Interlude: The Wisdom of the Years
MMKII
The Shining One
- Location
- Trapped in an extradimensional rift.
- Pronouns
- She/They
Interlude: The Wisdom of the Years
The forested hills of eastern Fang country were cool and sunny. It had rained recently, but not too recently, so the moisture was out of the air and in the ground. Kenji was thankful for that, and for the sun, since his bones tended to ache something fierce nowadays if the weather was a bit off.
Kenji leaned back on the boulder and uncorked the jug of liquor that he had brought with him.
"Beautiful day," Kenji remarked. He didn't bother pouring the heavily fermented plum wine into a cup, opting instead to just drink straight from the jug. He took a long swig, savoring the sharp taste of the fruity beverage as it bit into his tongue.
Have to be strong nowadays, he thought. Or I won't even taste it all that well.
It was common knowledge in the greater shinobi world that age roughly correlated with personal power, but nobody had ever warned him that old age brought a series of curses and misfortunes along with it.
"Did you summon me to watch you laze about all day, you old coot?"
Kenji looked over his shoulder at his companion, a small brown snapping turtle that was barely the size of a dinner plate.
"All you do is sit around and drink!" Genko said. The little turtle glared irately at him, and slowly, over the course of a few seconds, she stamped a foot down on the boulder with a clack.
For a member of the Turtle Clan of the Seventh Path, she was practically shouting.
Kenji raised an eyebrow. "What's got you in a tizzy? Relax and enjoy the pleasant weather while we have it."
"Hmph," Genko said. She shook her head to the side. "I will be speaking to my grandfather about this, summoner. I think he had more in mind for these outings than daydreaming and ogling human females."
Kenji's temper flared and he quashed his initial response with another swig of booze. He swallowed thickly.
"Don't start with me, you little whippersnapper!" Kenji said, a note of warning in his voice. "Grand Elder Genbu told me to drag you along more often, and that's what this looks like. You want to survive to my age? Slow and steady, kid. Slow and steady."
The Turtle Summoner drove home his message by standing up from the rock and slamming his wooden cane down on it several times. Genko watched this without saying a word, but Kenji knew that if the little snapper had a pair of eyebrows that one of them would be curled upwards in silent amusement.
Kenji bent over and took a deep breath.
Oof, looks like I overdid it a little.
His summoned companion cocked her head in concern. "Are you alright?"
Kenji huffed and puffed.
"Yeah, don't worry about me," Keni said. "Just, y'know, respect your elders, brat."
"Duly noted," Genko said, her voice dripping with sarcasm and fake sincerity. A breeze blew in from the south, and the small summon raised her head. She turned southwards and sniffed the air experimentally. "There are other humans approaching. Male and female. The wind is heavy with the scent of sweat and human-stink."
Kenji nodded. "Those'll be our targets. Princess Mei and whatever ninja she hired to be her bodyguard." The Turtle Summoner dropped his cane and bent down to touch his toes. "Let this be a lesson to you, kiddo. Good things come to those who wait."
"I swear, it's as if all of you old coots have some sort of wise-old-sayings pamphlet that gets delivered to you every morning," Genko said. She looked back at him as he started stretching his knees. "What in the name of the Great Black Tortoise are you doing, anyway?"
"Limbering up before the fight," Kenji explained. "Don't want me breaking a hip during it, do you? Your clan will be out of a summoner, and you'll be out a safe avenue to vent that ocean of disrespect you keep in reserve for wise authority figures. Shut yer gob and keep an eye out."
"Hmph," Genko said.
But she listened.
Kids these days, Kenji thought. He started jogging in place to warm up his legs. The Turtle Scroll jostled up and down as he did so, thumping lightly against the massive turtle shell he wore on his back. I have to speak to Genbu about this. I didn't spend half of my years working the beat for this clan just to have to put up with wise-ass youngsters. Where's the respect gone?
"They're here," Genko muttered. "Coming up the trail any second now."
Kenji peered over top of the rock, and waited. Two figures walked into sight.
The shorter one was the princess. She had her auburn hair tied back in Fang Country tradition, with war-paint dabbed generously across her face. The girl trod forward with a perpetual slight-frown, eyes darting to her companion as he made casual conversation.
The companion was the shinobi bodyguard. He was a young ninja that wore a light green flak jacket over a dark green shirt and similarly colored pair of trousers. The outfit was a crime against fashion on every account, a statement that Kenji silently approved of, given the amount of shit he'd been given for wearing the ceremonial shell over his many years of being Turtle Summoner.
The green-clad bodyguard sported the bushiest pair of eyebrows that Kenji had ever seen, bar none, as well as a ridiculous pair of bright orange leg warmers that were wrapped snugly around both of the man's shins.
Kenji instantly placed the shinobi bodyguard at jounin rank based on his outfit alone. No one else could possibly survive wearing such a hideously noticeable costume on a mission.
Kenji nodded. "Alright, get ready to watch some good fighting, kid."
"I'll be waiting."
Kenji scowled and mouthed a string of colorful obscenities, before vaulting over the boulder and landing in the middle of the trail. He stuck his arms out in a pose.
"Halt!" Kenji roared. Drops of spittle flew into the air. "For you face Furuya Kenji, the Turtle Hermit himself! The taijutsu master who has lived eighty eight years, the sensei of the Ox King, known to some as the Breaker of Mountain, the Shell-covered Devil, the—ack!"
Kenji broke off into a coughing fit as a bit of saliva went down the wrong pipe.
The two opponents before him stared at him. The princess's gaze was filled with complete contempt, but the green-clad bodyguard was looking at him in mock-concern.
"Old timer!" The bodyguard yelled. "Are you alright?"
A social spec eh? Well lets see who can out bullshit who.
Kenji scoffed and hacked out a lungful of phlegm onto the ground. He stood up and wiped his lips on the back of his fist. "Never better. So what do you say we skip the rest of the shinobi theatrics and all that shit and just duke it out, Mr. Eyebrows?"
The Green Devil before him knit his bushy eyebrows together in a look of confusion. The princess leaned over to whisper something in his ear. The bodyguard's face went from a mask of confusion to a sternly disciplined frown, and he nodded once.
The Green Devil brought his fists up into a guard stance. "I have just been informed by my companion that you are the Turtle Summoner, the very shinobi that has been tasked with hunting her down! I, Maito Gai, am duty bound to strike you down in the name of the Hidden Leaf, for Princess Mei's sake! Prepare yourself, elder one!"
The ninja's booming exclamation echoed around them, bouncing off of the rocks and trees to reverberate through the small little mountain pass.
Kenji adjusted his footing slightly.
A gust of wind kicked up some dust.
"I am quite prepared!" Kenji shouted. "As you will soon find out, Might Guy."
If the bodyguard took offense at the purposeful butchering of his name, he didn't show it. Instead, the green-clad warrior smiled brilliantly in response.
"Excellent! In deference to your age, I will allow you the opening strike."
The princess backed away slowly, eyes wide in alarm. She carefully walked over to the boulder on the roadside.
What is this guy's deal? Kenji thought. Is this some sort of trick?
"I think you'll find that I'm quite capable of fighting without a handicap!" Kenji said. "You should make your move, kid!"
Kenji noticed Genko trotting out from her hiding place from behind the boulder. She flomped down next to the princess.
Maito Gai shook his head once, and continued smiling that crazy smile. "I insist! It would be incredibly unyouthful of me to attack first!"
Kenji's temper flared and he bit back a response. If he got going on a rant now, it would leave him totally exposed to an attack. He blinked as he realized the gambit.
Clearly that's exactly what he's going for, Kenji mused. Clever. Whip me up into a frenzy, will he?
"If you value my age, then you should listen to your elders, kid!" Kenji said. "Bring it on!"
"But it would not be—"
"WOULD YOU TWO JUST FIGHT ALREADY!?" Genko screamed from the sidelines.
That kicked things off.
The Green Devil nodded, once, and then vanished in an emerald blur.
Taijutsu, looks like.
Perfect.
Kenji's fingers rapidly made hand seals in response to the incoming assault.
"Turtle Clan Secret Technique: Reflective Shell Barrier!" Kenji muttered. A series of hexagonal panels formed a hemisphere around him. The panels glowed blue for a moment, before fading from sight, the night invisible outlines of the shapes the only clue that they were even present.
An emerald comet danced around him for a moment, before a leg impacted his barrier ninjutsu with the force of an explosive tag. There was a deafening screech as the ninjutsu almost seemed to buckle under the stress, but the barrier held firm for an instant, absorbing the force of the blow.
The barrier exploded outwards at the point of contact, knocking the shinobi away with a cloud of dust and debris. When the dust cleared, Kenji saw the Green Devil standing in front of him with that damnable smile on his face.
The Green Devil, this Matio Gai, stepped forwards to experimentally test his footing. He winced slightly, but the infuriating grin never left his face.
"Barrier technique, kid," Kenji said smugly. "You hit me and you're just hitting yourself. I hope you have something more than taijutsu up your sleeve."
The smile got wider.
"Yosh! I think I will try hitting you harder first!"
The man blurred and slammed into his barrier again, and was once again blown backwards by the reflected force of the strike.
"Hmm," his opponent said. He gingerly clenched and unclenched his left fist, frowning in concentration. "It appears that I am struggling to overcome your defenses! Perhaps if I try to use more chakra, my youthful strength will win the day! Prepare yourself for another blow, Turtle Summoner!"
Kenji's jaw dropped. He was absolutely gobsmacked by the man's response, but the Turtle Summoner quickly turned his astonishment into a wheezing bout of laughter.
"Alright," Kenji said. "It's your funeral, kiddo. Let's see how long it takes you to die."
The only response that Kenji's opponent made was another smile.
Busy this week, so have this interlude.
While voting remains closed, I am extending last week's offer of bonus XP for thread interaction. Same terms for this week, +1 XP per customer (even if you commented last week) capped at 50 bonus XP in total over both weeks.
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