[closed] The power to destroy

[TyDie]

viewtopic.php?f=76&t=8119645 It had only been a few days since Kiyori had met with Takeo and Fanho, explaining herself to them and throwing herself before their mercy. The weight was lifted from her shoulders as she was absolved of any guilt, and pleased beyond words that Konoha agreed to help her understand her new abilities. The stress was gone, sure, but now the real struggle began; Kiyori was set to learn first how to utilize 'Sankaton' as Konoha called it. Truth be told, the power shook her to her core... from what she had been told and what she had seen, it was a release capable of completely and totally erasing an object, or person, from existence. No corpse, no ashes, no remains of any kind. Just... nonexistence.

Kiyori feared for anyone who found themselves on the receiving end of such power.

But here she was, standing before a home in the Hyuuga compound. A familiar home, one she had been within a few times in the past; This was where her friend Aina lived. She had been told by Takeo that Aina held a great understanding of the art of Sankaton, and since Kiyori and Aina already knew each other, it seemed natural for the two female shinobi to get together so that Aina could teach her what she needed to know. With a gentle knock on the door, Kiyori stood patiently with a big smile on her face, ready to greet her friend. And as soon as the door opened, Kiyori would lunge towards her friend with a great big hug and a cheerful giggle.

"Hiiiiiiiii Aina!"

[Willoria]

It had been a pretty amusing conversation to say the least. Takeo had naturally let Aina know that Kiyori would need her assistance, but also quickly realized he hadn't thought to let Kiyori know she had moved. The house Aina had lived in was now under the care of one of her adopted kids, Kotaro, since Aina had moved in with Takeo some time ago. Aina had simply rolled her eyes and went off to her old place. She still technically owned it, Kotaro was just a caretaker, and when she had arrived she found he was already out for some sort of training. So when Kiyori had come looking for her she would already be sitting inside, waiting.

When the knock came, Aina wandered over and opened it, laughing as she was suddenly hugged by the Suna shinobi. "Hi, Kiyori." she managed between laughs. She briefly rest a hand on the other woman's back before releasing her and shook her head. It kinda baffled her that the woman still felt warm despite being in Konoha. 'Must be Suna thing.' She shook her head and motioned for Kiyori to follow her, slowly making her way down the steps. "I almost missed you." she remarked. "Seems my husband forgot to tell you I was living off clan grounds with him now. One of the kids from the clan I adopted is in charge of this place now, though he's out for training." She looked at Kiyori a moment and glanced around her. Takeo had given Aina a heads up on a few things, including Kiyori's new tattoos and another new aspect of her life. "Where's the grumpy, stinky fellow that Takeo warned me about?"

[TyDie]

Kiyori let out a light hearted laugh as she released her friend, knowing full well that Aina didn't swing for the same team that she did. That said, she was still happy as could be to see Aina, her tattoos glowing ever so slightly and emitting a gentle warmth in correlation with her joyous mood. "It's great to see you again, how have you been?" Kiyori gave a warm smile as she awaited an answer, but something she said caught her attention... Husband? Takeo? They were married? Her jaw dropped immediately. "Wait... WHAAAAAAAAT!? YOU AND TAKEO ARE MARRIED!? OHMYGOSH I'M SO HAPPY FOR YOU EEEEEEEEEE!" She squealed with excitement, trying her best to not lunge at her Hyuuga friend... and failing. She lunged once more at her, latching on tightly around her neck in a great big hug.

Of course, she remembered the real reason she was here, and eventually she managed to compose herself and release Aina, a great big blush forming across her face. "Sorry, sorry, I need to get ahold of myself. It's just been so long, and I really missed you Aina. Of all the people I've met in Konoha I can safely say you're one of my best friends. I'm so happy for you and Takeo. Ooh, right, stinkybutt!" Kiyori snapped her fingers in realization, knowing she was referring to Arata. "His actual name is Arata, but he is kinda smelly, hehehe. Anyway, I don't know how much of the story you heard, but he's a Jinchuuriki now. The spirit that guarded the altar that gave me my new powers decided to tag along with him. It's completely benign, it only wants to protect me now that I bear the light it guarded for millennium. That said however, I understand Konoha wanting to be cautious, so he's probably being interviewed himself or being kept busy with some other task handed down by your people. He should be okay though, now that he knows i'm not being prosecuted for things."

Kiyori crossed her arms behind her back anxiously, rocking back and forth on the heel and ball of her feet while she awaited her friend's lead. "SO; you're supposed to be teaching me this 'sankaton' thingy? Cus apparently that's what I can do."

[Willoria]

Aina felt like she had some strange sort of whiplash, though she laughed through Kiyori's excitement. She had honestly forgotten how animated the Suna shinobi could be. "Just wait until you meet our twins." she muttered, chuckling and shaking her head as the girl hugged her yet again. As they started walking along once more Aina simply grinned at the way Kiyori apologized. The girl could seem so scatterbrained at times and hyper it was just downright amusing for the shinobi who came from a clan who often took themselves far too seriously. In fact much of her amusement wasn't so much coming from Kiyori as it was from Hyuuga Clan members they passed and the strange looks they were giving them.

"If he holds a spirit of any kind I'm honestly surprised they haven't tried to bind him. I suppose that shows just how much they trust you though, if you vouched for him which I assume you did." she couldn't help raising an eyebrow and looking at her a moment though. "So he's just a guardian to you? Nothing else?" she teased, clearly already having an inkling that there might be more between Kiyori and Arata than she had let on thus far.

AS the topic turned to Sankaton however, Aina's expression took on a more serious look. "Sankaton. Admittedly not one of my favorites. I've only ever used it in combat once and only because I was facing a genjutsu user with no other options... if I hadn't I wouldn't have survived, and neither would the townsfolk I was protecting... still, destroyed part of that town in the process." Aina sighed, grimacing to herself at the memory. What that jutsu had done to the man she was fighting wasn't something she wanted to remember truth be told.

[TyDie]

...Twins? "WOMAN I CANNOT HUG YOU ANYMORE WITHOUT IT GETTING WEIRD ALRIGHT!? QUIT DROPPING ALL THESE BIG REVELATIONS ON ME EEEEEEEE!!" She had had twins with Takeo!? This poor young Henrin jounin could hardly contain herself, the excitement she felt for her friend was overwhelming. Still, she let out another big squeal and then composed herself with a deep breath, putting on a smile again. "I would love to meet them, I can hardly wait." The topic transitioned to Arata, and what Arata was to Kiyori, and admittedly the girl couldn't help but blush and stammer

"I. Uh. Well. Y'see..." She started poking her fingers together in embarrassment, looking down with hesitancy. After all, she knew she had practically no chance with Aina despite her attraction to her, but still... "He's more than my guardian. We've, uh, been intimate a few times. It's a bit complicated, but I guess you could say we're an item." She didn't know why it was so embarrassing to talk about to be honest. Sex was normal between two people who cared deeply for each other, like she and Arata did. But there was more than just affection between them, it was reflective of the relationship between the Light within her, and the Darkness that Kogasha represented. It transcended simple human emotion, it was a marriage of yin and yang, good and evil...

Her mind was drawn away from the topic momentarily by Aina's mention of the new style she was to learn: Sankaton. "I obviously know absolutely nothing about it, aside from that one time I messed around with it. All I could manage was a teeny orb of chakra that... I don't even know how to describe it. I fired it towards a rock and the rock disappeared, leaving a perfect sphere of a crater behind. Can... Can it really cause such destruction? I'm kind of afraid to use it if it's so uncontrollable..." She wasn't one to revel in death or destruction, but from what little she understood so far Sankaton was pretty much meant solely for those two things. Even if she did learn to use it... would she? Could she subject anyone to something so ruthless?

[Willoria]

Naturally Aina laughed as Kiyori just seemed to get more excited. "Don't worry, you'll meet them." she assured her with another laugh. Though quickly her smile turned to more a knowing grin as Kiyori stammered and admitted her feelings for Arata. "Its good." she assured her. "You don't need to define yourselves as a couple, so long as the feelings are there. Takeo and I have a bit of a unique relationship these days. We've gone through the passion, now the kids... we're both flirters and fighters, no sense keeping ourselves from other great experiences." She shrugged, not sure how to explain all that without things coming out strange or awkward, and she wasn't even sure what Kiyori would think of her or of the situation.

As she thought about the Sankaton though that Kiyori needed to train, Aina knew they would need different space. "I'm going to show you how far Sankaton can go, Kiyori, and honestly it might terrify you. Personally I don't use it in spars, and almost exclusively as a last resort because of its destruction... we're going to need a different space to explore this." She suddenly shifted to stand in front of Kiyori and took a step back so that Kiyori was right up against her. Without pause she reached back and grabbed Kiyori by under both thighs to pull her up on her back in a piggy back right and took off at a full speed run.

"Hold on."

[TyDie]

Kiyori gave a small smile in response to Aina's mention of her and Arata's relationship... but didn't miss the mention of her and Takeo's "unique relationship". Unique relationship... what does that mean? They flirt, they fight, and they don't hold each other back from great exp- oooohhhhhh.... Are they open to other people still?? Does that mean... Aina and I... Kiyori didn't have the time to finish that thought unfortunately, there were far more important things to worry about... like this Sankaton art, that could apparently disintegrate something entirely and completely, as if it had never existed in the first place.

Aina seemed concerned about location, which made sense given what she had told her about almost destroying a town with a single jutsu. She really hoped that was an exaggeration though. Before she could ask about that though, she was suddenly hoisted up by Aina, who had grabbed her a little too close to her groin as she grabbed her hips. An instant blush followed by a "meep!" was heard from the young Henrin, but before she could protest the two shinobi were moving at breakneck speeds. She couldn't help but scream with surprise and a touch of fear as the wind wooshed past her ears, tears streaming back behind her as the speed dried out her eyes. When the finally got... wherever they were going, Kiyori would be out of breath and shaking slightly. But after a moment, she would look at Aina with utter bewilderment.

"When... the HELL... did you get so fast!?"

[Willoria]

Aina was entirely oblivious to Kiyori's internal struggle with what she had been telling her, and simply continued on her way. By time she came to a stop they were in the middle of some great bit empty clearing with nothing in sight and behind them was all trees. Aina couldn't help a grin at her friend's comments about her speed and looked over at her. "I'm a village Bannin now, Kiyori." she answered rather simply. "Speed became important, vital even." She looked out over the blank space before them as the grin faded and a more stern look came to her face.

"The jutsu I am about to show you is one reason why. Staying on the ground where its in effect will kill a target, and even sink a small town. Its the same one I had to use against a man who I couldn't beat otherwise." she looked at Kiyori a moment. "Stay slightly behind me, this will start right in front of me and move forward. By time its done, its going to stretch eighty meters so don't step in front of me." She formed the seals and built up the chakra necessary before dropping to a knee and slamming both hands into the ground. As the chakra flooded the earth in front of her, it seemed to rust and weaken. It stayed in place, but quite obviously it was physically different going out. When she was satisfied the jutsu had begun and would continue, Aina straightened up with a rock in hand from the ground. She threw it, causing it to skip across the ground almost like it was skipping across water. Only everywhere it touched the ground began to disintegrate and eventually the rock was pulled under with it.

"Hiding in the earth even is impossible once this jutsu is cast. Its worse than quick sand... I still remember that guy's creepy face as he was pulled under it when I used it." Aina shook her head and turned to look at Kiyori. "I don't use this in spars even, never unless my intent is to kill. Like I said, I've only used it the one time really... there's a darkness to this I don't like, but I've been told to teach you."

Jutsu UsedShow

*[The Earth that Weeps]
S-Ranked Sankaton Ninjutsu
Prerequisite: 35 Control, 38 Stamina
After doing the needed hand seals, the ninja places both of their hands on the ground. Then, by flooding Sankaton chakra into the ground, they cause the ground to start to rust, weakening it and making it unstable. If any new pressure is created on the ground after a post after this jutsu has been started, the ground will give way immediately, causing the target to 'fall' through the ground. Due to the new structure of the ground, normal ways of trying to escape won't work, since it acts more like quick sand, rather than ground. Those that try to use a form of Mole Hiding will find that it doesn't work, as the rust inside the ground prevents it from being used for any traction at all. This corrosion process starts from the ninja that used it and travels 20 meters each post, until it reaches 80 meters, total.

[TyDie]

Kiyori was still in the process of recovering from the sudden speed of Aina's rush as the Bannin explained the necessity of her speed... Wait, BANNIN!? "Takeo... neglected to mention... you were promoted. Jeez, what else have I missed? It hasn't been that long... has it?" Kiyori couldn't help but feel time had flown by so fast, just the other day she was here helping Konoha rebuild... Then she was here with Kazekage Hito, and now she was hear learning how to use Sankaton. So much in what felt like such a short time... the topic moved on to sankaton itself, and already Aina was being incredibly cautious about the hidden Konoha style. Kiyori abided her instructions and got behind Aina, listening carefully to all she had to say before she performed the jutsu in question.

She waited silently, breath stuck in her throat and fear already building as she prepared herself for whatever Aina was about to do. However, no matter how much she prepared, she wasn't ready for what Aina did. It was as if the earth itself had been... destroyed, but not? Like, everything under the earth was just disintegrated. All it took was the pressure of a single rock for the earth itself to give way, and a nearby tree lost all grip on the earth as the ground around it's roots were eroded away. In fact, the roots themselves seemed to vanish entirely, as the tree fell over there was nothing beneath it but loose dirt. And it was still going, expanding out further and further with each passing second.

Kiyori could scarcely believe her eyes... "Such destruction... is it really necessary? It seems so... wrong. So unnatural. Why would I be given the ability to use something so callous, so dangerous? Could this really be a part of my blessing? It seems more like a curse..." She dropped to her knees and clutched at her head as she spoke, unable to come to terms with the power that she supposedly had access to now. To think that such a power existed at all was horrific, who on earth would have conceived such a style?

[Willoria]

Honestly Aina hadn't really been filled in much on the 'why' for teaching Kiyori Sankaton. She had been given an order and so followed it without really asking. But she hadn't missed the ways Kiyori had changed as well, including her new tattoos that seemed to behave rather strangely. Because of all of this, while she was expecting a strong reaction from Kiyori, she wasn't expecting what happened at all. She watched her friend a moment, a look of confusion crossing her face as Kiyori seemed almost on the verge of some kind of breakdown, at the least on the verge of tears. She listened carefully to what her friend said, pieces coming together in her own mind before she moved to kneel beside Kiyori. "I'd like to think its never necessary." she replied quietly. "But even I have had to resort to this technique once before. I had to weigh the life, death, and torment of one man against an entire town he was terrorizing with genjutsu I couldn't even come close to getting through. I had to end the fight fast, and without getting close. This was the only thing I knew and I'd be lying if I said I didn't have nightmares about it every night for a long while."

Aina shifted so she wasn't on her knees, instead sitting beside Kiyori with one leg tucked under her, the other stretched out behind the woman as she rest a hand on her shoulder. "I admit, I don't know what you're talking about. But in my experience power is as much a curse as it is a blessing, for reasons like this. There are going to be times where a hard decision may be called for, and you have to be able to make it, to take swift and decisive action. It may even be something that haunts you for your life. But power requires you to be able to cope with it. Lives may depend on you for it, and no matter how much you may hate yourself for it you have to look at the lives you saved in using it." If Kiyori would let her, Aina would pull be woman against her and just wrap her arms around her, holding her. She knew Kiyori was a bubbly sort, rather naive in the Bannin's eyes. And she even knew this might be the first thing she learned that was truly destructive at every level. This jutsu was more execution that battle, and for someone like Kiyori it could be haunting.

[TyDie]

Kiyori felt the hand on her shoulder, and took a sharp breath in response, clearly still on edge and in a bit of a panic as a result of what she had just witnessed. What she would no doubt inevitably be able to do... But the things Aina had to say, about this power being both a curse and a blessing, about needing to weigh the lives of few against the lives of many... These were things she knew she would have to get used to. She had already started the Vault Archivist, headed by her bodyguard Arata, to handle the more controversial situations and problems that arise in and outside of Suna. And if she wanted to become Kazekage, it would only get worse... she had to come to terms with it, and she had to do it now.

Still, the comforting touch of Aina was what helped most of all. Her arms around her helped to calm her down, and with a few deep breaths Kiyori was back to normal. Her hand came up to rest on Aina's wrist, gripping softly as a show of her comfort and appreciation. However, she knew it couldn't last forever, so eventually she worked herself back to her feet. She took another look at the destruction caused by Aina's sankaton, still stretching out and enveloping earth as it spread... Another deep breath, followed by Kiyori turning to look at her friend, before she explained herself. "So Takeo didn't explain my situation huh? Well, it's best if I just show you then..." Kiyori took a deep breath and closed her eyes, putting her hands together as if praying. Upon doing so, her tattoos would begin to glow vibrantly with a golden luminescence, emitting a soft warmth alongside her bright light. Her body was still clearly visible, but the tattoos let out small bits of her golden chakra, which would also certainly draw the attention of Aina's Byakugan.

She'd conclude with a sheepish smile in Aina's direction, holding her hands in front of her hips adorably. "I'll gloss over the details of how it happened, but I seem to have gained the ability to manipulate light; Hiton. And in addition to that,I can also produce that fine red haze that you performed just now... Sankaton. The conversation I had with Takeo and Fanho, was in relation to these abilities that I have. I didn't choose them... they chose me. I was blessed by Her Light, Aina. And I must learn to use these powers for the betterment of both of our villages... Both of my homes. That's why I needed to see this for myself... And I need you to teach me how to use it. Fanho is teaching me Hiton, but he doesn't know Sankaton, and Takeo obviously knows how much I value our friendship. So it was only natural he went to you. Now... with that said, can you show me something entry level? Something small, easy to start with? I'd like to try my own hand at this 'sankaton' ninjutsu. I think it'll be the best way to come to terms with it."

Kiyori was still a bit uneased by the idea of producing such power herself, but she couldn't let herself falter any more. She needed to face these challenges head on, for the sake of making life for her people better... Both for Suna, and for Konoha.

[Willoria]

Aina would of course release Kiyori as the woman moved away to stand. Aina stood with her, hands in her pockets as Kiyori began to explain things, or rather, to show her. Aina's active Byakugan watched in careful detail as the tattoos lit up and Aina couldn't help tilting her head a bit. Honestly it was fascinating to watch, seeing the way her chakra system lit up. "You know, Kiyori, I'm not sure even you've realized just how this has changed you." she remarked quietly, looking the other woman up and down from head to toe more than once. "Your entire chakra system remains the same, but its as if there a second laid over the top and within it all. It's... frankly its fascinating. Especially as someone that sees mundane chakra systems all day every day. Yours is..." she didn't want to admit it, but she could stand there all day examining Kiyori's chakra system in and out. She was even tempted to ask, but she bit her tongue and turned her attention back to the situation at hand rather than just the woman.

"I'll show you one of the safest ones. There are a couple of basic ones that work wonders but can be very dangerous to the user as well as the target. So we'll start with something much simpler." Aina reached up to her vest and opened one of the scroll pockets, two kunai falling into her hand from it. One of them she offered to Kiyori, waiting for her to take it before shifting the other in her hand to ready a throw. "The concept is simple. Coat it in the Sankaton chakra, and throw. As a result the Sankaton is actually going to make contact with your target first." Aina paused, chewing on her lip a moment as she twirled the kunai in her hand. "Sadly even at lower levels this is lethal. Strike an enemy in the heart with this... well, it'll be over quick at least."

Aina formed her hand seals before throwing the weapon at a nearby tree that hadn't been in the devastation performed before. Though the kunai struck with a familiar 'thunk', there was also an erosion that seemed to radiate out from where the weapon hit.

Jutsu UsedShow

*[Corroding Hearts]
D-Ranked Sankaton Ninjutsu
After doing the needed hand seals, the ninja covers a small projectile in Sankaton chakra. Whenever the projectile hits a target, the sankaton will strike first, eroding the material it strikes, essentially increasing the power of the kunai by 5 strength.

[TyDie]

Kiyori took a deep breath as Aina agreed to move on to a much weaker technique, one that would hopefully be less destructive than the technique Aina had lead off with... which was still going. But that was unimportant at the moment, the important thing was to learn how to use this style effectively, properly and somewhat safely. However, before that, she came to the realization that Aina might actually be able to examine her power in ways that her fellow Sunagakure shinobi could not. "You know, that's actually a very astute observation Aina-san. Back home, my people were unable to understand the intricacies of what happened to me. They were able to disprove that it had any relation to Tenkujutsu, or spirits at all for that matter. But other than that? They couldn't tell me anything other then what it did. But your eyes... you can see my chakra. Maybe you, or another Hyuuga, can tell me what's going on with me later."

The thought that the Hyuuga could give her a deeper examination with their eyes, one that might reveal the truth behind her newfound power, was something to look forward to. But in the meantime, she'd have to focus on this jutsu if she wanted to learn anything. Aina began by withdrawing a Kunai for both her and Kiyori, and Kiyori accepted hers with a smile, holding it in her right hand while she watched Aina perform the jutsu, and explain what it did. "Alright... I think I get the jist of it. Coat the weapon in this odd chakra, then use it like any other kunai. Pretty standard stuff... Let me give it a shot." Kiyori took in a deep breath before holding the Kunai out in front of her, placing her other hand against the back of the blade while she closed her eyes and drew upon the power within her.

Golden chakra surged around her body for a moment, and this chakra flowed through her body before surrounding the kunai in her hand. As it did so, the color of her chakra suddenly shifted from golden yellow to a rustic red as it surrounded the blade and tip of the Kunai. Then, with a deep breath, she tossed the kunai out towards a nearby rock. As the kunai impacted the rock, it seemed to slide deep into the rock; far deeper than her strength should have allowed. "So it's true then... The sankaton chakra literally eroded part of the rock, allowing the Kunai to slip much father into it than it should've. Against a person, that could let my weapon slip just far enough through their armor that... well, you said it first. It'd be over quick."

Kiyori turned back to Aina, a serious look on her face as she understood now just what this power could do. She needed to take it seriously, Aina was right; this was not the kind of thing meant for a spar. "Okay Aina, what's next?"

-------------------------------
503/400 words for D rank "Sankaton Coating" jutsu

[Willoria]

Honestly Aina wasn't used to seeing such a seriousness from Kiyori, but at the same time she wasn't entirely shocked from it. It was different, that was certain, but Aina had learned a long time ago that no matter how carefree, every shinobi had a serious side. Though in this case the switch reminded her of Fanho. The boy was so happy go lucky, but she had heard how he was in a real fight, it was quite a difference. Of course, this only made her chuckle to herself. If someone were to see him with a girl he liked, the difference was even worse, comical even. "Something else, hm?" She had started Kiyori off with the simplest she could think of, having no experience with the other woman's chakra control. She wanted to make sure she gave her something to start that, if something went wrong, it was less likely to end up with one or both of them seriously hurt. Now that she had seen for herself however the level of control Kiyori maintained, she was far less worried.

"This one is a bit more complicated if you slip up, so be cautious." she explained before forming the necessary handseals and gathering the chakra in her mouth. Turning her attention to the tree again, now a stump, she gathered the chakra in her mouth and suddenly seemed to spit something at it. The ball of sankaton she had formed flew forward and impacted hard, eroding away at the tree as it went.

Jutsu UsedShow

*[Rust Bullet]
D-Ranked Sankaton Ninjutsu
After doing the needed hand seals, the ninja gathers Sankaton chakra in their mouth, creating a blob of rust. After spitting it out, it grows to a .5x.5.x5 meter diameter ball that travels at a speed of 5, up to 20 yards away, reducing anything it strikes with 5 strength.