What a Wretched Place (P)

The village before her, damp and broken, soiled the girl’s already darkened mood. She was beginning to despise the place, watching with disgust as the Kiri and Konoha forces worked together to rebuild from the ashes. The Village Hidden in the Leaves would be reborn again, just like a Phoenix, yet the hearts of all the shinobi would burn no more. The white haired kunoichi knew, without a doubt in her mind, that there was no Will of Fire in the hearts of Konohagakure shinobi any longer. Their hands were covered in the blood of their brother, forever marking them as traitors to the ideology of their ancestors, the founders of their precious village. Kotsuzui and herself were the only ones that kept their hands clean in the war, thus they were the only ones capable of hosting the eternal flame, if they could still feel it. The young girl wasn't sure anymore.

All she wanted now was power, strength, vengeance. She could care less about the lives of her “comrades”. Or so she thought. For she had felt a desire to save their Hokage amongst her hatred. The fierce woman risked everything for them, an honorable deed for a village that caved far too easily. The Hokage could have died, her efforts in vain, yet she was pardoned and Hikari didn’t want such a fate as Salzem’s to befall Risako. One might say that could be the Will of Fire burning within her, but she felt it could have been her duty as a medical-nin just the same. The two seemed to go hand in hand.

Another reason she felt it might not be the Will of Fire was due to her knowing deep down that if Yensung Aburame or that Kirigakure shinobi needed life-saving assistance, she would turn a blind eye to them both. It was their faults for Salzem’s death after all. She might be petty for wanting them dead, but she couldn't help feeling her blood boil at the mere thought of them or the elation she would feel seeing them bleed out just as Salzem had. To see them take their last breaths would be a pleasant sight to the twisted woman.

As she wickedly thought such things, her numb body traveled through the wreckage. Hikari surveyed the damage, assessing if anything had withstood the flames. She passed countless piles of rubble, and shinobi carrying new building material to fix the broken. Wounded shinobi were being treated by both sets of medics, and the civilians were out of the secret tunnels that they evacuated to. The world was moving on while she felt stuck, as if her body was standing still despite her feeling the ground move with every step she took.

(WC: 457)
(Gonna have another post after this one ^^)

She barely noticed the Hokage building full erect as her petite frame passed by, her mind clouded over with the memories she had witnessed. Someone could attack her this very moment, and she would have only vaguely noticed their presence. The white haired Hyuuga passed by her family district as she trudged onward, slowly clearing her mind in the cool, beginning of winter day. The air bit at her face when the wind blew, bringing the Hyuuga out of her trance-like state.

Hikari had a destination of course, she was not just wandering around aimlessly. Her body remembered how to get to the building through muscle memory, and it was only a matter of time until she stopped in front of the Konoha Library. It seemed the important buildings in the village had been spared from the destruction, only the homes of the civilians, most of the businesses, and the forests were threatened by the merciless flames.

She was thankful the library had been spared, for she required the aid of the building in order to prepare for the upcoming tournament hosted by Xyxer. Hikari needed power, and quickly too, wanting to become strong enough to defeat her opponent. If she wanted to defeat Yensung Aburame, she would need to rank up as soon as possible, unlocking her full potential as a Jounin.

Thus she stepped through the sliding doors, hearing the faint whoosh as they welcomed her. The librarian on duty cheerfully smiled at the Hyuuga, greeting her warmly as she always had, “Thank goodness you are safe, Hikari! I was worried for you when you had to go off in battle!”

The woman, Sarah, seemed to be unaware as to what took place on the battlefield, unknowing of the lives lost that day. Of Salzem’s demise.

The Hyuuga would have walked past her in silence, had she not been acquaintances with the chestnut haired woman prior to the war. She wanted growth and strength, but not at the expense of her humanity.

Hikari smiled sadly at the woman, as she had been reminded of all she lost through her energetic words, “Thank you, Ms. Sarah. I'm glad to see you are well also.” With that, she walked past the wooden front desk the woman was perched at, her pupil-less eyes scanning the shelves for all the books she would need during her time at the library. It would take her a few hours to accomplish her learning, not that she minded if she could expand her knowledge on jutsu and the elements.

(WC: 426)
(TWC: 883)

Within half an hour, the snowy haired kunoichi could be seen holding a large stack of books in her slender arms, her muscles flexing as she carried five books to a table by the edge of the library. The table was regular in size, light brown wood, next to a large window overseeing the street below. From her seat she could see civilians and shinobi milling about, walking along as they went from one place to another, some carrying materials as they were in the process of rebuilding Konohagakure together. She herself would have been out training in the training grounds, had she not decided to research the elements in order to decide which she would learn as her third. Her natural affinity was fire, and the second element she learned was lightning, polar opposites on the element cycle chart. Her remaining options were wind, earth, and water, thus, today she planned on learning about the jutsu from each element to decide which would be more beneficial to her in the long run.

Hikari gently placed the newest pile of books on the table, sitting them beside two other piles of books, each being five high. She would be studying all day, and as such, prepared in advance with multiple bottles of water, nutritious snacks, and some pens and paper to doodle if her mind became too fried from all the information she was cramming in a single day. Kuro moved beside her chair leg as she sat down, curling up into a ball as she settled down, preparing to take a nice nap in the serenity of the library. This caused the Hyuuga to smile solemnly, her hand reaching down to lightly stroke his head for a short few moments before leaving him to rest, and allowing for her to begin her lengthy day. He had entered the library while she was carrying her first stack of books, having caught drift of her scent when she reentered the village. It was a joyous moment for each of them to find the other was alive, unscathed by the war. Her canine companion was the only one left in Konohagakure that she held dear to her heart; her student Kaya had escaped the village when the fighting first broke out, thus she was no longer in Konoha to be counted on the imaginary list, and both Kotsuzui and Risako, although they were her allies, were not nearly as close to her, so she couldn’t list them as people she loved.

(WC: 419)
(TWC: 1302)
(Just gonna use this to post for the christmas event, so there will be a lot more posts on here XD)

She silently began placing the books from the pile farthest to her right in order of their ranking, beginning with weaker, E and D ranked jutsu and ending with the powerful, S ranked techniques. The element she started with could ensnare even the toughest opponents or block an ally from dangerous projectiles or explosions; the sturdy earth, present in over a third of the world, at least.

Her petite hands picked up a small brown, hardcover book, flipping through the pages as she skimmed the introduction, skipping it in favor of getting to the actual jutsu. The first technique she read about was called Earth Release: Rock Section Cane, which turned a small chunk of rock into a cane, hence the name of the technique, although the staff gained no special abilities. The next technique was a D rank, called Moving Earth Core, that allowed the caster to create a platform of sorts from the ground around them, shaping the earth to their liking and leaving their mark as the jutsu disperses yet the rock formations would remain. The last low ranking earth technique she read about was called the Headhunter technique, which can be used to drag a target into the ground and immobilize them unless they have the strength to break free from their earthen prison. Out of the three techniques, she thought the latter was the most useful, and very important as a lower ranked technique, if she were to learn the earth element that is.

The snowy haired kunoichi set down the thin book and pulled out an elegantly wrapped Christmas Cracker from the backpack she had brought with her. The cracker was a gift she had received from her village, but she had decided against opening it for quite some time. To receive something from the new authority and open it gratefully disgusted her; however, the curiosity of what lingered inside gnawed at the girl, and she felt that there was no better reward for some learning than a gift, even if her despicable village was the one who gave it to her. Hikari realized that to gain somethings, one would have to give in at times. A very valuable item could be hidden behind the paper, and she would never know unless she tore away the weak paper. Thus she began unwrapping the gift, making sure to keep her trash to a minimum, not wanting to get kicked out of the library for littering before she was even close to finishing her training. What awaited inside the Christmas gift was...

(WC: 426)
(TWC: 1,728)
(Rolling for 1 of my Christmas Crackers. Leaving me with 1 Christmas Cracker unused)

The member 'Hikari Hyuuga' has done the following action : Roll Dice/Flip Coin

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'20-sided dice' : 4

A plump, purple plum. Coated in sugar, and perfectly ripe enough to eat. She gingerly picked up the delicately useful item, placing it in her backpack alongside the other one she had randomly received. Someone was going around and giving them gift, causing the snowy haired woman to ponder their intentions. Were they trying to celebrate the holiday, or using these gifts to trick all the shinobi into letting their guards down? Hikari wasn’t quite sure which one they leaned more towards, as so far none of the gifts seemed dangerous, but one never knows when they might suddenly turn deadly. She wanted to always be prepared in case it happened to her.

With the gift opened, there was nothing else for her to dilly dally on, and as such, she reached out her tender hand and picked up a slightly larger brown book that contained the C ranked level jutsu. Hikari did the same as the first book, skipping the beginning description for earth and getting right to the techniques. Earth Style: Mud Spore was the first technique listed in the new book, and it allows the user to summon or create a river of mud that expands ten meters ahead of the caster and five meters wide. Not a terrible technique, she thought to herself, especially for a middle level rank. The next jutsu, called Tearing Earth Turning Palm, shifts the ground underneath the target, spiraling and twisting inward around them, burying them alive or crushing them if they are caught in the area. It was a decent technique, able to take out weaker shinobi with ease.

Hikari flipped the page, reading the next name as her eyes traveled down the written contents. Rock Pillar Spears was the next jutsu, and it creates rock pillars from the ground that can skewer the target, even going through obstacles to reach them. If one wanted to swiftly kill their opponent, this jutsu would be a viable option to cleanly finish them off. The next jutsu was Flying Thrown Stones. Like the name suggests, this technique allows the user to form nearby ground into rock projectiles, with the stones being as large as thirty centimeters in diameter and the caster being able to create up to ten at a time.

(WC: 378)
(TWC: 2,106)

The last jutsu listed in the book was called Hiding Like a Mole, and as the name suggests, the caster flows their chakra into the earth surrounding them, turning the ground into a fine sand and allowing them to pass into it. Once inside this makeshift sand, they could move freely in any direction, even capable of casting jutsu to attack their opponent while they were hidden. This jutsu seemed like a very strong defensive and offensive jutsu, able to hide one away whilst allowing them to continue fighting was a great idea. Her clan’s Palms Revolving Heaven jutsu could not even allow such a thing as both offensive and defensive, unless the target ran straight into it. But that would be a ridiculous move on their part.

Hikari closed the cover to the second book, impressed by the techniques thus far of the earth element, and she had only finished the lower ranked techniques. The higher ranked ones, she figured, would be even more impressive, able to crush enemies with the lift of a hand or move mountain tops. Of course her examples were exaggerations, but one could freely imagine the endless possibilities awaiting them.

With renewed vigor she picked up the third book from the earth pile, another brown hardcover a bit bigger than the prior book, as it contained all of the B ranked jutsu in its rough covers. She flipped the book open, the crisp papers easily turning as she tumbled through them to find the first of many techniques contained within it.

(WC: 257)
(TWC: 2,363)

The first medium leveled jutsu she came upon was called Iron Fist Prison, although unlike what the name may suggest, this technique did not create anything out of iron nor did it create a prison. Instead it created a large, 150 meter diameter circular arena surrounded by tall walls. Hikari wasn't sure what kind of purpose this technique really served, but she reasoned that if she did learn earth as her element she could just not learn that specific technique. The next jutsu, Light-Weight Rock technique, could use a better sounding name despite its descriptiveness she ventured, noting, however, that it did justly describe what it did. This technique made shinobi or objects lighter for a short period of time, enabling weaker shinobi to lift even mighty rocks with more ease than before.

Comparatively, the next jutsu was called Added-Weight Rock, and similar to its counterpart, could use a revamp of its name. She read that this jutsu made shinobi or objects heavier, even to the point of petrifying them. The fourth b ranked earth jutsu was rather simple, given the descriptive name of Earth Wall. The caster would be able to create a large, 20 meters tall and 20 meters wide wall to defend themselves against attacks. The kunoichi kept this technique stored away in her mind, wanting to remember it for later when she decided which element to learn. She would have to weigh the pros and cons of each element, and this was surely a pro for the earth element.

It was then that the snowy haired kunoichi noticed two more Christmas Crackers sitting amongst her piles of books, shimmering gold dust as if they had just appeared, given to her by some mysterious being. Gingerly she picked up one of the elegantly wrapped gifts and tore the top off, her eyes curious as to what it contained within...

(WC: 312)
(TWC: 2,675)

The member 'Hikari Hyuuga' has done the following action : Roll Dice/Flip Coin

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'20-sided dice' : 4

Mid-thread Claim:
TWC: 2,675

Using 25% off Discount for Max Stats
Claiming the following jutsu:
- Storage Displacement (750/750)
- Fuinjutsu Breaking (E Rank) (250/250)

Total WC for Claims: 1,000
WC Remaining After Claims: 1,675