Assembling the Family

I was sitting at the desk in my small 5 room apartment in Aerogakure. In front of me was a folder containing some of the information I had obtained about the Raksaka organization. The fact that I had any information on them at all was impressive, but it wasn't enough. As of now all I had were the names of two of their members. The first was the clearly troubled Alice White whom I had a close encounter with a year ago while the other was the scourge of the world who I plan on ending for the sake of all man-kind, and for my own personal reasons. His name is Johnny Uchiha. I looked down at the folder and flipped through it one more time, all I had were the basics, I needed more. I can't do it by myself though I need to find others that I can trust, others who share my drive to defend the world. I stood up and closed the folder before putting it in one of the drawers of my desk before heading out on a walk. I grabbed Ribenji and strapped it to my back before heading out.

The hidden sky village was a beautiful place, over the last year I had started calling this place my temporary home and had made quite a few friends and won the favor of several council members in combat making me well known to the population. I now stood at the edge of a fountain in a park, staring into the water with one hand resting on the hilt of my sacred family blade. The reflection in the water would look like what you would expect to everyone else but in the depths of my mind the picture of myself was twisted into a creature born of evil and shadows. I shook my head to clear my thoughts and glanced around the area to see children playing with their mothers and friends, a wonderful sight to see knowing of the devastation found in the majority of the world after the events 12 months ago since it meant that even demon gods awakening would not halt the flow of peace where possible. Taking my leave from the fountain I began walking a cobbled path through the trees to ease my mind with more of nature's beauty, I was unaware of it now but soon I would meet a man that would put my own path back on course for setting this world proper.

I walked around the village with a small smile on my face. The weather was great and there were many children outside playing today. For the apocalypse that had happened below this place was fairing very well. As I continued on my walk I was confronted by many of the small children asking me to play with them. I would simply smile and say that I was busy before continuing on my walk. I entered the park and sat down at a bench and began to think about where to begin searching.

As I walked the path I came to another clearing in the park with benches and a man with red hair tied behind his head sitting on one. I took notice of this man only due to one thing, the presence of a spiritual being behind him. I couldn't make out any sort of features, not hair, race or even gender. It was there for only a moment and then gone the next time I blinked my eyes. This was all I needed though as the signs granted by spirits in my home world were always meaningful so I approached the younger swordsman. I stood in front of him, one arm hanging out from the inside of my robe while the other hung limply to my side. "I have a feeling we are meant to meet today young man..."

To my surprise an older gentleman approached me and mentioned that we were destined to meet today. Normally I would've wrote this person off as crazy but something about his presence made me believe him. I stood up from my seat and looked at the man before nodding and saying "You know..I actually believe you, but we'll have to see if we were supposed to meet for the reason I suspect." I would extend my arm out for him to shake my hand with a smile and wait for his response.

I would shake the man's hand and fold my arms over my chest. "We shall see indeed, I am called Shinobu, the master of the Crane clan's sword style and sole heir to it's wisdom. Might I ask who you are?" My title would seem rather foreign as my clan was not of this world but it was a force of habit to make introductions this way when greeting a fellow swordsman.

Master of the crane clans sword style? I had never heard of the clan but what I did hear was 'Sword' and 'Master' which is all that really mattered. Maybe it was indeed fate to have met this man here today. I needed more people for my group to hunt the Raksaka and maybe a sword master was just what I needed, but I needed to talk to him more before asking to make sure his mind was straight and his soul was in the right place. I nodded in approval and said to him with a soft smile "Ah a fellow swordsman, nice to meet you Shinobu, I am Fukushu of the Uzumaki clan." I would gesture to Ribenji on my back when making reference to me being a swordsman as well and would then wait for his response.

I would nod as he pointed to his own sword and then gestured to the path through the park, "Perhaps we should walk and discuss things. Perhaps in the midst of conversation our purpose will be made clear." I would wait for his answer before walking but would take a moment to adjust my posture once more to a more casual stance.

I would nod and begin walking next to Shinobu, how should I get this started...I needed to find something we had in common, and it seemed swordsmanship was solid ground. I would say to him "So, is there a history behind your blade?" If he was a true swordsman there would be a connection between him and his sword and he wouldn't hesitate to share it with me, I would patiently wait while walking next to him.

I would look to my blade as he asked it's story, knowing that in a thousand lifetimes I could not relate the victories it had brought to its masters through the ages but I would try. "This weapon is known as Rakuen, paradise, and is called that for it is seen as the key to that place in my homeland. It was forged countless centuries ago and has brought nothing but victory in the names of my ancestors but I have tainted it with my shame." I would pause for a while as I thought about this, silent as I was it was apparent that many things were going through my mind as we walked.

Tainted it with his shame? What did he mean by that? I wasn't sure whether to pry or not so I simply pulled Ribenji from the sheath on my back and began to tell its story "My blade is Ribenji, he used to belong to my father and he used him in many battles, I inherited him after my father...passed. I haven't had much combat experience with him yet but I've practiced with him daily and am familiar with how he handles." I spun Ribenji around in my hand a few times before returning it to my sheath.

I would look to this boy's sword now and nod again as its history was told, "So we both carry the blade of our respective clans, warriors of honor and burden. In time I can see you becoming a true master of your blade as well as a protector of those who can no longer protect themselves." We would now approach an open field within the park that warriors often sparred in, in fact a group was finishing a show of talent for a group right now and they were often entertaining to view. I would point my thumb in the direction of the crowd and shrug as if to ask if the kid wanted to go watch.

I nodded as Shinobu finished his sentence, he was right. The goal of my organization was indeed to protect those who are incapable of defending against them themselves. I noticed that we had entered a training area that currently had a spar going on, and apparently Shinobu wished to observe them, which was perfectly fine with me. I nodded to Shinobu and approached the group of people, I was sort of excited to see how the spar was going.

As we approached we could tell that this spar was between a novice nearing his advancement to journeyman and his master, a wise elder of the sky village that all recognized as a member of the council. It was obvious that this boy was talented and that he may even pass this test which would call for celebration. A simply nod was all Shinobu did in response to his observations but it would convey his feelings of this boy's skill to Fukushu should he see it, Shinobu then thought of the benefits of combat and how open it requires one to be with his opponent but things of that nature were left to those of lower skill to make the challenges, one of the many codes of honor upheld in the sky that the old warrior found fascinating.

The fight was really interesting to watch, and it was prompting me to want to challenge my new companion. Clearly he wasn't the type to learn about via conversation, so maybe if we dueled each other we would learn more that way. I would say to Shinobu "Perhaps you would like the test our blades against each other?" I would wait patiently while continuing to watch the fight in front of us.

As I was at last challenged I looked to the kid and simply replied, "I thought you'd never ask." The fight before us was wrapped up in a few minutes and as that pair left the fighting ring I walked forward and stood in the center, my blade now drawn and pointed at Fukushu as a means to confirm to the others in the area that another spar would be starting now. I would them position my stance and my blade as I waited for him to to do the same so that this could begin.

I smirked as he spoke and followed him into the circle. I nodded to the crowd around us with a smile and pulled Ribenji from my back and held it out in front of me. I knew this man had much more experience in Kenjutsu than I, and I knew I would probably end up losing. It would be worth it though because I had read somewhere once before that the best way for swordsmen to get to know each other is through their blades, so this would be the best way for us to communicate.

I moved in quickly, my chakra already stirring inside me as I went in for a vertical swing to see if the kid would catch how open it would leave me. This battle would be a conversation without words starting with me asking if he could truly speak to me this way.

As the man swung vertically at me I would strafe to the right attempting to dodge it and would then swing my blade horizontally to the right aimed at the mans midsection. I completely expected him to block this, but the maneuvers should start basic and then work up, just as a conversation would start as small talk and then escalate into deeper topics.

With his dodge followed a strike, I as well would move to the side and meet his blade with my own. The sound of metal on metal perked the interest of those watching us and I couldn't help but smirk at that fact. He had proven he spoke the language though how fluent he was had yet to be seen so I would need to poke around further as I tested the waters. Our swords now free of each other I stepped backwards to put space between us followed by a powerful jab.

When the man jabbed forward at me I stepped to the right again and slashed diagonally from left to right aiming the shot at his shoulder. As of now it still seemed pretty basic but I believed that the fight would inevitably escalate to something a little more challenging.

My blade would continue forward and curve up to catch his blade once more, the two weapons would spin around each other before coming apart and leaving us at the ready once more. I looked him over again for a second, he was fluent and that meant it was time for us to have a proper conversation. My chakra would being flowing as I stood firm, it would seem odd for me to stop moving but all would be clear soon.

I would smirk as our blades clashed again and distance was put between us. I figured it was time for the depth of our conversation to begin to develop. I began with a tiny sarcastic plume of dust kicked up by my right foot but would instantly show how it was nothing more than a joke with a simple vertical sweep, easy to block.