Pale Star [Contract Search]

[Shiruko Makoto]

Dammit.

That was Makoto's main thought as he took quick observation. This was clearly not a retaliatory strike; it was a raid. By bandits, vicious ones. Even if it weren't, generally speaking, his actual job to protect civilians from this sort of thing if he possibly could, it would take an awfully cold bastard to just do nothing.

And well, he wasn't and hadn't really ever been that bad. Some of his relatives, maybe, but not him.

He liked to think, anyway.

Which meant he needed a plan. The natural human inclination didn't involve looking up for danger, and the bandits would all be focused on their targets anyway. That gave him the opportunity to do an ambush. The question was if he should bother leaving this set alive or not, because if he didn't care about leaving them alive (this wasn't part of the quest to retrieve the feathers, after all, and shouldn't affect it; the way Ho-Pu had spoken made him think it was only lethal violence toward the monks that would cause him and the geese issues. This shouldn't affect it any more than any other violence he'd ever done in his life) then he could go much faster, and be much less careful.

Well, mostly. He didn't want fallout to hit the remaining villagers.

Take out the leader first, I think. Focus them on me...I should be able to evade their clumsy strikes easily enough, and I have a shield. He could draw his parasol in an instant, to act as such. And then...is there anywhere safe, even temporarily, for them to hide?

"I'm going to kill the leader and then have them focus on me," he said calmly, preparing to dive. "Once they do that, there should be a clear path for the villagers. Can you protect them and lead them away, somewhere away from the fighting?"

Once the civilians were clear, a few large-scale Ninjutsu would easily clean up the rabble. And while he was in the air, it would be difficult for them to hit him, so he had to do this quickly, before his ability to maintain the wings ran out.

"Yes," the phoenix replied instantly. "If necessary, I can drive off any group of three or so pursuers by blinding them. And I do look like the sort of creature people trust."

Shining silvery-white, able to sing melodious, calming tunes that soothed those in distress and struck fear into the hearts of the evil. Yes.

"Good," Makoto said, debating the best way to kill the leader. Decapitation? A spike through the throat? He could do either to someone untrained in chakra control almost as easy as breathing. He wanted a bit of reach, too, so it would have to be Ninjutsu or range.

His crossbow had a speed firing mechanism that let him loose a shot and load a new bolt much faster. That should do the trick.

He dove, and in the same instant drew the crossbow and three bolts. He aimed, tracking the leader's movements, and fired, then reloaded.

Throat, head, head. He wasn't a dead aim, but from above? When the target had no idea he was there, and hadn't ninja reflexes?

No contest.

The phoenix diverted from him and started singing, aiming to take advantage of the shock the troops would surely have to lead the villagers away. And Makoto drew to a visible location and started prepping his Ninjutsu, sheathing his crossbow. Lightning, and wind, would cause the least collateral damage he didn't want.

And non-elemental, of course, but that element was instinct and sang in his veins, he could bring it out with little more than a thought. For now, he just had to provide a target, one that the bandits thought they could hit but couldn't.

If the leader was somehow alive, he'd take the first strike.

 

[Toraono Kuro]

Time stood still for the remaining villagers as arrows rained down upon the leader of the raiders only to be blocked by a heavyset warrior whom leaped to the defense of his master taking an arrow through the throat and two to the chest for his valiant effort, he began to bleed out only for his leader to reach out with a serpent and remove the arrow and wrap around his throat gently keeping the blood in and healing him at the same time.
“A Tenchi has come to SAVE US!!!” Shouted the woman whom had been fervently praying at the village altar. Perhaps there was divine favor working on their behalf after all. The children rallied around the phoenix their eyes alight with faith and hope. Something snapped inside of the child defending his mother as divine chakra spilled forth from his body healing his wounds and his mother’s as he caught sight of Makoto sending arrows from the heavens. The first gate opened within the child as he fought back punching the man through a wall before kicking him through a window. All the marauders except for the leader and his immediate four man team ran off. They had heard the villages in this area were protected by the divine and this was the second largest village between the two on their maps to raid. Women of all ages with weapons, and farm tools rallied around the phoenix near the temple as it led them out of town. A woman tried to drag her divine touched son the same way but his ferocity had ignited and he was going to get the men whom had tried to take his mother and injured him. The first gate had already opened by anger, tenacity opened his second and third as he surged away from his mother and engaged the enemy. Shocked and surprised by a young child striking with the force of six men. Two of the leaders engaged the boy with evil serpent like glints in their eyes.

The leader had turned to regard Makoto with awe and rage, how dare the gods send one of their messengers to challenge him. “I have slain a thousand men in combat with blade and sorcery, ravaged the islands and torn men asunder to hear the sweet lamentation of their women and destroyed every temple that did not pay homage to the serpents of old and here in this mountain village the heavens send one of their own against me. I must say he is quite the sight. We should kill him and see what the heavens might do if we manage to kill one of their servants. Capture the boy he is obviously one of their servants as well, he can be turned against the heavens if he is trained properly. Bobo if the healing is complete defeat this tenchi lest I get angry and invoke the damned.”
Bobo nodded as the snake unwound from the wound to his neck and returned to its master. Brandishing a large eerie axe he stepped forward to engage Makoto while his master prepared to gather his sorcery to call forth the damned.

Information from your phoenix:~

Your phoenix has led all but one woman away from the fray whom is crying over her rampaging son.
The son is a spiritualist hachimon recently awakened (he will obey you and only you as he believes you to be the source of his strength, each round after the opening rp round will have a 50/50 chance of opening another gate at random, the boys name is Maoki)
The leader is a serpent sage (Dark Sage with a serpent twist)
His guardian Bobo is a Steadfast abomination
His two servants engaged with the boy are a quick-learner and an opportunist weapon masters.

 

[Shiruko Makoto]

Ah crap.

Makoto would later be glad he didn't say that aloud when the leader's apparent bodyguard took the bolts instead, although he very narrowly avoided saying it when the entirety of the group below mistook him for an actual holy servant. Yes, in retrospect, descending from the sky with a spirit companion in the shape of a holy creature, while sporting flaming wings and glowing, did kind of make it look like he was sent from the heavens.

Well. Time enough to correct that misapprehension after this was done with--

Oh, fuck. The bandits think so too.

Well, that meant he had to deal with the guy with the axe first. But that didn't mean he had to ignore the leader; that was the wonderful thing about Ninjutsu. In a flash he had tucked away his crossbow and withdrawn his parasol, channeling chakra through it. In the past he would have used a single hand to cast with, but for now he didn't quite have that option. Still, having a titanium shield couldn't hurt.

Hey. You can hear me still, right?

Yes, Makoto. At the moment I am shielding the civilians. Is there anything else?

Yes and no. That's more important but uh. We're going to need to talk after this.

I thought so. Do not worry about me, there is very little a physical being can do to me. I will take care of the civilians.

Got it, thanks.

There was really a lot of ways to handle people who used and abused cursed seals. There was, however, one that his clan tended to favour, and that was denying them the full use of them through their own seals. On the instant that he blocked or dodged the bodyguard's first blow, he'd use the opening to tag the man with his own seal, designed to short-circuit or even shut down cursed seals.

He still had the advantage of flight, for the moment, so he could kick off and get back into the air after that, preferably out of reach of an axe, and still pay attention to the leader (who, as it turned out, was slightly smarter than he'd been giving credit, but still kind of dumb given that he saw someone shooting at him and thought 'angel' rather than 'ninja').

"We'll be having none of that," he muttered, eyeing the leader. Light spilled off his parasol as he switched his channeled element to Photon, blasting him with something to stop him from doing much of anything. He could focus on the bodyguard first, and deal with that guy after.

Makoto glanced over at the kid who was trying to engage the other two. Fuck, I have no idea what to tell him to do. Unarmed fighting...I have no idea how good he is at it. Questions of age did not pop into his head; his own clan trained their people in weapons from younger.

To hell with it. The kid's reach wasn't that good, so...might as well get him to fight dirty. Fighting dirty meant living.

"Maoki!" he called. "Aim for their knees first!"

Yeah, that ought to do it. Nothing like kneecapping. Besides, an eight year old, even a strong one, versus a couple of adults with more experience meant there was no such thing as fighting dirty. If he gave them crippling pain and broke their kneecaps, then there wasn't a lot they could do about that.

He still had enough of his attention on his own targets to worry about them, though. Well. Target, for the moment, until the leader broke the bind. Lightning and wind were still his preferred choices here, honestly, which was another reason he'd picked Photon.

The...optical effects...of Photon were entirely beside the point, especially since they'd probably just convinced people even more he was some kind of holy being and dammit, being from a literal theocracy he probably should be realizing these things a little sooner.

Either way. Lightning was a good way to handle many things, and this was one of them. So with a thought, he pumped up the lightning part of his Photon channeling and blasted the bodyguard with a thin, rapid cannon of lightning.

He really didn't know how much punishment these guys could take, but he wasn't overly fussed if he managed overkill somehow. Surely they weren't as resilient as a ninja though, so he could probably manage to take them out.

...Probably.

 

[Toraono Kuro]

"We'll be having none of that," Light spilled off his parasol blinding and reeling the Serpent Sage forcing him to stop his call upon the dead. Frustrated he found himself now gathering spiritual essence to summon a battle serpent.

Makoto glanced over at the kid who was trying to engage the other two.

"Maoki!" he called. "Aim for their knees first!"

The boy did not ask how the Tenchi knew his name he did nothing but nod in response and with an earnest blaze of divine energy he exploded upon those whom had attacked his mother and his village The opportunist managed to escape the divine fury as the near misses became full misses thanks to his natural elusiveness but when he returned a counter strike he was met with one of the child's own which sent him flying. The observant weaponmaster pulled a whip thinking he had a grasp of what the child could do he was utterly wrong because just as light spilled forth from Makoto to negate their leaders summons to the dead. The boy held up a hand to the light of the heavens and began to glow. The women of the village became emboldened and their steps lighter as righteous fury the same the boy felt filled their bodies. Even Makoto began to shine brighter as the white light of the child's divine blessing and his exceptional faith unleashed a wrath that none could stand before.

His white blessing shimmered over the women and the fallen men that still lived began to stir.
Maoki was fearless as he became a holy embodiment of wrath.
His aura surged from blue to pure white and due to his blessing Makoto's wings became pure white as well absorbing the blessing as if it were their own.

Makoto has gained an evolved PVE Jutsu Blessed White Phoenix Wings

Illuminating Phoenix Wings becomes Blessed White Phoenix Wings

Spoiler

Using phoenix wings Makoto could take control of wind and heat, he could surge with phoenix fire powered by his chakra. Now due to the faith and hope of villagers whom believe without question that he is a tenchi sent from heaven to save them in their darkest hour mixed with the blessing of an actual divine child whom also looked to Makoto as a sign to fight back against all evil. His wings can now change from sunlight gold to heavenly white. Makoto is now able to glide at higher altitudes or leap extremely high. Thanks to his training, Makoto is able to hover above the ground three to twelve feet. He is also able levitate off the ground with wind, fire, kinesis, or pure faith. His movement while using this form of his wings is extremely swift like that of a hawk's dive. His wings provide a natural protection against close range combat, long range fighters can easily pick him off as the divine light from his wings make him easily spotted from the ground especially at night. His blessed wings also give him greater accuracy with both ninjutsu and taijutsu.

Rank 1: Levitation - User gains +1 melee dodge, -2 Ninjutsu/Ranged dodge, +2 melee/ninjutsu accuracy.
Rank 2: Super Leaps - User gains +1.5 melee dodge, -1 Ninjutsu/Ranged dodge, +1 melee/ninjutsu accuracy. +5% chance of 'Acrobatic' dodging of RANGED attacks if the user possesses the skill Acrobatics.
Rank 3: Glider Flight - User gains +2 melee dodge, -1 Ninjutsu/Ranged dodge, +.5 melee/ninjutsu accuracy. +10% chance of 'Acrobatic' dodging of RANGED attacks if the user possesses the skill Acrobatics.
Costs:
Rank 1: 500 CP/rnd, 1 AP
Rank 2: 750 CP/rnd, 1.5 AP
Rank 3: 1000 CP/rnd, 2 AP
Notes: Levitation under 5 feet above the ground does not produce light
Fiery White Wings Briefly Appear during super leaps
Your body glows like a lantern at night granting others +1 accuracy against you with ranged attacks at night.

The whipmaster lashed out with his whip only to strike nothing as the child dodged without seemingly moving but Makoto was a shinobi and he could see that the boy was simply moving insanely fast at the split second the whip would have struck him the child flickered before taking another deliberate step closer to the whipmaster. After three missed lashes it was too late and suddenly the whip master found both his knees shattered beyond repair as the opportunist engaged the divine child from behind with poison blades.

The woman at the altar fell to her knees in elation and expanded faith as the main force of the marauders was running so hard that dust trails could be seen in the distance.
Makoto continued his seemingly divine rampage as the monstrous bodyguard advanced upon him swinging his axe with all his might only to miss time and time again. His counter seal did not seem to halt the progress of his dark energies as the giant of a man became swifter and swifter his skin becoming scales as fangs and a forked tongue were revealed in his mouth. It was then that divine white lightning bolts fell upon the poor abomination lifting him from the ground and electrocuting his grip upon the axe causing him to pass out from the pure critical madness of the lightning bolts.

His main cohorts disabled or lying broken only the leader remained until a giant serpent appeared beneath him and at last he was lifted from the earth atop the head of a giant serpent as he looked upon Makoto with contempt and serpent eyes.

"So the heavens have indeed finally turned their wrath upon me. I was right to attack this village first then. I will take your divine soul and make you a servant of the serpents so that you will know it is I! Dokuja the serpent sage that was meant to rule this world and now Tenchi you will fall before me and serve me eternally as a slave of my superior will!!!"

 

[Shiruko Makoto]

That was...unexpected.

Makoto had been through enough missions to know that things rarely ever went unexpectedly in your favour, so he made sure to take a split second to imprint the moment on his mind. It surely wouldn't happen again for him any time soon.

Ninjutsu seemed to be the better path, as it usually was for him. Well then. He hadn't exactly expected the...form...his Gigavolt had taken, but it looked effective enough. Usually it manifested as a cannon of energy from his hands, but, well, nothing about this mission was normal, so it was a minor concern. More of one was the man attempting to sneak up on a child, because some people just hadn't the sense given to mice and couldn't think things like 'Wait, I am attacking a child from behind; am I the bad guy here?' Then again, if they had that sense, they wouldn't be bad guys in the first place.

"Maoki, behind you!" he called out.

Not a divine messenger, thanks. He momentarily revised that. This part is probably not part of my current duties as a spiritual messenger to the Mother of Birds. Ah. Huh. Dwell on it later.

"Thanks for letting me know your first attack in this region will be your last." He kept his Sixth Sense primed for ambushes, just in case the big hulk wasn't down for good yet, "Also, wow, you sure love the sound of your own voice."

He just...wasn't bothered by this guy, personally. The whole 'I am an evil bad guy' routine was definitely threatening to civilians, but when you were threatening a fully trained ninja who had lost count of the number of ways he could cause your painful demise, you needed to step it up a notch. You needed to actually bring the noise.

This guy's noise was...not very loud.

Okay, so a giant snake could have appeared dangerous, on the outside. But. There were two salient facts here.

One. He could fly, and in fact happened to have a friend who could fly had he not been able to do so temporarily himself.

Two. If summoning a giant animal was supposed to intimidate a Ninjutsu expert, the snake man had vastly overestimated his own intelligent and scariness.

(Although, was that an actual snake, or something reanimated? He was going to go with 'reanimated' given the man had already demonstrated the ability to reanimate the dead. That...gave him more options; also, he didn't have to feel bad about killing an animal that was already dead.)

He had a couple of options. All-out attack was one, and countering one creation with one of his own was another. Or...he could take a third option.

The glint of the phoenix's pale, fiery wings out as it winged around the villagers, cautiously hovering around them and shielding them from any kind of fallout that could still, potentially, spill onto them, might have been what gave him the idea. Or maybe he would have had it anyway, but without the phoenix he wouldn't even have been there, so maybe it was all a moot point.

(Later, during a rest period on the way to their real destination, it would ask him if he believed in destiny--because if it weren't for this admittedly strange chain of events, these bandits would likely have rampaged unchecked through not only this town but others in the region. And Makoto would have paused in eating some of the wild fruit he'd gathered as provisions, and said simply, 'no.' Because he didn't. But he would agree, it was a fortunate chain of unusual, unlikely circumstances.)

Makoto raised his free hand and formed a set of seals that would, on the outside, appear to do nothing.

But they assuredly did something to the snake man.

His Kinetic Genjutsu, that one especially, had been honed so they were cast as if they were Ninjutsu. That wasn't, all, though. There was something special about that particular technique, aside from the symbolism. Namely, he could immediately chain it into an offensive technique, which he did.

To...fiery...results.

Fortunately, he was skilled enough to keep control of the flames and keep them from spreading as they divebombed the snake man. If it missed, or seemed insufficient to take the man down, he'd swing it back around to hit again. If he went down, Makoto would use the second hit to torch the reanimated snake.

He could dodge, or block with his parasol, any hits the snake man managed to actually attempt in the meantime.

(The fire symbolism, and more over the dragon, really wasn't going to help him convince these people he wasn't some sort of divine being though. Dammit.)

 

[Toraono Kuro]

Like a tenchi from the tales of old Makoto smited both the Serpent sage and his summons. Writhing in pain at what felt like divine flames he could not put them out. Then Makoto's true flames struck causing the summons to swallow his sage/rider in a defensive maneuver to protect him as it whipped away and burrowed into the earth to escape. Four more serpents peaked from beneath the earth swallowing the other three followers of the serpent sage but the fourth was sacrificed as a venomous snake reared up and spread its hood marking it as a giant king cobra. It bit the opportunists three times nearly embalming him alive with venom. He collapsed his opportunities all missed and gone as Maoki turned to regard the cobra with a rage so pure that even the serpent balked as it too lurched beneath the earth to escape as the opportunist died in agony. The venom is primarily neurotoxic it attacked the victim's central nervous system and quickly induced severe pain, blurred vision, vertigo, drowsiness, and paralysis of major organs and his limbs. With a screaming gurgle he collapsed and contorted before seizing up in a state of agonizing rictus. His skin quickly darkened before taking a purple hue as he died a horrible death. The village was safe for now... The faithful survivors all gathered to look upon the phoenix and their savior with hope in their hearts.

 

[Shiruko Makoto]

Now comes the difficult part.

It said a lot about Makoto's general social skills that he considered the necessity of telling the villagers that he was not, in fact, a divine being to be far more difficult than fighting a giant snake. He felt like it probably should have been reversed, and would have been for most people. Most people he knew wouldn't have had much difficulty in this part.

Not that he wanted the empathy back so he could gauge how it was going. No, that wouldn't have helped here anyway.

The phoenix soared over to him, making him feel awkward and clumsy on his own temporary wings. They were going to give out shortly anyway from what he could feel, so he let himself descend to the ground slowly, touching down and deactivating the jutsu. Deactivating it voluntarily would look much less awkward than letting it sputter out and falling several feet to the ground. Less like he didn't know what he was doing.

You will be fine, Makoto, it assured him as it swooped around in a loose circle and came to a halt hovering near his right shoulder.

Easy for you to say, he thought glumly, surveying the villagers, but keeping his eyes and senses open just in case any of the bandits were not quite dead. Belatedly, he was aware a good number of the women were at least his height or taller. Being short sucked.

He took a deep breath and exhaled, before his manners kicked in.

"Hello, all," he said, modulating his voice so it was calm and level as it could be after the adrenaline rush of battle. He'd always been told he had a soothing voice, anyway. "Is everyone all right?"

He looked toward Maoki, who seemed to take his entry into combat well. If it even was such; he himself had first picked up a weapon when he was four, so it was possible this boy had as well. (Makoto only had the vaguest notions of how people outside his clan raised their children.)

"I'm sorry I wasn't able to get here sooner," he said, just a hint of sympathy in his tone. "I was passing by and noticed your troubles, is all, and couldn't ignore it. You see," he did not verbalize 'um' in situations like this; he'd been taught better than that at least, but he did hesitate, not sure how best to broach the subject, "I'm a shinobi on a mission for...a greater power."

He hadn't specifically been told not to mention the Mother of Birds, but it seemed indelicate to do so in this situation, at this time.

"And I prefer not to allow innocent people to suffer." True; it was basically his job at that. "Is there anything you need--medical assistance I could fetch, a message you'd like sent to any neighbors, that sort of thing?"

He wasn't a good choice for much else than that, honestly; he wasn't a mednin himself and might mess up healing if he tried it himself without the guidance of someone who knew what they were doing.

The phoenix had not rebuked him even gently so far, so he was probably at least hitting the right notes of what to say.

 

[Toraono Kuro]

The villagers were in shock from the attack and even more taken aback by the man identifying himself as a shinobi not a tenchi. Still he moved and he fought like one, he arrived just when they were about to give up all hope and simply fight to the death rather than be taken prisoner or used as slaves or worse. The serpent sage and 2 of his most trusted hands had escaped and a third hand murdered venomously by the wrath of one of his summons. Maoki's bruises and scars had healed but the backlash from fighting in an unleashed state soon hit and he fell unconscious into his mother's arms. She came to Makoto and looked him in the eyes as tears streamed down her own. Before she knew he was telling the truth, she reached out to feel if he had the same feeling of energy as her long lost husband Danieru, his energy was different it was not divine or celestial it was natural almost as if she were touching a sentient yet wild beast... "He does not lie, Maoki's father was a Tenchi and he was punished for giving me a son, this man or being is no Tenchi but he fights like one and the Suzaku is his companion. From the 23rd house of the Southern flames. That one of the 4 celestial guardians is his ally is no coincidence. We thank you Suzaku Gensei, your aid and inspiration allowed us to survive." The remaining villagers reached out to touch their savior and give thanks, some of the men whom had fallen but were touched by Maoki's aura recovered enough to stand and nodded in thanks despite their pain. Where the village had suffered the brunt of the attack only 6 men were beyond saving. The six that had set forth on their journey to the pure realm had been older men whom had thrown themselves onto the enemies weapons to hold them so that their youths and sons might strike the enemy. They had fought with a resilience that even a shinobi could appreciate. Even with 5 to 1 odds the villagers had actually defeated quite a few marauders. As they quickly went to check for other survivors out of the original population of 500 people they had lost 50 men while the marauders had lost over 300. The elder men had martial arts to aid them as demonstrated by Maoki, even some of the women had martial arts training. The phoenix directed Makoto's attention to a crest upon what had been the village elder's home. It was a crest that matched the first symbol of the mountain temple. The elders whom had fallen in battle first had been from the temple. Maoki had been blessed at the temple as well upon his chest was a temple scarring given to children as babes when their potential is detected by a guru. The village seer Makiko had been marked as well on her right forearm but her marking was from the second mountain temple. Several other women bore the same scarring. As they recovered what they could Makoto could see in their movements that these were not a lazy people. They were as a whole fighters whom would not have yielded easily despite being outnumbered and without real weapons. Although now as they stripped the dead marauders of gear and placed their bodies in a butcher mill so that their flesh might become fertilizer for the crops they had an abundance of weapons and armor. They quickly took it to the blacksmith's foundry where a very muscular woman and a wiry stern man took the materials and nodded to each person in turn. The villagers would be armed and ready for any further attacks. A town guard was quickly selected... they expected more trouble, they were prudent, and organized. A woman sat upon the stairs of the village elder's home. She had emptied herself of tears and was steeling herself for the future she must now embrace. Makoto and Taomei's eyes met and he might feel the need to go speak with her. There was an undeniable urgency in her eyes. Red eyes from tears, stress, and fighting met the eyes of the Suzaku bearer and a fleeting feeling passed through her belly.

 

[Shiruko Makoto]

Despite his time as a Warden, and that he'd been thanked before, Makoto had never known how to deal with gratefulness--especially of the overwhelming variety. So he just kind of stood there awkwardly, phoenix still hovering near his shoulder, as she spoke, and hid his discomfort with being touched with the practice of years.

He even managed to give a few nods, doing his best to not show his discomfort. Not for the first time, he was grateful his clan generally wasn't a place where one grew up with their heart on their sleeve--his brother's stoicism was more extreme than most, but far from unique among their relations.

When this appeared to be done, he took stock of the town. They were...not all right, they had lost people, and Makoto generally felt that people who didn't deserve it dying was not an all right thing, but recoverable. They were not in a shape that they had to flee for refuge, nor indefensible. That bandit chief was unlikely to come back, and even if he did, it was far more likely that they could hold him off, prepared.

(He was still a little surprised the snakes had been alive and not easily-burned reanimated corpses, but then, those weren't likely to show up again either.)

"This isn't a normal village by any means," he said under his breath as he and the phoenix made their way around, tallying things up. "I really don't believe a normal village could handle an assault like that in such a way. Even having to make do for themselves normally, even so far from a shinobi village or law enforcement."

"I am often impressed by the human spirit, regardless of it being trained to manifest externally or no," the phoenix said, and there was something akin to a gentle rebuke here. "One does not have to be a ninja to fight, Makoto."

"No, but..." He wasn't sure how to put it into words. "I mean, this is impressive. Moreso than it would be if there were ninja here, you know? But it's hard to believe there is nothing special going on here."

His family was also trained to fight without chakra control, if necessary, using only weapons; challenges in the clan were typically handled in such a way. He wasn't a stranger to it. But the thing was, a person simply so armed and not using chakra had no particular advantage aside from skill against an opponent, and such advantages diminished in numbers. The people of this village were either extremely lucky, extremely well-trained compared to their foes, or there was something else going on.

The phoenix had fluttered ahead of him on silver-white wings, and hovered in front of a symbol on a house. He stared at it for a moment, trying to place it. Family crest? No, doesn't look quite like one...

"It is a symbol of the temple we are journeying to," the phoenix said softly as it winged back to him. "Other villagers seemed to bear others like it, from what I saw. I do not know if that is a good thing or a bad thing."

Now there was a question, wasn't it.

Makoto slowly made his way forward, doing his best not to get in the way of the villagers' work and having to adjust his pace and dodge around them occasionally. He would have offered to help, but quite honestly, he needed to get moving. Unless he should hang around and heal a few people? But he'd asked if they required help, and no one had asked specifically for it, plus he wasn't...at the temple yet. Also, was he supposed to abide to that balance ideal before getting to the temple? Did hurting the bandits count? He felt it was one thing to say 'and if you have to hurt some mostly-defenseless priests, make sure you fix them up afterward' and entirely another to say 'if you hurt some bandits, you have to heal people to make up for that afterward.'

I mean. Protecting people is the good part of that, I think I'm balanced out there.

Still, he shook himself out of his thoughts as he reached the steps of the house bearing the symbol. He really, really wasn't sure if there was anything he could do to help--what to say, what to do, what she would ask, if anything--but he felt he at least ought to. It wouldn't do to develop a tendency to dive into people's lives and unapologetically shake them up without so much as a by-your-leave.

He halted awkwardly several paces in front of her, and the phoenix stopped with him, hovering so low over his shoulder it looked like it was considering perching there again.

Um. "Hello," he said cordially. "You look...rather troubled. Is there anything can do for you?"

Oh, smooth.

 

[Toraono Kuro]

Taomei stood and bowed before Makoto before taking a serene pose as she shifted uncomfortably. "Thank you for helping us as drop outs from the seven spire mountain temples many of us never learned Kung Fu or how to use an exceptional ability. My father had taught many of the villagers after he left the temple and it was him and his closest friends that sacrificed themselves to defeat the majority of the marauders. It now falls upon me to lead the village. Could I trouble you to take a letter to the Grandmaster of the fifth spire? To let him know my father, Taolei, his brother has died in battle facing the serpent sage. He will know what to do... I must stay here and perform funeral rites." As the next leader of the village she was wary of asking for help but the message must be passed on and the temple must be notified that the serpent sage was near. Even defeated he was still a threat.

 

[Shiruko Makoto]

Makoto controlled his expression, but only just. Confirmation that this was, indeed, one of the towns connected to the temple was good.

In fact, given he'd protected the town, and would, presumably, be able to obtain some kind of proof or confirmation through word of mouth, gave him another option when dealing with the temple itself, and the monks. Because while he could still sneak in, he could also trade goodwill.

It's certainly possible that they'd be willing to hear me out, since I've done something for them. Presumably these monks originate in these villages. Meaning, they might be somewhat grateful for the help, and for bringing the warning to someone who can do something about it. This...this is definitely a good thing. Assuming I don't blow it.

They may also be more willing to you than to those of the bird tribe, since you are human, the phoenix said, with no trace of the bitterness he would have had in its place.

Yes. Maybe. It's at least worth a try; nothing prevents me from making them think I am departing if they turn me down, and then sneaking in after.

But of course he said none of this out loud.

"I'm sorry for your losses," he said sincerely, because he was sorry. He wouldn't regret his hesitation though, as it hadn't really been such--simply determining what was going on. Charging in without understanding didn't help as often as some people seemed to think it would, and it was likely everyone who had died in this would have done so anyway. "If it would help to deliver a message to your uncle in another village, I would be glad to do it."

It was to help his own goals and motives too, but it wasn't like those motives were harmful to...literally anyone, quite honestly. In fact, via helping her and her village here, it could very well also be further helpful to the monks at the temple themselves; if he managed to solve this problem by asking nicely as opposed to having to infiltrate the temple and potentially injure (although later heal) them, that would save those monks the temporary pain and/or inconvenience of being incapacitated.

Because, well. He was not in the habit of failing missions.

"Is there a way through which I might recognize this man, and perhaps a direction as the crow flies you can indicate so I might get there the fastest way possible?" he added, as an afterthought.

Couldn't hurt.

 

[Toraono Kuro]

"I'm sorry for your losses," he said sincerely, because he was sorry. "If it would help to deliver a message to your uncle in another village, I would be glad to do it."

"Is there a way through which I might recognize this man, and perhaps a direction as the crow flies you can indicate so I might get there the fastest way possible?" he added, as an afterthought.

Taomei pulled up her left sleeve to reveal a brand that looked awfully similar to a curse seal but from the scarring it was obviously a brand applied when she was a child. "Taoshin is the master of the fifth mountain temple, he has a balding head and a significant moustache, upon his chest is the crest of the Taka (Hawk). He is very short but don't let that fool you he can easily become the size of a mountain. As guardian and teacher of the fifth temple he was supposed to watch over this territory but since he never arrived I doubt he ever received our request for aid which means our village messenger was probably captured or worse. He will want to know since the messenger is his grandson Taomo and my sister's son. You can fly so you need not take the path up the mountain but if you want to follow the trail, you need only head north of the village, the guiding stones are easily seen and are lit by lantern keepers on dark nights." Her fear of the serpent sage returning was quite apparent so much so it overshadowed the possible loss of her nephew.

 

[Shiruko Makoto]

'Things like this should not happen' was something Makoto had thought, many times, when he was younger. At some point he had ceased to think it by itself, despite some of the things he had seen since, because that would not change anything.

Instead, he would think, things like this should not happen, and I will do what I can to keep them from happening again in the future.

So that meant doing this, especially since it was potentially part of his own quest, and no great or real trouble besides. Especially since it would, in fact, potentially be helpful to his own quest. He had a feeling that if he followed this path, he might be given the opportunity to talk things out, instead of having to improvise a stealthy way into the temple. (And it would be improvisation; he was no stealth expert. The question was whether that mattered or not.)

He memorized the marking on her arm (a brand, then, like the others the phoenix had described), and felt it was somewhat... fortuitous... that it was a bird. At least, it seemed so to him. Makoto had never believed in omens, but when on a quest for a highly powerful spiritual being, it didn't seem to him as though it was wise to doubt such things. Not that he was going to relax his guard and tone down his caution when dealing with the mission and things that might halt him, but still. It was a bit of good fortune that he couldn't quite keep from making him slightly more optimistic.

...Slightly.

(He would probably still have to try very hard.)

He also memorized the details she had given him, bowed his head for a moment in respect, and summoned his wings.

"Light at night is not an issue for me," Makoto said with some sense of irony, "but if that's the path there, I think I'll follow it; it seems best. Don't worry, I will deliver your message as quickly as I am able."

A thought strikes me. Could you fly there more quickly than I could?

Certainly, but I cannot get too far ahead of you. I can maintain a decent distance, and herald your arrival as well so they know we do not mean them harm. But it would not be a good idea for me to stray too far from you, I don't think.

I understand. That makes sense.

He summoned the flaming wings again, careful that they flared out backward and not to her (he wasn't sure if they'd hurt a person) and, when she handed him the letter, he would spring up into the air to look for and follow the path north, to the fifth temple and the man with a hawk brand on his chest.

 

[Toraono Kuro]

With a surge of primal chakra Makoto leaped into the sky trailing the phoenix as they found a warm air current mirroring the path up the mountain range. Lantern keepers lived in stone homes near their marker stones seven in all and with his advanced eye sight he could see each bore a different crest upon their gi's. As the trees gave way to the ridgelines of the mountains a stark and cold wind surged in from the east and all but sent Makoto plummeting from the sky but he would find he could easily land amongst the stones or the stairwells carved into the various mountains. His capacity for flight had managed to grant him a huge head start on what would have been a 2 day journey for a runner Makoto managed to reach the halfway point up the mountains in less than eight hours. Strong winds and learned skills and combined with traditional shinobi lessons allowed Makoto to reach the first ridge of the fifth mountain and the cavern entrance to the temple. It was near the entrance he found the village runner he was running a severe fever and delusional from a set of snake bites. The serpent sage was apparently still in action, as the phoenix landed Taomo fell to his knees and prayed to the Suzaku before fainting from poison.

Summary: Taomo is alive and suffering from serpent venom,
The Serpent sage is still around somehow.
From the cavern entrance Makoto can see through the first mountain to the main temples across a large bridge and a massive chasm.

 

[Shiruko Makoto]

Makoto was starting to warm to the wonders of flight, if only due to how amazingly efficient it was. The phoenix, upon hearing him remark this mentally, simply sighed and said it seemed like he would always miss the point of the aesthetic beauty of the landscape from the air for its own sake, and that he ought to try and appreciate things for more than their usefulness.

Sure, okay, whatever. I don't have to walk up mountains, is the point here.

I won't say 'I give up,' as I do not, but I am certainly ending this conversation for now.

As to why they were speaking mentally in flight rather than out loud, well. The wind was starting to get rather nasty, and Makoto preferred not to shout to make himself heard if he didn't have to. Not only was it a bit of a strain on his throat to do for too long, but one never knew where the wind would carry sound. Besides, when they had an alternate, better, much-lower energy option to communicate with, it would be silly not to use it.

He was still somewhat unprepared for the sudden snap of wind that hit him first, knocking him out of the sky. The phoenix, basically unaffected by wind when it chose to be due to being a spirit, banked after him as he managed to pull up, but there was no way he could keep flying. He landed lightly in an alcove on the well-carved stairway and pulled a face. The phoenix dipped again and came down to hover in front of him.

"I suppose there are some downsides to physical wings," it said. "However, I don't believe we are too far from our destination. It's just up this path some distance and through a cavern."

Makoto sighed. "Too much to ask for no walking, I suppose. Oh well, I needed to rest my chakra for a while anyway."

Fortunately, he'd managed to land fairly far up the mountain. Mountain pathways usually twisted and wound, and they were nothing as the bird flew. The cavern the two of them had spotted wasn't that far off. Unfortunately, there appeared to be someone there already. Makoto almost drew a weapon before he noted the man's similarity to the village woman he'd spoken to recently.

So he's not dead.

Neither was he in a good state, though, since the man collapsed shortly after the phoenix touched down on his shoulder.

"Snake bites?" Makoto asked, after automatically dropping to his knees to examine the fallen man. He only had basic first aid skills from his time in the Wardens, but...well, that might be enough.

"You did not manage to kill that man who attacked the village," the phoenix reminded him. "I don't suppose you are carrying antivenin."

He grimaced. "No, not quite. Although I do have a technique that can potentially dispel poisons."

Medical jutsu weren't his forte, but they were still good to know--although he would never take the steps to becoming a medical ninja, he could probably handle this easily enough. The phoenix maintained a watch to see if the snake summoner was nearby while Makoto laid a hand onto the fallen messenger and performed a System Shock.

"C'mon," he muttered. "Need to at least get on your feet...then we can see if you're well enough off to head back or not..."

If not, Makoto could always escort the man to and leave him at one of the spire guardians' homes. But it was seeming like it might really be a good idea to hurry, so he didn't want to have to escort someone wounded too far.

 

[Toraono Kuro]

Taomo surged briefly and then thick green venom was expelled from multiple wounds to his legs, back, and chest. From the looks of it and the systematic decay of flesh, Taomo had indeed been running up the path when he was assaulted by venomous serpents that struck his legs and back. From his defensive wounds it looks like he fought back and escaped a rather large one that had tried to wrap around and suffocate him. There was a crushed jar at his waist that contained some kind sulfuric powder residue that evidently caused the snake to release him. He began to breathe normally, the serpent had left an odd indentation upon his shoulder as well, apparently when it tried to bite down upon him to secure him for constriction, Taomo had moved defensively and managed to break the lower fangs. Whatever he had used to defend himself or carried was gone now. Taomo opened his eyes to look at Makoto and it was there that Makoto noticed something odd, small sparks of lightning surged within his irises before his eyes returned to a natural grey color. Makoto had seen this before, either the young man had a hidden blood line or he was lightning blessed. His wounds looked much better as well as the bitter stench of venom began to dissolve with its contact upon the icy earth. The bridge loomed ahead as Taomo sat up and looked upon his saviors fully. "Thank you for saving me, whatever you did cleared the venom and made me feel better. Are you one of the elder monks or are you something else? I have only seen a phoenix with one of the grand elders but that was long ago when I was a child...WAIT... I have no time for questions... the village was under attack by the serpent sage and he sent his serpents out to get me. I must tell my grandfather Master Taoshin that he has come and that he is after the sacred treasures.<i></i> Taomo then checked his person with a desperation that Makoto could almost feel himself before the young man visibly slumped in defeat, "The serpents have taken the talisman wind from me, without it we cannot cross the chasm bridge lest the winds judge us unworthy and throw us into the abyss of woe..."<i></i> Makoto would be able to note the phoenix symbol upon the young runner's open leg was a bit different than his Aunt's seal which was upon her arm. There were indeed seals around it. A single element seal that he could identify for lightning. Perhaps there was a specific reason he was the runner for the village despite being related to the elder of the fifth temple. A scale could be felt within Makoto's mind which ever way it tilted he needed only to balance his actions to match what was occurring around him. What did he need to do now?

Icy winds blew across a sturdy stone bridge just outside the cavern they could just see through but there appeared to be no further lantern keepers.

 

[Shiruko Makoto]

This was not a coincidence.

That was the first thought that struck Makoto's mind as he listened to the messenger's story. The bandits were on their way to steal, probably, the very relics that belonged to the birds? It didn't seem particularly likely that they and he were both after the same thing at the same time by coincidence. Things did not just happen like that. Which meant that the Mother of Birds had likely sent him on this specific mission so as not to allow the feathers to fall into the wrong hands.

...Or she hadn't known, and this was indeed just bad timing (or good, as case may end up being). An option, but not one he felt likely. Still, either way, it was irrelevant.

"Well, that's the first time I've been mistaken for older than I am," he muttered as he eyed the bridge, thoughts racing. "It's...a long story. The serpent sage was driven off from the village, but if he's come this way..."

The winds were apparently protective, and could only be traversed if one had the talisman--or knew what they were doing. He glanced back at the seal on the man's leg. Lightning in the blood--the seal on the leg might translate to metaphor, giving him speed and making him the fastest runner in his town. Maybe enough to keep up with a ninja, while healthy at least. And it didn't look like he had a whole lot of choice--well, depending on what Taomo wanted to do, anyway.

But lightning was probably the key here. The question was whether it had to be just lightning, or whether there was some other sort of modifier.

The phoenix alighted properly on his shoulder, preening its silver-white feathers. An affectation it used while thinking, he knew; it didn't really have feathers, being a spirit first and foremost.

Yes, I believe I am thinking the same thing you are. I am not quite sure if it will be enough. Perhaps you should ask him for any other details about the medallion?

Is there time?

Is there time to get it wrong?

Probably not.

There were a couple of options that Makoto could see.

One, the answer was rooted in straight up lightning, and he could select any lightning jutsu he knew to activate and maintain, to dispel or counter the wind as he went across.

Two, it had to be a specific lightning jutsu and without more details he'd be here probably far longer than he should.

Three, it was some combination of wind and lightning, and it was a wind talisman combined with Taomo's obvious innate lightning talent that made the difference.

...Four, something he hadn't thought of yet.

He really wished he had some sort of idea what was on the talisman; that would help significantly. Because as he thought, he was leaning toward option number three. If it was just wind or just lightning, then either the talisman or the bloodline ought to cover it.

"A wind talisman?" he said slowly, aloud. "As in, elemental wind, yes? And you have lightning blood in you..."

Winds judge us unworthy...I suppose the last option is to say that they won't, and just to head across. That does feel too reckless. I have no interest in puzzling out what would be thought of as worthy and determining whether it's a quality I possess or no. And, when it came down to it--well, he was sort of intending to steal the relics originally as well, even if it was to return them to their rightful, original owners. He wasn't optimistic about what any winds protecting the temple would say about that.

So 'walk through and hope the wind doesn't knock me off, since I already know I can't fly through it' seemed like literally the stupidest option. No, then.

Lightning and wind makes...light.

It couldn't be that simple, could it?

Lantern keepers. They keep the path lit. Just because it's dangerous otherwise? Or is it a clue? No wonder the bandit would need to steal the talisman; it's not likely anyone like that would have bothered to learn Photon jutsu.

Call that, tentatively, the most likely option then. He would try it first. If that failed, straight up lightning. If that failed, he'd request more details about the talisman and try and work it out. They weren't going to be going anywhere until he did--the crazy reckless option was definitely not one, he realized, because if those were the same winds that had already knocked him down he already knew they didn't like him.

It was a pity there was no one else to ask at the moment other than a probably-clueless kid who could give him, likely, no more than a general description.

Maybe he ought to ask if any of the villagers who'd lost family felt sorry for him.

A skintight shield, or...no, best go for the most literal possible thing.

Without further conscious intervention or second-guessing, Makoto lifted his hands in the seals for a jutsu to illuminate the area, directing it at the wind-guarded bridge.

If that failed to pacify the winds, he had a field of lightning he would try afterward. If that didn't work...well, he'd turn to Taomo and question him more closely about the medallion, which surely held some sort of clue. Or perhaps he knew something else, after all.

The phoenix did not say anything, but had stopped preening and fluffed its feathers once, soundlessly, in something like approval.

 

[Toraono Kuro]

The Bridge alit with light and briefly Makoto could see seals here and there but the seals were obvious traps laid by the serpent sage and upon the other side he could see 2 people laying upon the ground obviously unconscious. To make matters odd both men were bald but laying on cold stone with nothing but shorts and a cotton shirt which meant they were obviously monks. Why they were all but naked was another question altogether. Taomo stood up and steadied himself before nodding to Makoto believing him to be some kind of elder or guardian. Taomo stepped upon the bridge his body came alive with lightning as lower level bursts of lightning surged into him but he walked on. The winds kicked up and pushed him back before he stepped on a trap seal. It was odd but it was almost as if the storm winds were protecting Taomo.

 

[Shiruko Makoto]

Well, at least that wasn't a total waste of time.

So apparently wind plus lightning was not actually the answer. Makoto figured he must have been overthinking the whole thing. Maybe the puzzle was a lot more simple than that. (Then again, there was no reason it had to be solvable; a good security system wasn't. But he could pick locks, so he could do this. Any security system was solvable, regardless of if and should.)

But now he knew to not only contend with the natural security system, but the traps. He could probably set those off remotely, but there were a lot of kinds of traps that it didn't matter if you did that; they would still do things you didn't want them to. Worst case was they would ruin the bridge and prevent him from getting across at all.

The monks had...probably been stripped of some kind of protective garment or talisman of their own. Or perhaps the sage was going to disguise himself as one to break into the temple that way, which meant that he would have to find a way to expose the man on top of everything else, assuming he got there before the bandits started acting...

He bit back a warning to stop as Toamo set foot on the bridge. The other man probably knew better than him about this region.

It's...shielding him? I still don't think I really ought to count on that for me...

"What is the worst-case scenario?" the phoenix asked him gently. "That it knocks you off the bridge and you are forced to fly up back onto this side again?"

"That I get knocked down and the wind's too strong for me to fly up, of course," he said, giving it a strange look. "That looks like an awful long way to fall, never mind be pushed down at terminal velocity."

It clacked its beak soundlessly. "I see. Well, in that case, we already know I am unaffected by the wind, since I am not really corporeal to physical forces. So I can lift you, if that happens. Not for long, but enough to get you back up here safely."

That...sounded like a decent fallback, in case he needed it, but...

"It isn't as if you have many other options," it pointed out. "Although, I agree you cannot necessarily rely on the wind to protect you or guide your movements. If it is capable of sensing intention of those passing through without a talisman, then surely it can tell we are here mostly for the Mother of Birds and not just to protect its people. You ought to be careful of the traps."

"That part isn't too difficult, I don't think, unless it deliberately knocks me into them," Makoto answered absently, running through and comparing lightning jutsu mentally. "I might not be Saito's equal with seals, but I can deal with and recognize them. Most anyone in my family can. If I had the time I could walk through and disable them, probably, but we don't. So that will have to wait until afterward, assuming they haven't got anyone left who can."

And assuming the wind didn't take his intention to relieve the temple of the feathers for their original owners as deserving of being blown into traps or blown off the edge.

The phoenix took off from his shoulder wordlessly, hovering over him and following closely. Presumably it was keeping itself within range to pick him up and drag him back to the edge should he be blown up.

Right then. He took a deep breath and unconsciously wiped his sweaty palms off on his jacket. Here goes nothing.

Instead of activating a jutsu, which felt like it would be somewhat pointless, he simply drew his parasol and started channeling lightning through it. He was accustomed to using it as a shield and a barrier, and so used to channeling through it by this point that was was able to spread some of the charge over himself as well. Then he carefully set foot on the bridge, the phoenix hovering anxiously (he thought, anyway) behind him, just in case.

And just in case it didn't blow him off but didn't help him with the traps, he would be careful on his way across.

 

[Toraono Kuro]

The wind buffeted Makoto heavily pushing him back to the edge of the bridge where he first stepped upon it. The bridge alit with lightning the same color as the faded blue lightning as Taomo’s seal and the lightning in his eyes. The lightning struck the lightning of Makoto’s parasol and winked out… The lightning wasn’t the same frequency as Taomo’s but was strong enough to disperse the bridge’s lightning, the odd seals were still visible but the photonic effect was slowly fading. They would not be visible for much longer, and there seemed to be something going on, lights were winking out along the distant path across the bridge ahead. Taomo prayed serenely before nodding to Makoto. It seemed he was willing to try again but he could not see the trap seals. Perhaps some combination of efforts was the key.