View Full Version : Lost In Hyouga (Open)
OOC: Closed Until Tybre or AdamZero shows up.
IC:
Damn snow.
Zau had arrived at the base of the Hyougan mountain range. Normally, he'd simply walk up the side of the nearly vertical slope using Kinobori. Not today, though. It was raining, making the slope difficult to navigate upon. He had to constantly switch between focusing Kinobori and Suimen, and Zau found the practice to be inefficient.
Tamesis was riding in his usual spot, the inside of Zau's shirt. The Armadillo had found it too cold to sleep, and so, much to his dismay, had realized that he had to be conscious through the entire trip.
Zau had wrapped his left arm in the last small settlement he found before he reached the mountain. By now, the wound was closing, but the bandages had gotten soaked. And so, Zau's job of wrapping his arm was rendered useless. More than once, the cuts on his arm had opened up as he made his way up the mountain.
Feeling that he absolutely HAD to get over the mountain soon, Zau chose to take a shortcut through a forest of sorts.
What a shitty idea.
He was lost. To put it plainly.
Zau had walked for half a day, at least, before he realized that if his "shortcut" had truly been a shortcut, he would have seen a road by now. Instead, tree after snow covered tree.
I hate this damn country. The whole thing. Someone needs to burn it all to the ground. And then demolish the mountains. Turn this whole country into a massive lake. Much better use of the land, that way.
His eyes were grey. He had activated his bloodline long ago, and, though he could feel it ebbing away at his strength, he would stop every now and then to meditate, allowing his chakra to return.
His last stop, however, had been about two hours ago. He was too busy trying to find his way out of the forest to take the time to relax. Earlier, he had climbed a tree to try and find a way out...he had seen nothing but more trees, sloping upward.
And now, he was walking once again. Beneath him, snow crunched and seemed as if it might melt should he stay in one spot too soon. But Zau couldn't do that.
------
THREE HOURS LATER
"It's...fu...fu...it's REALLY...cold."
He had managed to walk further up the mountain, he knew that. But, unfortunately, he could no longer meditate, since it was too cold to stop moving. His chakra was running out. Tamesis had long since hid himself deep in Zau's shirt. The genin could feel his companion shivering against his chest.
With a grunt, Zau fell down to all fours.
"I...can't do...this...too...cold."
Zau crawled over to a tree, one that seemed to offer at least a little bit of protection from the freezing rain. Zau laid down in the snow, his body heat and bloodline melting the snow around him, only to reveal permafrost below him. Zau cursed his luck and fought sleep, but found it impossible to resist. He fell into a deep sleep, Tamesis shivering under his right arm as Zau assumed the fetal position.
I need help.
AdamZero
09-10-2008, 03:38
Bloody pirates...
Renshi mumbled as he walked through a Hyougan forest. He had tried to tail the girl... Miku... out of Konoki, but through a misunderstanding had ended up taking a boat all the way to a North Hyuogan port. Not at all eager to venture another ferry run, he decided it best to just go through the pass and endure the cold. It might help him strengthen up for the chuunin exams.
He was wearing a heavier coat than he normally would be. It made his arms a bit harder to move. Thank the diplomats for peace time. He smiled as he walked across the snow, rather, glided. He was oddly adept with Suimon. He was glad, it meant he didn't have to be in contact with the water as much as he might have to later in his life.
It also meant crossing long treks of snow covered landscape a breeze; until the storms hit.
He was practically dashing at full speed perpendicular to the rain's path. He was running until a sudden sound, like the riff on a guitar, echo'd through the rain then something gleaming of gold shot across his field of vision. He turned to see a kunai carved of stone imbedded in a tree. A piece of paper was rolled around its handle. He took the paper and the kunai dissolved into sand.
He didn't bother looking for the Armadillo Ninja who'd made the effort to travel here and deliver the message.
He read over the text, his eyes going wide as he swore. Tariel read the words, recognizing the pattern as a sort of language his people used. The ancient humans called it cuneiform. The series of indentations and lines made a complex pattern.
The long and short was that the Vassal Zaulyl and his armadillo comrade Tamesis were lost in the mountains close to the area. They would rescue the boy themselves, but his physical condition was too weak for a summoning transfer without risking death.
"Guess its up to me...." He sighed.
Running off into the rain. He filled his ears with chakra, trying to push out the sound of the rain.
"ZAUYLYL!!!!" he roared into the rain.
"TAMESIS!!!!" Tariel shrieked into the dark around them.
Tamesis woke up long before Zau. Faintly, he could hear two familiar voices coming from the South-East. Tariel? Renshi?
The armadillo left his secure nest under Zau's arm and looked back at the genin. The snow around him had completely melted by now, but his heat had turned off a while ago. And, as a result, the fresh water had frozen his clothing and some of his skin to the ground. As long as Zau didn't struggle when he woke up, he should be able to melt it...but that was if he woke up.
I don't THINK there's any big baddies around here...too cold for reptiles, and I don't think any self respecting mammal would leave his cave during this weather...he'll be fine.
With that, Tamesis left his partner behind, waddling in the direction of the voices.
"TARIEL! RENSHI! TARIEEEEEEEEL!!!!"
AdamZero
09-10-2008, 05:41
tariel...
Renshi's ears caught the echoing cry of an armadillo.
TAMESIS! He thought.
Running full tilt, he soon saw the tiny creature, not stopping, he scooped up the tiny guy and set him next to Tariel.
The little armadillo's tracks were mostly straight, so it was an easy line to follow to...
"ZAULYL!" Renshi yelled, falling to his knees as he landed just before the frozen boy.
Profanities of various dialects ran over Renshi's mind as he looked Zaulyl over. Okay. He had to be calm. He had a first aid kit. There should be something to melt ice or something. He looked through, and sure enough there was a strange packet labeled for treating frostbite. In red, common tongue, letters were the words "THIS WILL HURT"
Renshi ripped the packet open and poured the salty looking powder on the places where the other Rikuhi-nin's skin was looking in dreadful need of a warm fire. Renshi knew there was a small cabin nearby. Hyouga's ninja had set up various outposts in case people got lost. It wasn't manned, but there should be provisions.
When it looked safe to pick Zaulyl up, Renshi waited a minute to be sure, the young messy haired youth picked up the scarred fellow vassal.
"I swear, you owe me for this..." Renshi growled as he started carrying the boy toward the outpost. It was faint in the distance. If Zaulyl had maybe taken a left a few trees back...
The cold wasn't getting to him, but the rain was making his brain foggy.
Zau woke up in a warm bed, the side of his face and several other parts along his left side burning.
Burning?
He examined his skin. Bright red. I froze?
A quick look around the room revealed much. He was in an outpost. Outside, he could still hear the rain pounding down on the structure. Hekiken was sitting next to him, Tamesis curled up on the other side. Across the room, Zau saw a familiar face, one he welcomed in this unforgiving land.
"Renshi!"
Zau tried to sit up, but fell to his left as he put weight on the arm. He looked down at his newest wound, received in a spar against someone named Sash. Sash was also a member of Doutaini, like Zau, and actually was one of the founding members.
Sash's edged chain had wrapped around Zau's left arm, the blades cutting deep into his flesh. They left a circular wound, starting at Zau's wrist, winding it's way down to his elbow. Still not strong enough to put weight on it. I gotta take it easy with this arm. Otherwise, I'll end up REALLY crippling it.
Zau let himself lay back and removed his headband from around his neck. It was now sewn into a white silk cloth, with the kanji for "Together" on either side of the headband. It was the symbol of Doutaini, an organization set up in opposition to missing nin, that Zau had entered. He tossed the headband onto his stomach.
"I have news for the Clan."
OOC: In your next post, go ahead and pretend an hour or so has passed, during which Zau would have told Renshi about his joining Doutaini, what the org is, etc.
AdamZero
10-10-2008, 00:17
Renshi had smiled when Zaulyl had woken up. He had gotten enough wood from a store box connected to the outpost they would be fine. He had been in a meditative stance, while Tariel slept next to Tamesis to keep him warm.
"News?" Renshi asked.
As Zaulyl further explained, Renshi had to laugh.
"Joining a group like that... when you ran amok and had a fight in the village... yeah I heard. Word travels." He shook his head. "What was that about anyway? I won't question the video store... but the ice cream guy? Too much and you're gonna get on somebody's list. The Hikage isn't acting like he should..."
He sighed as the rain seemed to be coming down just as hard. They had to be right under the low pressure center. The feeling wasn't exactly pleasing. It was almost like his brain was trying to expand when there wasn't room for it.
"So where on the same team for the Chuunin exams...I caught a sight of a list while I was in Konoki..."
"Yea...funny story. I was hungry...and I was playing around. I didn't actually think he'd run.
In any case, I paid him back a few days later."
Zau nodded in agreement to the mention of the Hikage. Something had been off. Actually, Zau had never really felt safe in his village since the attack on Rikuhi. Which was partially why he lived in a cave now.
Zau smiled and thrust his left arm into the air as he heard the news about the chuunin exams, a movement he soon regretted.
"Son-of-a-bitch, that hurts!
Haha! With you and me on the same team, we should clean up nicely. They won't know what hit 'em.
Oh...and do you happen to know who else is on the team?"
Zau slowly lowered his arm, taking a mental note to not use that particular arm for a while.
I should have had it healed back in TSU's hospital wing. Oh well. Too late now.
AdamZero
10-10-2008, 02:27
"Don't move, madman..." Renshi sighed. At the question he shrugged. "Someone named Angelyn... the name sounds familiar... not sure though. Could be one of the newbies who just got out, guess her sensei thinks she's got the jones to keep up with us. My sensei is overseeing us though. He's the one who led the counter attack during the invasion."
His eyes widened.
"I never told you 'bout that, did I? It was the first mission my team did together... actually... it was the only one... Kazvar's gone off into deep training... and well..." he sighed. "My other teammate I think is stepping down from the ninja life... it wasn't her way really..."
"Angelyn? Never heard of 'er."
Zau started flexing his left hand. He had mobility in his fingers, however little it might be. He wouldn't be able to fight until he got that healed. His ears perked up at the mention of Renshi's sensei.
"Yasuragi Ken. I've met him. He taught me Kai.
I'm not surprised that he led the attack. He seemed strong when me and Kuroda fought him. Then again...we WERE just a few genin. Nothing like what we are now, and certainly no where near his level.
"
Zau reminisced over that spar, so long ago. His bloodline had activated for the first time during that fight. He remembered being so scared, so terrified of the rising heat around him. He remembered fire. Lots of fire. Explosions everywhere...his body seemed to fail him over and over again during that match.
"Anyways...you aren't the only one who had team troubles. I had to track down my sensei myself and order HIM to teach me Kinobori and Suimen. And I've only met one of my team members once, the other, twice. Aku...last I heard, was home, doing probably the same thing as you and I. Nakito, though...she's dropped off the map."
Zau shook his head, ridding himself of the bad memories. He turned to a lighter subject, the future.
"Can you believe it? We made it! Nawanuke, Kinobori, Suimen, Genjutsu Kai...we did it all. And now, we're almost Chuunin!
AdamZero
11-10-2008, 15:58
Renshi rubbed his chin, mild concern in the back of his head. "That's not good at all.... Rikuhi is too scattered... we need to unify... to unite... something to bring all the ninja of Rikuhi together. Not like a festival or something... ah... another tournament... but only for Rikuhians... I know there are some Rikuhi-nin who aren't as prominent for their rank as guys like us, but there there... I've seen enough of em...."
At Zau's determination, Renshi flashed a mad grin. "We'll rise up and take hold of destiny. Even if that means we have to beat each other down. No hate?" He asked the boy walking over and offering a hand. "For Rikuhi."
"If a bit of friendly blood is what it takes, then so be it. Rikuhi WILL come out of this slump we've gotten ourselves into. Even if we have to fight every single Kage simultaneously to do it, or every missing nin all at once, it doesn't matter. We HAVE to win."
Zau made certain only to raise his right arm this time. His left remained on the bed, staining the sheets red with blood from his newly opened wounds. His hand met Renshi's, and Zau met the other genin with a fierce look in his eye.
If it comes down to it...I'll beat down anyone I have to. No one, Rikuhuu or Satin, Konoi or Hyougaan, Nagarian or Missing, will stand in my way.
"For Rikuhi."
Zau released his grip and turned towards Tamesis. The armadillo was still snoozing, a habit Zau would have to break once he had time to think. At the moment, everything was too hectic, with the exams coming up, words about an organization of swordsmen and swordswomen that Zau was interested in, Doutaini, the Armadillos, Zau's OWN clan politics, not to mention the vast amount of work Zau needed to put in if he was ever to become ANBU...At the very least, Zau couldn't start Tamesis' real training until after the chuunin exams.
Zau broke his train of thought and looked up at Renshi.
"I feel sorry for anyone who gets in our way. Slashed, smashed, burned, buried, stabbed, and slammed. Plus, whatever that Angelyn girl has to offer. No one's gonna stand a chance."
AdamZero
11-10-2008, 21:14
"You forgot exploded." Renshi grinned almost manically. "We-ARUGH!" He crouched low as a fierce migraine shot through his skull.
----
"...But he's just a child!" a woman's voice.
"He's going to be a ninja, there's no resisting that." A man's voice.
"Why... you chose a path free of battle." the woman again.
"Free of battle?" The man laughed, the woman shuddered, though he couldn't see Renshi knew she was. "I fought for everything I have. I fought for my clan's respect. I fought for my knowledge. I fought for my freedom to conduct my work without limits!"
"Clan...what are you talking about?!"
"Ah right... haha I never told you or even the Hikage about that... ah I cover my tracks so well I oft forget they lay behind me."
"Masaki what ar-"
------
The migraine... the vision... passed, and Renshi sat cross legged on the floor, silently offering Zaulyl the bandages from his first aid kit before leaning back and laying out on the floor.
Zau raised his eyebrow as he accepted the bandages from Renshi. Mental and physical complications were common in the world of the shinobi. Few ever got through battles without injuries. Zau was living proof of that. But he had never seen this sort of thing from Renshi.
I should ask him about it later. He seems kind of out of it at the moment...this better not interfere with the exams, Renshi.
Zau started wrapping his arm, watching his friend all the while.
Why do I get the feeling that this is the start of something that will earn me more scars?
Zau put the event out of his mind and laid down, feeling that the conversation was over. He soon fell asleep, losing himself in a dream in which he faced an army of clones. This time was different though. Usually, the army never ended. This time, he found himself finally victorious.
I did it...
--------2 Hours Later--------
Zau woke from his slumber. Noticing a chill in the room, along with the restoration of most of his strength, Zau found it prudent to activate his bloodline. As he swung his legs out of bed, taking care to only put pressure on his right arm as he pushed himself up, his eyes lost their brown color. The grey of the sky just before it rains replaced the warm brown color.
He could feel the temperature increase almost instantly. Being in an enclosed space helped his bloodline take effect, it seemed.
I learn more and more everyday about this...speaking of learning more and more...
Zau didn't actually search for Renshi, simply kept looking out a window. He was fairly sure that he wasn't alone, though, since he couldn't see Renshi leaving Zau all by himself while he was asleep...though Renshi HAD been acting strangely earlier.
"Renshi...about earlier...do you wanna talk about it? Kinda weird...even for us."
AdamZero
11-10-2008, 22:10
"Memory... about my father..." He held a hand over his face. "Is it warm in here or is it just me?" He looked at Zau and noticed his eyes had changed. "Bloodline?" He asked, almost laughing. "Geez... that'll help in the exam, no lies there... still." He stood up and the amulet gleamed like fire. He felt his legs surge with power. He made a few broad kicks, and moved around at a speed a bit faster than his normal footwork.
Something sparked inside the amulet, and it seemed to glow a bit brighter. Renshi didn't know it, but the gem's effect was spreading. He set his foot down back on the ground and he smled.
Zau smiled as the gem glowed.
"Yup, bloodline. You've already noticed the effects...it comes with a little something extra, though. Addiction. It's horrible. But yea, it should help out a bit, considering the country we'll be fighting in. Almost as much as a magic amulet will help."
Zau swung his left arm back and forth. He could feel his wounds crack as they opened yet again, but Zau couldn't afford to have any immobility at any moment.
"Do me a favor though, and keep it secret. I have enough to worry about without some village deciding my body is "valuable". The armadillo's are the only ones I want to know about this."
AdamZero
14-10-2008, 03:15
"Addiction? How..." Renshi stopped himself. "You know what, I don't wanna know."
He stretched and looked outside. Dawn was coming, and with it a gap in the storm.
"We should probably head out soon... get you back home to a medic, or maybe stop by a manned Hyougan outpost on our way out." He stood up, yawning. "I want to look into things... prolly won't find out much..."
--2 Hours Later--
Fresh bandages and the results of an outpost-nin's med-jutsu had healed Zaulyl's arm, but the delay in receiving aid would case the wounds to scar. Renshi wondered if the young man would grow into one massive scar...
The border between Rikuhi and Hyuoga game into view, and Renshi smiled at Zaulyl. "Want to stop by my place? I've got some stuff I want to check there, plants and stuff."
Zau's arms itched, and he could see the red sore spots where it would scar over. It probably wasn't good for Zau to be walking around so soon after being healed, but then again, he had never been one for safety.
"Sounds good. I'm afraid I won't be able to stay long though. I need to get back to business before the exams start up."
Zau followed Renshi back to his place thinking over his experiences all the way.
First Ken...then Ako...and Rin too...and now, Sash...the list of scar-givers gets bigger and bigger.
And the scars are never safe...I've almost died from three of them...and it killed me to get that one from Rin.
Eventually, I'm gonna start fighting things that do much worse than what I've had to deal with thusfar.
I hope I'm ready.
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