The Pillars of Heaven

[Michiko Uzumaki]

I live my life in widening circles, reaching out across the world.

Some might have been scared. Some might have turned around after the first seven miles of rocks, rocks, and more rocks. Some might have even had the sense to never set foot in the Sabaki Valley to begin with. Michiko Uzumaki was not among those whom the rest of the world would consider more ‘sensible’. Fools—the whole lot of them.


With wide, purple eyes, the kunoichi had observed every nook and cranny of the dark crags which seemed to reach for the very heavens themselves. The steep cliffs extended well into the mists which swirled about the whole pass, obscuring their tops—if there were such things.


“Fascinating,” Michiko muttered, gazing intently at one particular stone, holding her face mere inches away from it. After a few seconds, she shrugged, leaned back, and scribbled a note in her weathered journal. “It’s all so…” she paused, fingers tightening around the book.


“NORMAL!”


The call echoed through the canyon, bouncing along the stone walls and disappearing into the mists. The Uzumaki began to pace, running a hand through her hair. “I was promised ghosts. I was promised ‘vengeful spirits’. Hauntings—unexplained mysteries—secrets galore! Not…not…rocks.” With a frustrated shout, she kicked a pebble off into the distance, watching as it skipped off into the gray mists. The day had been a waste.

Health: 340
Chakra: 18
Regen:  6

Takeo Lee

by sixsmith.

[Takeo Lee]

The Sabaki Valley wasn't somewhere that Takeo would call a comfortable place to spend time, and not one he went to without good reason quite frankly. When certain herbs needed gathering, unfortunately he was one of only a few that would show up, not because he wasn't afraid of what lurked in the mists, but because he was just fast enough to get in, know what he was looking for, grab it, and get out. Today wasn't much different, but he hadn't come alone, and what was needed was already being rushed back by the one who had came with, leaving him alone, or at least he assumed he was alone.     Finding a stranger in this place was almost as odd as the place itself, so when he found another that at least didn't seem to be any sort of spirit equivalent, it immediately caused him to pause, or at least his thoughts. His feet kept moving as he walked closer, not making much of an attempt to hide himself as if he wanted them to know he was there.     Whoever they were, they didn't at least look threatening, but Takeo on the other hand likely would have seemed out of place in the sunlight. A bandaged humanoid with a hood walking towards you in a mist filled crag known for being a creepy place was likely at least a touch off-putting. As the person seemed to start ranting about wanting ghosts and spirits, Takeo would have came walking out of the mist towards them, stopping well out of their personal space, but just staring quietly, hands slipped into the pockets of his jacket.

NP: 15 Ninjutsu: 1 Taijutsu: 6 Genjutsu: 1 Technique: 1 Toughness: 1 Speed: 3 Stamina: 2 Chakra Pool: 17 Chakra Regen: 5 Health Pool: 320 Affinity: Wind Clan: Lee Items: N/A

aeron at thq

[Michiko Uzumaki]

I live my life in widening circles, reaching out across the world.

Michiko turned as a figure approached, emerging from the mists. It said nothing—it did nothing. It simply stared at her, its whole body wrapped in bandages.

“Now that’s more like it!” Michiko exclaimed, throwing her arms out wide. Approaching the apparition, she re-opened her journal and began a new line of notes. In an excited mutter, she dictated what was going into the book. “Subject appears largely inert and unresponsive to stimuli. Non-aggressive, despite local legends. Strange, that. No immediate sensation of a chakra phenomenon, either, but that demands further investigation.”

The whole day was worth it, just to stumble into something like this. Myths of the ancient sages said they found ways to pass on their wills—their very souls, perhaps—to future generations. Such a form of chakra control far exceeded anything her clan’s skill in fuinjutsu had ever suggested. If she could crack the code to how it was done, or find other secrets of the ancient ninshu masters…

Rumors of ghosts deep in the mist-riddled valleys of the Land of Earth had drawn her here. A strange sort of life after death could very well be a vestigial technique of what those who first mastered chakra were capable of.

As the Uzumaki drew close to the hooded, bandaged figure, she gazed intently at it. “Can you hear me? Can you speak? I must say, you look remarkably lifelike.”

Health: 340
Chakra: 18
Regen:  6

Takeo Lee

by sixsmith.

[Takeo Lee]

A slight glint of something metal was starting to show the closer he got, becoming more clear as something moved and what looked like a staff was spun once then dropped parallel to the figure. It was clear now the person was holding what looked to be a scythe, at least as tall as they were. Lifting it with a sigh when the person in front of them started talking to themselves again and writing, he threw it over his shoulder, letting both of his arms hang over the length.     It sounded like whoever this was quickly got carried away, seeming to think he wasn't so much a who but a what, and it was hard not to be something between amused and offended. He wasn't quite so sure what they wanted, or why they wanted it here, but as the drew closer, her lifted the weapon off his shoulder and stepped forward, suddenly spinning his weapon and guiding the shaft to rest on their shoulder and the blade to rest on the back of their neck.     There was no intent to hurt whoever this was, but he wanted to spook them a bit, if nothing else in hopes they wouldn't go wandering around here and find something that actually would mean them harm. This wasn't the most dangerous locale in the country, but it was far from one of the safest at the best of times, otherworldly beings or not. "I'm not a ghost."     He made sure they could feel the cold steel against the back of their neck before he pulled his weapon away, smirking under the bandages. Turning away he let the weapon rest on his shoulder and started to pace a bit before turning back.

NP: 15 Ninjutsu: 1 Taijutsu: 6 Genjutsu: 1 Technique: 1 Toughness: 1 Speed: 3 Stamina: 2 Chakra Pool: 17 Chakra Regen: 5 Health Pool: 320 Affinity: Wind Clan: Lee Items: N/A

aeron at thq

[Michiko Uzumaki]

I live my life in widening circles, reaching out across the world.

Michiko snapped her journal shut again as the apparition’s scythe came to rest upon her shoulder, its cold steel scraping against the back of her neck for the briefest moment. Her eyes lit up, a smile spreading across her face. “Corporeality…” she muttered, even more intrigued. What she was seeing was something more than an apparition—a possession, perhaps, or a golem of sorts? She had been promised phantoms, beings she theorized were made of pure chakra. They would have a sort of weight about them, but more in the sense of a force. Nothing indicated they would have such…detail in their constitution.

“Now look here,” she pointed at the strange being as it turned around, “I never said anything about 'ghosts!' Anyone with any sense could see that you’re not one of those.”

Her voice dropped back to a mutter, “Well, at least you’re not that per se. There might be something ghost-y about you. Shouldn’t rule that possibility out. Hm…” Michiko’s own pacing continued for a few seconds before she stopped, spinning on her heel to face the figure again. “You speak well enough, it seems. Answer me this, if you can: what are you? Or...who are you?” The being clearly had some sense of self-consciousness. Perhaps it had a sense of identity deep enough to answer such questions. Either way, it would be fascinating.

Health: 340
Chakra: 18
Regen:  6

Takeo Lee

by sixsmith.

[Takeo Lee]

He was at a cross roads between wanting to poke her in the forehead with his weapon until she came to her senses, and wanting to play along. Obviously he was going to play along, because why not at this point.     What or who was he; even at the best of times that would have take a bit to answer, but from someone assuming he was whatever of equivalent of undead might actually be roaming this area, well he wasn't even sure where to start. He didn't even know what was out here aside from rumors, and he just classified everything here as some sort of undead or ghost, so it was time to pull out his best attempts at bullshit and see how far he could take it. "Don't know. I'm me."     Lifting the scythe he began twirling it over his head fast enough for it to make an audible sound, before slamming it down against the ground, leaving a dent. "These are special bandages, ya know? I'm dead, but I'm not dead. If someone took them off I would fall all to pieces."     That sounds ridiculous enough to be hard to argue with, right? "I woke up like this, had this weapon in my hand, these clothes. Been wandering around this place ever since."

NP: 15 Ninjutsu: 1 Taijutsu: 6 Genjutsu: 1 Technique: 1 Toughness: 1 Speed: 3 Stamina: 2 Chakra Pool: 17 Chakra Regen: 5 Health Pool: 320 Affinity: Wind Clan: Lee Items: N/A

aeron at thq

[Michiko Uzumaki]

I live my life in widening circles, reaching out across the world.

“You’re…you. Hm.”

What an interesting answer. Beautiful in its simplicity. There was a mystery behind those words—a more complicated depth at which they could be taken, an array of meanings which could account for them.

The slamming of the scythe, though, indicated a decisive lack of mystery, Michiko noted. Displays meant to shock or scare might work on small animals and small people, but she had little interest in such things. It was a disappointing, human-like behavior. Had the thing before her been human once upon a time? Or…was it possibly still human?

“Ahem,” she cleared her throat, snapping back to what it was saying. “Special bandages? How interesting.” Her eyes narrowed a bit. True, some fancy fuinjutsu work could seal a soul within a corpse or a puppet. If it were placed on bandages and wrapped around some physical mass, it could account for whatever was in front of her. But why? Why would anyone trap a consciousness in a body and abandon it to the mist-filled crags of Sabaki Valley?

The creature was clearly intelligent, but perhaps not entirely honest. Michiko wanted a good look at the bandages themselves—that would certainly offer insight into what was going on here—but it seemed that removing them would be met with some resistance. Most beings were not comfortable with others doing things that would make them ‘fall all to pieces.’ A diplomatic approach, perhaps? Yes, that seemed to be what the situation called for.

“I would very much like to see these ‘special bandages,’ then! I won’t try to remove them or anything—no worries there—but there’s a great deal which might be gained from close study of the various phenomena in these mists. You would be helping the rest of the world out immensely.” Not that she was particularly concerned about sharing her findings with the rest of the world, but most people seemed to respond well to feeling like they were making a difference in others’ lives.

Health: 340
Chakra: 18
Regen:  6

Takeo Lee

by sixsmith.

[Takeo Lee]

It was hard to keep a straight face in the midst of this conversation, partially because of the sheer ridiculousness of it, but all the equally ridiculous ideas swarming in his mind. If this had been in a more generic setting, standing in a field, or by some trees, a lot less mist, perhaps his initial assertion would have been enough to clear this whole mess up and move on, but they seemed keen on finding something unnatural.     He could see her fingers twitch a few times, her muscles flex enough to indicate she was stopping herself from moving them, and it made him both wonder and worry. Was she about she reach out and test his words? It seemed he was right on the money, or close enough, given her questioning statement, but ghost or not, he wasn't up for someone touching or removing his bandages. If for no other reason than how difficult and time consuming putting them on in the first place was, he just didn't know her well enough. "Uh, no touching, please."     Reflexively he raised his hands waving that idea off and trying to keep her from getting closer. His weapon balanced near perfectly despite no longer touching it, until he reached out and grabbed it once more. "You are a curious one yourself. No one from around here willingly comes here without good reason, and certainly doesn't stay for long when they do."     Raising up the scythe and pointing it at them, he narrowed his eyes. "Maybe we should be closely studying you."

NP: 15 Ninjutsu: 1 Taijutsu: 6 Genjutsu: 1 Technique: 1 Toughness: 1 Speed: 3 Stamina: 2 Chakra Pool: 17 Chakra Regen: 5 Health Pool: 320 Affinity: Wind Clan: Lee Items: N/A

aeron at thq

[Michiko Uzumaki]

I live my life in widening circles, reaching out across the world.

Michiko pulled her hand back from the figure’s bandages, as it had started to creep forward even before she heard his answer. With a huff, she backed up a few steps. “Fine, then. But I’ll figure out what’s going on with them eventually. It would be much easier for both of us if you’d just let me examine them now.”

Her eyes narrowed as he began questioning her. It was rare that the figures she encountered took much of an interest in anything about Michiko herself. She was typically the one asking the questions. It was an odd feeling to be evaluated by someone else. It made her nose feel all weird. With a slightly defensive tone, she raised her hands. “Well, look: I’m not sure how many people you encounter down here, but I don’t like you assuming that I don’t have a good reason to be here. I’m in the midst of important research. World-shattering stuff, in fact! I’m not just here to pick up an herb or two and run away at the first shout of ‘boo!’”

She paused, frowning slightly, as she stepped up to the edge of the figure’s scythe. Leaning to the side of the blade, she locked eyes with the apparition. “Which is why I don’t appreciate being taken for a fool. Study me if you’d like, but don’t mock me with these little scare tactics.”

Health: 340
Chakra: 18
Regen:  6

notes notes notes

by sixsmith.

[Takeo Lee]

It took all his strength not to let out a laugh or even a snicker at this point. They were both curious and now defensive,and he wondered just how long he could get away with pushing their buttons. From what he could tell there was no worry of this being a violent altercation, but he could also see them becoming at least a little flustered all the same. "I haven't shouted boo, yet. Not a bad idea."     He had certainly never seen this person before, so he could only assume they weren't from around here, or moved around a lot if they truly were a researching. The Land of Earth wasn't the smallest of countries to be fair so it wasn't that likely they would have run into one another. "What are you researching exactly? Not much here but mist, spirits, and very specifically plants."     Immediately he pulled the weapon back, letting it fall back on his shoulder. He knew exactly how sharp that blade was and didn't want to even accidentally end up cutting them. "Fine fine, just, I dunno, tell me what it is you are here for and maybe I can help. I promise not to yell boo or flail or anything."

NP: 15 Ninjutsu: 1 Taijutsu: 6 Genjutsu: 1 Technique: 1 Toughness: 1 Speed: 3 Stamina: 2 Chakra Pool: 17 Chakra Regen: 5 Health Pool: 320 Affinity: Wind Clan: Lee Items: N/A

aeron at thq