When the comforts of civilization begin to dull our senses, we must never forget that in the beginning, there was war. And war. And more war. Long before there were empires, there were humans consumed with greed and the hunger for power. Resources, territories, information—these were the forms of sustenance upon which we preyed. Today, we call such habits vices. Oh, how arrogant we have become! Are we not still impelled by those primordial emotions? Is the advent of war so far-fetched? But alas, for you to truly understand, we must dive deeper into this land’s half-forgotten past.
There was a time when might was the only law that humankind knew. Fearsome clans roamed throughout the land, seeking amenable grounds within which they could take root and opposing forces against whom they could test their mettle. Given the irregularity of nature’s bounty, certain regions appealed more than others, and dominion over such coveted territories became the spark that ignited the earliest inter-clan wars. These fierce, internecine affairs tended to conclude only when one side had decimated their competition into oblivion, and many clans of story were rendered extinct during this period.
The victors of war, having claimed their territories, often made truces with surrounding locals, offering protection in exchange for access to the yields of agriculture. Over time, certain communities emerged as more dominant than others, either due to numbers or sheer talent, and their rapid expansion would force smaller, neighboring communities to either collapse into their fold or be devastated. When the dust settled, humankind found itself divided into the five major territories that we are familiar with today. And was the bloodshed over? With our lands obtained and our bellies filled, were we finally content?
06/01/2023 June is for Juggin
We made it y’all, another month of OTA, and fresh off the press we have another promotion ready. Leaving behind the opening bonus sadly, we welcome the jugggggg! June is for juggin AKA working hard, so we are making it a double rewards month for every mission completed! Yes we said it's double rewards, now you all can really get into the thick of those builds if you work hard enough. And who knows what you might uncover in the process. AND all jobs are free to enroll no quest EXCEPT ANBU(Black Ops) roles.
Whilst he knew that he was probably delivering her some - quite literal - home truths, he didn't expect her to break down so easily. It w̵͚͛a̵̦͝s quite fun̴̝͑n̷̹̓y̸̤̑, really. Though Yuurei's life hadn't taken him down the path of murder, he imagined this is what it felt like to twist a knife deep within someone's g̶̝͝û̷̯t̴̳̿s and watch as flesh stripped from bone. The layers which he was actively prying apart were more mental than anything else, though it didn't make it any less intoxicating for him.
"..Faith? What has that got to do with anything?" he asks, musing over the concept for a moment, the thought of the word nearly causing a laugh to rupture from his thin lips. "I've never heard someone try so desparately to try and convince themselves - you're not fooling anyone". Her comments on his home life didn't phase him - that ship had long since sailed and he wouldn't take the words of a hysterical woman to heart. Passing the threshold of the store, Yuurei gave the occasional glance behind him to see whether or not the pink-haired kunoichi was following him. With the doorway wide open, he could hear the elderly shopkeeper audibly sigh at the sudden raised volume, as if this hadn't been the first time he'd seen Yuurei work his magic first-hand. Considering the Nara clan symbol hung proudly behind the register, it wouldn't be a surprise. What entertainment he'd found previously in the woman's emotional response to him suddenly became all-together something else when he realised that she was indeed following him out of the store, and she hadn't turned the dial down, either.
Stepping out to the street, his figure warmed beneath the strong sunlight of the day, and he could practically feel the humidity having now left the air-conditioned store. Sighing, he took a few more paces and then turned once more to face her. The pink hue of her hair could now be attributed to her face, which had since changed several shades over the last few minutes as she lost her composure. She looked enraged. Maybe he had pushed her too far. Standing his ground and watching as she came nearer and nearer, moments before the two would collide, the Nara rose his arm, holding it before him to form a barrier between himself and Honoka and pressing down gently on her right shoulder to prevent her from venturing further - or hurting herself. The move, though physical, was oddly respectful.
After a brief moment of silence, he finally utters a low "Cut it out", then drawing in close enough to whisper: "..Your behaviour serves to only embarass yourself, and them. If they mean as much to you as you say they do, then you would know to stop" Honoka would have known, that based on their conversation - could you call it a conversation? - that the 'them' in question was her family. He wasn't sure how large the Minamino clan were, but he was pretty sure that if they caught wind of her little meltdown then they wouldn't be too happy with her. Should pinkie try and barge past, he would keep his grip steady - not enough to hurt her, but firm enough to keep her in her place.
"Breathe"
he commands, his yellow, catlike eyes locking in on hers.
And then he blinks, catching the previously un-noticed green hue of her hair. She must have dyed the ends, or something. His left hand raises, and should she not go to stop him, he would gently take a few strands in his hand before lowering his right arm back to his side once more.
"..This is new?"
Was this an attempt at calming her down? Either way, his gaze softened a little.
The further Yuurei pushed, the further Honoka spiraled into her pounding headache via her opposing mentalities. After years of mental conditioning, it was no wonder that she broke down easily. Her only naive interactions as a child were with her family and, briefly, during her academy years. The young woman was as hopelessly socially inept as one could possibly be and was only made worse by her inability to read social cues. All in all, these were all new concepts to her. To have someone be so vicious while she was merely trying to exist was unbearable.
When he grabbed her, she instantly began to resist and, surprisingly despite his rather thin frame, he was stronger than she was at least. Able to hold her into place, for a moment he spoke reasonably to the genin and informed her of how wrongly she was handling the situation. The only problem was that both of them had underestimated just how emotional she was now, having been driven into the brinks of despair even if for just a moment.
She felt her hand curl up at her side and she instantly recognized that she was about to punch him, when he examined her newly died hair closer. A thin veil of blush spread across her cheeks, causing her curled hand to open up and slap his hand away after he had softly touched it. She would recoil a few inches away, causing her to stumble over her own feet and plummet down. Regaining her balance, she would dust herself off and attempt to avert his gaze. Having him so close and in that moment so tender had made an odd feeling blossom through her bosom. He was someone who made her furious, he was giving her literal head pains with just his words.
"You don't get to be the one to push me there and then act like that," she said, hoping that she sounded calm or pissed instead of breathless like she actually was.
She still disliked him for many reasons, and he was so incredibly infuriating, and yet...
"Besides, there's no one left in my clan to embarrass. Our standing is as low as could be, the only place we can go is up," she says the second part audibly, but it is to herself as she says it while looking at the ground becoming lost in her thoughts. Half of her being wanted to run away and pretend today never happened, the other half felt the need to 'complete' the interaction in a manner of speaking.
It seemed as though his lackadaisical attempt at simmering down the melting pot of rage that Honoka had become over the last few minutes didn't come to much fruition. Or at least, whilst she clearly wasn't shouting any more, she still had that look on her face. He could feel her diminutive frame press against his hand to the best of her ability, but it was all for naught - the Nara, whilst not an absolute beefcake, attributed much of his strength to his height, and unfortunately Honoka's own came up short in comparison, quite literally. And so he stood, even tolerating the cat-like Smack! that left his hand stinging ever so slightly. I would, however, warrant no real response from the Nara bar from that hand then outstretching as if to support her as she ....! began to stumble backwards. But, despite his lengthy arms, it was to no use, and he could only but watch as she fell unceremoniously on to the earthen floor below. Oops.
Watching as she regained her posture and rose to her feet, he noted that though she'd seemed to calm down for the most part, her face remained a very similar shade of pink to her face. Giving her a few moments to catch her breath and turn herself down a notch, Yuurei crosses his arms, watching on at him with one eyebrow raised, as if trying to understand the sorry creature before him. "..Act like what?" he'd ask with a genuine spark of ignorance, wrinkling his nose at her statement. Though it took a moment, he could see the vivid red drain steadily from her face, and her command of herself return.
'Besides, there's no one left in my clan to embarrass. Our standing is as low as could be, the only place we can go is up,'
Yuurei hadn't the same issue - the Nara, whilst having gone through their own trials and tribulations over generations, had remained relatively strong despite their numbers dwindling and reputation thinning. What had once been a strong, proud clan hailing from Konohagakure had since diversified and expanded worldwide - as a result, despite his father and forefathers before him all being Konohagakure shinobi with traces to original heads of the clan, the further down the line went, the more robbed they became of that burden of leadership. Or at least, robbed is how some of his relatives saw it - Yuurei saw the devolution as a mixed blessing.
After a brief moment of considering her words, he utters "If the status of your family is as low as you say it is, then it sounds like the journey there started years before you were even born, Pinkie". Standing barely two meters away now, their interaction had cooled, with fellow citizens having stopped paying attention to the two. As infuriating as he is, Yuurei had a point. She couldn't be older than 20, perhaps earliest at most, and felt the weight of her family's expectations crushing her. "Their devolution isn't your burden to shoulder. They should know better than to put that on you." he affirms, staring at her from across the path. If the Minamino clan was failing to thrive, then they'd only have the older generations to blame for not future-proofing their lineage, not this pink-haired, girly thing before him.
........
His eyes lower to the tips of her hair again, his lips curling to a smirk as a smug statement was spoken:
"This is new"
What had previously been a question, was now a confirmation. Unless it had been green this whole time and he hadn't realised, which, given Yuurei's typical interest level of others, also wasn't too hard to imagine.
The situation had many twists and turns, and it had all started out rather mundane. She just wanted to go to the store and acquire some seeds, she didn't expect that her whole identity to be stricken and twisted like a delicious, salt-covered pretzel. The very ideas and foundation she had believed and put her faith in was crumbling before her. It was funny that the man would bring up Stockholm syndrome while so casually, almost, replacing her parents as the abuser.
Honoka couldn't tell what his meaning, his intent, was and she could only make out what was in front of her. Her display was careless and unhinged, but that was what she was steadily approaching. Slowly but surely she's finding a descent into darkness, unable to cope with the realization that the puppets she creates have more life than she.
On reflection, it was easy enough to be able to pick apart what Yuurei was saying and attach them to specific moments in her past that she had overlooked. It was true that the burden wasn't hers to bear, at least not alone, and it was even more true that it had been a battle waged over the many years. It hadn't started with her, but due to her conditioning she felt as if it was just a hard truth and if she didn't do something about it then who would?
"Regardless if they shouldn't or should, it's now my burden..." she murmured, mostly to herself, but also as she started reflecting inward. She wasn't very happy with what she found within.
She had ignored him the first time when he asked the question, intending not to answer the question concerning her recent hair dye. The next time that it was mentioned, Yuurei said it more like a statement with one of his signature shit eating grins.
"Yes, they're new. I wanted a fresh start, a new change..." she stopped when she was about to say the words 'blank slate', her mind becoming clouded at the thoughts of...new possibilities. Between Kaori and Yuurei, the amount of emotions and embarrassment she had suffered and learned was immense, but it all sought to pave the way for Honoka to truly awaken and become her own person.
What that person would look like afterward, was something that would remain to be seen.
Life now continued as normal on the street they found themselves on, what had previously been a standoff now dimmed to a simple exchange of words. Just as the heat of the moment had quelled, so had the attention that had drawn to the both of them. Whilst certainly an unlikely pair, a tall, almost ghost-like man and a woman whose blood surely ran as pink as bubblegum, people continued about their day, walking past them and getting on with their day-to-day lives. Whilst Yuurei's goal hadn't exactly been to antagonize her, he had through his words achieved it, and there was a clear feeling of unease in the air from Honoka's part that hadn't been there during their conversation a week or so prior. Perhaps she'd been thinking. Gazing on, Yuurei listened - she seemed upset. How many times had he told her that none of this mattered? The girl was knee-deep in generational trauma.
"Regardless if they shouldn't or should, it's now my burden..."
"Have you ever considered that it doesn't have to be?"
Perhaps that comment would stick his foot right back in it, or maybe not. He searched her deep green eyes for some answer, but came back with nothing. Oh well - something for her to consider at least. Turning his attention back to her hair, the tips now confirmed to be newly dyed green. Being of Nara heritage, his hair was very inkeeping with that of his relatives being long and dark. He'd known a cousin or two to experiment in dyeing their hair, but it never ended up looking good. He'd also considered it in his youth, but it remained untouched. Though often worn in a messy bun (Rivalling that of many Konohagakure kunoichi who had on occasion been clearly jealous of how well he pulled it off), it sometimes was worn down - rarely. "It suits you, pinkie. Brings out your eyes" he spoke, bringing a hand up and pointing his forefinger animatedly at his own left eye. For Honoka, who had exchanged a variety of words (pleasantries and some not-so pleasantries) with Yuurei so far, would likely not be too surprised by this ..compliment? But, it was a little left field, even for him.
Opening his mouth, he pauses, before speaking: "I need to go" at least he was being honest - he had things to do, and this little run-in had already taken a short chunk of his day away from him. Not that he hadn't enjoyed - or had he? He wasn't sure. Maybe ambivalent was the word to use in this situation. "..You didn't get your seeds" he comments, eyes glancing back at the store they were just in, before turning back to Honoka. Placing his hands in his pockets, his right hand fumbled with the pair of scissors he'd just purchased, as if to make sure they were still there.
The piece of glass that was her life had been effectively shattered, and she was desperately trying to push the shards together in order to ensure the survival of the whole picture. It didn't matter what that picture was, it was the only thing that she knew and he was causing her to question her values, her very way of life. To say that it was detrimental was to say the least. She was simply living the way she believed was intended, for him to make her doubt the very core of her being was traumatic.
If she took that closer, introspective look then she would surely be unable to handle it. It would be one situation if she had actually desired this outcome and had been searching for a way free. To tell a prisoner that their way of life was wrong, while still locked behind those bars, it was torture. She was becoming a manic mess and she feared that if she was to endure much more then she wouldn't be able to control herself more than she already was.
"Have you ever considered that it doesn't have to be?"
Her thin lips let out an audible sigh, as she hadn't quite expected words like that to come from the man. The truth was that she hadn't, it had never even been a possibility. Her life was either succeed or fail, and failing came with such negative and horrifying connotations that she dared not even consider it.
"Not until today, thank you for that," she added wryly, though oddly without the tinge of sarcasm that she usually carried about her.
Taking a full 180 in the conversation he went back to complimenting her and, with another shock, he actually noticed how the color of her eyes complimented the color of her freshly dyed tips. It wasn't as if she desired someone to notice, but it was still a nice feeling in the midst of the whirlwind of her emotions.
She had taken up a bit too much of his time, it seemed, and so it was time for them to part ways. He reminded her of the seeds she had came for, originally, but she was too far gone to be worried about such frivolities. She gave him a weak smile and goodbye, before heading on her own way. She had many things that needed to be sorted through in order to grow as a person.
"I'll see you around, Yuurei," she murmured, before slowly setting off toward the place that she had treasured as home for so long...
