Whirl of the Light!
I don't own Naruto
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"Talking"
'Thoughts'
&-&- Scene change
(----) Different point of view
(-/-/-) Flash back
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Chapter 19
(----Koichi----)
He makes it past the gates of Light village, it's the afternoon, and he had spent most of the morning and a few hours after lunch heading back home with the stone bear skin. The miners and town folks were glad to have the gold bars and silver rings. He made it back to the mining town around ten o'clock in the evening.
He ate some jerky and then went to sleep. He woke around ten o'clock and had a quick breakfast. He also was giving some letters and files to hand over to the council. He tucked the iteming into his pack and left at a quick pace. Once he entered the forest he began to travel among the branches. He had stopped to snack around noon and to check up on the hide.
He grins at the one on guard duty as he pastes through the gate. The guard waves back, he also noticed that there's a caravan approaching too. He didn't stop until he arrived at council hall and asks for either his great grandfather or Elder Ruki. He waits as someone is sent to find one of them.
Soon his great grandfather appears and says, "Koichi! Good to see you well and unharmed. What kept you?" He smiles and pats the stone bear skin as he says, "Took some time skinning a stone bear. The bear took care of the ninja and I took care of the bear." His great grandfather looks stunned at hearing this and just shakes his head in disbelief. "You truly know how to shake things, huh? Good for you, I think. What do you plan on doing with it?" His great grandfather asks. "Tanning it first and foremost. Also I have some files and letters from the town. Here." He says and hands over his pack. His great grandfather takes the pack and shoulders it.
They chat a bit and then they part. He heads first to his parent's house to get supplies from tanning the hide. He also wouldn't mind a shower either. He finds his dad getting ready to leave on a mission when he arrives. "Hey dad. You know where the tanning supplies are?" He asks. His father glances at his skin and nods thoughtfully. "Back with the sharping tools and polishing chemicals. Good mission then?" His father asks. "The bear killed the ninjas and I killed the bear." He answers. His father nods and says, "Going over to Hinata's later then?" He nods and then his father says, "Your mother's on a long mission and I might be gone for three days. Just remember to come home once in a while to water the plants, ok?" "I promise, dad." He answers. His father nods and returns to checking his straps of his armour. He heads to the workroom.
(----Hinata----)
She sits down and waits for her teacher, Elder Yusuke. She turns when the door opens and watches as Elder Yusuke closes the door. Elder Yusuke then sits across from her and she says, "Good afternoon, Elder." "Good afternoon, Hinata. What do you think about Elder Yamachi retiring?" Her teacher asks.
She thinks this over and asks, "Elder Yamachi is hundred and twelve years old, right?" Elder Yusuke nods and she then says, "Who's next in line to take his place?" Elder Yusuke replies, "It's a toss up between Zoe Geo and Hoshi Hido." She's surprise at that choices and asks, "But they're both under fifty years old." Elder Yusuke smiles and nods as he says, "Not too many are ready for the job and there are only six people that are training to become elders. Koichi and you are the youngest of those training. The other two have just begun to train, therefore it's between Zoe and Hoshi." She looks surprise at the low number of people training to replace members of the council. Elder Yusuke notices this and adds, "Few people have the patients to go through with the training. You see Koichi is most likely to replace Ruki, for Ruki plans to retire when Koichi is old enough and promote Koichi as her replacement. Not many plan to object to that course of action." She nods as she thinks this over.
"So, aren't they getting tested then?" She asks. Yusuke nods and smiles as he says, "They're being tested right now. But I'm glad that you didn't just harp on either of the candidates. That shows that you don't play favourites." She sighs and asks, "Just how old are most of the elders?" "Most of the elders are around hundred, I myself am ninety-seven years old. The next oldest is Daichi, who's hundred and thirty-three years old." Elder Yusuke answers. "Then why isn't Elder Daichi retiring?" She asks. Elder Yusuke says, "Daichi is in good health as well is still active. Daichi continues to take missions and also is very talented medic nin." "And the others don't?" She asks. "Very Elders take missions monthly, they do one on a yearly basis though." Her teacher explains.
She nods thoughtfully at this piece of information. "Who are the other two being trained?" She asks. "Chiyama Shadow Dance and Yokich Moon's Eye. Chiyama is twenty-eight years old and Yokich is forty-six years old." Elder Yusuke says. "Isn't Shadow Dance your last name?" She asks. "Chiyama is my granddaughter." Elder Yusuke confesses. "Then does Yokich also have a relative that use to be on the council too?" She asks. "His great great-grandfather and great grandmother, actually. Some families couldn't care less about members of their clans becoming Elders, even though it's an important job. It's a reason why it seems that certain families continue to produce council members." Elder Yusuke explains. She nods in understanding at this new piece of information.
"Have any elders come from the Leopard clan or Fufu clan?" She asks, curious if either of Koichi's teammates might be chosen to become elders at a later date. "Back during the second war with the JenFe!, Sora Leopard and Gashiran Fufu had been chosen because those that were train were slim pickings and for five of the seven were killed during the war. It happens and it'll most likely happen again." Elder Yusuke answers. She sighs as she thinks about this.
Then Elder Yusuke changes the subject and they begin discussing visions that they had. By the end of the session, Elder Yusuke hints at being to link up together to have visions together. It's the first time that her teacher hinted that she's ready to take a new step in her training and she is humbled that Elder Yusuke thinks she's ready to advance.
&-&-&-
She makes her way towards Koichi's parent's house. She hears something happening in the backyard and jumps the wall only to find Koichi working on a huge skin. She then notices that Koichi was working without a shirt and blushes slightly as she watches the muscles move as Koichi works on the skin.
She walks towards him after saying, "Hey Koichi." Koichi grunts out, "Hi, Hinata." Koichi doesn't turn around when he says this. "What kind of beast did this come from?" She asks after she stands behind Koichi for a good three minutes. "It's a stone bear. I killed it right after it finished off the mist nins." Koichi replies and looks over his shoulder. She looks stunned at the news and studies the skin more closely.
She pulls up a chair and watches as Koichi begins to stretch the hide over a wooden framework. Koichi then asks, "Mind helping me lean this over by the cloth line? It's just too tall for me to do this safely." She gets up and helps carry it towards the cloth line. She then holds it as Koichi begins to stand it up on its ends. Then once its up and leaning against the rope, she lets go and watches as the rope keeps the whole framework from falling over.
She looks over to where Koichi is standing as he studies the skin. "It must have been tough to kill." She comments. "I first used a water jutsu to soak the bear and then I did ice jutsus for a good twenty minutes. I killed it by freezing it. Then I did a sharping jutsu on my short sword before I skinned the bear." Koichi informs her as he wipes his hands on a rag.
"You need a shower? I can leave and come back later." She asks. Koichi then looks at her and then looks to where she's staring. Koichi's eyes light up in realization. Koichi runs a hand through his blond hair, clearly embarrassed. She smiles brightly and says, "Nice chest." She's amazed when Koichi blushes and shifts his weight nervously. "Thanks, I think." Koichi says.
"I'll come back with some take out. See you later, Koichi." She says as she leaves the backyard to go get food. She wonders if maybe Koichi has feelings for her. 'I wonder when he'll ask me out? Maybe I should ask him.' She thinks as she walks down the street.
(----Keela----)
She watches as her servant, Dra the Myel. Dra has glowing green eyes with copper scales with a blue mane. Myel are the size of ponies and were smart. Her tribe tamed them and has been trying to teach them true morals and history, but the Myel just don't believe them on this subject. Also they still speak their 'native' tongue, if one calls that a tongue.
"Are you sure we're going the right way?" She asks. Dra turns and says, "We go the right way. The stars sing that we're on the right course, milady." "We better be, I don't want the Order of the Just to find us." She says. Dra doesn't seem to care about that, for he just turns back towards the bow of the ship. She narrows her eyes at this insolence, but knows that she'll have to wait until they dock to punish the lowly beast for his insolence.
She turns away and heads back to her cabin. She pauses to glance at the other ship sailing to her right. They were able to steal eight ships and sabotage six of the other ships in dock. She now wonders just how the Red Stone tribe were able to learn her father's plans and alert the Order of the Just on them.
She reflects on her father's plans to increase their tribe's influence. Her tribe is the Silver River tribe. They only needed to discredit the Red Stone tribe's honour and they could have had one of their own appointed governor of Winter Grove.
She closes her eyes, picturing Solar in the gowns of a governor. But it's not to be, for Solar is dead. Along with her father and two hundred of the troops that her chose to accompany him to lay siege on Calling Tower, the home city of the Red Stone tribe.
She could also picture how the army was cut down and slain by the combined forces of the Red Stone tribe and the police order, Order of the Just. She knows that if they had turn themselves in, her tribe would have been disgraced and it would take three generation before her tribe was as prosperous as it was before her father made his plans.
She pushes the thoughts away as a cry is heard. "Land! I see land!" She walks out of her cabin and watches as many of her tribe comes to look forward. She hears the captain yell out a question, "How far?" "A good day I think!" The sailor from the crow's nest shouts out.
"Well, who would have guessed it? The beast was right." She says out loud. She then thinks about the treasure that Dra mentioned and begins to wonder if maybe the Myel was onto something. 'Maybe there is a treasure. Let's see if we can find this city in the mountains.' She thinks as she returns to her cabin.
To Readers:
What Keela looks like is an elf branch called Irge. This branch is divided into three tribes, the Red Stone tribe, Silver River tribe, and Snow Field tribe. This branch looks quite human with pointed ears, which are longer then, the classic elves. They tend to be tanned and slender, not going over 6 feet tall.
The Order of the Just is a policing order that was founded by another elfin branch called the Belji. Belji are paler then the Irge and they also tend to built more and taller then the Irge. Belji have three tribes, they are Emerald Forest tribe, Diamond Cast tribe, and Sapphire Lake tribe.
The Order of the Just is the official police of the nation of Star Bright. Star Bright is where five elfin branches that evolved from the same ancestors. The Order of the Just has members from each of the five branches. Other then the two already mentioned, there are Etra, Haqic, and Zudra. All five branches have a total of three tribes and their own capital for their tribe too.
This nation isn't use to dealing with other intelligent races, and I believe you know what's going on in Dra's head as he leads his 'masters' to where his race once lived. So, these five branches of elves don't know what chakra is or that it exists. Hope you don't shoot me, but I thought this is important, for the scene I'm creating. I'll be adding more info on the other three branches in other chapters. Thanks for reading and input is always welcome!
To be continued …