Sketcher — Roleplayer Guild

~Katsu and Windspeaker~

The sky hung in an almost sullen state, its normally rippling layers of colour faded to dusky greys and murky blues, beset by dark clouds as if the skies themselves were rebelling against the sunshine and the warmth and happiness that accompanied it. Windspeaker Touho visibly sighed as she lay on her back, floating above the tallest building in the village, gazing at the sky above her. The weather was not necessarily unpleasant, but it evoked memories of her early childhood in the Land of Frost, and the gloom that had accompanied those years seemed to flood back to her now, polluting her emotions like the clouds polluted the sky. It was an almost beautiful metaphor.

With practiced precision, she sat up, turning her somber gaze down onto the village to gaze upon what was happening. The people were not discontent, most of the time, and despite the fact that they were under the Empire's oppression it seemed that they - deep down - perhaps enjoyed the sense of purpose and normalcy. She did not blame them for searching for the scraps of happiness that they could find - as a teenager, she had scoffed at the same advice... But the old adages were true, and as one got older it was easier to see the wisdom behind the seemingly false statements that one heard when they were younger. It was Touho's job to spread that wisdom to others, now, but they would likely be as arrogant as she was in her younger years. It was likely the priestess that had taught her was arrogant when she was young too. It was a vicious cycle, but a necessary one, for if wisdom was not hard earned then it would not be worth anything at all.

She chose to break the isolation and sanctity of her brief reverie in the skies, touching down upon the ground with a grace that suggested she performed this type of activity on a regular basis, and surveyed her surroundings from a more true to life perspective. The village was surprisingly barren, seemingly moreso than she had gathered from the skies, and she was lucky to see two people. She'd made out the forms of two Jinchuuriki earlier from her vantage point, and had noted the death of one of the Empire's soldiers with a heavy heart. It would be easy to think that all of one's enemies were evil, but evil was a matter of perspective, and it was perhaps not his choice to serve the empire - perhaps it was a fate forced upon him if he wished to survive, much like what had happened to her people. She did not view the situation with pity, but she would not judge his actions harshly. That was Takeo's job. She admired his passion and tenacity, but he was quick to judge and slow to change. He was not fit to be the leader of people in times of peace, but there was a war brewing on the horizon. His guidance would be welcome in the future, harsh or not.

Turning around, Windspeaker Touho noticed the familiar form of one of the Uchiha in the village - her vantage point in the sky had given her enough time to study most of the ninja in the village intently enough to recognise them from a glance at their form, and Katsu was no exception to this rule. She did not bother to actually initiate a conversation, but she walked in his general direction, and would stop as she got next to him, solemnly gazing on their surroundings. It would be up to him to initiate a conversation if he so chose - in the stifling air of the village, Touho would not have felt comfortable breaking the strange aura by speaking first.

Katsu was walking down the street, looking right and left, observing everyone around him. A smile curled up on the boy's mouth. He locked his crimson eyes on the groups on the street, reading their mouths. There weren't many people on the streets; the few people were either heading home or standing on the side, leaning on the walls and talking.
A grim expression replaced the joyful smile on Katsu's face when he saw a little boy and an old man sitting next to one another. He was looking at them as he walked, almost cut off from the rest of the world.
"Are we going soon, Pa'?" Katsu read.
The man's back was turned so he couldn't make out what he said but it was understandable from the excited expression on the boy's face that he had gotten the answer he wanted. The boy opened his mouth and started speaking when a familiar figure appeared in front of Katsu. The boy flinched and stopped. He immediately remembered the chakra flow.

It was the rebellion's Yodai Touho. She was one of his seniors; one of the strongest ones he knew of, renown among the lower-ranking rebels as a master of taijutsu and ninjutsu, matched by few. He didn't know much about her. He'd heard her being called Windspeaker but could never figure out why. He'd always thought it was because she was a skilled Fūton user but there were many people like that. The moment he recognized her chakra, all he could think of was senior.

"H-Hello, ma'am," he spat out, his body stiffening and straightening up. The sharingan faded and his eyes turned to their original bright blue color.

"Fuujin's blessings, Katsu." She replied with a solemn bow, turning her gaze towards him. While normally it might have been kind, or perhaps stern depending on who she was speaking to, it was simply ashen and solemn on this day - perhaps as a reflection of the grim weather and the nigh-deserted state of the village. She bowed as she spoke, hands clasped together as if to pray, before returning to her rigid upright position.

"Have you noticed the haze hanging over the village? It feels as if even moving is swimming through a swamp, heavy and slow, despite there being nothing to impede us... Or perhaps I am old and worry too much about the future." She added, letting out a small chuckle at the end of her sentence - but it did not sound like her heart was in it. Like the metaphor she'd described, her speech was heavy and slow, almost sullen. It was difficult to speak in a cheerful tone when she simply felt so bleak and hopeless. Perhaps after some rest she would feel better, or perhaps some hot food... Or perhaps she needed to be indoors, surrounded by warm candlelight and hot food. Some time to pray alone, or perhaps meditate. She simply needed something to take her mind off of the bleakness that had gripped the village.

Katsu kept his pose, watching her as she bowed and spoke. He awkwardly mimicked her movements, keeping his eyes on hers. The boy straightened up again, searching his vocabulary for the word fuujin.

After he listened to what she said, what the jōnin had said to him echoed in his head. He shook the thought away and looked up at the woman. He had an innocent smile on his face as he spoke.
"I'm sure everything's alright, ma'am," he said. "It looks like tonight's calm."

"It is the times of the most serene calm that are the most worrying, young one. Still, I am sure that you are correct. There should be little cause to worry." Touho replied, allowing the corners of her mouth to lift up a little into a small smile. The childlike innocence was almost refreshing, in a way. It reminded her of her younger days, before she had begun to doubt and lost her way... Before she had found Fuujin. The Wind God had been kind to her, he had lifted her far above the life that she had been destined to live, and for that there was nothing but eternal gratitude. Hopefully, he would live as blessed a life as she had.

"It does seem like the Wind God sleeps tonight. Perhaps that is something to take comfort in, or perhaps it is something that we should be wary of. Unfortunately, I do not have nearly as many answers as I do questions." She added, giving a slight breathy chuckle again.

"If you are interested, I would be happy to pay for a meal for you. In times like these, a hot meal can be soothing for the soul." the Windspeaker added, pointing to a nearby Ramen shop. She had always been known to give what she had to those less fortunate than herself, and it seemed that Katsu was the recipient of her generosity today.

The boy smiled upon hearing the woman offer him food. He knew that she was known as a kind person and he'd already witnessed more acts like this from her before but it was still rare to hear an offer like this from anyone.

Katsu was about to say that he had already eaten when his stomach rumbled. His face turned red and he laughed lightly.
"I... er..." He remembered that that was the first meal he had had in the last few days since he'd just returned from a mission. "I... I'd like that," he decided. "Though... I don't have any money left. I used everything I had earned from my last mission." He had a shameful and pitiful look on his face as he spoke.

"I would be happy to buy some food for you. Money is of little object to me." Windspeaker Touho replied, before taking a slight step to her right and heading in the direction of Ichikaru Ramen, inviting Katsu to follow her as she did so. She would remain silent for the duration of the walk unless she was spoken to, and as soon as they got to the store and entered in, she sat at a modest table for two before handing a menu to Katsu and offering him the choice of anything that he wanted to eat.

Touho herself ordered a modest dish of noodles and broth with pan-seared chicken as a topping, and paid immediately for the two to eat. She remained as solemn and pensive as she had been before while she waited for the food to arrive, but she would speak back if spoken to. With the Rebellion's planned attack on Konoha in the evening, she had been rather preoccupied thinking about it - what the consequences of it happening and her participation in it were - which innocent people would have to die in order to free themselves from the yoke of the Empire's reign. The thoughts were heavy, and their weight was almost palpable around her.

The boy smiled. "Thank you," he said warmly. He followed her as she walked towards Ichiraku's Ramen. Once she sat down, he mimicked her, sitting across her, his legs crossed. He looked back up to the woman again, waiting for her to give her order.

Katsu mouthed to Ichikaru once she had, "The same." The kind old man smiled and went to prepare their food.
"Um... Miss Touho," he started speaking after a short awkward silence. "I've always wondered... Why are you called Windspeaker?"

"The Windspeakers are the Warrior-Priests of Fuujin, the Wind God. In Shimogakure, I was Kage and Windspeaker both, but now that Shimogakure is under the control of the Empire, I am only Windspeaker." She replied, smiling a little as she did so. She was not one to evangelise, for those who found their way to worship of Fuujin of their own accord made for more devout followers, and she would avoid attempting to sway anyone towards her religion. Still, it pleased her that Katsu was at least curious about her title and its heritage.

"Devotion to Fuujin is... Not for everybody. The path of the Windspeaker is fraught with difficulty and sacrifice... But there are those of us that are willing to give everything for a truly noble cause. Not all people are so kind." She added, her face resuming its sombre look. There was nothing much more to say on the subject of her own accord without it sounding like she was preaching, but she would answer Katsu's questions as appropriate.

Katsu kept his eyes on hers as he listened to her. After having listened to her, he raised his head and looked up, thinking. "Fuujin..." He remembered the technique he'd copied off his old master during a mission. He smiled and looked back at her.

Sketcher Member

The Sketchful

Status

Bio

Most Recent Posts