It All Adds Up [Kanmuri]

[Jiro]

Spoiler: NPC: Amaya

Since being found by the blonde Chigokai who had taken her in, Amaya had been attending the Academy. It had not been easy by any means though. It seemed her reputation as the daughter of a Shinigami, and the murder she committed, had proceeded her. Clutching her violin case close to her chest, she proceeded to exit the classroom. The lesson made her head hurt and the feeling of death was something she could not shake. It hung over the Shinobi that had been teaching them like a curtain. It had been so thick she could barely breathe. But Jiro had told her not to draw attention to herself or her "secret", as he liked to call it.

As she walked out into the Sunan sun, she shielded her eyes. The sun always hurt her, burned her skin. She tried to look at the sand, but the glimmer and reflection of the sun did little to aid her situation. Amaya sighed softly as she pushed a strand of black hair out of her face. She had been so concerned about the glaring sun and trying to keep it from burning her on her way back home that she had not noticed the two other Academy students behind her.

At least not until the larger of the two shoved her. Amaya let out a shriek of shock as she hit the ground. The force made her gasp softly as she felt her cheek scrape against coarse sand then smelled the familiar scent of blood, hands shaking too much to hold onto her violin case, which skittered a few inches away from her. But before she could reach for it, the shorter boy kicked it from her. He then bent over and picked it up.

The girl shakily rose to her scraped knees. She glared up at them, silent hatred in her eyes. The two boys, however, started to laugh. "Aw, did the freak get her feelings hurt?" the larger one teased her, taking a step forward.

Amaya did not bother answering. Don't draw attention to yourself... The words were like a mantra in her head as she repeated them over and over like a prayer. Her small hands clenched into tiny fists though, eyes welling with tears. Anyone who knew what she was capable of would have known that the tears were not a sign of weakness, but no one in this bright, desert village knew anything about her.

The other boy laughed, handing the violin case to the other. "Now let's see what's in here..."

"Stop!" The primal scream startled even the girl herself as she rose to her feet, unaware that she had even screamed out until the word had already echoed through the area they were standing in.

"Or what?" The violin case was soon discarded, thrown to the side by the boywith the unmistakable sound of wood breaking and splintering, her one escape destroyed before her very eyes.

Amaya, however, did not back up. She remained standing on shaky feet. Her whole body trembled lifted her head up finally, seeing the two boys in front of her. But she was shocked to see the crowd of curious onlookers. Most of whom were frozen, almost transfixed. Some of them were looking at her with fear, scared of what the strange girl in the red dress would be capable of doing.

 

[Kanmuri]

Walking away from the Sunan Academy, Kanmuri’s head was tilted back facing the sky. The day had only just started, but a lot was pouring through the mind of the eight year old. His cold, scarlet eyes stared at the clear skies above him. Just like the skies, his mind was calm and and focused. Focused on one goal, his mind calmly-but fiercely-burned with passion.

Thanks to Chikamatsu-sensei, Kanmuri was forced to come to terms with his beliefs. He was forced to remember the source of his pain and hatred. The Kyoujoran abused their gift of life to make his own gift a living hell, but they were only a small piece of the bigger, world problem. Although Kanmuri was young, wasn’t naive. Living a life dedicated to killing the Kyoujoran elders would be living a life wasted. Just like the trauma he harvested, the world was a huge place. It was nonsensical to believe he was the only child to be abused or tortured. In order to save those who were currently suffering and to prevent anyone to live the life that he lived for so long, Kanmuri needed to change the world, and that needed to be done as soon as possible.

Kanmuri began to walk down the busy streets of Sunagakure, but the would slowly become deserted. Kanmuri loved taking this way home. Being alone with his thoughts and taking in the sounds of nature was something that Kanmuri always found comforting. Being forced to live outside for most of his life would obviously result in that. However, that silence would be broken by a shriek and the sound of objects falling. More interested thank concerned, Kanmuri made pace to the source of the sound but quickly stopped in his tracks and laid his back against a brick wall upon hearing voices.

"Aw, did the freak get her feelings hurt?"

These words cut like a knife into Kanmuri’s heart. That word, freak, was almost never used as a compliment. These kids, who sounded around his age by their prepubescent voices. Anger began to fill the mind of Kanmuri. Picking on someone because they were different was unacceptable, but he restrained himself.

How far will these kids go. Let’s see if they’re worth keeping around or if they’re too far gone… Kanmuri thought to himself. Even kids were not safe from Kanmuri’s judgement. If they exhibited signs of being too corrupt, then they’d be taken to the underworld.

Another voice said, "Now let's see what's in here..."

The girl, who also sounded close to his own age, screamed with great concern, “Stop!”

The same boy would reply, "Or what?" The sound of wood breaking against something, presumably a wall, would echo across the deserted street. They’d done it now.

Within himself, Kanmuri could feel it. His heart began to increase in pace. A euphoric buzz would start to spread across his body, a signal of the demonic enzymes within him beginning to activate. His signature mad grin began to spread across his face. He wasn’t angry anymore. It was time for the culling.

Kanmuri could feel his connection with his sword. It was his natural weapon, but he wouldn’t be feeding it today, not yet anyway. Having his potential unlocked, Kanmuri could still feel his Illusionary power being stronger than ever before. What better way was there to test than to mentally destroy people who didn’t deserve to live?

He began to walk into the alley with his mad grin and stood at his height of 4’2. His height wasn’t important to the battle at all though. What would go on, would be a battle of mental strength.

“I don’t care about bullying, but you won’t pick on someone because they’re different. I’ll ask and only ask one time. Who threw that instrument? You,” Kanmuri would point to the girl, “...don’t say a word.”

If neither of the boys would speak up, then he’d say, “Fine, then one of you is going to die until suffer until I get an answer.” With a few seals, Kanmuri would cause one of the boys, at random to feel as if they were being crushed by an immense pressure. It would be as if their bones were at the brink of crushing into miniature pieces of their former selves. To add on to the pain, there’d eyes would feel the pain of knives stabbing them.

This suffering would be the manifestation of the pain they were causing others. This suffering was only the beginning.