Sunagakure, Kazekage Building: Familiar Face
The Kazekage sighed in absolute fury, slamming down the paper that he was reading on his desk, "HOW?" He shouted as he sat back down. He had just received an update from the intruder who invaded his village and office, which turned out to likely be the same person that he and Kanashii had been looking for a long time. It turns out that the merchants who were being escorted to the capital under the protection of one of the jonin along with a genin team made contact with the ever-elusive Katomi Misamoto. After a short and fierce battle, Katomi somehow was able to fly and subsequently used her wings which gave her a boost in speed to brutally murder the jonin, cutting off his arms and letting him bleed to death in front of the merchants. Apparently, she didn't want a fight originally, but the jonin didn't trust her and wanted to arrest her, however, she declined to surrender. If there is anyone who may be responsible for the infiltration of his village, it'll likely be her.
But the question is, how did she get into the village and his office without being detected? What kind of potential does a brat, who is supposed to be around 8 years old by now, manage to evade not only the village perimeter security division, the Anbu guarding the office, and the Kazekage himself? The Kazekage growled in anger, already planning on adding Katomi to the bingo book and increasing her bounty. He took a few breaths to calm down, knowing that a war was starting soon, "The Anbu should be able to apprehend her if she's still in Wind Country, if we don't get those scrolls, we may likely be at a disadvantage if she's associated with any village or get into their grips." He mumbled out in anger.
Village of Firefly, Benihime Forest: Birth of the Yamikaze
"When channeling wind, it's best to imagine water moving from hand to hand. Do not think of it in terms of the feeling of the water's movement, but more on the principle of water moving to an area without water. Water, like wind, is free and cannot be contained for long. This means that water, like wind, needs to be guided or encouraged, but not forced. Every action has an equal reaction, and the reaction of wind should never be underestimated under any circumstance," I remembered the scroll saying as I stood on the surface of the lake. "Guide, but don't force-" I mumbled as I channeled my chakra and raised my arms, palms facing downward. Breathe in...breathe out...breathe in...breathe out. I let out a few breaths as I moved around my arms, imagining a pressure building where I was and using my arms to guide it.
Woosh! A somewhat strong breeze crested across the surface of the water, causing the water to ripple slightly. I smiled at the accomplishment before trying again, this time imagining an even more powerful pressure near me. "Breathe in...breathe out...Do not force, but guide," I said in thought as then another burst of wind started, rippling the surface of the lake like the last. However, unlike the last, this caused a slightly more violent ripple in the water, causing a small wave to form and later fizzle out several meters ahead. Not satisfied, I channeled, even more, chakra and built up more pressure around me, taking a few more breaths before releasing the force. This time, unfortunately, the surface of the water was less bothered, looking as affected as the first time. I panted slightly, noticing that I got too impatient, and decided to take a break for now. "I see, just as without, so within. Do not force, but guide in the mind just as you guide outwardly or with your chakra," I said, summarizing what I've learned from this successful failure.
I made my way off the surface of the lake to lean on a rock, crossing my arms and mouthing out words to the song I was listening to while studying. "She cute, kawaii, hentai boobies that entice me~" I sang, moving my hips slightly, "Katomi." "Oooh, oooha oooh, slumper party~" I continued. "Katomi." "Spell my name with your tongue like~" "KATOMI!" Shouted Ariana, "I find it quite strange for you to be shaking your rear end in such a manner while in the body that you are in!" Ariana reprimanded, as I, once again, felt the heat rush to my cheeks and ears, "I'm like, in my late 20s, at least mentally," I responded, slightly indignantly. "Hm, you are still in the body of an 8-year-old, those actions are not appropriate," Ari spoke, as I pouted. "Fine, mom," I said, kicking the dirt slightly. "Hm, and you are currently too underdeveloped to attempt to draw attention to your, rather lacking, posterior." She said, causing me to squawk in offense, feeling my eyebrow twitch dangerously, "Oh, oh, you just wait, I'm gonna be a bombshell like my last life, only better, you'll see." I said in a huff, before moving to pick up the scroll on advanced poisons.
"Perhaps, but we shall see if you can find any of the plants needed for those poisons," Ariana said. I stood in thought for a moment, Benihime forest was fairly large and equally biodiverse and should have plenty of poison ingredients around. "Yeah, but let's put that on hold for now, I want to go back to the village," I said putting the scroll in the pocket of my kimono before walking towards my treehouse. "You want to go back after all of this time? Interesting, but what do you plan to do?" She asked. I adopted a stern expression before responding, "I need to get a better feel for how things are going, putting my figure on the pulse in a sense. If I want to take over, I'm going to need to be familiar with the people and understand their struggles on a deeper level. I'm likely going to need to assassinate the daimyo of this village eventually as well."
"I see, how do you plan to go about that?" She asked once more. Taking another breath, I spoke, "I'm going to need to infiltrate the forces of the daimyo, I need to get a better understanding of how internal politics work, after all, I've always been a soldier, but not a politician. This is going to need a more...delicate...touch than just barging in and clobbering them with a book or slicing them with my battle fans. Poisons would be perfect, specifically any that cannot be detected after death or bodily decomposition," I finished. "I see, that's a good plan, but what about what you were planning before when it comes to Zetsu, if you have to restore a village, surely you won't have much time for much else?" She asked as I adopted a smirk before responding, "You make a good point, but, I do know the shadow clone technique if I may add. However, running a village means I need to trust more than just myself, but I do not yet know who." I reached my treehouse before forming my wings to fly up and land, placing the scroll in my pocket on my table before grabbing my battle fans and inserting them into the sleeves of my kimono. After I collected my weapons, I grabbed some sliced apples and placed them on my patio for my feathered comrades, before taking off once more, heading toward the village for the first time in a long time.
Village of Firefly: Finger on the Pulse
As I landed on the ground, I released my wings so I don't creep anyone out. I walked, and walked, and walked some more, and finally came into a small clearing. This was no random clearing, for when I looked up I saw the remains of the house that I once slept in. Long beyond burnt by my hand a while ago and now looked like it was nearly going to collapse at any moment. In the beaming afternoon sunlight, it almost looked somewhat ethereal, somewhat...enchanting almost. As if it spoke of memories in a language that only a few could know. I let out a sigh and made my way closer to the decomposing building, half-mindedly noticing the window of my ground-floor room remained open, with the glass stained with soot. No real emotion came to me, at least none that I can easily identify. I sighed again and decided to move on, this house would be here later anyway. I walked to the front lawn and made my way down the dirt path, deciding to take the scenic route instead of the trees.
After a while of walking, I finally made it to the village center, for the first time that I can remember, I saw the place with somewhat bustling streets. Of course, like before, I can clearly see the poverty, the desperation, the need for survival to the next day on everyone's face. The dwindling but still many merchant carts and businesses doing what they do. The hushed conversations of the people as they chatted about life. In short, everything looked...almost soulless, but not quite dead yet. I decided to continue walking through the crowds, lacing around like some kind of tourist, managing to see the now reopened weapons store. "Hm, I hope they got a better lock this time," I said in thought, sidestepping some small children running past me. After a while, I quickly decided that crowds were not my thing and my eyes quickly landed on the sign of the library of the village. "The best place for introverts," I said in thought as I made my way to the modest building before my anxiety got worse.
Village of Firefly Library: Your Place is Empty/Jāy-e shomā khālīst
Walking into the library, I walked to the front desk my eyes immediately landing on a boy who was busy reading before I made my presence known after walking in. He was quite a...interesting looking boy...perhaps...cute. He was wearing some of the biggest circular glasses that I have seen in this world up to this point. He had somewhat spikey, black hair that fell down to his ears with a few bangs covering his forehead. He had beautiful hazel eyes and he looked to be roughly the same age as me and..."Are those...FRECKLES?!" I shouted in thought as he finally looked up, slightly startled after being engrossed in his book. "U-um, h-he, sorry about that, u-um may I-I help you?" He stuttered out, his face turning into a tomato which only made him look cuter with those humongous glasses. Our eyes met for a moment as I was completely lost for words at this boy, "U-um, I'm Katomi, I just wanted to make sure I didn't need any pass to enter." I responded. "Why did I say my name, it's not like he'll remember," I said in thought, "He also has a somewhat light, almost feminine voice, how interesting," I finished.
He smiled shyly and fixed his dinner plate glasses before responding, "H-hi, I'm Akito, u-uh, your eyes kinda remind me of a pretty red rose, they're quite striking," he said as he paused, staring at me in horror. I looked at him, and the feeling of heat radiated from my entire body as I stood, unable to form words or even a thought. "Pretty...red...rose? I...what...WHAT?" That was all that I could think of at that moment. He looked at me, face once again obtaining the ripened colors of a tomato. I looked at him, he looked at me, and I looked at him, and he looked at me. His eyes rolled to the back of his head as he then fainted, head falling onto his book. After his head hit the book, my brain finally started back up as I looked around, seeing that only a few people were in the library, sitting closer to the back. I quickly made my way to Akito, gently pulling him up, "U-uh, shit, ARIANA! Does he need water? He seems pretty hot to the touch. Oh shit!" I inwardly shouted, glancing around to see no one near me. With a sigh, I glanced to the nearest closed door and immediately ran to it, I opened it, and seeing that it was some kind of breakroom for employees, I quickly ran back to Akito.
I picked him up over my shoulders and carried him into the room, closing the door behind me for privacy. Setting him down on the couch and laying him out, I quickly thought of what to do. "Shit, I need a rag and some water," I said, looking around the room, only to see a sink a few meters from me. "Well, there's water," I said as I looked around for fabric, spotting a hand cloth near one of the cabinets. I quickly got up and ran to it before grabbing it and wetting it in the sink. After a moment, I ran back to the boy, only to see him waking up slightly. My eyes met his, as he met my eyes again. His face turned red again as he once again fainted. "OH FUCK, ARI, is he having some kind of medical issue?" I asked out loud before placing the cool rag on his forehead after taking off his glasses. "Ari? You know, now isn't the best time to be quiet," I ranted as Ariana stayed quiet for a few moments.
My heart was racing as I quickly grabbed his hand, placing my thumb on his wrist to check his pulse. After seeing that it was normal, I sighed shakingly, not knowing much more to do. I stared concerningly at his unconscious form, face seeming peaceful in his sleep. "Damn it, what happened to you?" I asked in a whisper, not realizing the slight nervous shaking of my hand that absentmindedly held his. I sighed before placing his hand down beside him and placed his glasses on the nearby table beside the couch, I got up and made my way to the door of the room. Opening the door and checking if there were any people waiting at the front desk and seeing no one, I turned back and closed the door, standing watch over him. "Katomi, he's perfectly fine and is not suffering a medical issue," Ariana finally answered, earning a confused look from me. "Then what happened to him, all he did was call me a pretty red rose and...Oh..." I trailed off as I finally realized the situation.
An orphan I may, but completely oblivious I am not. I lived to my mid to late 20s in my last life along with once having a more intimate relationship with my best friend turned traitor. We never really spoke about what we were because even we didn't fully know, but it was, without a doubt, more than just friends. With her, I learned a lot about relationships and many of the...activities, that happened in intimacy. With the words of earlier, and considering that I am a fellow introvert, this leaves me to conclude that Akito, doesn't know very well how to express his emotions of admiration. As a result, he may likely blurt it out, not realizing the context. I sighed before palming my face, "This day is just great, isn't it?" I said with my tone dripping with sarcasm. After a moment of realization, a feeling of horror crossed my features as I realized that I now have a crush, "Fuck, what if he finds out about all of the shit that I have done?" I asked quietly, not wanting to have another person hate me. "Katomi, before you get any irrational ideas, you need to start trusting others. If you want to build the village into something greater, this is step one. He will find out at some point just like anyone else, especially after you gain more of a reputation. And he doesn't seem much like the type to judge harshly, does he?" Ariana asked.
I took a few breaths to calm down, "He doesn't seem much like the type, I guess, I just...I just feel...something...I don't know what that is, "I mumbled. "Indeed, you feel fear and uncertainty, it is normal to feel these emotions considering that you haven't had anyone to be vulnerable with, at least not a human," Ariana responded. I took a few more breaths to calm down, completely caught off guard at the situation. I'm mentally in my late 20s or early 30s if you count my age in this world, what the hell do I do? The thought of having another partner has crossed my mind before, often while taking a break after a training round, but just as quickly as I came up, I forced it to the back of my head. Wait...wait a minute, I'm moving too fast, why am I thinking about being romantic right now? "God, I need time to think, this is throwing me off far too much, I'm not in my right mind," I said out loud to no one in particular as I caressed my hair to soothe my nerves, glancing back over to the boy. "I don't know what to do, no matter who I may associate myself with in the future, I'll likely always be far older than them mentally," I spoke once more in trepidation.
"It'll be good for you to take a step back, perhaps get back to your training for some time," Ariana suggested as I nodded. I turned to the door and grabbed the doorknob before pausing, I turned back to Akito, "I...I'll be back Akito san," I whispered before opening the door and closing it. Before making my way towards the front door of the library, a man, double my height ran to me with a face full of worry and slight confusion. "Excuse me miss, uh, you wouldn't have to be one of Akito's friends are you, he never told me about a girlfriend," The man said nervously, as I felt the heat rush around my body once more, "U-uh, uh, I...I am a friend, I just came in a few minutes ago, and he passed out after I walked in, I brought him into this room, and he's resting right now. Are you his father?" I asked.
The man blushed slightly while scratching the back of his curly black hair, "Hehe, forgive me for not introducing my name, how rude of me." He said before standing up straight, chest poking out proudly, "Young lass, my name is Ichigo Fukushima, world famous metal smith, and the king of bending metals," He said proudly. "U-uh, I'm Katomi Misamoto, I'm...I'm someone you may want to watch, someone who wishes to make a special flower blossom, a flower that you, along with many others are connected to," I said with a polite bow at the waist, remembering the etiquette of this world. He stood for a moment, perhaps interested in what I said before he flipped expressions again, now looking panicked and biting his nails, "H-he's alright, is he?" He asked. I held in a giggle at the man and responded, "He's fine, I think he's just a bit dehydrated, well then, I gotta get going, I'll be back again," I said, waving as I made my way out of the library. "Yes ma'am, you're always welcome!" He said joyfully, getting a loud shush from one of the patrons as he giggled in embarrassment.
Firefly Village: Play With Fire
"Damn, those people make me feel...a way that I can't identify," I said in thought as I walked around the village residential area absentmindedly. "Perhaps, you are in need of companionship that only can come from family or friends," Ariana quipped. I sighed quietly, not doubting for a second at the fact that it could be the case, whether I could recognize it or not. Just being around Akito alone, made me forget about anything else. However, it also brought up even more emotions that, quite frankly, I forgot that I could feel. I looked around at the houses, seeing that they were somewhat nicer, which meant I must've wandered into the wealthy part of the village. I then glanced up to see the position of the sun, seeing that it was past its zenith and moving closer and closer to the evening period, I turned and continued walking, not in any real direction for any purpose, just to clear my mind and think.
Breathe in... breathe out...breathe in...breathe out. "Ok, let's try to clarify everything, I am mentally far older than anyone that I may associate with in this world, barring anyone who is physically and technically mentally older than me, like Ichigo san. This means that, while I may be compatible with someone in terms of physical age, I may still only see them as a kid or at least far younger than me," I said in thought before taking a few breaths and continuing. "Now, Akito will likely continue to have a crush on me unless something happens. I could tell him that I cannot reciprocate his feelings, at least right now or I could try to channel that into a more...sibling-like relationship, and over time those feelings would fade," I finished before coming to a bench and taking a seat.
I inwardly sighed deeply, remembering how those kind words made me feel, how seeing those hazel eyes made me feel, how it made me feel when I saw him smile so gently. I raised my hands and allowed my head to fall into my palms, completely confused about what to do. "I think I might also have a crush on him too, and...I feel...partly disgusted with myself that I can't control it, I shouldn't have said I was going to come back, it just...felt polite." I said in thought. A moment of complete silence passed, I assume Ariana was just letting me think things over. "I could be physically 20 in this world but I would still be mentally 20 more years ahead, but I'm not dating a 40-year-old as someone who is physically 20, I'm not sure about how societies would feel about something like that in this world," I continued in thought. A lot of the time, I don't really pay much attention to what others say, but I will not delude myself, I am still human, well, human/raptor hybrid now, but I'm still human at my core. I still care about what others say to some degree, especially those that I care deeply about. Besides, if I want to obtain control of this village, my reputation, or what others say or how they see me, matters as well. Gotta love being a future politician, not as simple as "bang, tango down", or, "switching to you're sidearm is faster than reloading."
Nope, one day, if I want to bring this idea to reality, the end of shinobi, the end of daimyos, then I myself, am going to have to hang it up too, or at least put it on stand-by. As a leader, the real power is with a pen stroke or with a silver tongue, not brute force or crazy jutsu. Real power will be in knowledge and the ability to take advantage of a weakness, without making it clear that I was a part of it. A clean face for the crowds and dirty hands behind my back. The game of government is a different field that I feel completely out of my element on, but, either I go back to only fighting for my own desires and waste my potential, or I push for something to make this accursed world better. My inner musings were cut short as I heard in the distance up the dirt road, a horse's galloping and the wooden wheels of a cart moving towards me. Immediately, I looked up and turned to my left, to see, indeed, a horse-drawn cart. Although, this wasn't a cart, but more like a carriage, one of the most luxurious carriages I've seen up to now. My eyes narrowed as I crossed my arms while crossing my legs and looking straight ahead, already guessing who that was.