over, whether we should even venture in or call the mission a failure and go back for reinforcements.

“The next day we traveled into the spirit’s nest and tensions grew throughout our group.” She looked to Cherisa for her input on this, she just waved her hand, motioning Chiaki to go on. “When the forest grew dark, our conversations turned toward what we wanted out of life, and I, being barren, told them that I didn’t have much hope beyond being of service to the village as a medic and doctor.” She cleared her throat, “The conversation turned to the fact that I was, at that time, a Silicone Elemental Body, influenced to become such by the people around me.” She pursed her lips and sighed, “The outrage that came from Haru and Thabisa was palpable, and I opened a portal to bring us all back home. I had figured that the trust between us three had been broken." She blushed a deep crimson, the blood flowing to her face so easily where she would have had to force it before in the silicone elemental body. It was a forbidden technique, but one of their sisters had taken the rite. Perhaps they would understand. "We were attacked and I helped fend off the poisonous giant frogs in the area. I passed out due to chakra exhaustion in the attack and Haru carried me to the camp that Tandala and Cherisa had set up as a base-camp.”

She looked around and sighed, “In the morning, I couldn’t move, and had seen spirits with my tenkujutsu when entering the spirit’s nest. Tandala offered to help, and extending that sight to him, he was able to ward them off with the use of a spirit-slaying sword.” Tandala produced the sword that was at his hip, before laying it down in front of him, as a gesture for people to see and a gesture of non-hostility. She continued, “Cherisa had the foresight to pack some cleansing herbs and we burned them like incense and drove the spirits out of the cave. I had to rest after that, and don’t remember what happened that night, but was told that we were going to head to the lair of the spirit in question.”

Chiaki produced the jar with the spirit inside of it, taking it out of her fuuinjutsu seal and placed it on the ground, “In here is the spirit that called herself the daughter of Izanami, goddess of death.” She frowned, “Though I don’t know how far descended, it took all five of us almost all of our chakra and strength just to get her sealed. Thabisa was badly hurt in the incident, as was Haru, and Cherisa was having a hard time with getting their wounds to close, being affected by the miasma of the spirit.” She looked to Cherisa for help on this part.

The Enkouten woman spoke up, “It was like breathing in fire, and out acid. It burned the lungs, and tore at our eyes. I could hardly see by the time that the Nameless One saved us.” She frowned, “But she did it at a cost to herself.”

Chiaki, in Thabisa’s body nodded, her black hair with peekaboo red highlights falling in her face. She brushed it back behind her ear and continued, “I was hurt in a spar and thought that I had repaired the damage that had been done to my core, which is the source of all elemental body’s power and their greatest weakness, and the spirits that served under this spirit were latching on, leeching the chakra from me as I fought with her, and fought to save Thabisa from the flaying that the spirit had done to her.” She frowned, hearing Thabisa’s screams in her mind again. She shook her head, clearing the thought and took a deep breath.

“Thabisa and Cherisa knew that they were dying, and Thabisa also could see that I was pouring the last of my chakra into the jar. I knew that if I did, the spirit would be sealed and our mission completed, but I didn’t account for the miasma and its after effects. At that time, Thabisa did what she had to do, and kicked me out of the way, before shouting that I was no use to the rest of them dead. Cherisa was already gasping for air and wasn’t able to combat the poison, Haru was convulsing and wasn’t of use to us anymore, and the spirit, after a final sealing laughed because my companions would surely die if something wasn’t done. In that state, I had no more chakra left, and would die because the serving spirits were draining my chakra from me. The spirits didn’t seem to have an effect on the people with me, but had turned another one of your sisters into nothing more but a statue of obsidian.

Cherisa produced the brand band of their fallen sister, “This is the brand-band of our own elemental body sister, who has returned to the earth in the Spirit’s nest. May she be remembered with our revered kin.”

Tandala nodded, closed his eyes in a brief solemnity and then opened them again, never taking his eyes off of the large man, the head of the Enkouten clan.

“Thabisa, knew that if I died, they would all die. Knowing this, she pressed a knife to her chest and begged me to use her body to save the rest of the people there, Haru, Cherisa, and Tandala.” She hesitated, “Time wasn’t on our side, or I would have tried a different method, but I pushed the blade into her chest and then transferred my essence into her body, before curing my own poison and those of my comrades. Left with little chakra left, and with darkness pressing in on us, I opened a portal to Iwagakure and we made our way back here.” She looked to Tandala and Cherisa and nodded. She was done.

“I swear this to be true.” Tandala swore, with Cherisa reciting the words right after him. Chiaki waited, a Nameless woman in the eyes of the congregation gathered there, waiting for the next part of the trial. What would it be?

[Kao]

The entire room tensed the moment the young woman began speaking. Many of the clan members expected her to sound demonic, or otherworldly, or something unnatural. Instead they were faced with a rather ordinary sounding woman. For those that had known Thiabasa, she simply sounded wrong. It was, unmistakably, Thiabasa's voice that came from the woman. It was her face, her eyes, her lips. But the cadence of her speech was all wrong. Her gestures, foreign. The dissonance they felt made them squirm. But no one was more uncomfortable than the man and woman who had front row seats to her speech. The woman clung to the man beside her, eyes teary and lips drawn in a tight line. The man she held held his fists so tightly that his knuckles were stark white, and his nails dug into his palms so much that it broke the skin and drew blood.

Alarmed murmuring erupted from the crowd when Chiaki mentioned her former status as an elemental body. Many of the older clan members despised the art thanks to an infamous Enkouten woman who had gone rogue, had given up her humanity for an unnatural body, and had committed crimes against the clan and against humanity. It was against nature, and many of the more traditionalist Enkouten looked upon her with increased scorn and scrutiny. The low din quickly died down. No one wanted to miss what the woman had to say. They hung onto her every word, and once she finished speaking the entire clan sat motionless, waiting for the council to respond.

There was a heavy sigh from above. One of the male elders - bald with a thick greying beard and fiery orange irises - leaned forward. "Somehow your tale doesn't put me at ease." A few of his fellow councilmen nodded in agreement. "We were prepared to retrieve our brethren's corpses, though not in this way."

"She isn't a corpse. See how she breathes?"

"The orphaned brand band says otherwise. We are looking at a dead woman, are we not?" The two went back and forth for a while, but once the argument approached the philosophical, Kaizen stopped them gruffly.

"Enough!" He stared down at Chiaki, disgust still evident in his expression, but then turned to his left. "The rebuttal." The blind white-haired councilwoman stood, her joints popping, and she turned to Chiaki. "My name is Enkouten Ayaka. Thank you, nameless one, for regaling us with your tale and for bringing dear Thiabasa's brand band back safely to our clan. You may not know the meaning of it - or perhaps you do after spending time with Cherisa and Tandala - but it is sacred to us. And I for one am grateful that despite these unusual circumstances, at least we can ensure that her spirit rests with her fallen brethren and her ancestors, where she belongs." She waved her hand, and for a few seconds nothing happened. But then, a couple stood and slowly approached Cherisa. The woman held her eyes closed tightly as they walked near Chiaki. The man, on the other hand, stared her down with enough intensity to melt steel. He looked remarkably like Thiabasa down to the shade of his hair. The man held out his hands for the brand band, and once Cherisa handed it over the woman's hand shot up to her mouth to suppress a sob. Her husband had to practically carry her back to their seats.

"Now then. On to you, girl. In the eyes of this clan, you have essentially stolen our bloodline. That body you now inhabit belonged to Enkouten Thiabasa, and your occupancy goes against everything we stand for. Our blood right is ours and ours alone." She paused to steeple her frail fingers and tap them together. Ayaka looked thoughtful for a long while, and then she sucked her teeth and continued. "But. But. If what you say is true, then Thiabasa willingly gave her life, her body, to you. Presumably you can now use youton and kouton. You can see how that poses a problem to us. We are a proud, selfish clan. It's how we have survived the centuries we've been tied to this village." The air was thick with anticipation as she slowly approached her point.

"I think our choices are clear. We can kill you. Or we can find some other, more progressive way approach this."

"We can't kill one of our own when there is no crime."

"There is a crime! Theft! Lies!"

"Not according to this girl and her witnesses."

"Right. A thief would run. This one turned herself in and has two respected people to vouch for her."

"A thief with a conscience. An honest thief. Quaint."

"You're all out of order, it's not time to deliberate!"

The council reluctantly quieted down, and Kaizen rubbed his temples. It wasn't like them to allow themselves to abandon the order of things and bicker. Not in such a public setting, anyway. "Nameless. We've heard your story. Luckily for you there is no one here with evidence that is contrary to your testimony. I will say that, knowing my brethren, there's plenty of people sitting here who remain doubtful. You're a stranger to us, and you come before us wearing the body of someone who was loved and cherished by her family and friends. So is there anything that you want us to know about you? And I don't mean your specialties and shinobi talents."

[Kanade]

Thabisa’s body shook with the nerves that she was feeling, down to her core, or rather, her bones. She didn’t really have a core anymore. She was, however, quite nervous about what was going to happen to her should the people decide for a trial by combat, or something of the sort. She couldn’t bring herself to kill, even now, and would have had a hard go of it if they did ask her for something like that a trial tot he death. She would lose either way. She had heard about it from other people, but that was in Kiri. This was Iwagakure no Sato.

As the council deliberated on her fate, she broke out into a cold sweat, her hands shook and she looked at each speaker in turn with panic. Catching Tandala out of the corner of her eye, he wasn’t doing much better, most of the color had gone from his face. The only one that seemed certain was Cherisa, that or she had already resigned herself to her fate.

Finally the council and the head of the Enkouten Clan found the ground to ask her a question, a follow up to her story.

It was the same one that Thabisa had asked her in the house, and put her a bit more at ease than she had been since the whole ordeal began. She hesitated and cleared her throat, “I have made many mistakes in my life, but have started to turn those around.” She began, hesitantly, stating what she knew that the people wanted to hear, and it was the truth, so why not just lean into that.

“I came to Iwagakure no Sato with the thought to find a home where I could live and grow among people that were like-minded like me. I enjoy and have mastered cooking and crafting and had heard that the best smiths and cooks in the world were here. These are the things that I enjoy as hobbies, but I've dreamed of making a living doing either for a long time.” She smiled at the council, her gaze lingering more on the sympathetic voices that spoke than the unsympathetic ones, it was easier to speak to a kind face than one that wore a mask of either betrayal, hatred, or mistrust.

She cleared her throat, not to make a point or anything, but because she found it dry from talking. She swallowed, three times before coughing and starting back up, “Sorry, hard to adjust.” She laced her fingers together in front of her, finding the movement to be rather against the body she was in as she looked down to consider the question and its implications.

“The Tsuchikage invited me to be a part of the village because I am powerful in a way that benefits others, as I am a medical doctor and medical ninja and enjoy spending my time looking for ways to better treat my patients, and bring chakra-intensive care to those who don’t have the money or the chakra to do it themselves.” She looked around and smiled, “I have a lover, but they don't know about this, and I don't know how they'll take it, and many friends that I’ve met along the way, and would hate for this to be the end of my journey, as I hope to be a mother, someday.” she unlaced her fingers and put her shoulders back, “I also hope to bring glory to Thabisa because, by way of her body, I am still alive. It was because of her sacrifice that I am standing here in front of you all today. I know that my actions are never going to be my own again. I have to live enough to make Thabisa proud, to make you all proud of me, and to honor her sacrifice in a way that would bring her peace.”

She frowned, put her hands together and bowed her head, “I take this as a fresh start. The woman that I was died with the passing of Thabisa. A clean slate to become the woman that she wanted to be, and maintain the values of Iwagakure. I’m the sort of woman that will put others before myself, and Thabisa’s wishes will live on in what I do, or die with me." She waited for the council to decide, then to either give her a name, exile her, extend the trial into a different avenue, or sentence her to death. She had no more words that would make much of a difference anyhow, so now it was all in the gods' hands, and in the council's hearts.

[Kao]

Each member of the council watched her with intense gazes as she described herself. At the mention of bearing a child, several of the council members and members of the crowd gasped or grimaced. The idea of this woman having offspring disgusted more than a few of the Enkouten. In others, it invoked fear. This was a novel situation, one that many of them wanted to nip in the bud immediately. Others weren't so sure. It was this ambivalence that prompted one member of the council to clear this throat and stand. He began speaking, but stopped himself.

"Bah, must I introduce myself as well?" he lamented while crossing his arms over his chest. His spiked blond hair was striped grey, and it was pulled back into a barely-tamed ponytail. "I am Enkouten Hanzo. I'll be the first to tell you, girl, that I was on the side of executing you before the day's end. However...seeing you and hearing your story has made me waver." Beside him a male Enkouten rolled his eyes, but Hanzo ignored him. "I think we should hear from the family-"

"You would have her family face their daughter's parasitic killer?"

"If they would like, yes, since it would influence our decision."

"How cruel!"

All eyes moved to the man and woman who sat towards the front of the gallery, the woman still clutching Thiabasa's brand band and weeping quietly. Her husband stood, still looking at the woman inhabiting his daughter's body with ever-growing hatred. He inhaled deeply and said to the court, "As far as my wife and I are concerned, our daughter is dead, and her brand band is home. Whatever happens to her body is up to our leaders. Though I would be happy to not have to see this...thing ever again." Beside him his wife stood and whispered in his ear. He nodded and they both bowed to the council. "Whatever you decide, Great Council, we ask that we not be here to see it." Kaizen, keeping his expression stony, nodded and waved toward a guard, who led the couple away The heavy doors closed with a loud thud that resounded through the hall.

The gallery erupted in murmured discussion, and Kaizen let it go on for quite some time before he silenced them with a booming command. "We will now deliberate." With a wave of her hand, Ayaka concealed the council behind a veil - a barrier through which no sound escaped. Once a few minutes passed, the gallery resumed their hushed discussions. Many of them thought she should die, but many more saw it as a waste. The Tsuchikage allowed her into the village, after all. A least allow her to prove herself in combat, said several Enkouten. After all, it wasn't unheard of for non-clan members to become family one way or another. More and more of the younger generations found mates in non-clan members, and although those people weren't considered Enkouten they were still welcomed. More or less.

Finally, after nearly an hour, the council emerged from their deliberation. They looked generally unhappy and unsettled. "Well, Nameless," Kaizen began, sounding less irascible than earlier, "you've narrowly avoided execution. For now. It's still a possibility for the future. But we all agree that if we allow you to live, we must do so carefully. You now have an Enkouten body and presumably our bloodline. We as a clan do not like to waste our bloodline. It's more precious than you could possibly understand. We're curious why you have such renowned people - Cherisa, Tandala, and indirectly, Lord Tsuchikage - vouching for you. So for now, woman, you will be under our care for the next say, three months? We will continue this trial then."

"Consider this a trial run as an Enkouten," Ayaka added, chuckling to herself at her play on words. Kaizen groaned. A few other council members looked mutinous. But this was their decision. The nameless woman would have a rare chance to prove herself to an entire clan.

"One final thing. What is your name?"

[Kanade]

"I um-." She had just been asked to name herself, and she could choose her given name, the one that her mother had given to her as a gift those many years ago. She wondered whether or not she should just keep it. There were people looking for her, or at least that was what she believed, even though she had faked her own death and the bingo book had been stricken of her Kyoukan name. Could she really just go back to the way that the world was before her death, could she just become Chiaki Kyoukan again?

She shook her head to clear it and as a negative to herself. She had taken a step forward into the Enkouten clan, had taken so many steps away from the Kyoukan lifestyle, the clan, the country itself where the Kyoukan practices were still in effect. To take the name Chiaki would be a slap across the face to the Enkouten gathered here. A name that meant something, that she could live with.

“Kanade.” She said simply, “I hope to be Enkouten Kanade some day, but Kanade will be the name that I choose.” She nodded her head at the council and then looked to Tandala and Cherisa expectantly. They both nodded their approval.

Cherisa spoke up, “We will house Kanade until she can get her feet under her, and will bring her before the council in three month’s time.” There wasn’t much else to say. No words could be given to the council that either they would believe, or would not bind the former Kyoukan to a task that she may or may not be able to complete in this body.

Kanade waited for the final words.