Sinew and Bone [P]

Age : 32 Posts : 1912

Yoroi Kaguya

Sitting at the foot of a waterfall, Yoroi could feel the intense cold water as it fell from the top to the bottom. Sitting on a rock that jutted out of the water, he had taken on a meditative position, allowing him to simply ponder on things that had been stuck in his mind for quite some time now. Time and time again, his blood related relatives found him wherever he went, be it in the land of fire or the land of lightning, knowing they had even started popping up in the water country again when he met the white haired women at Kumogakure no Sato. Even though she had seen different then the rest, he could tell that she had the same blood lust inside of her, if not just watered down a bit. It was a bit of a shame that he had not gotten to really meet the one person from his clan that seemed different like he was. On the other hand, it was probably for the best, only further shattering the way he looked onto his clan if she too turned out to be one of those raging lunatics.

Avoiding those from his clan like the black plague, he hated it when people tried to confront him about his heritage, forcing the Kaguya bloodline on him. He enjoyed the body he had been born with, though he was not the kind of person who wanted to follow up on a legacy of barbarians that slaughtered others for the sake of slaughtering, having no reason for the things they did outside of their inbred blood-lust. Yoroi was the kind of person who used his power for the sole reason of survival, rather then sport and fun killings. He had learned to use his body as a tool in battle that would allow him to rip even the strongest creature from the animal realm to shreds, bursting through them like a mass of blades. In truth, he was not far from it actually, seeing as the body he had been born with was nothing more then a living weapon. To some Kaguya, being a weapon was all that mattered, though it also mattered to him that he could be a shield for those he loved.

Maybe it was time to things things the way they were for once, seeing as he could deny his heritage, but he could not deny the blood that was coursing through his veins, the power of the Shikotsumyaku. Only through meditation had he been able to cool his blood enough to think all of this through without angering himself. He could not help but think of what would have happened to him if his parents had been the ones that raised him, rather then the circus animal that found him out in the woods. When his parents were getting butchered by the Konohagakure Anbu, the tiger had swooped in and taken the toddler with it, raising him like it was it’s own cub. Perhaps being raised by an animal had been his salvation, for it was thanks to the animal that he had been able to survive long enough to meet good people such as Viera and Kimiko, making friends with humans, rather then enemies like most Kaguya did.

It was quite rare for a Kaguya to make more friends then enemies, and as far as he was aware, he had not made any real enemies yet. He was certain of the fact that he had made some rivals within the village, though he had not made any mortal enemies or breed enough hate in people to want him that. Maybe the tiger had been his key to salvation, saving him from a life of hardships and struggle, pushing through rivers of blood spilled by his own hands. It was true that the tiger was a celestial being, something even Yoroi started realizing by now. It was fate that had brought the tiger to him, and it was also that same fate that had caused the animal to get captured to once again let Yoroi live alone, making his own decisions and becoming the man he was today. He owed it to his adoptive father, to Viera, to Kimiko and to himself to use the Kaguya curse and make the best out of it, becoming a shield rather then a sword. His decision had been made, he would use his bloodline to show that his way of dealing with power was far superior then how those barbarians chose to use it.

Age : 32 Posts : 1912

Yoroi Kaguya

In his lifetime, he had already managed to get close to his companion Shakreido and gotten close to a human that went by the name Kimiko, someone he had now been living with for quite some time. Getting up as he quit meditating on himself and his future, he believed that it was time to further his training with Shakreido, whom he had not seen in quite some time. Because he had moved in with Kimiko, who was his new family, he had not been around the snake at all. Ever since that time, Yoroi had been rigorously training his usage of the serpent arts, hoping that Shakreido had something else he could focus his training on. Techniques such as the Shadow Snake hands and the Hidden Snake technique, it seemed only fitting that he got something else to work with. Shakreido and Yoroi both knew that he was an eager student that could easily master whatever was thrown at him, at least as long as he set his mind to it and actually wanted to learn something, this being why he had never really learned how to use things like Genjutsu. The fact that they had not seen one another in the last two months, it just seemed right to summon him to him to have a little chat about the future of the two.

Biting into his thumb, he clapped his hands together and formed the summoning seal, performing the Kuchiyose technique. The moment he finished his hand seals, a large amount of smoke popped up from the ground, much more then there usually was when he summoned Shakreido. Much to his surprise, the relatively large snake had grown much larger in the time they were apart, almost as if it was an entirely different being now. Staring up to the large monster-snake, he wondered whether the thought had crossed his mind to eat him now that he had reached these ridiculous sizes. Then again, he would probably be sick for years to come if he swallowed the mass of sharp bones. Yoroi's eyes were not the only ones that were all over the place, for Shakreido was watching Yoroi just the same, noticing the changes to his appearance. The changes to Yoroi were not as "big" as those Shakreido had gone through, though it was still noticeable that he looked much more fit and well fed now that he lived with Kimiko. Being a complete kitchen-scourge, he wondered how they two could live with him eating almost all of the food the moment it reached the dining table. It was something he and Kimiko would have to discuss sometime.

"Shakreido... you sure have grown a lot since I last saw you. Last time, you were still small enough for a small test of physical combat, though I am pretty certain such a thing is out of the question now, don't you agree?"

That was all Yoroi could say when he saw the snake that had gotten roughly three times as big as the last time it had showed himself to it's summoner. The scales that were once as big as Yoroi's nails were now almost as big as the palm of his hand, this in itself proving that the beast had grown a lot. The last time he had seen Shakreido was when they battled one another, when Shakreido had granted Yoroi access to the Snake scroll and the serpent ninjutsu, giving Yoroi a fair bit of status within the snake community. It was a community he knew nothing about, other then the things Shakreido was willing to tell him about. This annoyed Yoroi at times, though he believed that Shakreido would tell him about what needed to be done when the time actually came for him. Even though he understood this quite well, it did not mean that he was simply going to await something that might never really happen. Watching the snake moving it's coils as it slithered around Yoroi to form a circle around him, he started speaking.

"Us snakes grow a lot faster than you hairless monkeys, we don't even stick to our skin as long as you do. When our skin gets tight, we will just slip out of it and wear a new one. So, what is it you want this time, Yoroi-kun"

The large serpent said, looking at Yoroi with his slitted pupils. Shakreido had always been quite a lot taller then Yoroi in terms of length, though there had never really been a big enough difference to keep the two from matching their physical prowess against one another. It was something he had expected from the somewhat harassive snake that always had something to say, something that would give him the last word in a conversation. Maybe that would change once Yoroi got to ask what had been on his mind for the last couple of days. He did not really care if saying such things would shock Shakreido or not, hoping that it might shut him and his annoying wordplay up for once.

"Well, you know what they say about tall trees right? In any case, that scroll you showed me, the one that bears my signatures, I was wondering where such a thing came from and who is responsible for making it. I was hoping to meet up with this person or creature sometime, maybe he or she can help me become stronger. Do you think such a thing would be possible?"

The question was a clear one, though he was not sure if doing such a thing was even possible, to meet the one that had made this kind of contract for human hands. He could tell by the expression on Shakreido's face that he was more or less stunned and a bit confused, not having an answer for once in his life. For a solid two minutes, the snake said absolutely nothing, not even making eye contact with Yoroi while he thought about what he should say. The Serpent community was one of the most illusive ones, even Shakreido did not know whether he would be allowed to bring a human to their midst. The one that had made the scroll of his kind was the White Snake Sage, something every single Kyoudaija knew, for it was their spiritual leader that knew everything that had passed or still had to happen. Because of this, the snake had to think twice before letting a human know the details of their society, as well as their leader.

Age : 32 Posts : 1912

Yoroi Kaguya

"Fine then, i'll tell you what you want to know, though I cannot tell you here. There are others who might be lurking around to figure out such information, seeing as it is quite valuable to your kind. There are secrets hidden away that are not supposed to be looked upon by human eyes, only those trained in the serpent arts may look at them, for that is the law of the Hakuja Sennin. Now then, if you really want answers, grab my tail and we're off.."

Slightly confused, Yoroi grabbed a hold of the bronze scaled tail, shortly before he was blinded by white smoke. With a slight poof, both the snake and the youth disappeared, leaving the fire country behind them. When Yoroi opened his eyes again, the smoke had been cleared a bit, being able to see that he was inside of a dark tunnel, the only light coming from torches hanging along the walls. Following Shakreido across the tunnel, they entered a damp, dark room that had very little inside of it, having only one large pillow inside of it. It was the room Shakreido had been living in, meaning this place was where Shakreido was whenever he was not with Yoroi on some kind of mission or traveling. Slithering up to it's cushion, Shakreido made itself comfortable while slamming the stone door shut with it's tail. The loud clash was enough to deafen Yoroi for a second, rubbing his ear a bit while Shakreido seemed unphased by it all. For a moment, he was quiet, waiting for Yoroi to take a seat on the cold stone floor before continuing with the story he had promised Yoroi.

"The one responsible for writing your contract scroll is known as the Hakuja Sennin, he is the spiritual leader of our kind. He is one of the oldest souls on this planet, the only beings older then him being the Nine tailed demon beasts. He made this scroll so your kind could become more like ours while we remained neutral with your kind, something that has not always been that normal. There was a time when the Shinobi fought one another, when the shinobi villages were not around yet. In this time, the Shinobi sought to enslave our kind and use us as a means of destroying the opposition. Back then, the White Snake Sage made the contract seal, allowing only a select few of your kind to fight alongside us while our kind retreated into temple cities beneath the earths crust. Such places are known as Ryuchi, the capitol of our kind, as well as the place you are in now. Here in Shikyukotsu, your kind is allowed entry, though You won't get to the White Snake Sage until you become a master of the Serpent arts"

There was a lot for Yoroi to take in, all of this almost being too incredible to believe any of it. To believe that there was a snake almost as old as the Nine tailed beasts just seemed impossible, for they were demons while the snake was, well, a snake. Had it been anyone else telling him about such things, he would have told them they were mentally ill and had to turn themselves into an asylum, though it was different now. Shakreido seemed very certain about the things he said, though there was more adding to his reasoning. Watching as the serpent raised itself and blew the dust off of the wall beside him, he suddenly noticed a large mural that had been hidden from him. Stepping in a bit closer to see more of the things this mural held, he could see a massive serpent, many times bigger even then Yoroi, wearing a large pointed hat standing over a human, dressed in ceremonial garbs. Wielding a staff in his hand, it seemed as if it was glowing, having sun-like marking surrounding the head of the staff. Wondering what all of this meant, he looked back at Shakreido who had already started talking.

"This wall depicts our Hakuja Sennin, together with the first human Sage, showing his path to enlightenment as he shed the skin of mortality. Only one human has ever been able to do such a thing, though he died many years ago during one of the first Shinobi wars. The only one that has any knowledge of such things is the Hakuja Sennin himself. I hope that answered your questions for now, though you can't stay any longer. You have not yet completed your training, meaning I am in violation of a lot of rules. There's no time to explain anymore, leave!"

Having given all the information he was allowed to give at the time being, Shakreido felt like it was about time for Yoroi to return to the fire country. Feeling the vibrations in the soil, it knew that someone was coming to his room, probably in response to him slamming the door shut. Touching Yoroi with the tip of his tail, he undid the summoning, sending him back to the fire country while he himself remained in Shikyokotsu. When the smoke cleared, Yoroi could see that he was back at the place where he had summoned Shakreido, being a little bit confused about all the things he had been told just now. He did not know anything of what would happen to Shakreido if the others figured out he had broken the rules, not really wanting to know about it either. Still, he had a lot of questions, like why the mural was in his room instead of one of the more protected rooms, seeing as such a thing probably was worth a whole lot of money to the right kind of people. For now, he chose to just give it a rest and think it over back home with Kimiko. He could not tell her any of this because of his promise to Shakreido, though he did have to seek other kinds of help from her to see what she could add to this kind of thing. With that, Yoroi started walking back towards the village.

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