Moment of Solace [Contract Search]

[Kazu]

The little fire that the Ayatsuri had made would be able to keep the young man warm for quite a little while. His body wasn't used to such cold weather, and so he needed to keep himself much warmer than he was currently doing. Kamaru was right, he should have gotten warmer clothes. Ginjiro's clothes—some long shorts, a thin black shirt, a few bandages here and there, and wooden sandals—were not nearly meant to be used in such cold environments like this. Furthermore, his metal right arm was beginning to get really cold. It was starting to sting the skin attached to it. It wouldn't have surprised the young man for him to catch a cold from all of this. Even though it really sucked that the young man was far too ill-prepared for this environment, he had to say that there was something about this place. Something calm...

Wow, there was just something so magnificent and wondrous about these mountains. Something about them was calming, making it seem as if things in life could be so much simpler. It felt like all the problems in the world, no matter how big, were simply minuscule compared to this awesome sight. It made problems that were once complicated quite clear now. The young man sat there, looking at these mountains, for quite a while. So long, in fact, that his Kami partner had come to check on him. She was in her wolf form, shimmering with mystic purpose and presence. She walked up next to Ginjiro, then sat herself down next to the young man. What troubles you, my dear? Silence, for but a moment. "I keep thinking about Katsu, and the kinds of things that he's done. What I need to do to stop him." Ah, it was this again. For a while now, the young man kept returning to one specific subject: is it right to take revenge on Katsu? Clearly, what he did to Ginjiro and the Ayatsuri Clan was horrid. There was no way one could deny that. However, there was always a bit more to things than that.

The mantra of the Ayatsuri Clan is: "Let truth, honor, virtue and justice be your guides". The was no denying that Katsu had been untrue. He had definitely not been honorable. Sin, rather than virtue, seemed to drive his actions now. Justice was certainly not a part of his plan. The man had murdered his own kind, and was now subjugating the whole clan to his own whims. In order to stop him, Ginjiro would have to kill him. That's why he needed to know more about Human Puppets—he needed to know their weaknesses so that he could kill his brother. And yet, despite all of that, the young man still had his doubts. Could he really kill his only brother? Riza could see the trouble and unease that plagued the young man's face. Soon, the young man would begin to speak his mind out loud. "I always thought that killing Katsu was the obvious thing to do. He's caused so much pain to my clan, there's no way that he could be worth saving. It's supposed to be easy, but it isn't." The young man seemed to be struggling with something that seemed just outside of his reach. It was like the young man could sense that there was something more for him to say, but he just couldn't quite find the words. After a bit of trouble, the young man continued for a little bit. "It's like the Kami! Aren't the Kami, the spirits of light and wonder, supposed to be good creatures?" Riza, upon hearing this, let herself grin a slight bit. Oh how much the young man had to learn. Speaking in a voice that did not suit her wolf-like appearance at all, the young Kami tried to explain herself to the young man. Ginjiro, things are not that simple. Every light source casts a shadow. The Kami are no different. Even our opposites, the Youkai, are capable of some good—wherever there is darkness, there is a light that cast it.

These were heavy words. The young man seemed to need to drink it all in more as he stood there, still looking out over the wondrous view from atop the mountain. "A shadow even in the light, huh?" He toyed with the thought, turning it over in his head and examining it. It was a bit profound, to say the least. But still. "That may be, but no matter what I know that I still must save my clan. If nothing else, my loyalty to them must be unwavering. They shall be freed, one way or another." More thinking must be done. While the young man turned these words over in his head, he became oblivious to the world. He wasn't even connected to anything around him as he pondered deep into the meaning of these words. He pondered so deep, in fact, that the young man wasn't even paying attention to the rustling in some bushes a little ways off. There was a flicker, a few feet out in the snowy grass. If anything were to happen, right now, it probably wouldn't even break Ginjiro out of this state—he was totally lost in thought. Still, what might happen at this very moment? They were on top of a mountain, it was probably just the wind. It would be rather peculiar to see any sort of wildlife this high up the mountain. Right?

[ooc]
Number One choice is Canine. Number Two choice is Fox.

 

[Toraono Kuro]

The gods have been most unkind as you have found not a dog but a fox.... Do you accept?​

 

[Kazu]

[ooc]
What the hell, I accept! Let's see what comes of this.

 

[Toraono Kuro]

As Ginjiro contemplated the cold and the effects it would have on his body,his steel prosthetic and his mind. As he spoke with a spirit over the duality of light and darkness a massive roar resounded and a young girl was flund from the forest only to land next to Ginjiro. Her white hair matched her white pink laced body armor. A pink jade tomoe rested in the clavicle of her collar bone. Her nose bled for a brief moment before it healed on its own. Massive winds parted the trees allowing a brief view of the culprit. A war yeti... afoot and looking for a small girl its left arm was severely MAULED and slashed. Kyuka stood up in a careful battle stance as the 10 foot tall monstrosity rushed forth with battle armor from some poor foolish samurai it had devoured upon its white and gray fur.

​

It approached carefully as well noticing Ginjiro and the spirit near the strangely clothed human it actually felt something was amiss.

​

 

[Kazu]

The noise instantly snapped the young man out of his enraptured state. The beauty of the landscape could not distract the young man from the sound of battle, and instantly his body reacted when he saw the silver haired woman appearing out of the forest nearby. He condition seemed to be somewhat battered, as if she was int he middle of a battle. The young man's instincts kicked in, as his eyes scanned the tree-line for another participant in this battle. His ears perked up, listening for the crunching of snow. His nose sniffed, trying to catch even the faintest smell that could alert him of another presence. He still wasn't sure if the woman who'd appeared in front of him was a friend or a foe, but he did see very quickly that she was not just a normal girl. A nose bleed, which he'd seen her with but a moment prior, had seemingly healed by itself. Was it a medical jutsu? He didn't know of any that could be cast without the need for handseals or the infusing of chakra. He'd have to keep an eye on this one.

Speaking of keeping an eye on things, though, the young man was able to spot, for the briefest of moments, a massive creature lumbering out of the forest. Standing at almost double the Ayatsuri's size, the young man could see this thing's brute strength from the bulging arms it had. He could also see that one arm was severely wounded, no doubt from this woman who had appeared. So, this was the situation in a nutshell: a woman and a monster were fighting, both of which seemed to be extraordinary beyond whatever 'normal' limits existed in this world, and he seemed to be getting tangled up into the whole situation. Just perfect. Unsure of what to do, he looked over to Riza—she didn't seem to know what to do either. She had transformed back into her human form, and appeared to be readying herself for combat. Ginjiro assumed he ought to do the same. The young man moved his fingers down towards the scrolls tied around his left leg as he twisted his head to either side, cracking the tendons that had grown stiff there. Smirking to himself as he undid the scroll, the young man would say to himself, "Let's do this thing."

Summoning out a puppet of his, Ginjiro instantly dashed forward at the hulking creature that was slowly making its way towards them. Ginjiro moved his puppet into position between the two of these figures, and planted himself right in the center of the two of them. With his puppet, he pointed it's palms towards both the girl and the creature. He was prepared to strike at any time. Calling out to both of them, Ginjiro projected his voice for them both to hear. "Now, I don't want either of you moving! If you do, then I will not hesitate to end the conflict right here and now. Somebody tell me, without moving, what the heck is going on around here!" The young man was allowing himself to be authoritative. He was going to end this violence now, one way or another. If either of them moved, they'd be answering to him and his puppets. He was prepared to subdue either one of them if they moved, so it was within both of their best interests to not do anything besides answer his question.

 

[Toraono Kuro]

The Dark Yeti Nieduuzo decided the young boy wasn't actually a true threat and rushed them both with arms outstretched to rend them both. His roar shook the snow from the trees and the ground beneath their feet. He seemed oblivious to the concept that a human could be dangerous. Kyuka looked at Ginjiro nodding for him to do something as her body began to sparkle and glow she wasn't moving but she was about to do something. Nieduuzo would be upon them both in 4 seconds. What could Ginjiro do to prevent their demise in 4 seconds?

 

[Kazu]

So, it was going to be like that, eh? It didn't take very long for the massive Yeti-like creature to make up its mind. His massive legs pumped back and forth, carrying his enormous weight with an even more enormous strength. The creature bellowed into the thin mountain air with what seemed almost like a war cry. It's magnitude and intensity shook the snow, shifting it and causing bits to collapse here and there. Several trees lost a few layers of snow as the creature charged towards the young man and the girl. Ginjiro did not flinch at this display, but merely spit out something into the snow. He wasn't impressed. "Well then, looks like we're ready to play. I'll make the first move." Weaving his fingers through a few simple movements, the puppet that he had summoned sprung to life in front of him. Extending both of its arms to the side, a long range of compartments opened up from inside its arms. From the long row of compartments extended maybe seven rods with sparks of chakra flashing between them. Grinning a little bit, the young man seemed to be taunting the creature at this point. "Save your energy, buddy. You're not going anywhere." Instantly, a purplish flaming hue seemed to erupt from the puppet. Using it as the focal point, Ginjiro seemed to immediately erect a barrier made out of these purple flames. The barrier was forming a box around himself and this woman. This was the first measure he would take. It was almost like he'd created a zone that was completely peaceful, and in now way aggressive.

"I'm not done yet..." The puppeteer was on a roll here. Again, using the puppet as his primary weapon, the young man's fingers flung through a number of other movements. Quickly, the rods that had extended out of the puppet's outstretched arms detached themselves from the puppet, and seemed to dissolve into the barrier itself. They were merely the catalysts that started this technique—Ginjiro was what maintained it. Ginjiro was then free to do what he wanted with his now mobile puppet once more. Moving it into place, the puppet skirted its way around the edges of the barrier, just outside of its range. Ginjiro was waiting. For what? Well, the impending monster barreling towards them. Ginjiro's puppet crouched, like a lion waiting to catch its prey. As the yeti got close, Ginjiro's index finger twitched ever so slightly. That slight twitch, though, was the signal. His puppet leaped off the ground, at the charging yeti, and seemed to open its body up. The puppet was attempting to completely engulf the charging yet, trying to completely immobilize him in what could only be described as a very sly capture. Should the plan succeed, he'd have caught himself a yeti. He'd still have to figure out what to do with it after that, but at least it wouldn't be charging him.

Just in case he didn't catch it, though, the young man had another trick up his sleeve. As his puppet made contact with the Yeti, Ginjiro utilized another jutsu that might have been necessary. Slipping his chakra through the puppet and onto the yeti's skin, Ginjiro would place upon the yeti a seal that would not only weaken it over time but would also allow the puppeteer an easier time of capturing him next time. Even if the yeti did escape, he'd now have that mark on him—it was like a light for Ginjiro's puppets to follow. And, no matter what happened, he would still have the barrier around him and...ugh, he'd need to ask the girl her name. "We should be good for now. Mind explaining why you're glowing there, lady?" Ginjiro didn't completely trust the girl yet, but at least she was trying to kill him...yet. For the moment, if he had to place bets on whether the yeti or the girl would want to be friends, he would place his bets on the girl not injuring him. Hopefully the young man was a good gambler—he'd never had to bet like this before.

[ooc]
Some of these actions shouldn't be allowed to string together, but I thought it would make for a more interesting RP. Let me know if you'd like me to change it instead.

 

[Toraono Kuro]

Nieduuzo ran headlong into the puppet and with a horrible lurching crunch all but it's injured arm was captured by the puppet's trap function. He began beating upon the reinforced puppet structure he was trapped in with the injured flailing limb. Slowly but surely it began to crack and splinter as the injured massive hand continued to beat upon the trap puppet. Kyuka released her light chakra build up from where she was going to use her strongest jutsu to strike the yeti. Looking from Ginjiro to his puppets her eyes grew large..."I am Kyuka of the Fox Tribe and my enemy is Nieduuzo, he's a flesh eating monster that was after my sisters until I distracted him... I had planned to get him to chase me into the lake where the water sprites could drag him under. I don't know how long you can hold him back but we may want to head for the lake just in case he manages to get loose"

 

[Kazu]

Heh, turns out this beastie wasn't so tough after all. Ginjiro had been expecting at least a little bit of resistance—then again, the creature seemed to be nothing more than a hulking monster of instinct. It made sense that he wouldn't consider anything complicated like a trap to be worth what little thought processes he had. Needless to say, the whole situation had turned out rather favorably for the young puppeteer. Turning his attention away from the creature long enough to listen to the girl's words, the Ayatsuri could tell that she truly considered this thing to be more dangerous than he was giving it credit for. Perhaps Ginjiro had merely caught it off guard? Regardless, he supposed that her words were right. Maintaining a cool exterior, but filled with a burning curiosity on the inside, the young man found himself responding to her words before he'd even thought them over. "If it's Water Sprites we're running towards, then I think we're in luck. I should be able to convince them to help us out." The young man did have a contract with all of the Kami in the lands. These Water Sprites, presumably, were of that same category; thus, they should be able to recognize Ginjiro's spiritual aura and be willing to help them out. This woman, Kyuka, was absolutely right.

"Alright then, lead the way. But first..." Ginjiro turned around to face his puppet again, and formed a single handed hand seal. Out of a hidden compartment, a purple fog began to spray out of a pipe extruding from the puppet. Ginjiro motioned for Kyuka to stand back a little, as he did the same. "It's a noxious gas that should knock him out for a while. I don't suspect it will be effective for very long, if at all, due to his size. Still, it's worth a shot." Ginjiro then motioned that the two of them should probably get going. Kyuka would hopefully take the lead here, and show Ginjiro which way they were supposed to go to reach the Water Sprites.

 

[Toraono Kuro]

​

With a burst of unexpected speed Kyuka grasped Ginjiro by the hand as she heard the pounding of the yeti get stronger and stronger as it fought it's way free of the puppet trap. The gas had no effect on the monstrosity as it rampaged within the puppet's trap despite it's injuries. He was coming and he was only stunned at the moment. They needed water to wash away the darkness in him and make him forget his hunger. As the gas poured in on it dark chakra seemed to spiral all around the trap. The arm that was being crushed and hanging outside the trap began to change color and grow thicker and denser as a massive roar began to vibrate the puppet internally as it smashed trough one side. Crimson eyes could be seen in the shadow of the puppet's interior as gas poured out. Nieduuzo was going to be free soon, time to get out of there.