Onward, Mashimizu!

[The Heron]

[ Open - DEATH ENABLED ]

I road atop Kanikei's broad back, content to sit and think as she ferried me towards my destination. My right fist was coiled languidly around Benihime; I felt her pulse in my grasp, throb, uneasy and restless.

"Kanikei?" I said, as the trail grew monotonous, the wonders of Kiri muted.

"Hn?" She responded.

"I would like to solidify our pact with a summoning tattoo."

"... well, what are you waiting for?"

"Your acquiescence, I suppose."

Her silent huff was not quiet so silent, and with her mountainous gait, Mashimizu was on the horizon.

[/blockquote]

Move to Mashimizu

[goliath764]

Moved.

[The Heron]

_________________________________________

It was chaos.

Men and women darted back and forth, some yelling orders, some just yelling - confusion and panic ruled their senses, demanded their attention; ruined their resolve. I could hear the pained moans from people trapped beneath the rubble of the collapsed building - I could smell their fear.

I inhaled deeply, nearly coughing at the acrid stench of smoldering stone. Thick clouds of dust hung in the air, blanketing the scene - I dipped to the earth and pressed my palm against a dishevled stone slab, synching my chakra with its own dense consistency.

From there, it was easy.

I sunk into the rock.

[/blockquote]

[The Heron]

My senses were dulled whilst I perused through the shattered concrete, flickering from stone to stone. I ‘swam’ to the center of the collapsed structure – from there, I would work my way outward. When I reached the center my feet touched down on cool earth – earth loose enough to construct minions to carry out the bulk of my task.

After a flutter of hands and a few whispered words the earth came to life, growing into ten replicas of my person. We all shared a silent gaze before they fell into action, borrowing my profound senses to seek out the few survivors within the crash site.

As they did their work I stood still in the center of the ‘chaos’ – I heard the panicked shouts of joy and happiness when those who thought themselves doomed were discovered by my grim faced bunshin – I heard the shouts of surprise from those outside as those very same bunshin deposited their finds in the ‘safe’ zone.

And still I stood, waiting for the culmination of my task. There were only a few left to find…

[The Heron]

The last was a little girl and her baby brother – they were covered in dust so thick I couldn’t discern their ethnicity. The girl was coughing and the brother barely moving – I expected the worst as I pulled them into my arms, but then the girl awoke with a start and her scream sent the brother into a crying screech that made me regret, just for a moment, even attempting to rescue the brats.

“Quiet!” I said sharply. The girl opened her wide, lilac eyes – Caucasian, then – and gave me a smile more vibrant than the sun. One of her frail, delicate hands reached up to latch on to a lock of my hair.

“Are you an angel?” she asked timidly.

“No. Not even close.”

"Oh... what are you then?"

I laughed. So innocent. "I'm a shinobi - I'm the shinobi."

And then I took her and her brother outside to safety. The people amassed gave a collective sigh of relief at the sight, and I…

I returned home.

[/blockquote]