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[Riku]

Chapter 5:

The shinobi's that had been with her while she arrived had spoken to her about her training there. Although she had arrived back to follow up on an earlier arrival, she found that they appeared to know that she would be there. Perhaps Kathy had tipped them off, perhaps some or one of the elders held future sight.

Or maybe, as they had alluded to, the temple simply had gotten more popular. It was unknown to Hikaru, nor had the Thieves inquired as to their reason, other than a gentle prod. The Shinobi had also acquired a truly official title, Genin. she had wanted to know its meaning, but the newly assigned Council of Iron, which used her new name, had told her to head back to Iron country.

"Genin" turned her eyes to the fire that jumped up and then fell back before her eyes closed one more. she had much to meditate on, but the main thing was her place in the martial arts country. Shoran and Kotare were martial artists, but Hikaru was more of a swordsman. her makeshift armor had been majorly toned down in bulk since her fight with Hether the shinobi, even so, she knew there was a chance that the shinobi may return.

Hopefully the Shinobis had stored her ashes away properly, despite the Mad Deity's protests against it. It had, unfortunately, given the time to Shoran to kill the first Council of Madness, the one that had kept an eye on Hikaru and the god's levels of whom was in control. "Genin, it is time that you start to turn back the steps and take a new journey," The leader spoke to her after the Council of Iron had snapped that she had no choice in the matter but to go to Iron country.

[Riku]

It was far more of an annoyance than what she wanted to do, which she had no choice in the matter, at least at the moment. The Shinobi Order was what she followed, what her soul wanted to follow. For once, she needed guidance, whereas before the being could guide her in life. That was one of the hazards of the allowance of direction to another. Hikaru had not thought that the being would have been so cold, but she was incorrect. her pupils narrowed as she growled lowly in the mental state. Would she be forced to do something that she would not like? she hoped not.

Even so, the concentration also took it's toll on her. she needed something else, and Angi decided that she would provide it. The being chuckled as it's likeness created another room like the one before, and pulled Hikaru's consciousness into it. The two of them looked at each other for a short while, as the crazy being chuckled uncontrolled and waited to see what her host would say. Genin turned away after a moment before the crazy being spoke up, "You know, those Unknown implanted false memories into you. About how you became a container. Allow me to show you how."

Before she could respond, the shinobi was frozen before the image of her mother. It had been over a decade since she had seen her, but her likeness to her was uncanny. She lay on a bed, spent from the labors of childbirth. Her skin was paler than she remembered it, pale as death. she saw, upon the image, a clearer show; she was dead. her mother had given birth, and what now lay on the area was sawed apart pieces of her, lay out as her body would have been without the removal.

[Riku]

Genin, still known then as Hikaru, was held by her authority, who had a stern, if not angry glare at the baby. she could obliterate the child with that glare if it understood it. The scene moved as one of the Unknown came into view, one who held a smile as her bent figure hobbled towards the woman and babe, "She was brave, my friend." The cracked smile formed as the Unknown held her arms out for the baby and her voice grew gentler, yet firm,

"Now don't let her sacrifice be in vain. Give me the child so that we may prepare it." The Unknown was forced to remove the babe herself, gently and slowly. The authority then shook with rage before the Unknown turned her back to the woman and started to hobble away.

"Why her?" The quest held the shakiness of one who readied themselves for tears, yet she knew the answer. She had birth Hikaru, the wolf child that was foretold to become a godly shinobi. Yes, she knew why she had to bare the child, but what she wanted to know was why she had to then be tore apart as she was, why she had come to love, protect, and take care of her for those nine months. Why did she have to love her enough to become one who wanted vengeance?

Down on the cold, stone, floor of the Iron Elder's chambers, Hikaru sat quietly with her legs crossed in deep trance concentration. She'd been lost to the silence and darkness inside her own mind for two hours now, thus far completely uninterrupted by anything even despite the presence of others who came into the chamber to do things or who may have already been there.

[Riku]

She had finished an extensive five hour training session some time earlier and had retreated into this chamber on the tail end of it to relax and clear mind. Ever since they had arrived on Iron country, she'd felt as though she simply weren't able to concentrate as well as she normally could. For what reason, even she didn't entirely know... but it was vexing to be sure.

Hours ago, Elder's Temple

Two well executed kicks, a spinning roundhouse, and a turning elbow strike were thrust into the empty air before Hikaru. Each and every blow was aimed so as to hit some vital area on the invisible opponent she sparred with in her mind. Her movements were like a graceful dance, no wasteful movements, and absolutely no clumsiness. Every strike was deliberate and hit exactly where it was intended to.

Finishing that particular combo, she then immediately chained into a new one. Two knees were thrown, one immediately following the other, followed up quickly by a pair of jabs. The first jab was leveled at her opponent's imaginary midsection, the second toward the side of her head. She then spun into another elbow aimed for the temple and dropped low to the ground, attempting to sweep her opponent's feet out from under her.

Right as she finished this maneuver, she heard clapping from somewhere in the room and looked up. Her pupils immediately spotted the lone elder standing in the doorway. The small, wrinkled, bearded shinobi with skin of a pinkish hue came walking across the room the moment she was spotted... with an idle hand stroking her beard thoughtfully. "You fight beautifully, my dear." Stopping just a few feet short of her, she gave a small laugh,

[Riku]

"Our culture forbids battle and encourages intellectual pursuits... so there are not many on this country left who can enjoys such things. ... It is a small pity. There are so few left who understand the artistry inherent in fighting."

"...Don't you have fighters here...?" She asked, straightening herself slowly. "I know I have seen guards."

"It is a necessity we acknowledge reluctantly. It is not something we pride ourselves on, or strive to excel at. We merely strive to be able to defend ourselves... should the time come that invader makes battle on us." ... There was a small silence between them then, before she continued.

"But enough about that. I have come to tell you, that you and your friends will be receiving a visit from one of our fighters soon. she will introduce you to the test you have been pausing for. she is not of our race, she is an outsider and she is very strong. You should prepare yourselves thoroughly."

"Prepare ourselves...? Why...?" She asked, dumbfounded by the statement the elder had made.

"You shall see! ... Carry on." ...And without another word said, the smallish shinobi began to walk away again... leaving her to reflect on her words. What did she mean...? Prepare ourselves...?

Back at the Elder's Chambers

...Suddenly the door to the Elder's chambers swung wide and slammed against the stone walls loud enough to stir the shinobi from her concentrations. Glancing over her shoulder, momentarily, she saw a red skinned shinobi bearing makeshift armor and a blade strapped to her backside. her jet black mane was tied back into a neat ponytail, and anger was etched into her sculpted features... "How dare you desecrate this temple with your presence traitors??"

[Riku]

Looking around after seeing the shinobi, she immediately began to search for the others... thinking they might be nearby... "You will all die by my hand for the sake of Iron country!" It had been quite a long time on this country; and if it had not, then it sure felt that way to Hikaru. In fact, this entire cycle of playing a hero was very repetitive. A person always needed saving, there was always an ancient evil that needed slaying, and there was no one area that she could just be staying.

It wasn't exactly what she had thought of when she was made into an shinobi (not that she had a choice in the matter.) Pull yourself together, man! Hikaru slapped herself across the face and walked towards the Elder's location. she had been summoned for reasons not disclosed probably another item that needed to be retrieved. she let out a loud and unnecessary sigh as she stepped through market stalls; all attempting to sell her things she didn't need.

No time for indulgence, got to get over there on the double. she picked up her pace until she noticed, out of the corner of her eye, a weapons stand. It could be useful, though she would never give up her sword she clung to it as a child would cling to her doll. she didn't know why, it just gave her comfort. But what she noticed that caused her to walk over there was no sword. It was a spear. A scenario played out in Hikaru's head as she looked up to notice a very high building. her pupils looked to the spear, back to the building, and to the spear. This process went on for quite awhile; and again, if it had not, then it sure felt that way to Hikaru.

[Riku]

She purchased the sword with a warranty from the shinobi, who had a look of distaste on her face, as Hikaru impaled the ground with it. she looked at the spear, then back to the building, then back to the spear. With content she ran up to the top of the high structure, looked around one last time, and leaped from the top landing on the spear. she opened her pupils to reveal she was now on the ground with a broken sword underneath her. Damn. Same time tomorrow? The shinobi nodded as Hikaru tossed the broken sword into a instead of large pile and continued to where the Elder was. And it wasn't a very long walk at all.

He walked in through the back to see Hikaru meditating on the floor. Should she go talk to her? she wanted to, but she didn't want to interrupt her training at the same time. What a predicament! Even so, she would need something to break the ice. Hikaru turned her back to her and shut the outside country out as she thought back to poems she knew.

There was no better way into a woman's heart than through poetry, be her human or shinobi. Ahem, hey Hikaru... Hikaru turned around ready to recite a verse when she noticed she wasn't alone. (Well, she was never alone, but she was surprised to see two other people.) A original fighter, strong by the appears of it, and Seleina.

Seleina walked over to Hikaru, but Hikaru would have none of that. she quickly intercepted the Shinobi as she approached her and spoke, "Hey. Uhh. Thank you. For helping with holding things down yesterday. That really almost got out of hand." Hey don't mention it bud. she wrapped her arm around Seleina and began to lead her away

[Riku]

When she was stopped by that other life form in the room. I'm being accused for betraying the Elder? Really? After all I have done for this sorry excuse for a country? Did she say that aloud? Whups. Well it was true at least, but it made her blood boil. This was the thanks she got?

Since her and the others arrived on Iron country there had been more than one near death experience! While she may have been a lover and not a fighter, she was a bit ticked off. she couldn't help but power up to her maximum movement, hopefully as a threat that would warrant no violence, although Hikaru secretly craved a fight. But where was Gosai?

"Well, a person's been working on their paranoia..." Hikaru replied, her tone rich with sarcasm, before slowly climbing to her feet and turning to face the shinobi who disturbed her concentrations. Hikaru and Seleina were also afforded a brief sidelong glance, complete with raised eyebrow, but nothing was said to them yet.

Looking back toward the guardian of Iron country, she let a little bit of a sigh escape her. "We did the best we could with that particular situation. The thief would not give up the scroll without a fight, and she nearly sent one of us to the afterlife. she was too powerful and too difficult minded to force a compromise or a nonlethal capture."

"BAH!" The shinobi refuted immediately, walking toward her a step or so, and thrust her index finger at her pointedly. "If anything that simply suggests your incompetence, if you..." ... and then Hikaru suddenly burst into full power made, forcing the shinobi to take a cautious step back and draw her sword.

[Riku]

The metallic blade practically hissed as it slid out of its sheath, and glinted dangerously in the light that flooded in from the temple doors. Falling into a fighting stance immediately, she shouted, "You're all terrorists! I knew it from the start!"

The female shinobi, annoyed, reached out and attempted to place her hand on Hikaru's shoulder. If her hand landed there, she would then immediately proceed to squeeze it... a bit /too/ hard. Were she to look at her, she would easily be able to see the annoyance written all over her face. Even if she appeared to be focusing on the red skinned shinobi across the room.

"...Perhaps it suggests some ineptitude on our part..." She calmly replied to the shinobi's first accusation, at least as calmly as she was able to. "...but what would /you/ suggest should have been done dissimilarly? There's almost no one in your guard as powerful as we are, and I suspect that is why we got the job. It's pretty foolish to criticize others when you could hardly do a thing yourself. Don't you think?"

"I COULD HAVE DONE BETTER!" she shouted, through bared teeth, her anger evidently building due to the tension of the confrontation. "Perhaps no single woman in my company could match you, but had I have been given orders to deal with the situation myself I..."

"But you /weren't/ given orders, were you?" She replied again, even more calmly than before. Apparently she had found an angle, "...are you questioning the wisdom of your Elders? Surely they had a reason to send us and not you."

"I..." the shinobi's face appeared to turn even more red than usual. she couldn't very well openly question the Elder's decision making process or their wisdom.

[Riku]

It appeared like no matter what she could say about that particular issue, it would still look like she was accusing the Elders of a mistake. "..You are a scheming woman! Clearly you are the leader! Perhaps I should bring you in for questioning?!"
"...As I recall..." She continued, "...we also fought the Shinobi well away from any civilization. The only area that got imploded was already dead to begin with. Aren't you just being fussy? Perhaps you have some kind of vendetta against us because you didn't get the job."

"I AM HERE ON THE ELDER COUNCIL'S ORDERS!" she roared back, sword hand trembling slightly with barely restrained fury, "If you were not all criminals, there would be NO reason for me to even be here! I have a warrant for your arrest! What do you have to say about that, woman?!"
For once, she was dumbfounded. She didn't really know /what/ to say anymore. Had the Elder Council really placed them under suspicion of terrorism??

That was it. Hikaru bitch slapped the bitch and went back to sleep. It would be time for a new adventure tomorrow.

Chapter 6?:

Hikaru was in the training hall sparring with several opponents at a time. Sometimes up to 4, but they were rotating in and out as they were either exhausted or sore enough to give up for the day. Hikaru blocked a kick from one up high and ducked under the punch of another. she lifted her elbow up and stood up with significant force, slamming her elbow into the gut of the second opponent. With her left hand she gripped the ankle of the first opponent and slammed her into the third opponent who was rushing forward to attack.

[Riku]

Surprisingly the fourth opponent took this opportunity to land a hefty left cross into Hikaru’s jaw knocking her off balance. Hikaru leaned back catching herself with her left hand and pushed off with her feet, swinging around to catch the back of the 4th opponent’s legs with her own, knocking her sprawling on her back. These guys are pretty good. Not much of a challenge alone but they know how to fight as a team. This continued for hours, dozens of opponents entered and left the training floor to spar with Hikaru.

Hikaru shifted her stance, sliding her feet apart and crouching down into her stance ready to defend against the next attack. she was breathing heavily at this point, it had been hours since this sparring session began and she had defeated many opponents. “How many of you are there?!” Hikaru asked surprised that they kept coming at her. After defeating the next wave of opponents with a lot more effort than it had taken her to defeat the first wave Hikaru returned to her stance, panting.

Suddenly an ungodly grumble filled the training hall. The others in the hall began to look around with worried appears on their faces. Hikaru moved her hand over her stomach, “I think it is time to take a break… I’m starved!” Hikaru bowed to her opponents who were all floored by her demeanor.

Hikaru stepped out of the training hall and headed for the dining hall, “The Elder said there would be food available in the dining hall whenever I was hungry… I hope there is enough…” Hikaru said as she crossed the threshold into the hall. There was a long banquet table completely covered in food, ready to be eaten.

[Riku]

“Mmmmm it smells fantastic!” Hikaru said with great enthusiasm. she ran straight for the nearest chair and started stuffing her face with everything she could reach. “I bet Seleina and she would LOVE some of this food! I know she doesn’t really eat much… but I think she would appreciate the delicious variety this country has to offer.”

Hikaru strolled into the Elder’s Chamber with a comically large armload of food stacked far above her head. Speaking through a mouthful of food Hikaru said, “Hey, this food is DELICIOUS! You should try some. I would really like to know where it all comes from. There doesn’t seem to be much in the way of greenery on this country to provide food for any livestock or even just food for eating…”

Hikaru mused, stuffing another mouthful in. As she was unable to see around the massive pile of food she walked straight into the back of the furious shinobi guard. They tumbled to the floor along with the pile of food with a loud crash. Once the food stopped falling from the air Hikaru and their new friend were bound up together on the floor. The shinobi was thrashing furiously attempting to break free and regain her defensive stance.

Hikaru wiped a coating of some delicious kind of cheese like liquid that she enjoyed putting on just about everything. “Awww… well some of it is still good…” Hikaru said, licking it off her fingers. “Sorry about that mister, I didn’t see you. I hope I didn’t hurt you.”

The shinobi scrambled to her feet quickly, wiping the substance from her blade, “HOW DARE YOU!”

“Hey, I said I was sorry… you don’t have to get upset.” Hikaru said, standing up and stacking what was left of the food that was still good back into her arms. “It was an accident.

[Riku]

I hope you can forgive me for knocking you down. Please send me the dry cleaning bill.” Hikaru walked toward Shinobi Hikaru and offered her some food, “This is really delicious, I think you would enjoy it. I know you don’t NEED it but it is yummy. I’m sure Seleina would enjoy some as well, but I don’t think I brought enough to fill her up.”

“STOP IGNORING ME!” The red shinobi yelled with a strained voice.
“I’m not ignoring you. I came in here for a reason. I don’t even know who you are.” Hikaru said looking over her shoulder. “You should really relax, it isn’t healthy to be so high strung.”

“You and your FRIENDS are TRAITORS! I am here to protect Iron country from you and your ruthless ways!” she shouted at Hikaru.
“Ruthless? I think you have the incorrect people. I’ve never hurt anyone who wasn’t attempting to hurt a person else. Well except in spars and tournaments, but that was entirely voluntary and I didn’t mean to hurt them!” Hikaru said defensively. “I think you may be misinformed. Please calm down so we can talk about this rationally.”

Hikaru held her hands out in an open gesture attempting to put this new acquaintance at ease. “We aren’t here to hurt anyone. We came to learn from you and your people.” Hikaru gestured to the hall. “Please have a seat so we can understand what it is you seem to be upset about.” she gestured to the floor and took a seat herself, crossing her legs under her and listening intently.

A hand laid itself upon Hikaru's shoulder; gently at first, then with increasingly more force than she would have liked but the message was clear.

[Riku]

Could they take on this girl in battle? Probably. But if a fight could be averted then it would be better for that course of action to be taken. After all, this woman (although utterly flawed in blindly following an accusation with violence, despite having no evidence) had intentions for the general good of her people. Hikaru could respect that. she released her hold of her chakra and it fell back down to its normal resting level as she apologized to this original of Iron country, still felling a bit aggrieved, but putting her pride aside.

I'm sorry. I've already fought more people than i would have like, and that got the best of me. But you are incorrect, we have nothing but the best intentions. Hikaru lied, as she was suspicious of Seleina's underlying motives for being here. But she was confident, perhaps overly so, that the Shinobi would not have betrayed the Elder. After all, in order to betray a person one must have gained that person's trust in the first place.

"I AM HERE ON THE ELDER COUNCIL'S ORDERS!" she roared back, sword hand trembling slightly with barely restrained fury, "If you were not all criminals, there would be NO reason for me to even be here! I have a warrant for your arrest! What do you have to say about that, woman?!"

Use your inside voice. Hikaru intervened, slightly annoyed by the connotation carried by the word 'woman.' It implied inferiority, and Hikaru could kick her ass with one hand tied behind her back. Not that it would get them anywhere... She may not have anything to say about that, but I do. Look at that. Hikaru pointed her finger in the direction of Gosai, who had finally decided to make an entrance.

[Riku]

Better late than never though. she was licking some cheesy substance off her fingers. Does that look like the face of a criminal? To be a criminal at that age would require quite a good deal of thinking. she was now offering food to Hikaru, who didn't need to eat. The offer was considerate, but it proved Hikaru's point.

And look over there. she then pointed at Seleina, whom she prayed would not do anything contrary to what was about to be said. The wicked flee when no woman pursuit: but the righteous are bold as a lion. Here she is, capable of out running you. Yet she's standing right there. Every wicked woman, even so bold she may appear, is full of dreary apprehensions.

But the righteous has true courage, being conscious of her own innocence. Hikaru felt a great weight be lifted off of her shoulders as she realized this actually made a bit of sense. But would it be enough to convince the guard? What about Hikaru and Hikaru? And that still didn't account for the initial issuing of the warrant, but she could not fathom why the Council would do that. Baby steps.

As for Hikaru, well, she's done more than all of us to benefit your collective people. The glowing algae Iron who had saved her life told Hikaru about the metal beast she had slain, and now she was ecstatic they conversed afterwards. If this was all some elaborate scheme, why would she not just do the bare minimums? The guard remained unmoved and unexpressive, but that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. she was quite flustered beforehand, and stopped interjecting.