It's Time to Tell a New Story (Fauna/Raiden)

The Valley of the End, said the be the area to see the ending of some of the greatest battles the world had ever known, even the very battle that caused the moon fall and the creation of the hidden moon village within what was left of it. It was also where Fauna had come to, having come from the hidden moon to this place where the world was forever changed by one great battle. She stood on the mountain top as the river flowed by her, falling down into the waterfall as it crashed into the ground and continued on its course through the canyon.

"The world from old may have gone, but its now time to tell a new story, to write a new chapter in the story of this new world and to start it with my story" She said softly as the wind nuzzled gently passed her as she walked towards a nearby rock, her heels clicking with each step before she took a seat and continued to watch the beautiful yet war torn scene before her.

A white-haired man stood overlooking one of the waterfalls that fell into the valley of the end. He hadn’t been in the vicinity of his village in a long time, it was good to feel this air again. His hair and haori shifting slightly under the pressure of the light breeze blowing from the waterfall. He looked over in the distance, and noticed a woman was also overlooking the scenery of the memorial to the final battle of the war. His pearly eyes scanning her to see if he recognized her, but he did not. He decided it would be polite to introduce himself, and to have some company on this relatively nice day. He would back into a swirling ripple vanishing, before one appeared not far behind the woman where he emerged. He decided to go with a kind greeting to make sure not to catch her off guard, as he wasn’t sure if she had seen him earlier or not. “Ohayo, how are you this fine day?” It was said with a small smile that graced his typically blank features, his eyes being difficult to read due to the natural characteristics of his Byakugan, but his smile should give something away.

She hadn't really been looking around as she was enjoying the scenery, although she felt a unknown chakra, one normally released when a jutsu or a technique using chakra was used. This feeling seemed to appear behind her and she turned to see a older man appearing behind her. She didn't want to say elderly, but he definitely seemed more advanced in years. His irises were a soft lavender with no visible pupils, a clear sign of this man possessing the Byakugan. She saw him give her a soft smile as he asked her how she was doing on this fine day. From what she could tell, he seemed like he was simple out to enjoy the view as well and not a threat. She relaxed and replied.

"I am fine, how about you? I wasn't really expecting company here, not many people come here anymore. Are you here to see the view as well?"

Observing as the woman relaxed after she seemed to scan him over, Raiden would walk to stand next to her, not too close, but close enough to hold a conversation. Listening to her words, he would release a ‘hmm’ sound before replying. “I come here often to imagine what it looked like before it was made this way. You know, it used to be a beautiful forest before it was destroyed. I come to pay my respects to those who perished here, the innocents as well as the ones who brought this destruction on but didn’t survive long enough to feel the weight of their guilt.” He bore the weight of those he couldn’t stop from basically killing themselves. Most in his clan weren’t ready for the fights they encountered once they arrived here. Either way, he bore their guilt and would carry it to the grave.

She listens to the man as he comes up to stand by her as he explained that he came her regularly to what sounded like morning for those lost in the war that brought this destruction in the first place and from both sides of the conflict.

"You mean you were around when the war brought the old world into ruin? Not to sound rude, but you must be really old to remember and be there all that time ago" She asked, interested by this man who seemed to remember the old world. She then asked.

"oh do forgive me, I have been rude about something; I didn't ask your name, would you mind giving me your name?"

Raiden would continue to gaze off into the distance as she spoke, listening to her, but also reminiscing about the past. “My name is Raiden, and yes, I was here when this happened. It was a tragedy unlike any other.” He could practically hear the screams as his susano’o blade dug this crevice, slicing through shinobi and Ootsutsuki alike to end their conflict. He of course felt guilty for ending them, but he also knew that they had brought it upon themselves. Looking over to the woman he would ask a couple questions of his own. “I didn’t catch your name either. You are a Kunoichi of Tsukigakure, are you not?” It was easy to tell that she was a Kunoichi from the way she carried herself and from the way she had assessed him as a threat the moment he had shown himself to her, the true mark of not only a Kunoichi, but one with some experience.

She listened to the man who introduced himself as Raiden. The named kinda rung a bell, but she couldn't really put a finger on it just yet. He explained that he was there and it was a tragity like no other. By the tone of his words, he held onto a intense guilt and sadness on his shoulders as he seemed lost in thought or a better word, memories of a time long past. He came out of it, saying he hadn't asked her name either, noting she was a kunoichi of the hidden moon, which was fairly easy to tell as she wore her headband around her right upper arm. She nodded.

"I'm Fauna Yasenha and indeed I am of the hidden moon village. I'm not really on mission and was simply looking at the view and having a good old think about things"

So, his assumptions about her position in the village were correct. She wore her symbol proudly, as she should, her village, no, HIS village was worth the admiration. He missed being there, he knew they had a few memorials and statues made in his honor, and named buildings for him, but he didn’t have the courage, no.. he didn’t deserve to return there after killing his own family. He shook his head to rid himself of those thoughts, “Is the village still doing well? I haven’t been there in many years.” It’s true, he had been both wandering the earth and exiling himself on what was left of the moon. He kept up his training though, in case he needed to protect those innocent few left in his clan and around the world. He wondered though if such a threat was still looming on the horizon, he knew many still held the clan in contempt, so it wouldn’t be unreasonable to assume that there could be a threat coming.

She smiles sweetly at him, crossing her right leg over her left on and sitting in a more lady-like way.

"It's doing well, I should know; I'm a teacher at the academy there. I'm just happy to be teaching the kids and ensuring the next generation have the knowledge to keep themselves going well. I mainly teach the more advanced students, covering elemental chakra and some classes with the girls on...let's say unique ways to get information out of people" She explained, the last part Raiden would probably guess was something sexual in nature by the way she described it and the vagueness of what she taught the young kunoichi in her classes.

He would nod to what she said, “Important skills indeed. It never hurts to be prepared to take on any mission, as you never know what the world will throw at you.” He would glance off to the side, towards the village. He wondered if there were any at his level there these days. When he left, most of them were pitifully weak compared to what he saw stand out during the war, he was almost appalled by it. But he was glad that a time of relative peace allowed the next generation to enjoy things he could not. Even if it made them a bit weaker, he would be there to defend them until they caught up. Turning back to her, “What are your goals in life? Surely you don’t plan to teach at the academy forever, as noble a position it is, you look young and full of vigor! I’m positive you have high aspirations for yourself!” He might not look more than his mid-twenties if one was close up, though his traditional white hair often made him look his true age, he was old and it showed at times.

She listens to him as he said that what she did was important of the skills she taught the kids at the academy and how being prepared for anything is important for what the world might throw at you.

"Indeed, it's basic theory for ninja to be ready for anything and even if students tend to specialize in different things, its important to understand how other tools of the trade work so you know how to counter them. The samurai's ability to counter ninjutsu by striking faster then hand seals can be cast is a great example of this...oh sorry, I'm going into my teacher mode, I'm sure you already know that" She said before stopping herself, looking a bit embarrassed. He then seemed to go distant again before coming back, asking her what her goals in life were. She looked out towards the valley and the river.

"Well, I guess getting to become a Jonin and join the ANBU in terms of my ninja career. As for my personal goal..." She looks up to the sky, "...I want to find out what happened to my father and how he achieved blood sage mode. Devil blood is already inside me, so it's like I'm destined to follow in his footsteps to become a blood sage myself, even though its one of the darkest sage mode variants of all the sage modes" She explained to him, speaking of the highly taboo and what most would call extreme dark and evil blood sage mode.

He would listen intently, chuckling softly to himself as she corrected herself for ‘teaching’ him. In fact, he was all too aware of the way the world threw things at you, in the worst ways. He then listened to her plans for the future, both lofty goals and the more personal one gave him pause. That was an ancient form of sage jutsu that he had only read about. He had no idea someone in recent history had mastered it, incredible. “Some may consider that jutsu to be evil, but I do not believe in such things as good and evil. I believe in the concept of personal gain through your actions. We as humans do very little for true altruistic purposes, usually, even if subconsciously, we expect to gain something in return for any kind act or heroic deed. We are selfish creatures, which is the reason this crater was created in the first place.” He said the last part gesturing to the massive, jagged line in the ground. It was clear that he had a rather cynical outlook on life for the person he seemed to be when he spoke.

She nods, it seemed he was aware of the dark nature of blood sage mode, but didn't mention how much he knew as he explained his cynical outlook on life as he gestured to the massive, jagged line in the ground nearby.

"Indeed, some called it part of the dark sage arts; my father was said to have gained perfect blood sage mode; something practically unheard of, even by others who had tried to attain it had only gotten halfway or even died at the first stage. To think he survived all that pain and hardship to reach that point, yet after a few months after I was born, he disappeared and ever since, I've been wanting to find him and get answers. Besides, if what you say about the nature of selfishness is true, I never would of become a teacher; I don't become a teacher for money or to reap some kind of reward for it, I do it simply because I love being around children and being a mentor to them, even though kids also bullied me when I was younger due to my bloodline and my father; I still maintain that there can be good in the world. It's like being in a cave; it's mostly dark, but if you look hard enough, there's always a light somewhere. I guess another way to look at it is being able to see the trees instead of the whole forest and appreciate the beauty of it. Even here where the world came to a end and began again; there's still a beauty here, despite the endless battle that went on here. I guess to sum up; there is balance in all things. As human beings, we are not perfect; we make mistakes, do horrible things to each other, but, we always have to remember that there is also so much good we do as well. Something I was thinking of was treating what happened before as a chapter of a book; it's come to a end and now, It's time to tell a new story, a fresh chapter where my journey begins in making a impact on this world"

Raiden would glance out of the corner of his eye at the woman. “Well, hopefully your impact is more positive than mine was. I assume you are skilled in elemental manipulation, given that you give instruction on the subject in the academy. What elements do you specialize in?” He was interested, it wouldn’t be uncommon for one to find someone with some fancy dual element release or a new kekkei genkai he had never come across before. So, it never hurt to be curious and to learn new things. Of course, it was also possible she only knew a few of the traditional elements, which was also fine, it was good to be well rounded after all! He liked to think he was well rounded after all, but he knew he could always broaden his skill set, provided he kept his current masteries up to par with anything new he learned.

She nods.

"Well, nothing too fancy; I possess fire and lightning release, although my lightning release seems to do things that I've not seen normal lightning release do. Plus I can do this" She says before quite calmly, taking out a kunai and cutting her hand. However, what Raiden would see mixed in with normal blood is what appeared to be black blood within it as it dripped onto the ground before more black blood formed onto the wound, sealing it up and before his eyes, the black blood sealed the wound and then it appeared like she had never cut herself in the first place.

"This is why I was bullied in the past is the blood I have and what it can do, even like this; the black blood is directly linked to the path of the blood sage and why I believe I'm destined to follow in my father's footsteps"

Raiden would listen and observe as she explained her unique traits to him, even demonstrating what she would do with her unique blood type. Raiden was quite impressed by the ability, though he doubted it would be potent enough to work on any major wounds, but he supposed it wasn’t likely he would find out at this time. “That’s a neat trick, is it able to heal more serious wounds or just smaller ones? Because it doesn’t seem like it works on a large scale, though I have no way of knowing its limitations for sure. Of course, it’s none of my business. Best to keep that information out of the hands of any potential enemies.” He said the last part with his own past in his mind, he had made that mistake too many times and it cost him dearly.

"Well, never really tried, although when I did have serious injuries, it kept healing me, I guess it takes longer to heal multiple wounds, but most healing factors tend to work like that, so I doubt mine is any different, although you have to realize one thing...this is what this devil's blood does when I only have it alongside my regular blood; imagine how strong its healing factor becomes when all my blood is turned into devil's blood?" She explains, having a somewhat disturbing fascination of her own blood and this black blood or devil's blood she has inside her. She then stands and stretches.

"But you are right; telling someone exactly how your powers work only leads to a ninja's downfall, there are many historical tales of such things happening. Of course, there is always the chance I'm either lying to you or not revealing everything to keep two steps ahead of you" She explains as she stands and looks at Raiden.

"So, what will you do now, Raiden?"

Raiden let out a sigh as he pondered over the question for a moment. He supposed that he could fight the girl, but he was certain that she wouldn’t match up, but she had a lot of potential. Maybe he would head off to do some more training or check out another locale that he hadn’t been to in a while. Either way, he figured he was done wasting her time for the moment. “I guess I’ll go continue my journey as you begin yours. I’ll find you again one day, once you are stronger so that I may test your strength and the abilities of your blood sage mode. Until that day comes, keep growing stronger, for you are the defender of Tsukigakure!” With that said his eyes would shift to a red color, swirling in on themselves into a more complex design before he swirled out of existence using Kamui as a quick travel mechanism.

[exit]

She listened to him speak and she had to admit, he had a way with words, although he mentioned one day, he'd like to fight her once she was strong enough to fight him on equal footing and test the power of the blood sage mode. He mentioned that she should keep getting stronger and become a defender of the hidden moon before she saw his eyes changed from the Byakugan to what appeared to be a highly evolved sharingan.

"Wait, this power, it can't be...hey, wait!" She said, reaching out to him before he disappeared out of existence and she was left on top the valley of the end.

"I guess he was right then; that power...I've only read about it, but even then; I've never heard of someone possessing both Byakugan and Sharingan at the same time" She said to herself before looking towards the direction of the hidden moon.

"Well, he is right though; I need to be stronger and if we ever came to blows against someone like that, then I have to be strong enough to protect the village and the people in it" She said before she disappeared as she dashed back to the village, knowing what she had to do next and she knew what she was going to get; the famed lightning release jutsu: Chidori.

[Exit]