Private Reanimation

[Myakashi Migoya]

The fire crackled and spat in the cool evening breeze, seemingly chatting away to its two companions who loomed over it, hunched as if conspiring against the cold.

‘Eh, rabbit again. Seriously’. The poor creature!.

‘What are you complaining about, you do not eat.’

‘Yeah but I do smell’

You got that right.

A small smirk played on the corner of the strange man’s lips at his rather poor attempt at humour. His crimson gaze rose from the fire to witness the indignation of the affronted Kami.

“I most certainly do not smell… bad.”, the creature intoned, trying to gather a measure of dignity. “Id like to think I smell of cinnamon, mixed with freshly made bread’.

Migoya waited for the expected response from the Tsukumogami.

Ah, delusional as well as smelly. A fine mix - like cinnamon and bread apparently.

A small glow started to form around the Kami’s hand as his annoyance began to show. The puppet, sitting casually in his unusual place in Migoya’s hood, slowly slid a senbon out of… wherever, ready to retaliate.

“That is enough you two. Cant we please have a pleasant meal for once without you two arguing”. The man’s voice seemed disinterested, as if this was a common conversation and he was reciting his part of the play.

Probably not

“I can, that… thing cant”

A quick flash of light was the only indication that the senbon had erupted from Mikki’s outstretched hand and now flew unerringly towards the floating Kami. With another flash however, the senbon flew straight threw the puff of smoke that was all that remained of where Muu had been.

Pale fingers found there way back under the brown poncho as Migoya’s unsummoning jutsu played its part in sending Muu back to wherever Kami’s came from.

“Temper temper”, Migoya snickered.

Bah. Why you let that thing hang around, judging us, preaching at us, confuses the heck outa me! Mikki intoned, frustratinging tugging on Migoya’s shock of white hair.

“You know why”. Mikki clambered out of the poncho’s hood, jumping nimbly to the ground below.

Yeah yeah. What I dont know is why the heck are we out here instead of back at Yamigakure! I mean, you have it easy there - lap of luxury, bossing all those people around.

Migoya waved a hand towards the campfire, his movements somehow causing the shadows around the fire to dance, as if entranced by his pale fingers. “And that is exactly why. I grew complacent, allowing others to do that which I should be doing. There is no growth when standing still, no knowledge learned by reading the same scroll.”

If Mikki could have yawned he would of.

Blah blah. Tell me the real reason.

Migoya chuckled, always impressed with the Tsukumogami’s observation prowess.

“Well, apart from those reasons… Im simply bored. The shinobi of the nations need reminding of their limitations and responsibilities towards the disenfranchised of their countries. A bit of humbling perhaps, and to sharpen my claws”.

It didnt go well last time.

Migoya smirked. “Didnt it? Look at what has changed. The small seed of doubt is growing and will soon bear stronger fruit”.

The puppet shrugged its shoulders, seemingly bored with where this conversation was headed. Stretching himself out like a cat, Mikki snuggled back into the warm hood of Migoya’s strange knitted poncho.

Well, keep it down. Im trying to sleep.

[MFT]
WC: 564

 

[Myakashi Migoya]

“We are waiting.”

For what?

“For who, you mean.”

Mikki made a rude gesture, at least what would have been considered rude in many cultures. Pacing around what appeared to once have been the lair of some strangely large carnivore, based on the number of old bones that lay scattered around, the puppet casually kicked the skull of a rodent-like creature. The noise caused Migoya to raise his head, his crimson gaze falling upon the Tsukumogami.

“I would appreciate it if your hissy fit was a bit quieter”, Migoya said dryly.

But Im sooooo bored! The puppet intoned, the indignation telepathically reverberating in Migoya’s head. Cant we please just go and kill something? A crocodile or a hippopotamus! Or a Hokage? Or a cat! Yeah - a cat!

Migoya snorted. “Go kill a cat then Mikki, and leave me in peace for a while”.

With a newfound spring in his step Mikki reached down, grabbing the skull of the rodent-like creature and placed it on his head. I go now to fight for the betterment of puppet-kind!

With that, the small puppet ran out of the cave into the whirling storm that raged outside. Migoya knew that Mikki would be gone sometime, as why the in the hells would a cat be out, on the side of a mountain, in this kind of weather.

‘Peace at last’, he mused to himself.

Looking around the strange cavern, Migoya felt the lingering presence of ancient violence, the shedding of blood and the rending of flesh. Whatever had lived in this cave had enjoyed toying with its prey before devouring it, and the final soul-wretching pleas of those pitiful creatures seemed to have embedded themselves into the very stones and dirt. Perhaps this is why this cavern had been left abandoned for so long. Perhaps this is why it seemingly called out to Migoya.

Migoya pulled his hood over his head as he wrapped the warm poncho around his thin frame. The fire had died some time ago, and he had simply been dancing around in his own thoughts for a time, and the pervading gloominess of the cavern had only exacerbated how cold it actually was.

Gods he was tired.

A cursory glance picked out the remains of what appeared to have once been some sort of wolf-like creature, perhaps the original inhabitant of the cave before ‘whatever’ had come to take over it. A casual jutsu, one of his own creation (CRPJ Corpse hand), caused the bones to start to twitch, then reform into the shape of its owner, although one of the bones of the hind leg was missing. Another quick jutsu caused a similar bone from another creature to take its place.

The bone wolf looked through its empty sockets at Migoya who simply willed it to sit at the entrance of the cavern, and if anyone approached it was to run into the wall and make as much noise as possible. It was a crude security system, but the presence of the undead creature would scare away most animals, and even humans.

It would give him time to rest before the real work began. The frail man once more wrapped the poncho around his shoulders, leant up against the cavern wall, and willed his mind into the darkness.

Rest.

[MFT: WC 550)

 

[Myakashi Migoya]

Help me Kooks!

The telepathic call was urgent, desperate even and the fact it came from the puppet who was so strong, and the fact that his little known monicer was used, caused Migoya to snap out of his reverie. Immediately he reached over, grasping his backpack, placing it on his back, and sprinting out of the cave in one smooth blur of motion. The animated wolf stood silently, guarding the now empty cavern.

Mikki had to have been close to have sent the message, but it did not provide Migoya with a location, nor could he respond to the tsukumogami so easily. A cursory glance at the ground in front of the cavern indicated a struggle of some nature, with several footprints suggesting that multiple people had been in the area. Looking for a small pair of footprints, Migoya silently hoped that they would give him some indication of where Mikki might have been taken, as there were no ‘remains’ of the puppet to indicate his… well, whatever happened to spirits when they died.

Placing a pale hand on the ground near a footprint, Migoya cast a jutsu, ‘snapshot’, a variant form that permitted him to ‘see’ what had happened here recently. An image of several cloaked figures emerged, using what appeared to be a domestic cat to lure Mikki into a trap. 'Stupid puppet'.

Once he had, ahem, ‘caught’ the creature six masked figures had emerged, binding him with jutsu before they rushed north.

North.

Migoya had many enemies, but they were south. Certainly Mikki was a prize for anyone - a walking talking puppet would sell to a rich person's spoiled brat for a large sum, but this was organised. This was personal.

It was also obviously a trap.

‘Oh well, not the first time’, Migoya muttered to himself as he prepared to travel north, following his quarry.

[Leaving Country - 1 hour]

 

[Myakashi Migoya]

[Country Left]
Twin Mountains ---> Monumentum Deo