Starring:
Nori, Naru
Date: January 24, 2013
Summary:
The group headed to Kadomai is side-tracked by a river flooding and find themselves in a rural town. The locals claim there is a Demon out at the 'old barn'…and Naru and Nori go to check it out. Naru teaches Nori the basics in harnessing his chakra sensitivity.
"Headed Home - Demon Road"
Rural Road to Kadomai
Nori was given leave by the higher-ups to head home. It would be his first trip back to Kadomai and his family since he had graduated from the Academy. He's seen his two older twin sisters, since they are shinobi as well, and his two younger siblings who the older twins brought for a visit, but other than that he hasn't seen the rest of his family in quite some time.
Rather than taking the trip all by himself, he asked if his team leader would like to come for the visit as well. It would give her a better sense of who he was, as well as give Nori some extra protection. The Land of Fire is only marginally safe due to the hidden village shinobi's policing actions, but there are still plenty of dangers.
They would have met at the village entrance and travelled west toward Kadomai. They would have traveled with several others (villagers and shinobi alike), as there is always protection in numbers. Some of the villagers even brought along carts and animals. When they reached one of the rural bridges, they found out that the thawing of snow from the mountains had flooded the bridge, making it impassable for the lesser shinobi (such as Nori) and all of the villagers to cross. The river was moving fairly quickly. While the elder shinobi could have carried everyone across, most of the parties involved agreed that they could just go around. Personal contact can be too intimate.
So, the longer travel would require a place to sleep for the night, and that is where Nori and Naru find themselves; a local tavern. The rest of the villagers and shinobi have gone to sleep, and only a few of the locals are biding their time until they go to sleep as well.
"How unfortunate…It only goes to show that issues like this isn't entirely uncommon," Naru spoke outloud, her rump nested flat against her seat as she had sat them close to the bar of the tavern. Her curious cirtine gaze peered about the area, taking in the sight with her ears and sound with her eyes, things had been a little easier with her sight returning back to her, she was far less bitter despite Nori not seeing that side of her. " Hmm, so does this happen often? I can't say I take routine trips to Kadomai," Naru asked Nori, a mug of tea remained infront of her, a previous order as they waited for the raging water to calm down…She figured one day would be good enough to head in the right direction. Rather than wearing her traditional flak jacket she was adorned in a beautiful midnight black ribboned dress, definitely not usual clothing for a shinobi but this was her uniform whenever the temperatures began to clear and normalize.
Nori shrugs, "I can't say I take trips to Kadomai all that often either, so I'm not really sure. I think I remember Father saying that the rivers do flood occasionally though." Nori does ask, "So, I take it your eyesight is coming back then? Does that happen normally? I mean, your eyesight going and coming back?" Nori blushes a little as he realizes that the question is probably a little too personal, but it is out there already and he can't take it back. Nori quickly sips at his own green tea. It is nice to have ryo for completing missions!
At the bar, two old men are gossiping about local matters. The one old codger says, "I swear, my son was walking down by the old barn two nights ago when he saw it. The thing was bathed in red light and its eyes were glowing. He said it was a demon and I believe it." Nori looks up at the word demon and then looks over to Naru with a raised brow. The old codger continues, "I went last night, and there was definitely something in that barn. From the sound of the screams in there too, I'd guess the demon was making sacrifices." The other old man rolls his eyes and says, "You've both been hitting the ale too hard."
"I suppose I have never told you have I?" Naru asked as she tilted her head, pointing a finger at the seal upon her neck. " To make a long story short… Someone thought it would be a good idea to seal my eye sight… After I received this seal it had limited my eye sight close to nothing, though now I've seem to overcome it… My eyes are still a little dim but more or less I can see everything before me now," Naru informed, though wanting to leave the conversation on a good note she continued on. " You are definitely much cuter than I anticipated…" A sly smirk curved along her lips though her attention was soon taken in by what sounded like… a demon in a barn? She blinked over back at Nori who seemed to be rather interested in the conversation, prompting her to lean forward. "You seem to be fairly interested in that conversation… Hmm… Feel like taking a look into it?" It was an honest question and right now… The two of them didn't have anything else to do but sleep off the rest of the day.
Nori studies the seal and considers why someone would have thought this was a good idea, but he doesn't press further. If Nori blushed from being too forward earlier, his cheeks are now on fire. He looks down to hide the blush, but Naru 'sees all'. Naru looks over to the conversation, which saves him from his embarassment, and nods, "Yes, very much. I have a thing for other-worldly beings." Naru should know about his thanking spirits already.
So, Nori gets up and goes over to the two men, requests directions, receives them, and then nods to Naru, "Let's go see what this could be, ne?" So, they head out of the tavern, up the road, along the raging river, and finally come across the barn. Nori looks over to Naru and states, "So, eh, if I had wanted to see as you see, what would you recommend? I mean, I can sense chakra, but only when it is really flaring up somewhere close by."
It didn't take long for them to reach their destination. After awhile they were a few yards away from the barn… And while Naru wasn't entirely looking around herself, she figured Nori would love to investigate this himself, she on the other hand would be on the support in order to make sure things went smoothly. "Hmm well that appears to tbe the problem, Nori-kun… You are attempting to see what you can not… You want to feel…which is definitely different from seeing," Naru responded back as she peered off towards the barn and finally turning her eyes on Nori. "Have you meditated before? Once you reach an enheightened sense of "Zen" people are known to be able to feel things they otherwise wouldn't think. A single blade of grass… A small bug crawling up your leg, ghosts… I would think of it as a mastered version of that, but in this sense you will use chakra in conjuction with such a technique…"
Nori listens as Naru says what his problem is. He hmms, "You are right. I was thinking I could see everything, but based on how you and Hotaru-san described your abilities, I guess it does make more sense to just feel everything than see it." He closes his eyes, taking her question of meditation seriously. He's only ever sensed chakra as it surges, never just as it exists in life. "You think it is actually possible for people to sense a single blade of grass?" Nori sighs, "I'll never get there, but it is worth trying. So, eh, how do I pump my own chakra into a feeling?"
As Nori meditates, the barn door swings open and something can be seen from within. It is glowing red, and its eyes are flashing too.
"Harnessing that sensitivity is the same way one trains their chakra control to fine precision, things will start by being broad… You actually might want to start by directly touch someone… It's easier to train yourself to hear the beating of a heart if you place your fingers against it, but it takes an assassin to listen from the shadows. Everything takes a bit of practice from broad to precise… This is how you will train your chakra as well as your body," Naru informed until suddenly a shift in the barn had caught her eyes, she noticed the gleaming from a distance, red flashing eyes… was it really a demon? " Interesting…" Naru whispered without any sudden movements, " Do you… feel it?" Naru asks him, curious as to what Nori may had been feeling period at this point.
Nori thinks about what she says and nods, "That actually makes a lot of sense. I'll work on that during this trip some. I've been going about this all wrong. I try to focus on a target because that is how my senses have worked so far when I've needed them. I'll start by focusing on everything and seeing if I can narrow my field of focus little by little. Also, the whole touching thing sounds like a neat idea. I never gave a moment's thought about using my other senses to help feel for chakra too." He is learning alot, which makes him completely oblivious to what is going on around him. When Naru says "Interesting" he blinks and looks out, "What…oh. What is that?" He then blushes and realizes she is asking him that same question, about feeling it. He closes his eyes to meditate on the being, "It…it is using chakra. So, does that mean it is a shinobi? Can demons and ghosts even use chakra?" He apparently thinks demons and ghosts are real…which isn't a large leap from his thanking spirits.
"Many things use chakra, not just shinobi. Every living thing has chakra but only a limited few know how to manipulate it themselves. Naru infromed the younger shinobi as she crouched down, she reached a hand out towards the beast from afar, a soft whistle escaping her lips as she beckoned it to come forth. " Sensing chakra… is almost equivilent to a another sense. However it is the combination of these senses which will allow you to sense properly. You won't be able to taste very well if you also aren't able to smell… How about you use your eyes… Guess what it's feeling… is it tense?" She arched an eyebrow, hoping what she was saying was breaking through to Nori just a little bit. "Your eyes will allow you to see how it feels…your sensitvity will allow you to feel what it feels,"
Nori opens his eyes and looks at the 'demon' rather than meditate on it. "Eh, if I had to guess, I'd say it was felling tense. I also think it is manipulating chakra as the chakra feels like it is flaring and dying down and then flaring back up again for a little while." The red light around the being seems steady to the normal eye. "In terms of feeling what it feels, all I am getting is that it is not very intense right now…almost like it is bored." He tries to put the information together, "Maybe it is waiting for someone else and is bored…but it is nervous about the meeting?" It is a guess, but probably not all that far off.
Naru would be able to sense that the being is definitely a shinobi, and that he is waiting around, but for someone to rob. He's tense in the sense that he is getting hungry and doesn't know where his next score will come from. The shinobi's eyes suddenly stop on Naru and Nori…and its chakra flares. They've been spotted.
The beast which was actually a shinobi had definitely began to catch Naru's attention as she flared her crimson sharingan, each tomoe leading around the base of her pupil… She was able to note his chakra signature with fine precision. Not only that, but the gleam of her eyes were resonating with hypnotic chakra. The man staring back at them only helped to bring him at the whim of her sharingan. "You want to to tie him up? It appears as though this isn't an animal at all…" Naru commented, though surprised that Nori was able to feel out the shinobi so well… It would only be a matter of time until he would be able to master it. "He should be stuck within my genjutsu….at least for now.." Naru stated, the man himself would more or less feel tied up from head to toe, bladed wires holding him in place…At least within her genjutsu.
Nori watches as the so-called demon's chakra presence disipates. His eyes go all normal too and he struggles against something Nori can't see. When Naru notes that this is her Genjutsu at work, he says, "Remind me not to get on your bad side." He chuckles and adds, "I've got rope in my burlap sack. I'll tie him up too, but we should probably get someone from the village to decide what to do with him. I'd carry him back, but I don't think I could lift him." He smirks at that and then makes his way to the barn to tie the shinobi up. He makes sure to attach the man to something that won't move in the barn. Assuming Naru will stay as he runs back, Nori would go get the people from the inn to take care of the man.
