Li Works on Li (P)

Li was ecstatic after his meeting with the lord of the Rain country. It couldn't have gone much better. He'd earned the right to fight for his country. Fight for it's life. He wasn't going to let it down. The rain didn't only flood. It didn't only soak. The Rain also nurtured the growth of life. That was going to be what this land was known for now on! He would create the village sprouting in the rain! Yes that had a nice ring to it indeed.


He stepped out from The Lords Estate. Ready to begin his journey. As he stepped out from the veranda of the Dock, and felt the rain of his country smack aginst his face for the first time in a good long while he felt a good bit of joy flow through him. The could wetness of this homeland greeted him one more time. Unlike many people of his homeland Li didn't mind the rain. He liked the smell of it. The sound of it. It's touch. Most of all the liked the white noise. Gave him space to think. It was too hard to think in silence. There was nothing to ignore. With the constant prickeling of rain he always had plenty of time and room to think. Plenty of room to think of new and interesting puppets.


"You'll catch a cold that way." A soft voice announced from behind him. Now that was a familiar voice indeed He turned his head around and saw Coco's father approaching him. With two umrella's opend up over his head. "Complements of our lord." He announced throwing a umbrella to Li.


Li's umbrella flung open, and He lifted it over his head. He could hear the rain bouncing off it's surface. "Now I see where Coco get's it from." Li announced, with a half smile.


Coco's father shook his head sadly. "She's always been that way I'm afraid."


"Anyone I know?" This time a gruff voice sounded out from the shadow. Li turned his head and saw Han's coming out from the guard post outside of the castle. "I know some of the guys." He explained seeing Li's confused look. "So where are we going?"


Coco's father nodded his head. "Yes Mr. Chuunin. Where is out next stop?"


"Where do we begin to build our home?"


Li let out a sad smile. Well this wasn't going to be easy, But at least he had good company. "I, um." He sputtered momentarily. Ame? That would seem like the reasonable conclusion. No he wasn't quite ready for that yet. Not yet. He still needed to learn a few things before he came back to his home. "I need to train a bit more before I can return. I have to awaken my bloodline."


"Sounds serious." Coco's father spoke. "What Bloodline do you come from?"


Li blushed. "I'm a Yamamaka."


"I didn't think the Yamamaka had any blood line to awaken. I thought they only had their family Jutsu."


Li gritted his teeth. "Well that's true, but you see. I actually don't know that much Ninjutsu. So I've got to work on that before I go and try to learn my families Jutsu."


"A ninja who doesn't know Ninjutsu." Han shook his head.


"Hey!" Li shouted pointing over towards Coco's father. "Don't make fun of me! His daughter is the same way!"


"No wonder our village is destroyed." Hans groaned throwing his hands up in the air. "It all makes sense now!"


Li frowned. "That's not funny.


Hans shrugged. "Sorry mate. Listen I have a friend ho works not too far from here. He's a pretty decent armorer. Maybe we could head over that way and get you something made up? We can rest there for a day or two you could focus on your Ninjutsu and when you're ready. We return home."

Li nodded in a agreement. "That sounds like a plan. Are you two sure you wish you join me in this mission? It's dangerous you know."


Coco's father simply smiled. It was a weak and weary smile, but a smile all the same. "Yes I do. My daughter will return once she gets word of what happened here. She'll come to you, I know it. Until then I will be here to help you along and patch you up."


Hans nodded. His smile wasn't weighed down my worry or woe at the least. "All the other villages already have a blacksmith. I'd be useless anywhere but here. Besides I'm a smith. I'm suppose to be builing things. You my friend seek to build up an entire city. That's a mighty feat for anyone. Especially one so young. I helped build Ame once. And I'll do it again." He smiled. "And again, and again. Until we finally get it right. But all cities must be built on a strong foundation and you my young friend. You I think have what it takes to become a strong foundation."


"I certainly hope so." Li agreed meekly.


"Me too!" Hans thundered his voice louder than any noise a stroke of lightning could produce. "Otherwise you're wasting two old men's time!"


"I'm not that old!" Coco's father argued with a laugh. The three of them shared a small chuckle before going on their way.

The boys headed North they were looking for a young blacksmith named Shima Shi. He was suppose to be a wizard with it came to making objects of protection. After his conflict in Ame he felt like a good amount of protection was something he sorely needed these days. Hans was a good man. That much Li Dian was able to skim from his personality. He was strangely jovial, and that was a little scary, but Li Dian trusted him. If he said that this smith was good at his job, then Li believed him. Besides The Lord did just give Li a sizeable promotional bonus. It wouldn't hurt to do a little looking around now would it?

Li Dian could not express his absolute delight that Shima Shi did not live in the swamp. It was like some sort of present in the midst of a pretty cruddy week. Sure he'd gotten that promotion but let's face it. It'd take having a home to sleep in over a promotion any day! Luckily for all of them Shima shi lived in the northern part of the Rain Country. Up there it started to get more hilly and mountainous. Less places for the water to punch up. A few more rivers but no swamps! If there was one thing in life that Li was thankful for it was No Swamps.

The early morning sun had just awoken from it's nightly slumber and was coming up over the horizon to their right. It's dull and white rays managed to peek ever so slightly through the thinnest part of the cloud covering. The rain was almost non existent on this morning. Globs of water feel from the sky like fat fallen angels. There weren't a lot of them but dang they were big. It felt like you had water balloons being thrown at you from god himself.  The morning air of the country was cool and refreshing. It made the morning travel feel like it was less tiring than it should have been. Especially with the tree men climbing uphill most of the way. The slop went up gently, over miles. But still by the end of their travels they were starting to notice the slope by the burning in the back of their calf's.

Up ahead there as a small house built upon the crest of a hill. The tallest in the area. It was mostly stone, but had plenty of wood as well. On it's eastern facing side was a large chimney and smokestack bellowing out a massive plum of dark smoke into the air.  The smoke seemed to be almost solid as it slowly crawled to the sky and didn't seem to start until it hit, and melded with the clouds. Hans pointed his finger up to the house. "Finest forge I've seen." His thundering voice rolled up the hill, and you could hear the sound of vibrating wood.

"A good smith would be valuable to Ame." Li thought out loud.

"Excuse me?" Hans shouted. "He's good with a chest piece, but the man doesn't know anything about building an actual house! Let alone a skyscraper! Look at this shack he lives in! It's basically ply wood. Pathetic." They were absoltly too close to the house now to be talking about such things. As in Hans was already knocking on the door as he was speaking.

Out from the door came a sleepy looking man with his hair neatly tied up with a comb. "Hans why would you bother knocking on my door. I knew you were coming a mile away." His voice sounded like he'd just awoken. Odd considering the amount of smoke pluming out from his forge. Plus it was like 11:30 at this point in time. He would have been a sloth of legendary proportions to be asleep at this time of day. "Come in." He sighed opening up his door for the travelers to enter his abode. IT was a pretty nice house actually. Much bigger on the inside than you would have though at first look. But it was dug quite a bit into the hill beneath it, leading to a massive step down living room.

"So." Hans began looking unimpressed by the building. Despite it's obvious lavishness. "My young friend here."

"I already know." Shima Shi sighed rolling his eyes and opening the door to this forge. Li could hear the sound of fat raindrops smacking against the ground outside the door. It must have led outside, obviously. 

"Woah." Hans gulped ducking into the next room after Shima Shi. "You truly are a wise old hermit, minus the old."

"no." Shima Shi grunted beckoning for Li And Coco's father to follow behind them, "Like I said I could hear you coming from a mile away. I know the whole story and have already started preparing for the project."

After Li entered Shima Shi's forge, or rather exited his house he got a good look at the man. Not overly tall, but overly thin for sure. He was a super comfortable looking silk robe, which seemed cumbersome around a forge, but what did Li know? His left hand looked to be completely black. It didn't look like flesh, though it didn't shine like metal either. It actually looked like pencil lead, though not nearly as brittle. Li looked around the room. He wasn't in any place to judge a forge, but this one looked as good as any other he'd ever seen. As far as he could tell it looked like a fine place for a person to go and forge some metal. Or whatever blacksmith's actually did.

"Let me see you boy." Hold you your arms. Li did so allowing Shima Shi to inspect him like a piece of meat. Li could see the blacksmith's eyes dart over his body. taking in every curve and dent. "Alright." Shima Shi sighed, jotting down his measurement. "Two days and I'll have it ready for you."

"That's it?" Li dian asked looking around? Almost to be sure that he wasn't being punked or something. "Don't you need to know what I want. Or ask what I do? Anything like that?"

Shima Shi shook his head. "No we're good here. I know what you need. Feel free to make use of my home."


The three travelers set down their umbrella's in the stand inside of Shima Shi's house, and made them self comfortable inside of his house. For several hours they chatted with one another about various things. They tried to keep things light. They were on an adventure after all! Still the doom and gloom of living in an abandoned city did weight pretty heavily upon everyone's shoulders. still they managed to laugh and joke. For happier times were upon their village. Soon enough that was. Soon enough their home would be restored and they wouldn't have to keep on surfing upon people's couches. Ooooh man. Li dian could hardly wait for that day. His home back in ame may have been a bit of a dump, but it was his dump! Plus now all of this angel plans were down the drain. Which was great. Ah well. He'd made them bigger, better, faster, stronger. The angels of tomorrow would put their older brethren to shame!


Still as he looked out the window of Shima Shi's house he could still see the smoke rising up from the horizon of his home. What was there to keep it from happening again? You're probably right to just forget it. Let's face it you worked so hard, and now you're scarred and free of any hope. I guess he should mope. Forget what he planned. Hey we'd understand. If that's what it is. Then that's what it is. But that's not the Way Li chooses to see it. He has his own views that work with all these jerks, and unenlightened jerks. He makes his own rules. He does what he can. If he hits the wall then maybe it's all just part of the plan. Tomorrow will come. Today will be gone. And so he'll put one foot in front of the other, and just keep walking on. Any way enough song lyrics. We star swipe.


The Camera swipes to an abandoned forge. well almost abandoned. Inside the forge sitting just outside of the actual forge it's self. You know the big kilm? He was sat crisscrossed in front of that thing watching the sparks flying up from it like fire flies on a lake shore. The head from it made the forge surprisingly dry for anyplace in the Rain Nation. Li had his eyes closed as he listened to the crackeling of the forge. It was calming, and served as even more of that white noise that Li Dian liked so much. He sat there meditating on life, as the cool mist from the outside came in and evaporated all around him. The forces of cold and damp battle the forces of Hot and dry. All around Li's body he could feel the temperature wavering this way and that every moment that he rested there. He sat with his eyes closed for a very long time just focusing on the war of hot vs. cold which was waged all along the door less entrance of the forge. He was so key on this difference in heat because he was planning on awakening his second element of fire on this trip. With that as well as his Ninjutsu skills perfected he'd be pretty fierce in combat. At least that's what he was hoping for.


He could feel his potent chakra moving through the room as he meditated. It could move the earth that much he knew, but he wanted more. Needed more. He could feel his chakra mingling about with the fire in the forge. His inner energy mixing itself with the sparks and the heat of the forge. Earth and fire. Two things not very well known in the land of rain. Well except for the fact that the first Amekage was able to use both to form lava. Which was pretty cool on it's own right. Focus Li Focus. He could feel his energy mixing itself in with the wood and the coals. The fire and the sparks. Ah yes this was gonna work. He could feel it yo. His chakra was beginning to glow red hot. Only increasing the head in the room. The poor outside air didn't stand a chance with Li Dian's chakra added to the already broiling mixture of hot air, and smoke. 


Though Li Dian couldn't actually see it. He could feel the ambers within the forge churning and glowing in reaction to his Chakra. Sparks where streaming from the forge like rain from a cloud. Only hot, and upside down. They floated up through the chimey like a host of faries in a fairy tale. The forge grew in heat and strength with each passing second, and didn't even need the pump moving to keep it at a temperature that could melt iron. Though Li couldn't see this going on, seeing that his eyes were closed. He could feel the heat radiating over him. He could feel that heat grow and grow with each passing second. It was a good feeling. Not necessarily standing outside of a forge which could challenge hell with it's heat, but more of the fact that he was able to do something like that with nothing but his chakra and his will. If he'd known working on Ninjutsu would be like this then me may have not have bothered with Puppetry at all. Pffft. Who was Li Kidding. He loved working on puppets. Those things inspired hope in little children as well as adults. That was something that no amount of fire power was able to match. Ever! Literally fire power by the way guys. Because Li was well on his way!


He felt like he had a good feel of how to manipulate his chakra, so he stood to his feet. And faced the fire. Well he'd been facing the fire the whole time, but not he was actually looking at him. With him no longer channeling his chakra in such a way he could feel the temperature in the room drop by several degrees. Alright time to manipulate some fire. He thought back to all those times he'd drifted of during The Academy. He sorely wished he'd actually paid attention now. He'd looked out those rain soaked windows and dream of angels flying high in the sky. Who would have thought that he'd actually achieved that dream? Well he wasn't quite at the host he'd always dreamed of, but it was coming. Along with the recreation of his city.


He held his hand out over the forge. The heat was overwhelming but he didn't pull away. The sparks from the forge's great fire seemed to avoid his hand. Flowing all around it but never coming in contact with his skin itself. Uriel was the angel of Fire. God's fire. That's what his name meant. Upon the wicked and unrighteous he would summon great gouts of flame to cleanse them from the earth. He was a powerful archangel. Li Dian wanted to be like that. Wanted to be some fearsome and righteous that the wicked dared not show their face in his light. Wanted to burn away the wickedness of the world, and see it made clean forever more. He channeled his chakra through his hand. Allowing the heat from his energy to mix with that of the forge's fire. Chakra manipulation wasn't all that hard for Li Dian. As a puppet master it was a necessity. Fine and pinpoint control over your chakra was what gave Li control over his puppets. He would have that same precision in this as well. He willed the sparks of the forge to move at his behest. Making them form a spiraling pillar from the burning coals to his hand. The fire flies like sparks turned in a counter clockwise fashion as they rose from their hellish birthplace. They soon found themselves extinguished upon the fleshing surface of Li's hand. Completely extinguished. Li couldn't help but smirk at this performance. He'd never considered it before but perhaps even the fire could serve in his performance. Earth could be used to make the stage, the fires would be for special effects, and the puppets would be the main course! The stars of his grand show. And all the while Li would be back stage happily listening to the wonder and joy of his audience. It was a shame that so many Shinobi chose to use their powers for evil and destruction. There was so much possibility for good in the art that they called Jutsu. Many squandered it without reason. To few realized the joy that simpling bring a smile to child's face could bring. Li was not one such lost sole. He knew good and well the joy that joy could bring. Those men had robbed him of it. And he would go without that joy for some time. But all joy had not been taken from this world. Li would find joy once more, and summon it back into the view of the public.


the sprite like sparks were soon followed up by the licking flames of an actual fire. It too began to spin and rise along with it's wispy spark brothers. The smoke of the fire snaked out from the orange flame hitting Li's hand and skating along the fleshy surface before finally finding the edge of his hand and flowing once more up into the sky. The fire was hesitant with it's travel upwards, or perhaps that was Li. It's flamed seemed to bounce anxiously as it slowly found itself elevating with each bonce it took. Slowly Li's chakra forced the fires to rise up into his hand, the licking flames of the fire didn't seem to harm his hand. For the chakra within it was even hotter than the fire it now manipulated.  He held his hand there for a good minute. He allowed the spiraling pillar of flame he now had under his thrall spin within his hand. It's thin and spindly frame slowly fattened up as Li began to channel more chakra into the forge. He let his hand rise into the sky just above his head. The flame traveled up with him as if it were connected to his hand. It thinned out until it was almost nonexistent at all, but li had managed to stop just before he stretched the fire to the point that it tore itself apart. 

'Oh yes.' He thought as he looked at his pillar beginning to fatten itself up once more. This was hardly like training at all. It was almost a game really. The flames would make a wonderful partner on the stage. They were flashy, hot, and oh so inspiring to the masses. Or they would have made a good partner had it not been for the fact that they were temperamental, and would likely burn the whole stage down. 

"Hey Li." Coco's father peaked his head into the forge room. Seemingly unfazed by Li Dian's absolutely amazing performance with the fire. "Shima Shi is finishing up on your Cloak, he wants to see you."

"Gotcha." Li announced with an excited smile. Her turned his open palm into a fist and killed the fire which had become his pet. "Let's see what this armorer has to say for himself shall we?" Coco's father patted him on the back and led him into Living room, where Hans and Shima Shi were chatting quietly. Li could hear the worlds but from there gestures it was clearly about the cloak that Shima Shi had placed upon a mannequin. "Is that is?" He asked trying to sound cool and failing miserably. He just couldn't hide the excited smile on his face.

Shima Shi rose his graphite black hand and gestured for Li to put it on. "Give it a try." 

Li Did so with gusto. The cloak in question was a light grey over cloak with a bright green cut. The bottom of the coat was decorated with what looked like the image of a field of waving grass. Out from that grass arose a single bright green sprouting flower. It's not yet bloomed bulb hung just below the Kanji for Rain. Li slid the silky fashion statement upon his shoulders and felt immensely satisfied with it.

"It's a bit different that what I usually do, but I felt it suitable for the village sprouting in the rain.

TWC 4006
Claiming:
 20 stats
Ninjutsu Spec
Fire as my second element.

Approved