Kirigakure Mizukage Tower Roof: Rooftop Garden

[Corvus]

If one were to climb to the very top of the tower, a location accessible only to those able to fly or with the kage's permission, they would find themselves in a garden tended to by the Mizukage Ayumu Akiko when she is present, and maintained by the tower's staff when she is away.

The rooftop garden is a large circular area composed of a crafted marble ring about two feet thick that composes the outer area of the roof, facilitating a walkway of sorts. Carved into this outer ring are the eight symbols of divination, aligned to their ancestral directions. Moving inward, we have four carvings make out of various materials and facing inward, judging from the center of the garden, each is aligned on a different one of the four cardinal directions.

In the north, we have a sparrow with it's wings outstretched, fashioned from a crimson stone with rubies for eyes. In the south, a tortoise fashioned from obsidian with a serpent of Mother of Pearl coiled around it. The serpents eyes feature pearls, while the tortoise's are made of Jet. In the West, there exists a statue crafted of opal in the form of a tiger, one of it's forepaws lifted, with eyes of diamond. Finally, in the east, a statue of a dragon crafted from cobalt with sapphire eyes sits, patiently watching over the garden. Each statue, and it's components are both invulnerable, and impossible to move or remove.

The area within the marble ring, aside from the four statues, is a simple knoll covered with soft, bright green grass, and dotted with countless species of wildflower. In the center of this knoll is a large, somewhat gnarled tree of unknown species. Under unknown conditions, it may suddenly blossom into beautiful pink blossoms, but otherwise does not flower.

[Corvus]

SPOILER: Click to show

Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone Jutsu)
Rank: B
Skill: Ninjutsu
Effect: The Kage Bushin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone Jutsu) is a increased and stronger form of the Regular Bushin jutsu which is a meer Genjutsu. Kage Bushin allows the clones to actually inflict damage upon the opponent, They can even use jutsu for they carry their own chakra circulatory system making it even impossible for the Hyuuga clan members to tell them apart from the original. Each clone that the user makes divides his.her chakra up evenly between them making ten clones means each clone has one tenth the original users chakra supply. The clones are real enough they even bleed when cut but when inflicted with enough damage the clone disappears.
Special: A special Handsign where the user crosses the two first fingers of each hand making a cross.
Drawback: The average user can only make about 5 clones. Excessive use of the Clone jutsu can leave the use extremely low on chakra. When the clones are destroyed the user does not get a return in charka.
Description: The Kage Bushin is an Exact Replica of the user and can not in anyway be proven to be a copy not even by the most elite of jutsu. Unless taken to the test and actually harmed.
Limit: Must be an ANBU. Must be Chuunin in order to get this technique. Kage only is capable of allowing someone to learn.

[~~/60]

---

Akiko exited the stairwell and stepped into the open air of the rooftop. The air up here was always so clear, it was one of the highest points in the village, and also sat as home to two of the village's wonders: the Four Guardian Statues, and the Guardian Tree. The Four Guardian Statues were statues composed of various materials, each representing one of the four Guardian Beasts; Seiryuu, Suzaku, Genbu, and Byakko. Presumably, the statues were placed here by the sect, or perhaps cult, who occupied this building before Aniki 'appropriated' it.

The Guardian Tree was a tree of unknown species, closely resembling an overlarge Bonsai of some sort, large enough to provide ample shade. At irregular intervals, it would suddenly burst into bloom, Akiko herself had begun to take it as a sign of good tidings. Every time it bloomed, she felt full of energy, restless even, and felt a definite 'focus', a force pulling her to some place. It rarely was in full bloom, however. At least, Akiko herself had never seen it. The tree itself was likely planted by the previous occupants as well.

A few blossoms hung low on the tree, Akiko could feel that familiar nagging at the back of her mind. Her hand gripped the object of her 'focus', a scroll containing the details of the Art of the Shadow Doppleganger. Today, she felt driven to learn this jutsu. And she had no reason not to, it was a useful jutsu with any number of ways to utilize it.

Akiko sat down in the shade of the Tree, the statues on each side of her. A slightly musty smell filled her lungs, only to be whisked away by a passing breeze with the lingering scent of flowers. It was a peaceful day, perfect for learning jutsu. Akiko looked over the details of the jutsu and was surprised to find only the bare minimums written down on it. On the upside, this meant that Akiko was free to experiment and tweak everything to her exact specifications. On the down side, this meant she had next to nothing to go on.

Lovely.

[Corvus]

[~~/60]

Well, this jutsu was an attempt to create an artificial duplicate of the user, a Doppleganger, if you will. Even the term 'Homunculus' could be used, though the term traditionally referred to either an artificial human created through alchemy, or else to a scale model of a human that could be used to illustrate some function of the human body. Still, it could be applied here, though another jutsu applied better, being a true cellular clone, but that was a different matter for a different day.

For today, the issue was to isolate the elements of human existence, what makes a human 'human', so to say, and to replicate those in a separate form via chakra. Sounds easy, right? You wish. Akiko started by breaking down the nature of a human into two primary elements, the material, mundane half, part base material, so to speak. And the incorporeal, abstract portion, the so called 'divine spark' that many attribute to definite proof of a divine creator. Akiko herself found that anything that would create anything as flawed as humanity must either itself be flawed and unable to create anything superior, or else is sadistic in nature, and in either case not worthy of worship.

But again, that is another discussion for another time. Akiko sat and looked at the fading writing on the yellowed material. Her gaze upon the greying ink was focused and intense, as if by sheer force of will, she could absorb the knowledge of others who had attempted this jutsu into herself. If only...if only. As it was, Akiko decided to break down each of the two halves of human existance, the mundane base and 'divine' spark into more basic, more abstract, forms.

First was the mundane. If she was right, the human's mundane half was composed of physical matter, energy that is commonly percieved by humans, such as heat and electrical, and finally chakra. Yes chakra, though it and it's two components could easily be considered of the divine half, Akiko considered them of the mundane. Why? Because the 'Divine' half Akiko was attributing solely to the mysteries of the human body. Those things which cannot be cleanly dissected, observed, and documented.

Of the Divine, Akiko could discern two further elements that made up the half-enigma known as 'Homo Sapien'. Of those three, the first was the 'Consciousness', the complex workings of the conscious, , the hidden unconscious and subconscious, and furthermore, the theoretical "Superconscious"; something which, if properly studied, could become a powerful weapon. Perhaps something to read up on later. The other element was the 'Soul'. Perhaps even more difficult to study than the mind, the Soul is as ethereal and abstract as the mind is complex.

[Corvus]

[~~/60]

First up was the creation of the base material, or more accurately, the simulation of physical matter through the use of chakra. Less important was it's actual psudo-molecular composition, and more important was the properties and mass the psudo-matter held. It needed to be a perfect, or at least near perfect match for actual human flesh. That meant it needed to have similar mass to the real thing, Akiko in this case, as well as similar conductivity of energies.

The first step was to create the skeletal structure. Bones aren't made completely of calcium, but it is a large contributor to the molecular structure. I'm duplicating myself, so I should factor in the hollow bones as well. Akiko ran over a series of calculations in her head, then began to release the chakra from her body, weaving it into a form that closely duplicated the molecular structure of human bone that had been modified by the Tsubasa's Ritual of Talon and Feather.

Lucky enough, Akiko was not just a medic, but was working towards her M.D. Quite impressive for someone her age, wouldn't you say? Because of this knowledge, Akiko has fairly extensive knowledge of the human body, bone structure included. So she started by extracting a small blob of chakra and molding it almost like clay, warping it on the structural level to simulate calcium and all the other compounds that make up human bone.

Akiko took that one sample and duplicated the chakra patterns in it, warping the shape into multiple bone plates, then fusing them together in much the same way that a baby's do as they grow up. The only difference was that she was forming it piece by piece, instead of expanding and combining pieces that already were in place. Not a terribly difficult process, given the inherent malleability of chakra and incomplete chakra-constructs.

Furthermore, Akiko had decided to start at the top and work her way down. So, naturally, she was working on the skull, and was almost completely finished with the dome itself. The next part was to sculpt the facial structure, the brow ridge and cheek bones would probably be the hardest parts. The nose's shape would be given by the cartilage, which is softer and more malleable than the bone which she was trying to emulate. It stood to reason that emulated cartilage is softer than emulated bone, just as the authentic versions of each are.

[Corvus]

[~~/60]

Akiko slowly formed the structure of the brow and cheeks, working slowly and meticulously, like a master craftsman, like a sculptor working on a masterpiece. In a way, she was a sculptor working on a sculpture. Or at least an artist working on a piece of art. All the same, it was kinda creepy, and most disconcerting, working on a 1::1 model of oneself. Oh, yes, nightmares were to be expected tonight.

Akiko sighed as she finished the skull and jaw, picking it up and using it like a puppet. "This is going to be a hassle, isn't it?" Akiko asked the morbid puppet. "Yesh," it answered back, speaking with Akiko's voice disguised to a point where it sounded silly. "I'm going to regret trying to learn this jutsu, aren't I?" "Yes," the talking skull replied. "Talking to you is slightly morbid, and actually rather disturbing to any random onlooker, isn't it?" The skull fell silent.

"Si."

It spoke after a while, while Akiko just sighed in exasperation. She was just getting started, and yet her drive was already fading fast. She threw the skull down, leaving it to bounce actually rather realistically a few times before settling in one spot, waiting to be picked up again, as Akiko flopped backward into the grass.

"Bah, why does this have to be so frustrating?" Akiko complained to herself as a cloud passed in front of the sun, "I wish real life hat TMs and such," the very young kage sat up, "But if it did, I bet I'd only be able to learn four moves." Realizing she needed to get back to work, Akiko picked the skull back up and set it where she needed it before returning to work on the clone's skeleton.

Since she at least had the skull done, she layed out a long cord of chakra to use as a filler for the spinal cord until she got to working on the nervous system. She then crafted rings of the psudo-bone and placed them along the Spinal cord's stand-in. She placed the rings at regular intervals, leaving enough space between them to allow for free movement. After that, she formed the ridges to which the muscles and tendons would attach, allowing the body to move. Last but not least, she added another piece of psudo-bone at the bottom of the spine, the coccyx, or tailbone.

[Corvus]

[~~/60]

After a brief break to break her tension, Akiko returned to work on her jutsu cursing how vague the scroll was on it. Having released the jutsu before, Akiko began to reform the skeleton. She started by repeating her steps from before, starting with the skull, molding chakra into porous psudo-bone, forming the skull one plate at a time and fusing them together, carefully crafting the brow, cheeks and jaw. After that, she spread out a long tube of blank chakra, then formed the psudo-bone rings around it.

Now that she had caught up on her earlier progress, Akiko began to progress forward. She started with the shoulders and ribcage, finding the point where the shoulders started on her real body, then molding the chakra-bone to the needed shape, working it like like clay, mixing and warping it until it took on the shape and texture needed, leaving hollow space and pockets of air to match her own bone density.

She stretched the notbone up and around, molding the socket joints where the arms would join the torso, then continued molding the bone until it reached the center of the chest. Just like before, she started at about the same level the shoulders, around where the neck would later join the torso; though that point was almost indistinguishable earlier, it was now plain as day, thanks to her work earlier. Akiko molded the chakra out and around, creating the other shoulder.

After that, Akiko reached under her shirt and slowly, carefully checked her ribs, counting them personally. Once she was sure she had the number memorized, Akiko formed more almostbutnotquitebone; carefully, slowly forming the ribcage. She worked slowly and methodically, calling on her knowledge of human anatomy to help her out. One, two, three, slowly Akiko crafted the ribs the same number on each side, scraping away at, reforming, and adding energythatletschildrenshootfireballsateachotherbone until each and every single rib was perfect.

Akiko then crafted the sturnum, bending the bones in toward the center and fusing them together, bringing the collarbones in and fusing the whole thing together. The ribs were made out of differently formulated glowbone than the rest, being much more elastic and pliable than normal bone. This let the ribcage stretch and expand, allowing the lungs to inflate. Akiko gazed absentmindedly at the place where the heart would eventually be.

There was a lot of work ahead, waiting for her to complete it. She still needed to make the arms and legs, hands and feet. And that was just the skeleton. After that was the tendons, then the muscles, the lymph system, the cardiovascular system, the nervous system, along with all the other systems in the body. The skin would be last. Welp, time to start on the arms and legs then...

[Corvus]

[~~/60]

Might as well finish up the bones After that could come the soft tissue. Akiko molded more of the chakra-bone and started on the bone in the upper arm, leaving a little blank chakra in the socket to hold the bone in place. Akiko wove the structure of the bone into the chakra, molding the false bone into the needed shape, working on it as a seamstress would work on a fine garment, as any master craftswoman would work on their chosen craft, weather it be a whittler making a wooden sculpture of a bear, a swordsman honing his skills, or even a sword smith making a sword for said swordsman.

The bone in the upper arm was easy enough to make, just one long, large bone, with one end having a larger head than the other, to better fit the ball and socket joint of the shoulder. The other end was formed differently, specialized for the hinge joint that was the elbow. After that, she started crafting the two bones that were the forearm, linking and twisting in such a way as to allow the wrist to turn. The first bone was long and thin, of a similar length to the bone in the upper arm. The second was very similar to, but not the same as, the first; long and thin, interlinking with the first to allow the forearm to twist.

After she finished the two bones of the forearm, Akiko began to create small bones. She slowly made 19 more bones, each one tiny, each one forming a separate, tiny part of just one hand. And each bone had to be unique, no two bones in the human hand were exactly the same. So, therefor, she had to meticulously craft each and every bone in the hand with exacting precision greater than almost any other form of creation.

Finally, she finished. She finished the twenty-two bones that formed just one human arm and hand. Those bones interlocked in a way still not completely comprehended, bound with sinew and animated though muscle and tendon. But this was but one arm, still one arm and two legs remained, as well as the hands and feet, toes and fingers, that went with them. Akiko duplicated her process, starting with the bone of the upper arm, long and thick, bilaterally asymmetrical, fashioned for two different kinds of joints.

The bones of the forearm were crafted with the same meticulous attention to detail as before, intertwined to allow the wrist to rotate. The 19 bones of the hand were crafted next, each one crafted to the same level of meticulous detail as it's mirror-twin on the opposite hand. The ridges and grooves, the overall design of the bone was by necessity. Those 'imperfections' that made bones rough were what allowed the muscle tendon and other connective tissues to bind everything together. With both arms done, now the entire upper torso's skeletal structure was finished. And all before lunch...maybe this wouldn't be so hard?

Yeah right, just give Murphy a chance.

[Water Adept]

+40

[rainaburame]

(OOC: Sorry bout the wait I wasn’t feeling well the last couple of days so I couldn’t really get onto my computer to post but I am feeling a little better now so by Monday I should be able to be on more often.)

The ANBU agent escorted Rain up through the tower till they reached the top floor entering out into the garden the ANBU agent turned to Rain and spoke “The Mizukage will be with you shortly please just wait here to begin your training” he said before turning and walking away, leaving the area

Rain was left standing admiring the plants in the garden and examining the area he found himself thinking out loud “is this really where the Mizukage trains… or is it just somewhere to relax?” he pondered to himself as he stood in the garden awaiting the Mizukage to arrive and begin his medical training

[Corvus]

(not a problem.)[40/60]

Akiko stretched her arms for a moment before returning to her work. With the skeleton of the upper body compete, Akiko began to work on the lower torso. She started with the pelvis, slowly working on an imitation of her own body. It was slow going, and it required her to really tap into her knowledge of human anatomy, but slowly and surely she managed to craft it, one cubic centimeter of notbone at a time.

Of course, Murphy had to drop a distraction on her. Akiko heard someone coming and, somewhere between frustrated and mischievous, she hid behind the tree, using her chakra to lift the skeleton high into the air. She waited for the right moment, then dropped the half-finished skeleton on whoever was now wandering about the garden.

[Haseo]

As they walked up the stairs Haseo tried to initiate simple, nondescript conversation but the ANBU would have none of it. He did little more than move as the genin did, his steps sounding off in an evenly toned staccato like tone. "You don't talk much do you?" he questioned. Even then, the mysterious shinobi was silent. They soon made way up to the garden, where he saw no sign of the Mizukage, nor her attendants. He took a few steps further, until a skeleton seemingly dropped from the sky. Its ribs fell over the genin's head like a helmet, he now obviously disgusted. "What the hell was that?"

[Corvus]

Akiko poked her head out from around the tree she hid behind, visibly dissatisfied with the young man's reaction. "Aww, you're no fun," she pouted, using her jutsu to have the skeleton tear a bone from each forearm and start playing it's ribs like a xylaphone. It played an energetic tune straight out of an old cartoon. Once it completed it's tune, it replaced the bones and pulled itself off the young man, walking over to Akiko's side on it's boney hands, pivoting on one to face the boy.

The skeleton, still being manipulated by Akiko's boredom, pulled it's skull off and bowed to the genin, before crumbling into a pile of bones, loosely attached to one another. "So what can I do for you, Ne?"

[Haseo]

Well that was strange, though coming from the Mizukage, it didn't surprise him. In spite of her childish antics however, he had to pay her due respects. "Mizukage-sama, I formally request your permission to travel to Taki no Kuni to train in the art of swordsmanship. I'll respect any decision you happen to make." he spoke, an air of humility in his voice.

[Corvus]

"Hm..." Akiko thought to herself for a moment, "Well, who are you going to see?" She walked about the small garden as a light breeze drifted by, "Do you know what style you want to learn?" Akiko looked with youthful curiosity at the genin.

[Haseo]

"I want to meet with Hijikata Toshizo, master of the Gyakusatsu style of sword fighting. I'm in need of a sensei, and this man could prove invaluable to me in my training. Taki no Kuni is an ally of ours, so I'm sure he would provide me with the proper aid."

[Corvus]

"That actually sounds kinda interesting." Akiko thought to herself for a while, sitting down on the thick grass and crossing her legs. "I know, if you can wait for me to finish learning Kagebushin, then I'll go with you. I was planning to head to the Land of Wind sometime soon anyway. It would be nice to have someone to come with me."

[Haseo]

"I'd be glad to accompany you, Lady Mizukage. I assume you know where to find me? If not, I'll leave my address with Katori and someone can send for me when you're ready." he spoke, dropping much of the formality in his former speech.

[Corvus]

[40+/60]

"Okiedokie," Akiko said enthusiastically, "I'll try not to take long, see you then." As the genin left, Akiko turned to the skeleton on the ground, "Yoshi!! Alright Skelly, lets get to work!" Akiko clapped her hands together, the sound ringing out from the top of the tower, sending the jumble of assorted bones storming about a single spot like a swarm of bees. The many, many bones came together, combining like tiny robots forming a larger one. Sorta like Super Sentai, but with more pieces.

With the bones reassembled into a single cohesive, and properly formed skeleton, Akiko began to work from where she left off, reforming the pelvis, which had crumbled and dissolved from her lack of focus. Akiko began to work her chakra again, folding and molding it into the chakrabone that the already stabilized skeleton was formed from. The 14 year old Kage molded and slowly crafted the material, shaping it like a potter does clay, using her fingers to manipulate the malleable material, shaping it into the shape of a five year old girl's pelvis.

Once that piece was complete once again, Akiko moved on to the next piece, or pieces, rather. Taking a particularly thick piece of glowbone base, she began to warp and craft. She worked on it slowly and methodically, shaping it with expert craftsmanship that could be duplicated only by a skilled medical ninja like herself. Akiko worked on that bone for a great while, making sure to leave the core hollow, using thin struts of calcified chakra to reinforce it against various trauma, just like she had done with all the other bones.

And even as she finished, she knew that this was just the first of two. The first of two femurs, the largest single bone in the human body. Even as she finished the first, she began to build the second, inserting the large end of the first into the hip joint before moving onto the second. She started by crafting a large blob of chakra and working it into the right texture, working air into it to make it porous, like real bone.

She crafted the bone nice and long, a mirror image of her other Femur, and an exact duplicate, as best she knew, of the real McCoy within her leg. Like the first, she suspended the thicker, more club-like end within the hip socket. Finally, after boredom and a distraction, she was finally finishing up with the most basic level of her shadow clone; the underlying skeletal structure. There was still the tendons, musculature, lymph system, nervous system, cardiovascular system, Chakra circulatory system, digestive track, and all the other assorted organs, and THEN the eyes, skin, nails, and hair that make her physical appearance, THEN finally her clothing...and all that made up just her basic physical structure.

After that, she still had the less well described portions of her self to deal with. Oh well, better finish the bones before worrying about any of that baloney. Akiko began to mold chakra again, taking the little, tiniest bit, and warping it, folding it, like a swordsmith crafts ordinary ore and ingots into the finest swords. She needed this meticulousness, crafting an exact duplicate of the human body was no mean feat, and only repetition and proper understanding could make it possible in combat. But as they say, Practice does not make perfect. Only practice of the perfect will make perfect. For if you practice in err, and are not corrected, you will continue to perform in err. And with such a useless scroll, Akiko needed to experiment on her own, to find her own perfect form.

[Molokai]

A black speck appeared in the sky, moving at an extremely rapid pace toward the roof of the Mizukage's tower. As it neared, several facts became clear. One, that it traveled in a parabolic fashion, suggesting a terrestrial origin. Second, it was spinning exceptionally fast. And third, the random bits that seemed to stick out of it at certain points during its spiral looked very similar to arms and legs.

Hurtling at such a great speed as it was, by the time it was near enough to be identified, it was only seconds from landing on its apparent target. Its apparent target: The dragon statue.

Taisen's limp body slammed into the blue dragon and bounced hard into the thin grass, digging a score into the soil until he skidded to a halt beneath the central tree. His normal leather clothes were completely gone, replaced now by a long red coat, high leather boots, a torn striped shirt, and a tricorn hat that now sat askew atop his unconscious noggin. Gone were his shields that had so defined him, gone was Samehada that mattered so much to him, gone was the wakefulness that so became him.

After disappearing for months, what now brought him back? Where had he gone? How did he get in the sorry state he was in? What happened? As Taisen slumped against the tree on the roof, completely out cold, not one of these questions seemed to have an immediate answer.

[Corvus]

[??/60]

Akiko nodded to herself, extruding another piece of chakra, working and molding it like she did so many times before, forming the artificial bone that the rest of the body was crafted from She kneeded it like dough, twisting and stretching and adding and scraping away until it was just right, a mirror image of the already completed femur, one end larger than the other. Confident in it's completion, she inserted the large end of the bone into the hip socket and suspended it in place using a filler for the tendons and muscles she would later make. Now, to move onto the next step, the shins and knees.

Akiko extruded more chakra, molding the chakra and working it to give it the right texture. After that, she began to work on it's consistency, working and working, leaving the center hollow for the marrow, and adding struts to maintain it's strength, like in a bird's bones. Akiko wished that a real human was this simple to make. Ah well...her mind wandered to her Aniki for a moment, before she returned to her work. She made the glowybone long and thin, more like a rapier than the femur's club.

She attached it to the base of one of the femurs, and decided to come back and do the kneecaps in a couple of paragraphs. She extruded more chakra and began to work it like fresh, wet clay, crafting and molding it. Working air into it and shaping it inside and out. She made another long, thin bone, crafting it like the first, another shin, attached to the knee. Akiko then extruded another glob of chakra, working it into the form of bone and working the air into it, mimicing the real knee cap, and the bones she had already crafted.

She repeated the process, using her thumbs to give it just the right shape. She then placed them both over the knee joints, finishing the legs and letting her finally move onto the feet, after her attempts were deleted twice. Akiko started to work slowly, methodically, making exact duplicates of the bones within the human foot. She repeated the process for the other foot, crafting two mirror sets of bone, one for the left foot, one for the right. Finally, she set about working on the bones.

First, two large ones for the big toe, then slowly crafting eight more progressively smaller ones. And all this for just one foot. Next, she repeated the process for the other foot, leaving her with two full sets of toes. She slowly attached the bones, using extra chakra like glue to stick them in place until she could properly create the connective tissue and tendons. And finally, FINALLY, FRICKEN, BLOODY FINALLY, she was done with the skeleton. Now to just take a short break and onto the

KA-BOOM

A massive impact disrupted Akiko's concentration as an unknown being she hadn't seen coming slammed into the dragon statue and rolled to a stop at the base of the tree. "Nee~?" Akiko mumbled as she sat back up and gathered her wits..."A-ANIKI? " Akiko, and her handy-dandy skele-clone, dashed over and hugged the recently returned retired Rage, er, Kage, around the waist. "A-Aniki? are you alright? what happened, where have you been?" She asked repeated questions to the unconcscious man before finally getting her wits together and activating her doujutsu, analyzing any problems with his body and using her medical expertise to treat them. If Aniki weren't Aniki, he wouldn't even be alive.