Fighting a Mirror

[Kogami Ayumu]

His attack had not gone entirely as planned. He meant to exude enough force to simply bump Kazuma in to Shimete without doing any real harm, but something went wrong. Before his kick even connected, the girl had fallen to the ground and was crying out. It was too late to pull back his attack, unfortunately, as his foot collided with Kazuma's back knocking him forward and nearly forcing him to land on Shimete. Thankfully the boy managed to twist out of the way. 'Oops... did I go too far? But I was holding back! Wait, that's not right, I never even touched her,' he thought as he stared down at Shimete and Kazuma. Unbeknownst to him, Kahako was preparing to attack behind him. Ayumu was more focused on the wolf that suddenly jumped out of the bushes, growling. His hand instinctively shot towards the hilt of his sword, prepared to strike, but he quickly understood what was happening. The wolf was protecting Shimete from him, this was her companion. He released his sword and took a relaxed stance, putting up his hand.

"Whoa, boy, I'm not gonna hurt her," he said to reassure the creature, which he doubted understood him. He hoped his body language would express what his words might not manage to. Kazuma, not getting up from the ground, voiced their surrender. It wasn't truly necessary, Shimete was clearly incapacitated somehow, there was no way Ayumu was going to keep attacking. This wasn't a real battle. Suddenly, from behind, Ayumu heard a sudden shout of confusion and then a scream that was just downright cute. He turned in time to see Kahako and probably get out of the way, but that would leave her crashing in to the wolf as well as possibly Shimete and Kazuma. Instead, he rooted his feet firmly to the ground and caught her, spinning around and falling in the opposite direction instead.

Ayumu fell with a thud on his back, Kahako joining him on top. In typical anime fashion, when the pair opened their eyes they found their faces not but a couple inches from each other. Their faces turned a matching red before Kahako quickly jumped up, putting some distance between herself and Ayumu. Meanwhile, Ayumu had felt something briefly against him which gave him a hint at to what was actually different about Kahako. He stole a quick glance for confirmation and then looked away once again, cheeks still burning. He could say something later, or perhaps he wouldn't. He wasn't sure yet if doing so would endanger his life. Maybe he had just simply missed the fact when they met before. That wasn't important right now. "You alright?" he said briefly. He heard her response, but the cry of pain from Shimete snatched his attention back. He quickly stood up and trotted over to Kazuma and Shimete where he tried to get a look at whatever had befallen Shimete. "What happened? What's wrong?" he asked, wondering why Kazuma didn't seem terribly concerned. Maybe it was just some dirt that had gotten in her eye. Ayumu had no idea.

 

[Ryu Hime]

Shimete’s eye was not the only thing that was in pain. Now her entire body felt like senbon being stabbed into her body. She then changes from a kneeling position to the fetal position. The sound of bones snapping out of their sockets and going back in place emanated from her body. She was going through a transformation and it was a painful one. Her teeth became like razor and her nails became claws. Ayumu was allowed to come closer, but not close enough to touch. Kirito didn’t even allow Kazuma to come in touching range.

Kazuma felt a little helpless for he wanted to help Shimete, but can’t get close. He had no idea how to calm Kirito. Only Shimete was able to command him to do anything and even then rarely did. Kazuma with a lack of any idea turns to Ayumu, “What’s going on? Is she alright? How hard did you hit her and when?”

Kirito was doing what had to be done. Shimete had to go through this alone and unaided. He even closed his mind to her. A child of the Moro must go through this and not all survive, but those who do always come out stronger. When Shimete’s cries of pain finally stopped he gives out a howl

A voice was heard only by her: a voice in her mind. It was a woman’s voice coarse and deep. I see you are different from the rest of my children, but I sense the spirit of the wolf strong within you. Shimete sits up and looks around. Was she near? I welcome you my child and know that I shall always be watching over you. As Shimete sits their silent, Kirito allow Ayumu and Kazuma to do as they pleased.

 

[Shinrya Kahako]

Kahako hopped away from Ayumu immediately after she gathered her bearings. Flushed fully red, she looked at Ayumu and had the unfortunate chance to catch his glance… at her chest. A small, insecure groan came from her throat as she pulled her hood over her head and covered her eyes with it. He finally noticed what was different about her.

However, the screams and bone popping from Shimete clicked Kahako completely out of the thoughts she liked to dilly dally in. Walking quickly, she took a step from the already upright Ayumu to see that they all were being stopped from a very vicious dog.

Being a medic for a village full of shinobi gave Kahako access to many medical conditions, both natural and unnatural. From the puppy protecting her and the visual transformation Shimete was going through, Kahako was quick to deduce what was going on. She placed her hand lightly on Kazuma’s shoulder. “It’s okay, Kazuma-kun, this is natural for Shimete-chan’s bloodline.” But that was about all the comforting Kahako could put in, because as soon as Kahako started talking, Shimete's screams subsided.

Kahako held her breath until the very moment Shimete sat up. The mortality rate of Inuzuka was too damn high in her opinion. She rushed to Shimete's side as soon as her canine companion allowed it. “Woah, easy there, Shimete-chan, your body just went through some pretty stressful stuff!” Kahako grabbed Shimete's hand and inspected her new nails along with feeling out the bones in her hand. Sometimes, something wouldn’t grow in right. “It was a seamless transformation. Nothing seems out of place. I am sure your clan will be proud to know.” All outward appearance on Shimete looked fine, and Shimete seemed more interested with what was in the forest instead of her body. Kahako smiled brightly at the girl, relieved that she was going to be okay. “Welcome to the Inuzuka clan Shimete-chan.”

[MFT: 317]

 

[Kogami Ayumu]

Ayumu watched the transformation in Shimete taking place before him, completely confused as to what was happening. He wanted to help, of course, but at the same time he didn't want to touch her in case it would somehow add to her pain. Something was changing in the young girl, he could hear bones realigning with sickening sound effects accompanying. More telling, upon closer inspection of her teeth, which he could see as she was baring them in pain, one could see that they were becoming noticeably sharper and the canines in particular was growing. Inspecting her nails, they were growing sharper and longer as well, more like claws. These were the hallmark traits of a certain bloodline, and one could guess that it was related to what was occurring with Shimete at that moment.

Kazuma, clearly worried and possibly beginning to panic at the sight of his friend in agony, turned to Ayumu for answers. "I doubt this is the result of anything that happened today," Ayumu said in response, Kahako providing information that confirmed his theory. Still, he wasn't sure that it was entirely natural. Did all Inuzuka go through this? Perhaps there was something different about her. Many shinobi's abilities could be traced to a particular bloodline, but not all sharing a bloodline had the same experiences. They were old bloodlines and over time they had been spread out, changing little by little resulting in variations even within those sharing the same bloodline abilities. While some might be born with their abilities, others might go through transformations like this as a result of some other stimuli awakening the changes. That was Ayumu's theory anyway.

At last, Shimete ceased her squirming and she let out a howl sounding a bit like a wolf. She sat up and immediately Kahako rushed over to ensure that she took it easy and didn't injure herself somehow. She began inspecting the girl to ensure that everything was in place, speaking about her clan being proud. Ayumu wondered if she was actually from a clan of Inuzuka or one of many who carried the blood dormantly only to reveal it when seemingly nobody else in their family did. Regardless, he was glad that the girl was fine, or at least seemed to be despite her silence. Even if she was fine, she had gone through something dramatic and it was probably best that she not exert herself further.

"Well, you don't see that every day. You should probably go home and rest. Maybe go with her just in case, Kazuma," Ayumu suggested, knowing that there would be no more sparring that day.

 

[Ryu Hime]

Shimete tries to get up but a sharp pain runs down her legs and she falls back onto the ground again. Kazuma had a good idea what was going on at this point and offers Shimete to climb onto his back. Shimete did not particularly like the idea of having her master give her a piggy back ride, but her options weird quite limited. With Shimete on his back Kazuma stand up and say, “Well it was nice meeting you both. Too bad the spar was cut short.” He then walks off with Shimete giving him directions.
[left topic]

 

[Shinrya Kahako]

Kahako watched Kazuma and Shimete leave. Shimete would be fine with just some simple rest. However, that left her alone with Ayumu, which wasn’t exactly good either. She formed a small blush as she remembered what he noticed about her earlier. She wrapped her arms around her middle. Now that they were alone (Sasayo seemingly disappearing from all existence), maybe she would bring it up. “It was an experiment gone wrong.” She said, hugging her middle a little tighter and blushing. “The thing that’s different about me. My… ah, my sensei’s experiment, not mine. I mean, I knew what it was supposed to do. I just didn't expect it to... go as well as it did.” She wanted to dig herself into her grave. Maybe she shouldn’t have said anything at all. Now it was out in the open and she couldn’t just take it back. Higa Kahako, master at digging holes for herself.

 

[Kogami Ayumu]

Shimete couldn't seem to stand without assistance. Fortunately, Kazuma was there to provide it. With some reluctance, Shimete climbed upon Kazuma's back and held on as he stood up, lifting her from the ground. He was a seemingly strong boy, so Ayumu didn't think he would have any trouble carrying her. Of course, it was slightly worrisome that a blind boy was going to be carrying her home, but with her eyes and his legs Ayumu figured they would be fine. Kazuma said farewell and turned to leave, as expected Shimete giving him directions. "See ya. Don't trip," he said, waving as they walked off. This left him and Kahako alone.

Ayumu turned to her, and immediately was reminded of what he had noticed moments ago. There was noticeable growth in her chest since the last time they had met. Not that he was purposely keeping tabs on the size of her chest, but that was not something that just went unnoticed. Especially not for a guy. His eyes slowly began to drop below her neckline, but then she turned to him and his eyes immediately shot back up to hers. Before he could say anything, she began explaining.

At first, he wasn't entirely sure what she was talking about. 'Experiment?' he thought, confused. As she hugged herself and blushed, it quickly dawned on him that she was referring to exactly the thing that was on his mind. Was she... was she talking about her chest to him? 'An experiment to increase chest size in women? Who is this sensei? I must shake their hand,' he thought, forcing himself not to smirk. Despite his thoughts, this was still a bit of an awkward conversation to be having. They were literally discussing her chest right now, and what did Ayumu turn to when a situation got awkward? Why, humor of course!

"Well, it certainly went very well," he said, looking her up and down quickly. Wait a minute. Did he just say that? 'What the hell, Ayumu!?' he thought, wondering what exactly had possessed him to say that. I mean granted, it was a little funny, but not exactly appropriate. An awkward silence settled over him, not sure what to say now and pretty sure anything he could say would only make it worse. What life choices did he make to land himself in this weird conversation? He began to reflect.

[MFT - 400 words]

 

[Shinrya Kahako]

Flabbergasted was the only word that could correctly express Kahako’s emotional state right now. It was a compliment. She knew it was a complement, but she had no idea how to respond to the awkward silence that now encompassed them both. So she did the next best thing.

Closing her now gaping mouth, Kahako turned around and walked quickly from the clearing. She needed to calm down, and standing next to the boy who completely removed all reason from her being wasn’t going to help her. ‘That boy is going to be the death of me,’ she thought, reaching the tree line. ‘I’ll die of shock before another shinobi gets to me.’

[TL]

 

[Kogami Ayumu]

Being the smoothtalker that he was, Ayumu had clearly left Kahako at a loss for words. She looked like she wanted to have something to say, what with her mouth hanging open, but truly could not find the words. Well, not everybody had a way with words like Ayumu. Of course, he expected she would come up with something to say if he gave her enough time, but as she turned around, Ayumu was left to do nothing but watch as she walked away without a word.

"Well, I hate to see you go, but I love to watch you leave," he said too quietly for her to hear as she reached the tree line. "See ya, Kahako!" he called out after her as she disappeared. Well, this had been an interesting outing, but it was time for him to go do something productive, if he could stop thinking about a certain something... or pair of somethings. He wandered off into the forest to train some more.

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