Episode 1 - The Beginning The bitter wind of morning had come, like a dagger through the heart, it had brought an end to the beautiful night. They lay in bed, huddled together underneath the thick, woollen sheets until their bodies burned hotter than the sun. The boy and girl, Lucas and Jessica detested the cold and had often become entangled under the moonlight just to keep themselves warn, amongst other things. Moving the sheet off himself, Lucas eventually sat up on the edge of the bed, his hand pushing through his short, dark hair while his eyes glanced down towards the bear flesh of Jessica’s thigh that protruded out of the disturbed sheet. “Come, it is morning and we have a long day ahead.” Lucas spoke in a dreary voice. “We are not built for the morning!” she snapped back with a low, feral growl. She wasn’t wrong, they were more accustomed to the night. It had been a family trait for longer than they could remember, not that outsiders knew anything about it. Not that they knew much about the secluded clan hidden away in the shadows of the fire country. The clan had become so secluded, so detached that they had watched wars come and go without feeling the desire or need to become involved, it didn’t matter, the outcome of the wars, the state of the world, or anything for that matter. The world would still function no matter what or who was in power. Nothing would change the broken world. “And yet we can’t go to the village at night and get what we need!” He spoke in an ensured, yet friendly tone as he ripped the sheets from the bed. With a whine, the beautiful Jessica sat up in the middle of the bed, hair a mess from the night before, while the thin veil of sweat that covered her lightly tanned skin shimmered elegantly in the morning sun. She wore nothing but black laced panties and a thin grey tank top that barely covered her ample yet modest breasts. Her blue eyes met those of Lucas, his were even more blue than hers. That was to be expected of the heir to the clan, the pureblood descended from the root of the clan. With a shake of her head, she begrudgingly got out of the bed, as her hair fell gracefully down her back. It wouldn’t stop until it reached her lower back, the tips licking the top of her ass. “Let me shower first, and I will meet you outside, okay?” she spoke while ushering Lucas out of the door. She needed the sweat off her body before leaving, she needed to change into her clothes, and most importantly she needed the smell of Lucas gone from her body. If Josh found out that she had been with Lucas, it wouldn’t end well for those involved. Josh, like her was from one of the noble branches, they had been promised to each other since they were four, and she did love him, did. It didn’t help that Lucas was friends with Josh either, it pained her heart each time they spent time together all three of them, and yet Lucas barely battered an eye. What did he feel in that closed off heart of his? She asked herself the same question every night, she promised herself that she wouldn’t make the same mistake time and time again, and yet she ended up in bed with him more than her fiancée. No, Lucas was the only one she had slept with, her fiancée agreed that they should wait until after marriage. Several hours had passed before they reached the gates of the village, they were as tall as ever. Standing before them you could feel the history flow from them, the small cracks and scars remained from ancient wars despite them being maintained. It added soul to the village. Walking through the gates into the village, the two of them were greeted by those that watched over the people that entered and left, the gatekeepers or security for another word. Despite not living in the village, they had visited several times over the years and so had become acquainted with several people, not counting the higher ups who they obviously knew thanks to their clan. With a wave and some words, they were on their way into the heart of the village, the village was in its full boom with it being midday, Lucas bit into the fresh apple he received as a gift from the old lady on the stall, while Jessica ate her strawberries. It wasn’t until they reached a small cut-off that they stopped. They had reached their destination, the small local restaurant that had been run by the same family for since the village had been created. |
| “I haven’t been here for ages,” Jessica exclaimed whilst walking beside Lucas. “I wonder how the old man is doing.” “Does it really matter?” Lucas quickly responded in a cold tone. “No, but it would be nice to find out, right?” “If he has what we need, then I don’t care either way” he sighed picking up the menu from the side of the table. “I see the food hasn’t changed since last time. I guess that means the old fool is still alive,” he smiled mirthlessly. Lucas didn’t really care either way about the old man, sure they had known each other for a while but they were mere acquaintances. They were not friends, not like him and Jessica. He didn’t pay her for one, and he trusted her. Having ordered their usual, they once again began to talk amongst themselves not paying attention to those around them, or so it seemed. Their clothing drew eerie glares from some of the regulars, they weren’t in the standard clothing for shinobi, at least not shinobi from the village. It wasn’t until one of the locals, a middle-aged man had approached them that they stopped talking in their own little world, and gave those in the restaurant some attention. The cold blue eyes of Lucas sending chills down the spine of the man, his hands clad in sweat from fear. He didn’t know why, but this young boy had torn the courage from his body with one simple glance. “What was that?” Lucas asked arrogantly. “I asked who you are and what you are doing here,” the man gulped as he repeated what he said earlier. Only this time he said it in a timid tone. “That is none of your concern. Now leave us alone.” His response was swift and like that he had turned his attention back to Jessica. “People like you, shady people are the ones that bring violence into our village!” The man blurted out in rage, his fist slamming into the back of the boy’s head, causing a stir amongst those around them. “And what do you know of me exactly?” The boy asked with a hint of anger in his tone. His right hand had caught the man’s fist effortlessly while his free hand spun the silver knife from the table around his fingers, like a cat playing with a mouse, Lucas was enjoying his time with the man. “Since you looked down on us, I will take your right eye as punishment.” Just like that, the man would lose an eye or two if nobody stopped Lucas. Jessica watched on about to raise her voice if nobody else did anything. She didn’t care about the man but didn’t believe in spilling blood needlessly. |
| The young girl that leapt to action had caught the attention of Lucas, the kunai stopping merely inches from the middle-aged mans eye. Flicking the kunai up into the air, he allowed the girls foot to travel past both him and the kunai before giving it a quick pull down, the kunai wrapping itself around the girl’s foot covered in armor, the thin wire would have normally cut into the skin, but the armor protected her this time. “So, the glutton finally springs into action, what a hero!” Lucas praised her sarcastically. She must have been a shinobi from the village and she probably was good at Taijutsu, since she leapt into the fight in the manner that she did. In a swift motion he had thrown the Kunai into the wall beside them, pulling the girls foot in that direction knocking the middle-aged man onto the floor. It wasn’t enough to hurt him, but was enough to scare him, not that he needed to be anymore afraid having almost lost his eye. “I would appreciate it if you could restrain yourself from playing with my customers, little boy.” the old, wise voice appeared from nowhere. The owners hand clenched down on the shoulder of Lucas, placing himself between Lucas and the girl that had just jumped into the fight. He had known Raysha from her frequent visits, it was difficult to forget a girl that had such a healthy appetite. His old, frail body betrayed the eyes of those around him. He wasn’t frail. “Now can we all calm down? For those in here right now, I apologise and you may have a free meal. Once again, I apologise for my young friends.” His finger cut through the thin wire releasing Raysha. |
| “It doesn’t matter what you think you are, in the end we are all monsters on the battlefield,” Lucas replied as he shrugged his shoulders, “relax, it wasn’t like I was ever going to seriously hurt anybody, old man.” With a sigh, the old man sat down on the old wooden chair beside the table of Jessica and Lucas. He had known them since they were little, he had seen them grow up, and he had also seen the scars the world had left on them both, on Lucas especially. His once soft eyes had turned into a distant memory only to be replaced with the icy cold blue eyes he now donned, and it was his fault as well. “I am sorry that things got out of hand, Wilson.” Jessica spoke up having finished her tea, her own blue eyes still had kindness in them. “But, I see you haven’t lost your touch either,” she laughed mirthlessly. “Of course, not! Who do you think runs this place!?” Wilson said, proudly. “If I was weak enough that I couldn’t stop you two then I could never show my face again,” he laughed as Lucas turned away with a bruised ego. He was like family to them as much as Lucas refused to admit it. “I heard you managed to track the traitor down. So, where is he?” Lucas asked, annoyed. “I did, but why are you two hunting him down now? Surely there are others that can carry out this task…” “We requested it. It is personal and something that we must deal with on our own.” Jessica responded. “If we let others handle our problems, then we will never move forward,” she spoke in a saddened tone. “Still, going on such a journey at your age alone is far too dangerous,” Wilson said. “You should prepare yourself here in the village, and I will give you the information you need later tonight. It would be a shame if you left without trying our special of course.” Wilson was an uncanny man, wrapped in mystery. He was tall and thin, with grey eyes, and he often wore the green uniform of his restaurant while spinning a long, thin cane around in his hand. “You heard him! We should rest and enjoy our time in the village!” Jessica smiled brightly. They never got chance to relax at home, not together at least. They would hide in the shadows due to their situation, so it was natural she would be excited, that and she wanted to try the food in the restaurant once again. |
| “I have already sold my soul to the devil, it is too late for me to worry about the type of monster I am,” Lucas responded in a callous tone. “Sharing your food? You are not as bad as I thought,” Jessica said with a smile, “thank you,” she gratefully accepted the food without concern or worry about her own safety. Lucas had dropped a red tablet into the cup of water on the wooden table turning it into a deep red color, his hand stirring the mixture together before he raised it up towards his lips. His blue eyes watching as Raysha moved closer to the old man, he didn’t seemed worry or interested in what the old man shared, and even gave a small nod as if in approval. “well, I am not sure if he does or doesn’t, but if those two are here then it should be okay,” he said warmly and assuring, “besides, I am sure you have noticed but while those two are indeed from this land, they are not actually from the village either. It would not be a stretch to say they are the other hidden from in these lands, the Phantom village that has existed since the beginning of time,” he stopped talking there, not wanting to go into much more detail. “Lucas is the next heir of the roof family, a pureblood,” he glanced in the direction of the table that housed them both, “the girl is the next in line to be head of a noble branch. It wouldn’t be a stretch of the imagination to say those two will one day hold the most power of all their generation in the clan,” he said as he walked off towards the staff door. “if you want to know more then you should ask them directly, they are not as bad as they seem.” His last few words drifted through the room before the old, run door closed. ((Well it is relatively small, a family run business, with the tables being made from wood and it generally has a warm feeling inside. It isn’t very busy with only several locals usually coming for their daily meals.)) |
| Jessica laughed, she could tell that the girl was avoiding Lucas, but she couldn’t blame her. Moving the bowl aside, she looked up towards the girl trying to get a feeling for her before disclosing anything important. Outsiders were dangerous, that is what they were told, and that was the reason they had stayed outside all the great wars. Sure, they had moved in the shadows, subtly aiding certain establishments, but nothing major, yet. “We are only here to gain some information from the old man, once we are done then we will be leaving the village again,” she paused for a moment, “We have no intention of causing any problems for you or anybody in the village,” Jessica replied, smiling gently. She took a momentarily glance over towards Lucas who had shifted his attention to the others in the room before closing his eyes. He had seemed to have settled down as well, he had been on edge since the morning. The drink must have helped she thought to herself, well the tablet anyway. “I apologise for what occurred earlier, Lucas was just gathering information on the people here. You know, how they would react, their personalities, and so on,” she stretched letting out a sigh, “Honestly, he isn’t as bad as you may think.” |
| Jessica chuckled as she looked at the idle man on the old floor, he had taken more of a mental beating than a psychical one. The fear of uncertain death would be enough to make the strongest of people frightened, so it wasn’t any shame on the normal villager. “Well I am not going to blame you for doubting my words about Lucas,” she smiled waving her hand nonchalantly, “Still, I agree on family having idiots, sometimes it is up to the persons’ family to put an end to the foolishness though,” She responded, her tone and eyes becoming chilling. “It is time for us to leave, Jessica, and if your new friend wishes to join us then she can meet us at the entrance in the morning,” Lucas spoke up having finished his drink. "then you can see for yourself if we are placing your village into any sort of danger." With a wave, Jessica and Lucas left closing the door behind them. Lucas wore his bloodlust like a well-tailored suit upon the mention of ending a family members’ foolishness. ((If you want to come then you can use the next post to prepare what you are bringing.)) |
baxter09Feb 2, 2017 8:55 PM
| The old man turns to face Raysha as the other two left the restaurant, his old eyes looking on in doubt, and fear for what was about to occur. “Honestly? I am not sure this time,” he replied in a grimaced tone, “the path to hell is a short one,” Michael said. Taking out a small photo, Michael looked down at the old, worn photograph of himself and his old friend in their prime. They looked to be no older than Raysha was right now, both full of life and naivety of the world. It was something he had wished the children of this world could experience, but not everywhere was peaceful, and shadows often move during times of peace. Something was coming. A storm, greater than anything that had occurred before, and it would sweep up the countries, leaving nothing but devastation in its wake. How to stop it was the question. “Raysha, I am asking you on behalf of the elders from both the clan and this village. Will you go along with those two, and report what happens back to me?” he asked before cleaning the mess up from earlier, “it will be dangerous, you don’t need to answer now. If you turn up tomorrow at the gate or not, that will be your answer.” The night would come and go with everybody thinking of the journey ahead while they prepared what they would need, it was mostly supplies, and weapons. Lucas had spent the night in the yard of the inn, his sword glistening under the moonlight as he danced through the ground, his blade cutting through the air in the dance known only as death. He would practice with more vigour than he had done before, his heart pounding against his chest, trying to escape from his body just as he was escaping from his past, the memories flooding back like a dam being cracked, threating to collapse. When the time to meet came, the two of them were waiting under the shade of the giant walls to the left of the gate. Lucas slept with his back against the wall and his head hunched over slightly, while Jessica stood on guard, her eyes looking down at the resting Lucas. She would carry out the final part of the mission so that he wouldn’t need to, that was why she was here, she would carry the burden on his behalf. It was the least she could do after what he had done through the years for her, the traitor. |
| “Yeah, we are,” Jessica replied as she turned her attention to Raysha landing on the ground, “I got the feeling that you would be joining us,” She said with a warm smile. Moving away from the wall, she stretched her arms up into the air letting out a large yawn while leaving the idle Lucas, her eyes looked up into the sky, it was a beautiful day, again. Glancing over towards Raysha from the bottom of her eyes, she thought about how little they knew of her but she shrugged it off. If the old man had sent her then she wouldn’t be anybody dangerous to them, and they had already gathered some information on her from the day before. “Will this be your first time leaving the village?” Jessica asked, curiously, “I mean, this isn’t going to be some-” The sudden appearance of the old man’s silhouette in the distance interrupted her. “First time or not, it doesn’t matter,” pushing his hood back from his head, Lucas looked on with his sky-blue eyes, “everybody loses their virginity eventually anyway,” Lucas responded arrogantly as he stood up cracking his back. “We were not talking about whatever you were thinking,” Jessica responded with a coyness, “besides, shouldn’t you greet somebody that will be joining us?” “Hi there Raysha, it is a pleasure to have you joining us, and I hope that we get along well during our journey,” He responded sarcastically while waving his hand towards the old man, “greetings completed,” Lucas said. The old man punched Lucas on the top of his head, like a parent, he would lecture Lucas on his attitude and how to treat friends, or even acquaintances in a correct, polite manner. He would take his time in greeting all three of them, asking them how they are feeling and wishing them luck on the mission ahead. The old man seemed more settled than the day earlier, he wasn’t wearing his usual clothes but more casual ones, the mark of the village was presented pridefully on his chest. “I am glad that you have all gathered together, this journey will not be easy and I am sure that all of you will grow during the trials you will face,” the man started off like it was going to be another lecturer, causing Lucas to turn away, “I am not here to lecture you on right or wrong, good or evil, that is a pointless task. In the world, you are going into, there is no such thing. On the battlefield, you just must survive and that is all, we are all evil during those times, but I will end this with one thing,” the man took a deep breath, “All of you, return alive!” His final words were exchanged with Lucas as he handed the information they required over, they shared an embrace and a firm shake of the hands, before Lucas smiled looking up at him, “Relax, neither I, nor anybody else who sides with me will fall. I promise,” Lucas said assuredly. “Well, I suppose we will be travelling to the Land of Earth first,” folding the paper up, Lucas placed it into the inside of his jacket pocket revealing his long black katana, the sheath having a blue flame running up to the tip. “Let the hunt begin!” Where his final words with Jessica following behind him, leaving the village as she waved to the old man one last time. There was no going back. |
Episode 2- Journey through Earth After two days of travelling through the country, the group had come across a border settlement. The small settlement held just over one hundred people, with the leader greeting the shinobi group as they entered the village borders, he made them welcome while telling them about the settlement, and how they had often received shinobi during their travels. The small village was called Star Village. Star village had gotten its name from the scenery on show at night, the beautiful stars that would gaze down upon the people no matter the time of year. The clear skies would never change, the stars that would light up the sky would always cast their warm glow on the people, and so, the village would have a magical glow at night. The rumours that the magical village would restore one’s vitality if they spent the night basking in the ambient glow of the magical stars had spread through the land, and not only the land of fire but other lands as well, and so it wouldn’t be surprising if you were to come across people visiting from outside of the land of fire. Having been traveling through the land, and camping outside, Jessica had been begging Lucas to stay in the village, to rent a room for the night at least so that they could get some needed rest in comfort. She also wanted to see if the rumours were true, and the hot bath in the centre of the village was too tempting to pass off, she wanted to enjoy herself on the journey, she wanted to experience everything that she could before heading back. Like a young child, she would torment Lucas until he yielded, anybody watching the pair would understand that Lucas was more giving when it came to her. He was soft. “Two rooms please, and make one a double”, Lucas sighed, placing the money on the counter before taking the keys to the room. Placing the key for the double room in the hand of Raysha, “you two can stay together tonight,” he said while picking up his luggage from the floor, “it seems like you two will be busy exploring the village anyway.” For the first time since they began the journey he had spoken to Raysha as if she was one of them. Taking his luggage, he entered his own room closing the door, the inside wasn’t anything extravagant, but it was warm and homely. The single bed was under the window, allowing the moonlight to filter through the curtains and gentle wash over his face. His luggage rested against the wall beside the old oak door, while the wardrobe housed a broken TV at the centre of the stand, not that he was interested in that. The bed was firm yet soft, that was all he cared about. Jessica looked over towards Raysha, “Should we head into our room first?” She asked. |
More topics from this board
Sticky: » Character InformationPsynergi - Aug 4, 2014 |
40 |
by wolfman2299
»»
Aug 11, 2020 1:42 PM |
|
» Rumble at the Border - The Flowing Steel of the Sand, part 3Psynergi - Nov 17, 2016 |
36 |
by Shadow543
»»
Jun 20, 2017 2:33 AM |
|
» The road through Konoha - The Flowing Steel of the Sand, Part 2Psynergi - Jul 30, 2016 |
25 |
by Psynergi
»»
Nov 17, 2016 12:33 AM |
|
Sticky: » Chakra PointsPsynergi - Aug 5, 2014 |
31 |
by Shadow543
»»
Nov 13, 2016 5:58 AM |
|
Sticky: » Stats SelectionPsynergi - Aug 4, 2014 |
34 |
by Shadow543
»»
Nov 13, 2016 5:57 AM |