Starring:
Date: August 25, 2015
Summary:
A woman presumed to be Rise's mother attacks Rise enroute to Raiun Lake, attracting the attention of several of Kumogakure's shinobi. Though first responders are able to drive her away, questions remain.
Poster's note: foul language filtered in obvious places.
"Blood for Blood - A Mother's Prerogative"
Forests nearby Raiun Lake [Land of Lightning]
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This area is reached by following the flowing river from the north, and carefully walking along the side of the lake. The lake itself is very calm, although it is really just a very slow moving river, which is why it never freezes, even with the water being freezing cold. There is always mist present, from the warmer air heating the cold water.
The lake is filling a small valley, and it is surprisingly deep, farther than most people could swim. There is very little life in the lake, as nothing can grow or thrive off the rocks of the cliffs, and no fish have been transplanted to these heights.
The area is surprisingly calming, and it is not unusual to see signs of people that have camped out, or are still camping. There are no beaches, just rocks, but the sounds of the water, and appearance of the lake can be soothing.
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Michiko stands outside for the moment, the girl peering out over the lake. Her house is nearby, so it's pretty easy to just walk outside and look at the lake. Spring is already here, which means it's nice and warm-ish. A bit of a chill in the morning makes her breath fog, especially this high up in the mountains. For now, she's just going over what she needs to do for the day.
Rise's leaps were casual, and yet her surroundings were little more than blurs to her. She knew the mountains of her land well enough to avoid any serious trouble by now, so the thought of slowing down never even crosses her mind until a continuous thunderous roar reaches her. The sound drove away the haze of complete indifference, forcing the infamous berserker to actual care a bout a destination. During this time, Michiko might yet catch a glimpse of her passing by in the distance, altering her course gradually towards Raiun Lake…
"The heck is that?" Mitsuo wonders looking onward from the lake towards a fast approaching…something. "Whatever it is, it's fast." Mitsuo continues to study the blur in the distance. He sits at the edge of the lake dipping his feet in to the calming river. He was reviewing the water walking technique that Michiko taught him a while ago but he still hasn't mastered it. Rather than soak himself upon repeated failed attempts he figures this is a better way to go about it. Makes the trail and error process a little less grueling. He's stopped though for now catching wind of a fast moving object. "Hrmmm?"
Michiko blinks a bit as something flickers around in the distance. it' a bird! It's a plane! No, it's su- I mean, Rise. Not that Michiko knows it's the Shirokiri. What has her interested in the fast-moving blur is the fact that it's headed straight towards the lake and seems to know the mountains. In all likelihood, it's just a fellow shinobi, but it could be an enemy. The girl frowns lightly, but then notices Mitsuo. Hmm… When did he get here? "Mitsuo-san," she calls out in greeting.
As time went by, Rise just couldn't help herself. Her movements turned from simply the efficient and straight-forward to a mix display of acrobatic feats. Most of which prove to be actual beneficial to accelerating the woman further. At the speed she was moving no voice would reach her ears. The wind made certain of that. With her thoughts devoted fully towards reaching her destination, only Mitsuo and Michiko might catch signs of other figures beginning to converge on her position. Two to be exact, though one seemed less like a human form and more like… something else entirely.
Mitsuo doesn't look towards the source of the voice that calls out to him. He acknowledges it though with a finger prompting whomever the individual was to wait a moment. He was more or less captivated by this speedily approaching person. As he continues to watch it would appear this…whatever it is has company. Mitsuo now looks towards the voice from earlier fishing his legs out the river and coming to a stand. "Oh Michiko-senpai? Hey when did you get here?" He asks along with his greeting. "Never mind that. What's that all about?" He points Rise's direction.
Michiko peers at the trio moving among the mountains and shrugs lightly. "I live here. And why don't we go find out?" she suggests. She doesn't give Mitsuo much time to respond, either, taking off almost immediately to where the three were… Running around.
Three Seconds.
That is all the time Rise has to register something approaching from her peripheral before it slams into her side. Then, there is only darkness…
The forest erupts into a cacophony that can be heard from miles around as wood is torn asunder. The figures disappear into the dust cloud kicked up as a result of several trees slamming into the earth from Rise's form being knocked right through them. The dust still hasn't fully settled by the time Michiko and Mitsuo reach its edge. Perhaps using some wind or earth ninjutsu one might hasten the clouds departure. The sooner the better in fact if a firm visual on what happened is prefered.
"You live in the lake? Like some kind of….lady of the lake?" Mitsuo asks back quietly. Seeing Michiko take off so suddenly sends the boy into a rush. "Wait up!" he gets his sandals back on and takes after Michiko. As he follows after Michiko the plot seems to thicken. Someone goes down apparently slammed hard. "They're attacking?!" Mitsuo remarks in bewilderment. The boy begins to sprint trying to arrive on scene as quickly as possible to get a visual on things. All that lies before him however is dust. The suspicion is killing the boy.
Michiko hears something …. Well, that was impressive strength. What the heck was going on? "Umm… Hai… Let's get a bit closer," Michiko suggests, disappearing again as she uses a burst of wind to help clear the air of dust so that she can figure out what happened.
The bursts of wind certainly do the trick. It takes a few, but eventually enough of it clears for the duo to not only approach the main crash site, but also see who and what the figures were. Rise rested against the trunk of a particular large tree, half-buried into its surface, and clearly still unconscious. Standing in front of the downed warrior with her back turned towards her is what amounts to a cross between an amazon and a miko; the former in body type and the latter in dress, though modified for battle. There's a certain familiarity to the scarred woman, though no file or report in mind would confirm her identity.
A few meters away from her atop one of the fallen trees it the more than just familiar shocking pink hair of Rise's garden. Though he bore no weapon in hand (not that he was known to use many), the man's posture screamed hostility towards the woman before him. And next to him standing on all fours is…. a black bear? Yep. But not just any bear! Its one of Rise's pets, bearing its own makeshift headband strapped around an arm, as well as the lingering scars of modifications.
The woman looks up sharply towards Mitsuo and others, expression shifting subtly towards a more disappointed look. "Friends of yours, darl'n?" She asks without averting her gaze from the approaching others. Only the bear answers, and it is with a deep, throaty growl.
Every second the dust took to clear out seemed like a minute to Mitsuo. His eyes were wide open peeled anxious to see what was once shrouded by the cloud. The scene before him perplexes him beyond words. "Bear….man-woman…thing…" Mitsuo looks to Rise now recognizing the woman. "Hey its the lady from the mountain." He recalls. Mitsuo returns the sharp look towards the woman once she says 'friend' to him. "Yeah she is!" Mitsuo growls back answering her. "I…don't know her name but she helped me once. What're you guys doing? Did you attack her?" Mitsuo asks stepping forward ready to challenge the hulking female. "Start talking! Also what's with the bear!?" Mitsuo points out. Despite his rising anger the bear still intrigued him.
"Ara…" Michiko says, a brow getting raised. "I should be asking the same thing. Ren-san, should I ask for an explanation now, or should I wait until after we capture this strange woman?" the girl asks in a semi-pleasant tone that held the threat of death only aimed at this amazonian miko. "Is there a reason why one of my shinobi is lying on the ground unconscious?"
"Ara…" Michiko says, a brow getting raised. "I should be asking the same thing. Ren-san, should I ask for an explanation now, or should I wait until after we capture this strange woman?" the girl asks in a semi-pleasant tone that held the threat of death only aimed at this amazonian miko. "Is there a reason why one of my shinobi is lying on the ground unconscious?" Then she gives Mitsuo a sharp glance, that basically says to let her handle this. If he doesn't be quiet quickly, she wouldn't hesitate to cover his mouth herself.
Mitsuo words do not do much to move the trio. At the very least the woman lofts a brow at him for the "man-woman" comment, but held her tongue in check. Her intent seemed now more keen on listening and studying the new arrivals, seemingly ignore the threat that pursued her up to this point. Though Ren tenses up as if he meant to take advantage of the opening provided, he doesn't act. An oddity on his part by some, but not from the perspective of the seasoned.
She had no openings…
"Wish there was time, Michiko-sama, but my daughter took a pretty serious hit there…. And to be honest, we'll—"
"Your daughter?" The woman interjects, a thin smile spreading across her features. "Seems I left her with you for too long, Ren." Though her tone remained calm and posture casual, Ren winces as if struck upon hearing his name. She inclines her head and closes her eyes. "Its too bad… You were a lot better back then." Her eyes snap open and lock sharply on Michiko. "She's no longer one of yours, Iwata Michiko." The amazonian miko states, eyes radiating enough killer intent to stop a heart.
Mitsuo senses Michiko's glare and does his best to bite his tongue. He folds his arms in a pouting manner clearly unhappy about all of it though. Mitsuo just listens which would provide some excitement. The man-woman is the mountain lady's mother? Still doesn't explain the bear and Mitsuo is even more confused. Why did she attack her daughter? Maybe Rise skipped out on some chores or something. Mitsuo was so lost in thought he almost didn't notice the tension in the air between Rise's mother and Michiko. Something just happened between them. The look in the man-woman's eyes brought a surge of fear over Mitsuo. If that gaze had actually fallen upon him he'd lose his mind for certain. Paralyzed with fear now Mitsuo just plays witness to whatever is about to occur between these two monstrous women.
Michiko senses something… Well, it's not pleasant, and she recognizes it as either an illusion or just a powerful stare. Regardless, the girl immediately concentrates a punch of pain on several nerves, which allows her to resist the very scary look. "Tsk tsk… You'll not be taking Rise-san back. Mitsuo-san, if you see any opening, grab Rise-san," she says. "Ren-san… Do what you wish. Just know that I'll be more than happy to stop this woman from taking Rise-san away." Michiko's chakra flares up rather suddenly, and the girl seems to have an aura of blue chakra surrounding her… Intense!
Shock flashes in the woman's eyes from Michiko's response. As the fleeting feeling leaves her system, a grudging sense of respect takes its place, and even remains after the orders are given. "Stop me. What right do you think you have to keep me from taking her?" She states pointedly, attentiong shifting even further onto the Head Ninja. It is as Ren began to open his mouth that the bear finds its courage. Against every instinct that urged it to stay far away from the woman, Major rushes to try and take a swipe at her.
With hardly more effort than one might take a breath, the woman shifts both attention and stance, snapping into a form known mainly by taijutsu practioners of the Land of Water. In a matter of moments, the bear not only finds itself stopped, but bodily thrown in the direction of the stunned Mitsuo. Well over three hundred pounds of flesh, fury, and now surprise and genuine fear is hurtled at him. Stunned himself by the reminder of her abilities, Ren misses her approach… but not the pain induced from being punched severly in the jaw. Not unlike Rise, the man crashes straight through one of the fallen trees before another stops his momentum.
In a matter of heart beats, the woman is upon Michiko next, delivering a kick with enough force to turn the very wind into an extended weapon.
Michiko's command shakes Mitsuo free of his fear. "R-right." he affirms before looking to Rise. It looks as though there's an opening now but Mitsuo's instincts disagreed with that thought. The boy is patient or rather too frightened to make a hasty move. That's when things start to take off. The bear attacks the woman. The woman defeats the bear sends it flying. The woman flies at Michiko now. The woman kicks Michiko…but wait…he missed something there. "Oh bear!" Mitsuo shouts. The three hundred pound beast collides with Mitsuo taking him along for the ride. Each foot creates a trench as Mitsuo is pushed back. He finds his back against a tree but at least the worst looks to be over. Mitsuo sighs as the bear drops to the ground. Resting a hand on the bear Mitsuo calls out to it "Oi? You alive?" He's then reminded of Michiko's orders. "Oh yeah. Sorry Mr. Bear I'll be back to check on you later. Get some rest." Mitsuo bids the bear sweet dreams before taking of for Rise.
Michiko was a bit distracted by the Mitsuo's yelling. She casts a moderately surprised glance in his direction before she finds herself getting bowled over by a huge gust of wind, casting her against a nearby boulder. Ow… "…" She scowls a bit, dusting herself off. "Well, then… I suppose I'll have to use force…" She makes a handseal, and suddenly binds of metal leap up from the ground… which is invisible for a brief moment thanks to a covering of fire. "Ren-san, are you okay? Mitsuo-san, be careful!" she says quickly, eyes focused on the woman before her. She wasn't letting Rise go so easily… And she wouldn't mind taking this woman (who is apparently related to Rise?) into custody for some questioning…
If Mr. Bear could speak the language of human, nothing but gibberish would come out as a reply to Mitsuo's kindness. Tough as the beast was, the throw knocked him for quite the loop. Just about the same could be said of Ren, though the man was recovering quickly, groaning and muttering curses whenever tortured lungs would allow it.
"You're pretty darn tough. Good." The mystery woman states calmly, allowing for a brief moment for a smile to work its way to the surface. Before any more words can be exchanged, she forced to focus on moving again. In an uncanny display of agility and speed, the woman calmly dances across the battlefield, narrowly dodging most of the barrage, though proximity alone to a few still sear the skin. Either due to a misstep on her part, or simply bad luck, honed instincts do not catch the trap until its too late.
By some strange miracle she stays standing on two feet if only barely, regarding her binds almost casually instead of wincing in pain. "Hmph. So the rumors are true then. Still, I've broken free.. *groans*.. from worse." She says, face contorting slightly as she pressed against her binds. Murasame metal maybe the strongest in the world, but already one can hear the sounds of it groaning painfully….
For a moment Mitsuo can't pull his eyes away from Rise's mother. The way she moves captivated the genin. It was like she had tiny eyes all over allowing her to see everything. Well she was performing quite remarkably until she slipped up. Mitsuo sees that Michiko has restrained the man-woman and cheers. "Niiice!" Easily distracted the boy forgot about Rise for a moment. Seeing the woman pull against her metal binds with gradual success quickly placed a cap on Mitsuo's elation. "Care baskets." he groans. Ding! Ding! Mitsuo's train of thought finally catches up."Oh yeah! Mountain lady!" He recalls. Heading over to Rise who's sleeping like an angel…a badly beaten angel, he nudges her. "Yo." he waits for a response. He knows she's alive so he starts to shake her. "Yooooo. Hey mountain lady!" he smacks her cheeks a few times. "Wake up! Your man-woman mother is causing trouble. Your bear is also hurt." He continues to shake and smack Rise. He was rather certain he wouldn't make it far trying to carry her. That man-woman was fast.
Michiko peers a bit at the woman, and she says, "I am going to have to take you back to Kumogakure." Michiko could tell that the woman was fighting her bonds hard, and she wanted to ensure that the woman wouldn't escape. A spike of metal comes from the ground, shaped into a half-spear. Michiko takes aim, throwing it at the woman's knee as she seeks to simply shatter one of her legs beyond… Well, beyond immediate repair. It could be healed later, if necessary!
Mitsuo perhaps witness one of the most disturbing things in his life. Whereas his words fell on completely death, shaking and smacking her around does elicits a response. His ears and eyes might just be playing tricks on him, but he could probably swear by whatever god's roof he worshiped under that the raven-haired "angel" actually took some… pleasure from it all. Then again, maybe those few groans and that almost pleasant smile on her meant something else entirely. c.c
REGARDLESS, she doesn't look like she'll be getting up any time soon, if at all.
Even as Michiko molded her insurance plans, the mystery woman's focus remains entirely on the task at hand. She all but has her binds completely bent completely out of shape when the spike slams into her knee, nearly knocking the leg right out from under her. She stood now only because of the piece of metal and muscles locking the piece of metal in place. This time Michiko at least earns a grunt of pain from the wound. And that is it. No outcries. No curses. Just a grunt. Either the woman standing before them survived a /whole/ lot worse than what one can imagine, or took some seriously good pain medicine before entering this fight.
"Ruthless… Hahaha… That… hahahah… I can't even…" She whips her head back up, throwing her hair free of her face, and smiles sharkily at Michiko. "I can't even begin to describe it! Its—erk… no… There's no time for that now." As these words left her mouth, her body had begun to undergo a change. Her skin began to darken, muscles seemed to spasm out of control, and her hair began to grow wild. Just as quickly as the change began, it all reverses, returning to her previous state. Effortless, she shatters the already strained binds completely, then without hesitation, ripped free the spike as well. Using the spike as a cane on reflex, she stays just barely on one foot.
"You can keep them for now, but do not think for a second than it'll be forever. I will have them back again." It wasn't threat, but a promise. One she could very well see met in the future, seeing as the majority of her injuries — including her leg — began mending without a single hand seal being formed. The most she seemed to need to do was line her leg properly so that the flesh, bone, and ligament could all properly align themselves within the few moments it takes for to speak.
Casting aside her makeshift cane, the mystery woman takes off as soon as the process is complete, moving in a blur that at one point splits off into three separate directions. Mitsuo and Michiko might still yet track her, or even try to impede her.
But at what price?
Mitsuo stares at Rise eyes narrowed razor thing. "Man…you must've hit your head." he concludes. "Maybe she's having one of those nice dreams." Mitsuo shudders and continues to smack Rise. "It's no use." He stands up and figures he might as well try to move her. No disrespect to Rise but Mitsuo soon found that she was heavier than most. "Is she wearing training weights or something?" He grunts barely able to drag her from the crater. He stops to take a quick breather and peeks on the fight between Michiko and the man-woman. Mitsuo winces as he's tuned in at the wrong time. The spike being driven through the knee was a sight that'd haunt the boy for weeks. "That's…someone's mother…" he mutters. But all sympathy for the man-woman is lost once she shatters the bonds and turns a wicked dark shade. "Monsters…both of them." Mitsuo squeaks. A miraculous thing happens when the woman decides to take her leave. Mitsuo just takes a seat and sighs. He looks to Rise and pats her head. "Heavy sleeper."
Michiko watches the woman disappear, not moving to chase her. There was little point in doing so… Sure, Michiko could probably match her strength, but that speed… And the strength… Michiko would prefer to have some backup with her next time. The girl looks Ren and says, "Full report later. Tell me what I need to know /now/," she says, moving towards Rise and forming hand seals to heal the Shirokiri. A patch up job, but it was still a good one. Ren would be healed next, a surge of energy given to both so that they might recover faster. "Mitsuo-san, please don't tell anyone about this incident," she requests. Her eyes let him know that this is an order, of course, however polite she sounds about it.
Mitsuo is in luck that the weight had been nothing but Rise today. Otherwise, there would've been no moving the girl outside of a combined effort on just about everyone's part!
Rise remains sound asleep even after the all the dragging around, still almost smiling in a creepy manner. Meanwhile, Ren and Major have managed to regather their wits about them, though by then it is far too late. The former sees just a brief glimpse of several shadowed blurs taking off before his vision has fully cleared. He jumps, startled out of his look of confusion over the previous sight by Michiko's speaking to him. "That — " He winces, and looks towards Rise. "…. She'll be back. Not today perhaps, but soon." He states quietly, maneuvering over to Rise's side, only to be stopped by a wall of fur taking the spot. Rise doesn't stir even once during the procedure, or after for that matter.
Nudging the lamenting bear aside, Ren goes to pick up Rise, though pauses long enough to receive treatment. "We need to be back inside the village well before then."
"Agreed." Mitsuo says to the Ren. "I don't want to see that thing again." Mitsuo adds standing up. He looks to Michiko and nods "I won't say a word. I'll be trying to forget about it all day." There was some truth to that. Though the helpless feeling will be with the boy long after the day's end. He witnessed two realized shinobi do battle and although it was brief he's never felt smaller in his entire life. Thinking about it made Mitsuo feel a bit lost. A long sigh escapes him before he smacks his cheeks. "Ok not the time to dilly dally. Let's go."
