Ninpocho Chronicles

Ninpocho Chronicles is a fantasy-ish setting storyline, set in an alternate universe World of Ninjas, where the Naruto and Boruto series take place. This means that none of the canon characters exists, or existed here.

Each ninja starts from the bottom and start their training as an Academy Student. From there they develop abilities akin to that of demigods as they grow in age and experience.

Along the way they gain new friends (or enemies), take on jobs and complete contracts and missions for their respective villages where their training and skill will be tested to their limits.

The sky is the limit as the blank page you see before you can be filled with countless of adventures with your character in the game.

This is Ninpocho Chronicles.

Current Ninpocho Chronicles Time:

Poverty, Chastity, and Obedience [A]

Takaki Saeko

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Meanwhile, in the town of Sasorigakure…

“Bye, Boo!” I give Tomo a parting kiss before he steps onto the train back to Kumo. It’s been a short, but still amazing time spent with him in this idyllic resort town, and just the sort of vacation we both needed. Wine-tasting, cheese-sampling, gift-buying, and of course, a constant stream of lusty, sweaty, and very loud...you know what. We might have annoyed some of our neighbors in adjacent rooms where we were staying, but aside from some knowing winks and nods, no one’s really complained about it. I’ve had such a good time, in fact, that I’ve completely forgiven the Tanuki patriarch for inserting his greedy twat of a granddaughter into my mission unprompted. And I made sure Tomo came home laden with bags of special chocolate coins for the old man/racoon. I would have liked to have spent more time with my beau, but he had obligations to attend to back at the Mochizuki homestead, and I still technically have a mission to supervise. I’m not too bothered, though, because quite frankly, my...hips...were becoming a little sore and I’m walking with a bit of a limp.

It’s evening when I arrive back at the inn, minus Tomo for the first time in a while. The town’s preparing for a small festival, and the streets are draped with lanterns and colorful banners. There’s a jolly mood in the air.

“I’m back! Room one forty-one,” I casually say as I check in again with the front.

“Oh!” The innkeeper, a middle-aged woman, immediately starts to blush and chuckle. “Ah, good to see you again. Um...Miss Takaki, I didn’t want to, uh, say it before, but...I’ve been getting some complaints from the other guests about the particular noises you’re making in your room. For everyone’s comfort, could you please...tone it down in there?”

“What?” My cheeks start to flush a bit.. “Oh, uh, yes. I’m sorry. Well, my boyfriend’s left a bit early, so it won’t be an issue anymore.”

“Your boyfriend?”

“Yes, Mochizuki Tomo? He was only here for a little while, but I made sure to pay for him, too.”

The innkeeper tries to keep herself from chortling. “Yes, of course…Mochizuki Tomo. Oh you poor dear, it’s just as the article said! Miss Takaki, although I appreciate the extra money, you know you don’t have to pay for two when it’s just you staying here alone, right?”

I frown. “What article? And why wouldn’t I pay for two? It’s only fair…”

The innkeeper hands me a copy of the local town rag, which I notice that all of the other patrons in the lobby are also reading--and chuckling to themselves as they glance at me. One of the headlines catches my eye: “Traveling Performers Turn Every City Into Sin City,” by one “Novice Sister Emiria, Ordo Magdalena.” At first, it it seems like any other anti-entertainment screen put out by the Tenouzans to try and ramp up church attendance, but…

“...humans then believe themselves to be lovers of these thespians, and become delusional. One such woman is Takaki Saeko, who does lustful things to a body pillow while screaming the name of her imaginary boyfriend…” I read aloud.

I stop, look up at the innkeeper, at the rest of the patrons, and now I understand. Slowly, I crumple the article into a ball with my fist. Even though I don’t know who “Novice Sister Emiria” is, I definitely know who she is. I force a smile and turn back to the innkeeper.

“On second thought, I’ll come back later. Tell the kitchen I’ll have a special, late-night order: Deep Fried Tanuki. Don’t worry, I’ll bring the meat.”
* * *

In the cloister of the Magdalene Order

Senna stretched happily on the scratchy straw mattress, resting her head on Rinko’s shoulder and nuzzling her hair. It was just past the end of Compline, and the other residents of the cloister had settled into their beds. If anyone had noticed that the two novices were sharing a mattress, no one commented. It was now complete darkness outside, only punctuated by the low, flickering light of the solitary candle marking the entrance to the stairwell. Inside, silence reigned, save for the sounds of breathing and occasional snores.

“You know, it kind of feels like we’re the last people left in the world right now,” Senna murmured. It was obvious that she was tiring quickly. “But I don’t really mind. I’m happy like this. I’m happy with you…” she said, giving Rinko’s hand a squeeze. “Thank you for being with me. I want…” she yawned, “I want us to be together...forever…”

In a few moments, her breaths flowed with somnolent regularity through Rinko’s hair, caressing her ears and letting her know that Senna had truly gone to the land of dreams. Somewhere nearby, Rinko’s ears picked up the sounds of someone else softly padding down the stairs, and she knew it was time.

Meticulously, agonizingly, Rinko extricated herself from Senna’s embrace and slid out from beneath the covers, leaving Senna clutching a pillow. Than, taking special care to avoid tripping or knocking against anything on the floor, Rinko made her way to the bottom of the stairwell.

As she’d suspected, Jocasta was already there to meet her, but what Rinko hadn’t expected was how the other girl looked. Her right arm was now encased in wrappings and bound up in a sling, and her normal expression, usually full of hubris and scorn, was now more tempered than usual.

“That fuckin’ bitch got me good,” Jocasta sighed. “What is with you and attracting all of the worst kinds a shitheels inta yer orbit, anyway? Now if you’re done munchin’ on Senna’s blessed carpet, then let’s get on with it. My arm’s useless right now, so yer gonna have ta do the heavy lifting. But I’m not gonna let ya screw me on the deal, so I’m still comin’ with ya. You got the pick?”

The smell of booze was still strong enough from further down that they could be assured that the circatrices would be few and far between. Still, it was safer to make their way toward the cloister entrance without light, so the two girls padded along in the darkness for a while before finally coming to the main entrance of the cloister. Being a Tanuki and an academy student had given Rinko easy facility with lockpicks, and it wasn’t too long before she heard the satisfying click of tumblers locking into position and the latch swinging open.

“Jesus Fuckin’ Saito,” Jocasta whispered, shaking her head. “I kinda thought you’d screw up and break the pick off inside the lock, but yer more skilled than ya look. Now let’s go. The booze cart’s nearby, in a small shed next to the custodian’s cottage. Easy does it out there--there’s guards about.”

The smell of the outside world’s air came as a shock: inside, Rinko’s nose had gotten used to the constant odor of incense, beeswax, and bad porridge. But now, the combined scents of mountain air, pine forests, and animal manure all rushed her olfactory centers like a thirsty stampede, making her eyes water for a second. Jocasta had already gone ahead, and signaled for Rinko hurry up. As expected, roving torchlights in the distance suggested isolated patrols, but none of them were close enough to even have a chance of discovering the pair.

It wasn’t too long until Rinko made it over to the small shed that leaned up against one of the cottages built into the cloister’s outer wall. And, true to Jocasta’s word, there it was: a small cart covered with a tarp, under which were stacked wooden crates.

“Oh baby, come to Mama,” Jocasta said, and pried one of the crates’ tops off with her knife. She reached in with her uninjured arm, pulled out a dark green bottle, and tossed it to Rinko. “Kelmura Adega Velha, twelve years old,” she said, triumphantly. “This is the good shit right here. Normally, we’d haul a whole crate back, but since I’m gimped to hell, we’ll just need ta take as many bottles as we can. If the circs complain, then they can take it out on Rucilla’s ass. God, I hope they whip that bitch hard...”

Mid-sentence, and just as Rinko noticed it, Jocasta spun around and pointed her knife at a figure leaning lazily against the doorframe to the shed. But no sooner had the girl leveled her weapon, than a flash of silver arced through the air, knocking the blade out of Jocasta’s hand. It spun through the air and skittered off somewhere in the darkness, lost forever.

“What the shit?” Jocasta gasped, as Takaki Saeko stepped into the shed, saber in hand and leveled at her.

“Get the hell out, Gimpylocks,” Saeko snapped at Jocasta, gesturing with her thumb. She shifted her blade to Rinko’s direction. “You, 'Emiria,' stay right here.”

Jocasta shot an accusatory, and surprisingly wounded glare at Rinko. “Y-you! I k-knew you’d try’n s-screw me! Just like e-everyone else! Fuck you! F-Fuck you to hell!” She slapped her good hand against her face to smear away tears, and her voice broke “...and f-fuck me for trusting you!”

With that, Jocasta darted past Saeko and into the darkness. Saeko exhaled in annoyance and slowly closed the shed. Rinko knew there was no escaping her in the moment. A crumpled ball of paper rolled to her feet. Rinko picked it up, straightened it out, and came face to face with her own article.

“That wasn’t Maria, was it?” Saeko said. “It doesn’t matter, anyway. I’m through caring about Osu’s bullshit. The last time I called him with a mission update it was all ‘cheeki breeki suka blyad!’ and ‘kurwa!’ before he hung up on me. Then he butt-dialed me while doing a cossack dance and singing ‘Katushya’ over and over again. That vatnik is dead to me. Dead!” She cracked her knuckles.

“But what to do with you, little Tanuki Rinko. You know, your shitty little article could be construed as libelous slander under our law, and I could have you spit-roasted in court with a single call to the Shogun. You know his Lord Protector, Mochizuki Tama? I’m besties with her, and you’re totally not. You’ll owe me millions in damages, and you’re gonna work a series of low-wage jobs for the rest of your life trying to pay me off. Now, before you dig yourself a bigger hole than the one you’re already in, you’re gonna come back to Kumo with me right now, without making a fuss, and without a single godrotting word from your mouth. This charade, this mission, is over. The only thing I’m glad for is that you saved me the trouble of busting into the cloister to get you.”

Saeko held out her hand, expectantly. “It’s time to leave.”
And this is a critical decision time! Will Rinko resist, solve the case, and possibly make amends with Jocasta? Or will she yield to Saeko’s pressure, come home a mission failure, and also possibly have a lawsuit hanging over her head? Or is there a third (or fourth) way? Find out when Rinko posts again!
 

Tanuki Rinko

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Rinko held out a hand as Jocasta ran past Saeko. When Goldilocks was gone, she frowned down at the extended hand. Why should I care? She put a knife to my throat...she was probably going to backstab me eventually. But Rinko couldn't shake the image of Jocasta's unfitting tears dripping down her cheeks. The tanuki was brought back to the present by the wad of paper tossed at her feet. Her eye twitched at the unfurled paper. "Gek!" The lecture began, and Rinko's ears flipped back to mitigate Saeko's screeching.

Once the frenzied woman was done, she held out her hand, demanding the two leave. Rinko looked back and forth between the hand and Saeko's face. This was her out. If Saeko didn't care about the mission, why should Rinko? Why was she even on this mission? It was only a few days ago, but Rinko had already forgotten what she was doing this for. She clutched the tabloid in her hand and furrowed her brow. Come on! Why am I here? Who's it for?! What's stopping me from going home right now? The answer smacked her upside the head hard enough to cause her to flinch. It's...for me. She was here because if she could do this, she could prove to Pops and Gramps that she wasn't a failure. And while she hated to admit it, Rinko had learned an important lesson during this mission. There were other girls her age that had it far worse than her. Some had unfortunate mental issues, others were destined to be trapped in the cloister forever...and some didn't have a single soul to trust.

With her epiphany complete, Rinko reached into the base of her tail and produced the small note from Antonia. She placed the crinkled paper and the note in Saeko's outstretched hand. "I'm sorry. I was still mad at you for being mean to me. But to be fair, the Sister Millia really liked it, so I've at least got one nun on my side." Rinko's apologetic expression shifted to one of determination. "And it also made me friends. One of the girls works for the Lord Protector. She's supposed to keep an eye out for things against the Shogun. Apparently that note needs to get to your 'bestie'." Rinko balled her fists. "And I need to complete my mission. I know you don't trust me... I don't trust me either..." Rinko's hands shook lightly. "But when a Tanuki makes a deal, they don't go back on it." With her piece said, Rinko turned to a crate of booze and slid it onto her back. Her thin legs buckled slightly, but with some extra assistance from her tail, Rinko was able to stabilize. She began inching to the shack entrance. "Now, ugh, if you'll excuse me. Nng. I have a damsel to find and a deal to finish."
 

Takaki Saeko

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Saeko’s expression darkened as Rinko firmly rebutted her offer. As for the proffered note, she crumpled it in her fist before looming over the younger woman like a cobra about to inject its venom. Every mote of tension in the air braced for the anticipated slap across Rinko’s face. But in the end, emerged only a sigh.

“What the hell do you think this is, an anime?” Saeko said, making a grimace. “The real world doesn’t work like this. You can’t just like...rely on the power of friendship to overcome hardship and become a better person for it! Life is cruel. So damned cruel, you know.” She huffed and threw up a dismissive hand. “Fine, whatever! Stay here, leave, I don’t care. I’m just going to report that mednin apprentice Junketsu Maria died of gonorrhea or something equally stupid. But I’m getting out of here, and you’re on your own. Hell, if you want to actually try and become an ordained nun, that’d be a hilarious sight. I bet you won’t last a week.”

Wordlessly, Rinko struggled to heft her crate of brandy. Saeko shook her head and started to push the door open again, muttering to herself. “Stupid kid...no, she does not remind me of myself…” Nearby rustling, however, caught her ear and she peered out of the partially-open doorway. “Huh?”

Bless you, Motherfucker!” Senna shouted, before her swung bottle shattered over Saeko’s head and knocked the woman cleanly out. Rinko barely had time to react before Senna, Jocasta, Antonia, and even Rucilla piled into the room, each hefting their own improvised cudgel.

“Holy fuck, you killed her!” Jocasta gasped, and turned a little pale. “That’s so hardcore!”

“Nah, she’ll be fine,” Antonia said, checking Saeko’s pulse. Subtly, she withdrew the crumpled letter from Saeko’s fist before neatly re-folding it and then stuffing it in the unconscious woman’s decolletage. “I’m relying on you, girlfriend,” she said, giving Saeko a peck on the lips.

“Hey,” Senna said to Rinko, striding over to catch the girl in a tender embrace. “I’m so glad you’re okay...but this is for sneaking out on our sleepover!” she said, giving Rinko a slap.

“Um...w-we should p-probably explain to Emiria-sama w-why we’re h-here, r-right?” Rucilla stammered, trying to hide her blushing.

“Jocasta woke me with her sobbing,” Senna began.

“I wasn’t crying!” Jocasta protested.

Senna smiled. “Anyway, I asked her what was wrong, and she told me everything. So we got Antonia, freed Rucilla from her cell, and came here. And just in time, too.”

“Um, Fluff--I mean Emiria--I’m sorry I doubted ya,” Jocasta said, staring at the floor. “It’s just that I’ve been burned by someone like you a long time ago. Someone I really liked and thought I could, ya know, trust with secrets and shit…” Her voice trailed off and she started to prod Saeko with a toe. “But anyway, just who the fuck is this?”

“It’s not important,” Senna said. “What’s important is that we have to get back to the cloister now, or we’ll all be thrown out of the order. I’m sure at least one of the circatrices already discovered the open gate.”

“Fine, then each of ya take a pair of bottles,” Jocasta said. “Don’t make Emiria carry the entire damn crate herself.”

“That’s a sin,” Senna said.

“Emiria-sama, allow me p-please,” Rucilla said, and effortlessly lifted the crate from Rinko’s back with a single hand.

Padding away from the shed as fast as they could, the group of girls approached the unlocked cloister entrance, only to freeze at the sight of a pair of circatrices standing watch before the doorway, torches lit and whipping canes held at the ready. The girls crouched behind the cover of a row of bushes, furtively looking around.

“Shit,” Jocasta said. “Too late. We’re screwed…”

“What if you just like, gave them some booze?” Antonia asked. “Without you, they’re also screwed, right?”

“Doesn’t work like that,” Jocasta said. “I hafta be discrete about it just like they do. Them’s the rules.”

“There’s another way,” Senna said, after some thought. “It involves a bit of climbing, but it’ll get us on the roof of the chapel. From there, we can make our way down through the belltower and back to our quarters.”

“Don’t have ta tell me twice, let’s do it,” Jocasta said. “Hey Gorilla--I mean, Rucilla. Think you can manage with the crate?”

“If it’s for Emiria-sama, I’ll c-carry the w-world on my s-shoulders,” Rucilla said. “Let’s g-go!”

* * *​


An hour later, and drenched with sweat from their efforts, the small group finally pulled themselves up over the precipice and onto the stone-tiled roof of the chapel of the Magdalene Order. Even Rucilla, who seemed possessed of unnatural strength, seemed red-faced and tired as she set her crate down for the first time. Just as Rinko had observed from her initiation day in that same chapel, the roof was dozens of meters off the ground, and from this perch, one could see almost the entirety of the sprawling countryside below. On the horizon, the night’s blue just began to yield to subtle shades of pink, heralding the imminent rebirth of the sun.

Senna plopped down on the tiles alongside Rinko and laid on her back, her breathing hard and heavy. “Amazing view, isn’t it? Too bad we can’t wait for the sunrise. They’ll know we’re missing for sure. But one day, after we’re ordained, I want us all to sit up here together and watch it for real.”

Antonia stretched and popped a squat nearby. “Senna, I’m curious. How exactly do you know about this place, anyway?”

Senna let out a long breath. “Because when I first came here, I wanted nothing more than to fall off of this very roof. I wanted an easy way out after...after being betrayed by someone I loved and trusted. I’ve stood at this very edge a dozen times, hoping that the wind would pick up and toss me to the ground. I was desperate enough to stand here, and too cowardly to just jump. But nothing ever happened. And so I had to go back every time or get whipped. Eventually, I came to think that perhaps it was, in some small way, kind of a message from the Allfather or something. That my life was worth living, even as lonely as it was.” She reached out and grasped Rinko’s hand in hers. “And now that you’re here, I know for sure that He wants me to live. Because He let me know you.”

“Oh my fucking GOD,” Jocasta said, with a snort. “That’s like the worst confession ever,” she said, giggling.

“Shut up!” Senna said, but with a chuckle.

“Hey, I thought it was cute,” Antonia said. A predatory smile drew across her face. “But, you know, Emiria, if a young girl’s pouring her secrets out to you so freely, shouldn’t you, perhaps...reveal a bit of yours? I mean, that’s assuming you have any secrets. I won’t pry further, if you don’t to get into it...”

And finally, it’s the decision point we’ve all been waiting for! This is Rinko’s last chance to make her accusation: which of these troubled girls is actually fellow Cloud shinobi Junketsu Maria? And if she’s correct, what will Rinko do about it? Find out in the next and final episode!
 

Tanuki Rinko

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Rinko's head twinged in pained sympathy as she stared down at the unconscious kunoichi. Nevertheless, she smiled at the girls who had come to her 'rescue'. Senna's slap almost caused Rinko to drop the crate, but she held on strong to avoid making too much noise. With the explanation of why the girls were there out of the way, the five gathered the alcohol and made their exit. Before leaving, Rinko curled Saeko's body into a ball and placed one of the large empty crates over her. "I know life can be cruel...but without the downs, you can't appreciate the ups. And I'm gonna ride this high as long as I can." She gave the box a small pat. "So be grateful for this down, it will make you value all the 'uping' you did for the past few days with your boyfriend." She gave the box a final knock before trotting out of the shed.

The gang reached the entrance, but paused when they saw the swarming circatrices. With quick thinking from Senna, the girls took to high ground as to avoid jeopardy. Once upon the roof of the chapel, everyone took a moment to catch their breath. As their stamina recovered, Senna let her heart lay bare, causing Rinko to blush lightly at the implication that she gave the young girl a reason to live. The verbal jab from Antonia slapped Rinko's heart, reminding her what she had to do. She curled her tail to hug it close, and looked forlorn at the approaching dawn. "Yeah. This is my peak...and it's time for the fall." A snicker from Jocasta made Rinko analyze her words, and she buried her face in her tail. "Ugh. That was really bad, wasn't it. Like an edgy teen who just discovered fanfiction." With a sigh, the tanuki girl rose to her feet, keeping her back to her companions. "Truth is, I'm from Kumogakure. You know...the village filled with red-eyed edge lords, sexy chakra nurses, and kids like me that are raised to follow a man in a giant cone hat. I was sent her to find someone like me who was supposed to be a spy and bring her back with me. Her name...Junketsu Maria." She turned to scan the girls' faces in search of a reaction, but the dark hid their expressions. Rinko took two steps closer to the edge of the roof and looked again at the sky. "But I suck at reading people. It's probably why people avoid me, or disappear from the world after talking with me for mere minutes." She let out a pathetic chuckle before continuing. "So why play mind games when I can just come out and ask?"

The wind picked up as Rinko turned back to her posse. Her headscarf took flight, allowing her brown locks to dance on her shoulders. She held out her hand to the line of girls and gave a wry smirk. "Come with me, Maria. Heck, all of you can come if you want. Why lock yourselves away in a chapel when you can lock yourselves away in an entire village? The Allfather ain't gonna give your life meaning. You've gotta look in yourself and find it. Then, you work to make it happen. I forgot that a month ago, but all of you helped me remember what being a Tanuki is all about. So I wanna help you girls find your place in this Isamu-forsaken world too." It felt good to be honest, and the weight resting on her shoulders from the moment she'd entered the cloister blew away with the breeze. She tilted her head, the way she remembered all male protagonists do in her father's harem manga. "Let's go home."

OoC said:
Rinko chooses all of them because she doesn't know who Maria is.
 

Takaki Saeko

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Collectively and unintentionally so, the girls all inhaled together at Rinko’s revelation, and let out a long, ragged suspiration in response. Senna closed her eyes. Jocasta started to bite her nails. Rucilla squatted and clutched at her head. And Antonia allowed herself the slightest hint of a fox’s smile. She was also the first to speak.

“Well, you know why I can’t do that,” she said with a sigh. “As much as I’ve heard all the stories about hot boys rubbing each other down in the hot springs back at Cloud, I’ve got my own mission here. That doesn’t mean I can’t visit, though. Tell you what! We’ll make a rain-check! I’ll go down to Cloud the first moment I’m free to do so, and we’ll peep on those hot buttered boys as a team.”

Rucilla shook her head. “I---I really want to go back with you, Emiria-sama. You’re the-the coolest girl I’ve ever met, and I want to be with you forever… But you kinda helped me r-realize that I’ve got some problems of my own. I have to get better before I’m w-worthy of you. The sisters are helping me, too. W-when they whip me, my mind gets clearer, and I feel...good. So I’m gonna stick w-with the program, if that’s okay with y-you.”

Jocasta looked crestfallen. “Great. Just fuckin’ great. Now who the hell am I gonna run the racket with?” she frowned at Rinko, but quickly lapsed into a bittersweet smile. “Well, more profits for me in the end. Look, Emiria--whoever ya are--I’m grateful for the help. And under any other circumstances I’d ditch this punkass shithole in a godrotting heartbeat, but I can’t go to Kumo. I have history with a certain person in Kumo. Bad, bad history. Here, I can learn what I need to learn to get back at her skanky, tittymonster bitch ass. So I’m out. But I’m sure we’ll run into each other again, Emmy. We shady types always do, so I ain’t gonna say goodbye.”

“You said you knew someone in Kumo?” Antonia asked. “Doesn’t that make you Junketsu Maria, then?”

“Jabooby Whodafuck?” Jocasta asked. “No, I’m not a shinobi. I don’t have a lick of their power. Just have this one shitty red-headed aunt who happens to be one, though. Ugh, I don’t wanna talk about her right now. Alright, you two, if you’re done itching your slits I’d like to get back inside with the loot. I’ll give you a coin each if you help me.”

“I guess,” Antonia said. “Come on, Rucilla, let’s contribute to the Circatrices’ alcoholism and leave our two lovestruck birds alone!”

“Don’t d-do anything l-lewd with her!” Rucilla growled at Senna, before joining Jocasta and Antonia as they disappeared down a nearby hatch, back into the cloister with bottles in tow.

Senna and Rinko stared at the departing trio with some bemusement before turning back to face each other. For a while, Senna looked away, unable to meet Rinko’s eyes. But she finally reached out and took Rinko’s hands.

“I want to beg you to stay, but I know it’ll be useless,” Senna said, finally able to face Rinko again. “I ran through all the scenarios in my head, and all of them ended in failure. I know the Allfather has a plan, but he’s a mean old bastard sometimes.” She sighed and crossed herself. “Mea culpa. Anyway, you know I can’t go back with you either. Even if I were this ‘Maria’ character you’ve been sent here to find, you know that she’d be immediately arrested and executed for running. I, on the other hand, have cast my lot with the sisterhood, and with the Allfather. I’ve found a reason to live, and a purpose, and it’s thanks to you. I can’t just abandon it all. It would be like spitting on you, and I would cut my tongue away before I did that. So I’m staying here. I’ll probably never see you again.” At this, Senna started to cry in earnest. “You should go now. And I should rejoin the others. Live well for me, and for yourself. I’ll never forget you.”

At this, Senna whirled around and disappeared into the hatch, closing it behind her and leaving Rinko alone on the roof. A few minutes later, the sun finally broke the horizon and the night’s blue blossomed into stains of crimson and light.

* * *​


Eventually, Rinko made it back to Kumo by herself. She’d grown during her brief stint as a novice nun, and would be a strong shinobi--and even stronger Tanuki--for it. When she finally returned to her room within the unreasonably high paywalls of House Tanuki, she flopped right into her bed (after paying a fee, of course), and smooshed the large packet of letters and orders that had been left on her pillow. Within the packet was a formal report of mednin apprentice Junketsu Maria’s untimely death by fever from gonorrheal sepsis.

In addition, was a letter of endorsement for promotion to the rank of genin, stamped by the raikage, and signed by the main branch sennin, Kagetsu Yuii. One more signature was usually necessary: that of a direct field supervisor who’d personally seen the candidate in action during a mission or exam. That line had been filled in by Takaki Saeko.

Within the next few days, Novice Sister Emiria’s name was stricken from the ledger of candidates for ordination and she was formally expelled--in absentia--from the Ordo Magdalena. Like any other wretch expelled from an order as a novice, she would be allowed to rejoin if she repented and spent a hundred days engaged in fasting and self-flagellation.

No one had ever taken them up on the offer.

And Rinko’s mission is complete! Council, please pay her for an A-rank, and she is eligible for promotion (once she meets all criteria) to the level of genin.
 

Takaki Saeko

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Epilogue: Letters from a year later


To Her Excellency the Duchess Shinrya Kitsune of Ramei no Seika and Liancourt-Tsushima:

Auntie, I still hate you more than any living being. The oath I swore to one day ruin you and appropriate all of your earthly possessions still stands, as valid now as when I first made it while your lackeys dragged me off to the convent.

Yet I did not write this solely to reiterate my everlasting ressentiment. I actually wrote this letter to thank you, weird as it sounds. Although I am sure that you intended for my time as a novice at the Ordo Magdalena to be a miserable and painful banishment from your inner circle--and yes, it was odious as fuck--my time here gave me some unexpected gifts as well. I learned how to work the “incorruptible” Tenouzan system from the inside, and most importantly, I learned how to trust again. There was a young kunoichi I met here who taught me how. And only by her grace was I freed from the shackles of my own sorrow.

The Church is coming for you, and we will not be merciful. We will audit your accounts, convict you of heresy and idolatry and licentiousness, and leave you penniless. And when you find yourself freezing to death in a gutter, I will stand next to my friend, hand in hand, and kick some sewage in your eyes.

With all my disdain,

The former Baronessa Shinrya-Tsushima Kagami IV
Now Sister Jocasta, Prelate-Accountant of the Holy See

* * *​


Command: KETHERES
Permission: CHOKHMA BINAH CHESED

This communication is only for “Sister Antonia.” It will spontaneously combust once ten seconds have elapsed.

Heeeey girlfriend! Congratulations on like, passing the nun exam! Kinda like the genin exam, but takes less time (lmao!) Anyway, now that you’re a full-fledged sister, it’s time for the next phase of our plan! :p

The Tenouzans are gonna make their move real soon, and I wanna to make sure we’ve all got backstage passes to the show! So your job--lol, our job, I know, I know--is to like, keep pretending to be a good little sister and make sure we’re front and center when Judgement Day (ooh, scary! ;_; ) goes off! I’ve pulled a few strings with the monsignors in charge and we’re gonna be with the convoy that gets “exposed” to the stuff! Because this is something that could totally lead to our deaths or discovery, I’m allowing you some extra independence for this one. (Unlock level 3 permissions: GEVURAH TIFERET NETZACH).

And finally, that Tanuki Rinko who you made friends with in the cloister sounds like a total sweetie <3 <3 <3! But I’m afraid she might know more than she’s supposed to about you and me and everyone else in the Sephirot. So next time you see her, do us a solid and kill her, mmkay? Anyway, this message is about to burn, so seeya later, alligator!

Love and kisses!

-O

/Permission: CHOKHMA BINAH CHESED
/Command: KETHERES

* * *​


Hi Daddy, it’s been a while since I wrote. I know you’re dead but I like to write to you anyway. I’m doing much better now. The nice sisters at the Magdalene Order helped me a lot, and I no longer have those weird urges that I once did. Okay, that’s a bit of a lie, since I still have them but now I can control them better. We found out that if I give myself a lot of pain, it helps drive the urges away and I can think clearly again. The sisters tell me that I have the makings of a future “Defensor Fidei,” so they brought me to the training program in Tenouza itself. I have a lot of work to do before I finally destroy all of Cloud like you wanted. The Inquisitors also want to destroy Cloud, so I’m fitting in and making friends.

I’ll spare one of the heretics, though: a Tanuki girl from the village. I really, really like her and I want her to be mine forever. People told me we couldn’t get married because of the “raikage’s law,” so that means I have to destroy the raikage. His name is Kogami Ayumu, and he sounds like a total doofus.

Love,

Yukimura Enishiko, now Sister Rucilla of the Inquisition

* * *​


To Chief Doctor Chigokai-Koji Osuteno:

My darling Osu. This letter may come as a shock to you, because based on our intelligence reports from Cloud, you were assured that I’d perished of some embarrassing disease. On the contrary, I’m still very much alive, and recently passed my ordination. The Holy See has elevated me to a position from which I’ll be able to exert great influence over our dealings with Cloud, the Shogunate, and even the office of the Pontiff.

I’ll be brief: We are securing the future of humanity. A future free of the shackles imposed on it by the unnatural aberration of chakra. For this to happen, shinobi must be eliminated from this world. I know that all sorts of madmen and tyrants have repeated this claim throughout history, but the difference was that the Allfather wasn’t on their side. Nor was science.

The only reason I’m writing to tell you this is so you can send your children into hiding ahead of time. They should not have to see their parents perish in agony before their eyes, as will happen soon. And although I swore to extend you no kindness, I find myself breaking my own promise because of Tanuki Rinko. You may have sent her to murder me, but instead, she gave me a reason to live. It was for her sake that I resolved to continue on in the order, and she became the reason I find the strength to thrive. She made me feel like you once did, except she didn’t betray my love by marrying some painted Jashinist whore.

My deepest regret is that she’s a shinobi as well, and my heart breaks to know that she’ll likely die along with all the rest of you. But I can’t do anything about that. Not when our collective destiny is at stake. So I can only carry on, weep for her when the time comes, and write her name across history with your blood.

Judgement Day is coming.

-Maria

...now Sister Senna, Vice-Chair, Tenouzan Science Board
 

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