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Post by Hiko on Apr 8, 2010 17:39:55 GMT -5
A young, slate-haired child toyed with a senbon in the garden of the Chidoku compound. From the onlooker's view, she would be no more than an idle girl fumbling with pre-academy practices. A violet-haired toddler scrambled up to the young girl's side and took the senbon. Before the blue-headed girl could take her tool back, it was flung into a sapling with obvious ease.
So early in life were Takako's and Kotone's abilities shown, Satsuki mused as she sipped at her tea in the drawing room just beyond. From her sitting position, she could see Kotone's hapless, happy smile as clearly as she could Takako's frown. Satsuki knew her eldest daughter had been trying to get the throwing of the senbon down for months with no real progress. For Kotone to take a single needle and land it so deftly into the bark... Ahaha. Well, perhaps it was nothing more than a fluke.
Perhaps not, Satsuki pondered over the next few years as her health began to deteriorate. Takako still struggled with even the most minor of clan training while Kotone seemed to pick up everything with ease. Even something as simple as the girls' kendo practice, Kotone bested her older sister. And oh, how Takako grew so furious whenever her sister was doted on for it! But what did she expect, when she was only a faded, distant star in comparison to Kotone's burning sunlight? Satsuki fell into a coughing fit.
“Mother?” Takako held a serving tray, complete with pitcher and cups. The girl had taken to caring for her mother for the past months, and had even taken leave from her team in order to continue the care of her mother; Satsuki couldn't see the reason in it – the girl needed the lessons that battle gave. If she cared so much for the body, she should've gone into medic-nin training.
“Ah, Takki. I'm sorry; it's nothing.”
“You're ill. That's not nothing.” Takako knelt down next to her mother's bedding and poured a cup of lemon water. “This will help.”
“Ah, Takki. You're always so kind to this old woman.”
“You're the clan head, mother. It's what any Chidoku should do.”
“Taking your cues from your aunts, I see.”
“They're no more my aunts than yours, and I don't see the reason for the term.”
“Ahah. Takako, you're always so serious, even with me.”
“I have to be, mother. You won't always be around. As heir to the clan, it is my duty to -”
“Heir to the clan? You're the oldest, of course, but it is my right to name heir, Takki.”
“But Mother...”
“You're growing older, my girl. You're seventeen, and Dokunochi still has not come for you. Kotone -”
“Kotone. Always Kotone! Does Dokunochi demand rights over all? I've studied so hard! I've been the one learning the roles of the clans, the leaders, the countries. Kotone is flippant with everything but what she wants! She-”
“Can protect herself and the clan. She has the bloodline abilities, Takako. You have the book skills and determination, but those only go so far. Takako, as far as Kotone is concerned, she has not been a disappointment.”
“But-”
“We are finished, Takako.”
“I... I see. Of course, Mother. You're correct.”
Chidoku Satsuki died the next morning, and for all the medics in the village, it seemed she'd finally succumbed to the pneumonia she'd fought off for so long. Takako was named the new leader, for it seemed that Satsuki had never expressed her decision to the elders of the clan. Immediately, she sectioned herself off from Kotone, and allowed her younger sibling the use of the main rooms. Takako herself took up a sublevel towards the front of the main house, where the elders slept.
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Post by Hiko on Apr 8, 2010 17:40:33 GMT -5
Within the subsequent years, the eighteen year old Chidoku Kotone announced her leave of the clan compound. Noiru Yuudai, a distant relation, had claimed her as his. Takako agreed to pay for the entire ceremony, and even finagled the daimyo of Fire to witness the celebration. To the outsider's eye, Takako would have been the epitome of supportive sister. Arai Jotaro knew otherwise. Takako wanted nothing more than for her sister to be gone from her home, if not her life. Though Kotone was a bit on the young side for Jotaro's tastes, Yuudai wasn't much older than his new bride. But, clan marriages as they were, he wondered that they hadn't been wed sooner. The man caressed the hip of the naked woman beside him, and her eyes fluttered at the touch. There was a muttering of, “Mother,” from her lips and the man wondered suddenly, momentarily, if Takako hadn't rejoiced over the old woman's demise – she seemed to have taken command of the compound as second nature, and – no. Jotaro forced the thought out of his mind. She'd always been so wanton for her mother's affection and approval. To aid in her death... No, that wasn't Takako. The woman had just grown too weak after years of Dokunochi abuse, that was all.
It had been a hard few years following Takako's claim on the clan. Kotone had born a child in that time, and Jotaro knew that there was heat on Takako to follow suit. It wasn't as if they weren't trying! Takako grasped at the sheets in her sleep, and Jotaro frowned. She'd sent for him in the night to talk over an alliance with Iwa, and he'd felt uneasy since. He could never be quite sure what the woman was thinking, let alone scheming in that pretty head. Iwa, though? He knew the Noiru were allied with the Bull, but wouldn't it be overkill to ally the Chidoku with the village? And all the talk of war... Well, he didn't doubt she knew what was best for her clan. Still, he thought as he clapsed his arms around her and pulled the sleeping frame closer into an embrace, she had grown distant recently...
Takako was beautiful in morning light, Jotaro thought. The pale sunlight did wonders to her complexion, and the way the beams played with the shades of silver and blue in the woman's hair was almost magical. There was a knock at the door, and Jotaro adjusted his yukata to maintain some semblance of dignity. He slid the door open and found,
“Kotone? What are...”
“Oh! Ah. Jo-kun. I'm sorry. Is Takki... decent?” Kotone was just so... Jotaro thought the closest word to describe her was childish, but that seemed like a dismissal to children. She was as close to innocence as a ninja could get.
“Ah, well -”
“Come in, Kotone,” he heard a sigh from behind him. Takako had been in such a good mood, too. Kotone scrambled past Jotaro and sat down where he'd been. Well. All right, then.
“Taka, I'll be out here if you need me.”
“Thank you, Jotaro.”
Kotone was all smiles and brightness. Takako felt her stomach churn. What now? Hadn't she put a stop to these random morning encounters when Kotone moved out? And to take Jotaro's seat! Takako kept a stoic facade as she drank from her cup. “Good morning, Kotone.”
“Oh, morning, Takki. You wouldn't believe what's happened!”
“You remembered manners and protocol, and then finally, your place.”
“What? Oh, no. It's Akemi!”
“Wh-” Takako almost dropped her cup. What now? “I'm sorry. Continue.”
“She collapsed earlier today. I thought she'd fallen ill – she's always been a sick child, you know.”
“At least you didn't bring her here for a false alarm agai-”
“But I should have! It's Dokunochi!”
“I-what?”
“She's only eight, and it's found her so soon! How wonderful is that?”
“I-”
“Remember how long it took you, neechan? It wasn't until after you'd become leader of the clan that you received it! Oh, I was afraid the same might happen for Akemi, but it found her almost as soon as it did me! How wonderful is that?”
“Ah... Wonderful. Yes. How is she?”
“Oh, she's on bedrest for now. She'll be fine, I'm sure.”
“Ah. Kotone... You realize she's no longer Noiru?”
“Oh, well, I thought maybe we would stay with Yuudai. He's such a good father, you know.”
Takako put a hand to her temples. “But, the clan doctrine...”
“Oh, you'd let it slide for me, wouldn't you?”
“Kotone...”
“Please? I don't want to be separated from him. And since I'm returning to ANBU, there's no telling how often I'd get to see him. Please, Takako. He's my husband.”
“You can stay, if you'd like. But the child-”
“Oh, but you can't separate a child from her father! Don't you miss ours?”
“You mean mine. Satsuki had multiple lovers...”
“As much as she doted on him? I doubt that.”
Takako closed her eyes and clenched her teeth. “Fine. Akemi can stay with the Noiru. But you're undergoing all of her training.”
“I won't have the time, though!”
That broke it. “Then bring her here and do as your clan demands!”
“Takako-”
“No! I'll hear no more. If you cannot train her on your own, she is to come here. I'm not even required to offer that much, and yet, you still try to scrounge more out of this! You're coming out on top, sister. As you always have. Visit her if you wish, aid in the training, but do not aggravate me any more than you already have with your beggings. You are Chidoku first. Mother second. Wife third. That is our clan's ways, and if you usurp them, there will be hell to pay.”
“Takako, I don't have to take this from you. She'll be Noiru if that's the case of it. Good day.”
“Kotone!”
The violet-haired woman stormed out. Jotaro had heard the end of things – how could he not, as heated as they'd gotten? He poked his head into the bedroom and saw Takako glaring at her meal. Her breathing was heavy and her hands clenched at her kimono to the point Jotaro could see faint scratches in the fabric from where it was tearing.
“Jotaro,” she looked up slowly after she'd regained control of her breathing, “my sister is going to weep.”
“Ta-kun, what are you talking about?”
“That squad you keep with Iwa. I'll need them shortly. She cannot do this. There is a reason our clan keeps the laws we have, and I will not have her forsaking them on a whim. Not so blatantly.”
“What... What are you planning.”
“Bring in the Bull.”
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Post by Hiko on Apr 8, 2010 17:41:25 GMT -5
“Ta-kun, are you positive you want to go through with this?”
“Jotaro, don't.”
“Don't what?”
“Don't start. I won't be able to handle it if even you'll come to Kotone's defense.”
“It's not her defense, but Yuudai's! He's a good man, Takki. You want me to aid in the murder of a good man.”
“He'll have that wrapped up all on his own. I just want you to bring the Bull.”
“But this plan... What if it fails?”
“Then it will be a simple matter of the Noiru losing their alliance. Nothing will fall back to you.”
“Or you, it would seem.”
“You sound hurt, my love.” Takako looked up from her painting and over to the silver-haired ninja.
“I am, I think. Takako... I've never seen this side of you.”
“You're doubting me. I'm only doing what's best for the clan. You heard her the other day. Kotone's not going to train the girl, yet she doesn't want her living here – Do you understand just how taxing Dokunochi is on the body if not kept in check? Satsuki suffered for it because she overused her genkai. Can you imagine what a child might do, if she were left to train herself?”
“Can you imagine what she'll do when she finds out-”
“Finds out? No, neither she nor Kotone will ever know.”
“If you don't tell them, that's one thing. But the elders-”
“You think that they're privy to my innermost thoughts?”
“Takako... About Satsuki...”
“And now you doubt me for her! Jotaro... Just do as I have asked.”
“One day, you'll remember that I'm here because of you, Takki. You don't hold a claim over my blood.”
“And one day, you'll remember that I'm here because of me, too. No one else. Not Satsuki. Not Kotone. Not you. Everything I have done to keep this clan together after Satsuki's death, I have done on my own. No aid from the elders, or my peers. And Kotone looks to destroy it all.”
Jotaro took his leave. He wondered then where this new path would take Takako.
-
“We're ready with the Bull, Boss.”
“What? Oh, yes. Send a messenger to Noiru Yuudai, then disappear.”
-
“Is this the residence of Noiru Yuudai?”
“Well,” the man who'd answered the late-houred knock replied with a grin, “we are in the Noiru neighborhood, and my name is Yuudai, so I believe you may have it right. How can I help you?” Ikkatsu Sayaka almost felt sorry for the man. Tall, tanned, and with a pleasantly angular face, she'd likely have made a move on him had she seen him alone on a street. Lucky, or perhaps unlucky, was the woman married to him. Charming smile, and the way he held himself made her... No. Boss's orders, even if they were puppet commands. “Sir, I've a message for you from the pub. Guy named Kensei's looking for you. Says you owe him something.”
“Kensei? Not Kensei Yoichi, is it?”
“Afraid so, sir.” Yuudai groaned.
“All right, let me get properly dressed.”
-
"Kensei!"
"Yuudai, is that you, y'bastard?"
"Now, don't be like that. I know we've had our problems in the past, but-"
"You sonuvabitsh. Give me the money y'owe me."
"Yoichi, I paid that back last winter. You said I was golden."
"And now I'm saying y'ain't. Now," Yuudai stared. Kensei was pulling a dagger out. Against a Noiru? How wasted was he? "you're going to give me my money, and I'm going to put the niff away."
"Niff?"
"Ni... Kni... You know what I mean! Money! Now!"
"No, Yoichi. I-argh!" Yuudai slipped to the side, evading his friend's blade. Before Yoichi could completely turn around to face him again, Noiru took out a kunai. He realized then that the other patrons at the pub had fallen back behind the bar to watch. What the hell! No, he understood. Konoha was allied with Iwa. By rights of alliance, they couldn't aid him. Yuudai ducked the man's blade and shot a hand up to the retreating wrist. He was caught in the stomach with a fierce blow from Yoichi's free hand. Staggering back, he only had time to register that Yoichi was charging again. What had they called him in his younger days? The Bull of Earth? He remembered why now. The most he could do to defend himself was try and block the oncoming fist and dagger. Except, he didn't block anything. Yoichi, charging forward, had tripped on a seating mat. Yoichi, his friend of more years than he could count, had fallen on Yuudai's kunai. The larger man made a gutteral sound, and spat out blood before collapsing his entire weight onto Yuudai.
By the next morning, reports had gone out that Noiru Yuudai had killed an official who had been in Konoha to redefine the boundaries of a tentative peace treaty. Jotaro felt sick when he heard Earth's demands. Yuudai's own life was required for an execution, or Iwagakure would be called on to claim the life of Yuudai and his closest relations: Kotone and Akemi. Did Takako plan for them to die as well? Surely not – she was too concerned about the life of the newest Chidoku. He felt his lungs heave a heavy sigh and slipped into his own home, wondering as fatigue began to take over just how far Takako would go in the end of it all.
Kotone had made the choice for herself, and brought her daughter to the Chidoku. She was in a miserable state, and Jotaro wondered if Yuudai hadn't done himself in. When she came into Takako's room, both were silent. Jotaro left with the little purple-headed girl that the entire disaster was over. From beyond the sliding door, Jotaro could hear the siblings.
“You got what you wanted, Takki.”
“I didn't want his death.”
“No, you wanted her. And now you've got us both, right here in your life. I wonder if you didn't kill Yuudai yourself!”
“He's already gone?” Takako sounded surprised, and Jotaro wondered if it was an act. No. No, he shouldn't doubt his lover. Not his Taka. Kotone's voice raised.
“Iwa sent men! They overpowered Yuudai, scarred up his brother Maru, but they left us! Why? Why would they leave us?”
“Kotone...” Takako started, then paused. Jotaro could hear the shuffling of robes. “Kotone, neither you nor Akemi were Noiru. Iwa's been in such a long-standing commune with Noiru, and I'd been trying to set up an alliance with our village and Earth... They knew our laws well. I'm glad for it, sister.”
“You... An alliance! Never. Don't ever trust them, Takki. Not after this.”
“You can't blame them for-”
“Would you prefer I blame you for your wishes?”
“Kotone, you've never been like this.”
“I've never been a widow, either, Takako. I'm taking my old rooms. Akemi will stay with me.”
“Of course. I'll move my things shortly.”
“Arai-san...” Jotaro looked down to the thin, female voice that broke his concentration off of the women.
“Mm? Oh, Akemi. Hello.”
“H-hello, Arai-san. Wh... What's going to happen to us? Tousan was-” and she began sniffling. Jotaro knelt down to the girl and opened his arms as an invitation.
“Kemimi, cry all you need to. Takako will keep you and Kotone safe.”
“She couldn't keep Tousan safe.”
“Tou – Surely you don't blame your aunt for that?”
“Wh-what? Oh! No... But...” Akemi looked away, clearly uneasy.
“What is it, little Kemi?”
“I just wish Tousan hadn't gone out that night. He didn't even tell me goodnight before he left. I didn't see him after he... He moved in with other family right afterward. I guess he was afraid we'd get hurt. He wouldn't let me see him, and-” Akemi had begun trembling during her explanation, and she'd returned to crying towards the end of it. She fell against Jotaro's open arms, and he stroked her hair softly. He felt a coldness over his chest and wondered if Takako knew just exactly how high her sins had become.
–
“Jo-kun! Jo~kun~!” Jotaro looked up from the blade he'd been whetting and grinned. Akemi, lankly little child, was before him swaying from side to side on her toes.
“Yes, Kemi?”
“You've gotta see what I can do!”
“Oh, we're doing things now, are we?” The man rose and made a small groan. Lately, he'd begun feeling his age. He was nearing his forties, and knew he wasn't as limber as he once had been. Sitting for hours on end while working on a dull blade hadn't helped matters. Akemi grabbed his hand and led him to the garden of the compound. The pair passed Takako's room, and Jotaro clearly heard her arguing again with Kotone. Akemi's mother had grown bitter towards the clan since Yuudai's death, and not even returning to work in her squad had been able to take the edge off. Akemi's grasp on his hand tightened briefly, “They're always fighting, Jo-kun. I can't sleep some nights, they get so loud. So, I've been practicing with some of the elders.”
“Akemi... You mean to tell me you've been training at night as well?”
“Why not? It's not like I have anything better to do.”
The girl stopped suddenly and turned to face the older man. She smiled, but he noted that it didn't entirely reach her eyes. “But it's all right, Jo-kun. Since I've been working so hard, and well, I'm still the youngest in the main house... Uhm. Well...” She fumbled with a small scroll that had been secured at her hip. Jotaro frowned. Did she understand the implications of being the youngest? Or, that should Takako never bear a child, she would by default be named heir? She seemed more preoccupied with untangling the strings that held her scroll than the politics she'd just crashed into. Ah, childhood.
“Here we go! Anyway, Jo-kun, since I've been training with the elders for since this term started, they decided to give me an early birthday present.”
“Birthday... Oh, Kemi. I'd almost forgotten. How old will you be this year?”
“Always forgetting the important stuff, Jo-kun!” she teased, “I'll be ten.”
“You're getting up in the years, aren't you?”
“No more than you!” Jotaro laughed. At least the child hadn't grown embittered. In fact, in the past two years, she'd seemed to blossom. When she and Kotone had returned to the compound, Akemi had been a sickly, frail-looking thing. Despite the clan of her birth, she'd hardly had any basic training in martial or weapon arts, and had been failing her classes at the academy. And now before him stood a long, tanned, healthy child who, if still clumsy with weapons, could manage her standard lessons with relative ease. Kotone... Kotone seemed almost the exact opposite. She still refused to help with Akemi's training, and had recently grown thin. In truth, all she did when in the main house was either argue with Takako or complain to her old tutors.
“Jotaaaro! Are you paying attention?” Akemi stared up at him, frowning.
“Ah, sorry, Mimi. I was off in my own thoughts.”
“Own world, looked like.”
“Whatever happened to respect for elders?”
“When you're that old, I'll respect you!” Akemi laughed, “Okay, so stand back, Jo-kun!” He obeyed.
Akemi rolled out the tiny scroll out onto the ground with apparent ease. She put a thumb to her mouth and Jotaro bit back a laugh. It was a kuchiyose! Ah, but her teeth weren't sharp enough to draw blood quickly. She frowned and took out a kunai. Akemi pricked her thumb and grimaced. Well, her fingers would callous over time, Jotaro thought. The girl threw her weight into her hand and pressed into the scroll. “Kuchiyose no jutsu!”
At first, Jotaro couldn't see anything. However, he soon realized that the little brown blotch scurrying around on the scroll was the summon! A young, thinned female voice came from it.
“Hello~!”
“Gumochi!”
“Kemimi!”
“What the hell is that, Akemi?”
The tiny, tinny thing scrambled up Akemi's arm and the two came closer to Jotaro. The little blot was an arachnid, and not much of one, to Jotaro's mind.
“Don't be cruel! I'm a spider, if you can't tell! Gumochi's the name, and don't forget it!”
“Hehe, Jo-kun, Gumochi's a friend of mine. She was the first to come when I finally got the kuchiyose right. Oh, I know she's small now, but she'll get bigger! Just like me!”
“That's right!”
“Aha. Well, congratulations, Akemi. I was under the assumption that only the heirs of the clan received kuchiyose training.” He patted her purple head softly and she grinned.
“They do. Akemi! What are you doing with that... that... creature!” Kotone stormed across the grassy section of the garden and snatched the scroll off the ground. She tore the paper in two, and Gumochi disappeared in a puff of smoke and a squeak of surprise.
“Kaasan! I... Oh, well, the elders have been helping me along in my training, and-”
“The elders? You're a branch child. What could they want with you?”
“Oh, I, uh... I asked for their help.”
“What? Why? Aren't I enough for you?” Kotone fumed.
“I'd say you aren't anything for her, sister.” Takako quietly stepped across the wooden planks separating rooms from ground. She took a stand beside Jotaro and kept an unreadable mask.
“How dare you, Takki! I'm doing my best to teach her!”
“I can see that. Oh, yes. I can see how gossiping with those old aunts and yelling at me on a daily basis just helps Kemi in her training just fine.”
“You've not had a problem with it before!” Kotone argued.
“You never made a fuss at her studies before.” Takako retorted.
Kotone snarled and made a grab for Akemi's arm. The girl tensed and took a step back just as Jotaro took one forward. Takako held an arm out to stop him. Why?
Akemi looked down at the ground. She'd overstepped her boundaries and knew it. Kotone grabbed the young girl by the back of her yukata. “You're not continuing your training with the elders. No, you're not continuing anything here.” Akemi's head rose her head in surprise, and then dropped in defeat. The child had always fallen to the decisions of her mother. Jotaro realized that the girl wouldn't argue the absurdity of Kotone's demands.
Takako's eyes widened, “What are you saying, Kotone?”
“You think I don't know what's happening here? You're trying to take my daughter from me! First my husband, now my child!”
Takako's face went blank at the suggestion, “What?” Jotaro felt a cold chill come over him; did Kotone learn the truth?
“You tried to claim Akemi for the clan two years ago! The gods were on your side, and they took my husband for you! I won't let you have my daughter! We'll renounce our blood, renounce you! The village, if it'll keep her mine! You hold no claim over me, Takako, and less over Akemi!”
“Kotone, think clearly. You're speaking with your emotions right now. If you'd just take a minute to calm down-”
“No. I am thinking clearly. We are no longer your pets. We'll be gone by tonight.”
“Kotone!” Takako started towards her sister, and Kotone made a quick hand sign. The pair were gone in a puff of smoke. Takako cursed.
“Takki... Is this how Kotone has been since Yuudai's death?”
“Only with me; she's been aloof with Akemi. I'd let it go until now because of Kemi's training. Kotone...” Takako looked up to Jotaro, her eyes dead, “Kotone has never been this out of control. You must believe me; I had no idea Akemi was undergoing kuchiyose training. But this scroll...” she picked it up gingerly, “We heard her summon the spider from my room. Kotone realized what it was before I did – I was never any good with summoning jutsu, and it's been years since I've even bothered to use it. If you'd seen Kotone's face when we heard it; it felt like a knife wound, Jotaro. And what she said, I...”
“I have a skeleton crew here in Konoha. We can track her, if you need it.”
Takako sat hard down onto the wooden steps and didn't answer him.
“Takki? Did you hea-”
“I heard you. I also heard her. Do you really think she'll leave the village?”
“It-it's possible.” The thought of oinin hunting down Kotone was one thing. Jotaro's stomach churned at the thought of Akemi paying for her mother's sins.
“They won't make the distinction, if she's with Kotone. With this war going on, they'll both be marked for the hunt. Jotaro... You're neutral here. You work for the daimyo, not the village. If you track them...”
“I can keep Akemi safe. My team-”
“Kotone won't let you near enough. You've poison experts within your ranks, don't you?”
Jotaro thought for a moment. “The girl who sent off that message to Yuudai; she's been in a medical fervor for years. She's the knowledge for it, if need be. Why? Why would we need poison?”
“You won't. But you'll need some sort of antidote knowledge if you tackle with Kotone.”
“I see.” Jotaro's mind raced. Kotone had always acted on impulse rather than strategy; what would happen when he found them? He looked to Takako and felt cold. Her gaze was distant, and he realized she was calculating risk.
“Jotaro?”
“...Yes?”
“Kotone's strong point is not jutsu. She's better than some taijutsu masters on the daimyo's payroll, and her Dokunochi can kill a man within half an hour if that specialist of yours fails. Don't... Don't get hurt. If Kotone leaves the country, do what you can to bring Akemi back. She did not make this decision, and I cannot let her pay for it. If-”
“Don't ask it, Takki. Don't ever ask me that. I'll do it. I'll bring Akemi back; if they leave the country, you'll never see Kotone again.”
Takako held her head between clenched hands.
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Post by Hiko on Apr 8, 2010 17:41:52 GMT -5
Gin, to the left. Yuki, the right. Namiko, behind, and Jotaro led the front with Sayaka not far behind him, medpack at her back. Jotaro felt a knot in his stomach as they found the clearing Kotone had paused in; would the five of them be enough?
“Kaasan, you're hurting me!” Jotaro could hear Akemi's voice – why did she sound so strained?
“Nevermind that! Bruises will heal faster than anything else you'll get if we're slow to cross. Come now, Kemi. Just beyond the fall.”
The fall? Oh. Oh, no. Jotaro gave a pained look to Namiko, who already had a kunai at the ready. She returned the expression, eyes dark. Did every clan meet one end or another here? Valley of the End, indeed! Jotaro glanced to Sayaka, and she returned the look with a hard grimace.
“She can't swim, can she, sir?”
Jotaro closed his eyes and leaned back against the bark of the tree he'd settled on, whispering back, “No. And Akemi's had no training in tree climbing, let alone water-walking. Kotone won't think about that, either.”
“Then we'd better hurry.”
“Hn. Gin, Yuki, fan out. Namiko, ready the net. Saya-”
“Narcoleptic ready, sir. Once I get a clear shot, we'll get Akemi out of the way.”
“Go.”
The five sprang forth from the trees in hunting form, and Kotone, wrapped up in crossing the valley, heard them not. It was Akemi's cry of surprise and pain that caused Kotone to turn once more.
“Akemi, what is it no-” Kotone stared cold at Jotaro, the man holding her child, “You. You dog. You cur. You trash, at Takako's every beck and call. Get your hands off of my daughter!”
“And let her drown? No, Kotone-”
“Don't use my name as if we're old friends.”
Jotaro firmed his grasp, cradling the sleeping child, “Chidoku-san, then?”
“I'm no longer Chidoku. And Noiru was robbed from me!”
“Ogumo, it is.”
“Ogumo, and it'll be the last name you hear!” Kotone flicked back her wrist, and an elongated blade came to cover her hand. A katar? Jotaro tossed Akemi up, and the girl was netted and slung away by a waiting Namiko. Arai felt the presence of Gin and Yuki, closing their ranks at Kotone's sides. Jotaro smirked at the woman and threw his head back in a spiteful laugh – the more enraged Kotone became, the man thought, the easier the fight for him.
“Come on, now, O~gu-cha~n, isn't that blade a little too sharp for you? Your skills have faded these past two years. Just put it away, and we'll all be happy.” Jotaro felt as if he'd be sick. Why had things come to this?
“Pah!" The woman spat in the water, "I'll put it away after it's drank its fill of your blood, Arai!” And suddenly, Kotone was a blur of violet rage. Jotaro had just enough time to dodge the blade, and as it passed him by mere inches, he could see the hard red etched in the grooves of the katar: Kotone's shiketsu, dried blood onto a sharpened spade.
Jotaro released a multitude of strings then. Gin and Yuki finished their closing of the distances at the instant of Kotone's charge, and all three soon had thin wires at the ready. Before they could twist the waves of wire enough to wrangle the blade away and off of Kotone's person, however, the violet-haired ninja loosened the chakra at her feet and allowed herself to fall backward into the waterfall. Jotaro made a hand motion for the two to follow him, but they did not move.
“Men! Now!” Jotaro ordered.
Sayaka moved near, “Sir, she got them. I don't know when, but they've small bites at their heels, just above the sandals. Looks like a snake got to them - I... They can't move. I've got to get them away – Taka-sama said half an hour, and-”
“Still decided to let you all fight to your deaths. Jotaro,” a weary voice came from behind him. Light pat-pat-pats could be heard as Takako walked across the water, “Go with your men. Go back to the compound. Keep Akemi safe – take her to the elders, explain the situation.”
“In full?”
“If they demand it.”
Jotaro nodded to his group, and they disappeared without ado. He turned to Takako, brow furrowed in worry, “What made you come, Taka?”
“The elders. And my own guilt. I took Yuudai from her to quell her rebellion, and in two years, I've only cultivated it into a full-out revolt. None of you know her abilities as well as I. I lived with her. I was raised with her. I was lesser than her. But to keep the clan, to keep the village at peace, I must become greater. I must become superior. I must become God over her.” There was something off in Takako's expression, Jotaro would remember later. Something dark, and something not entirely right. That dead-eyed look from earlier? he wondered. No. It was a broken glance. There was no longer light there.
“Be whatever you need to be, Taka. We'll be waiting for you.”
The woman didn't respond. Instead, she merely took steps toward the waterfall.
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Post by Hiko on Apr 10, 2010 4:44:30 GMT -5
I must become God over her.
I must become God.
I must become.
Takako, twin long daggers in hand and darkened with long-dried blood, stepped past the waterfall's edge. There, Kotone stood, wary as a rabid canine. Had she expected Takako? Surely, for her feet were planted in such a way that the elder of the two knew to be Kotone's preparation for a fight.
“Kotone!” Takako shouted, her fingers pulsing in their grips against the long blades, “Come back! You can still end this peacefully! You don't have to leave!”
“I don't have to – Takako!” the violet-haired shinobi called her sister's name in such a way that Takako wondered if it had suddenly become a curse, “You took everything from me! The clan, Yuudai – oh, you will pay for Yuudai, I promise you. But even that I could subside! And then you latched onto Akemi! You were going to take her, just as you've taken everything from me in life!”
Takako paced forward, mindful of her eyes on the water for any quick-witted jutsu. “I took? I took, sister? You were given the world, and you spurned it for callousness! I took no more than I gave, Kotone.”
“You took the clan! Mother had named me! You... You connived, you stole her life and her title, and busied yourself to look the innocent!”
“I did not kill her.”
“Liar!”
“I did not kill her.” Takako repeated through gritted teeth. Satsuki's death had been regrettable, and Takako had mourned in her own fashion. For Kotone to call her a murderer, and not know the truth of the fact was too far. “I did not kill Mother. Perhaps you'd best ask about Yuudai, though. His death, I will carry to my grave.”
“You bitch!” Kotone charged forward, katar at the ready. There was something awkward about the woman's wrists, Takako realized in the sparse moments between Kotone's rush and the eventual impact.
Shitamizu Aka. The Offering of Flowing Water.
Hadn't Takako warned Jotaro of Kotone's skills in taijutsu?
And she came without preparation.
No, there was something she could do.
Chimamire Mai – the Bloody Dance.
Takako met Kotone's poisoned blades with her own, and both women braced backward at the impact. The two countered, positions mirroring cobras on the strike. Kotone's katar moved upwards with the swiftness of a change in stance. Though her movements cautioned the Snake, Takako eyed the katar. Kotone was considering Hatounishi.
Takako turned her twin dao inward. If Kotone preferred the life of a Snake, Takako would become the hungry Crane.
She rushed forward, blades barely touching the flesh of her arms as they laid flat against her in the charge. Mindful of the oncoming kick of water, Takako rolled with the sudden splash, spinning in time to meet her blades in a cross-section with Kotone's. Just as quickly, Takako began a barrage of frontal assaults, aiming for the ribs, the stomach, the shoulders, and even Kotone's blocking arms. Countering with that damnable loose-wristed calligraphy, Kotone blocked every attack.
The women bucked backward again, re-evaluating eachother's situation. Takako knew she couldn't manage to best Kotone as she was, though she could see the strain on her sister's features. The earlier bout with Jotaro's group, with Suishuu Gorugon – she'd made a wider spread than she'd ought. Kotone was weaker in chakra!
And that had never failed in supply for Takako.
The slate-haired leader of the Chidoku took in a heavy breath and, with heavier concentration, began forming needles in her hands.
Let the youth shout their attacks as an imbecile might. Takako never had. She scattered the needles across the waves of the water. Chakra flowed from her feet into tendrils out at the needles.
Her handed supply did not cease there.
And, as predicted by the sudden change in her attitude over the fight, Kotone changed fighting styles once more. The Tiger? She'd settled for a final attack then, for lack of better chakra? Takako released the small smattering of needles she'd managed to create in the second round into the air, watching with caution as Kotone began slipping over the water toward her. The violet-haired kunoichi all but flew over the needle-seeded water. Had she missed Takako's scattering?
No, she'd underestimated the amount!
With Kotone cornering just a hair away, Takako breathed out, “Hari Daisanji, sister.”
Needles from above, needles from below – each and every one pierced Kotone's flesh. Red blood spilled into the water as the younger shinobi fell. Kotone managed to keep enough of her mind together through the pain so as to remain above water, but Takako doubted it would last for long. She knelt down at the panting, bleeding mess and reached out to stroke her sister's hair in regret.
“Koto –”
“Ogumo,” Kotone interrupted with a raspy snarl, “Ogumo.” Pain flared in the woman's eyes, and she jerked, realizing that her body was beginning to sink into the reddened water. Takako stepped back, disinterested in aiding.
“Ogumo, to the end. You were always better, Ogumo. But I exceeded. You were the saint, but I became God. Drown, and know that what I hadn't thought to claim as yours in Akemi out of love for you, I stake out now as mine out of right. Drown, Ogumo, and know that your better, your God, has been victorious.”
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