Gathering Storm [Kanna]

Jinno and Kanna had taken little time to rest over the last few days, their exodus from the Storm had left them with little option but to leave the island altogether. They managed to find a boat and with some effort had set off out toward the Land of Rain. Fortunately, they had favourable weather, and they made the crossing without incident. They stowed the boat away on the shore, hiding it with some quickly scavenged branches and foliage before they set off toward the village itself.

They had landed near a fishing town on the outskirts of the island, seemingly left untouched by any raiders. There wasn’t much to the place, with a few shacks built near the water, and a collection of buildings around a central well. They found somewhere to get some food thanks to a small tavern.

As well known as he was, Jinno’s disguise had held up well enough even after he set his hat aside. It was hard to picture the heir of the Moriyama in some old cloak and the basic travelling gear. He looked more like a roaming mercenary than a shinobi.

They got themselves some supplies after a decent meal and went on their way, heading inland toward the Rain Village.

--

This trip didn’t take nearly as long, with the roads being oddly clear all the way towards the place. “Have you seen anyone? Seems weird doesn’t it.” Jinno commented as they approached the location of the hidden village. As expected, the rain was pouring by that point but those fancy hats did have a purpose. He’d done a few missions in the area before, and normally this would be a fairly well travelled road.

It became very apparent that everything wasn’t well in the Rain. Pillars of smoke rose from the distance, and what buildings they could see were in disrepair. The violence had subsided mostly, if only because there was no one left.

The frown on Jinno’s face was rather obvious, seeing such mindless destruction could only mean the Storm had already started meddling. He found it hard to believe there could be any other culprit. The Leaf wouldn’t bother unless they had been attacked, and the Dust shinobi were simply too far away for it to be worthwhile.

The potential for Anami to have predicted this to be his first stop might have lead to the attack in the first place, which he decided was unlikely if only to spare him the guilt for the moment. “Keep an eye out Kanna, whoever did this might still be around.” Jinno himself was less concerned for his own safety, and was confident he’d be able to protect Kanna should the need arise.

Kanna managed to keep up as well as possible with Jinno the last few days. She knew they had to leave the island. Even though Anami let him leave the village, she wasn’t about to make it easy for Jinnosuke. She had placed a large sum of money on his head should he be captured or killed. They were offered a smaller sum for Kanna, but with both of them, they could get a bonus. How could she do this? Kanna was no traitor to the Storm. She didn’t even belong to them, for the most part. In any case, she was helping the former heir to the throne, so it wasn’t too far out of reach. Thankfully, they would enlist the help of a boat to take them across the water, where they would find food. Kanna was thrilled, until she realized she couldn’t remove her mask. So, she simply pretended she wasn’t hungry and ordered food to take on the road with her. When Jinno wasn’t playing her any kind, she would sneak bites of her meals and snacks. As far as she could tell, nobody had noticed the both of them with their faces covered.

——

Coming up on the Rain Village, Jinno would begin to express his uncertainty toward the state of the village. ”I haven’t. Should I? I didn’t think this village was very populated to begin with. Is it abnormal to not see people?” Kanna would ask looking around. The roads seemed eerily silent now that he mentioned it. The rain poured down on top of the duo and whatever remnants of tracks there had been were now melded into the mud. Kanna’s eyes focused past the rain running off of her hat and toward the tops of the village walls. Smoke? ”Hey, do you see that?” She would ask, perplexed by the amount of fires that seemed to be scattered about. As they grew closer, it was obvious that this village had been through quite the traumatic event. What was happening? Who would do this?

Jinno would tell her to keep an eye out, but she wouldn’t have to look for very long. A figure was making its way toward them straight out of the main gate. ”Jinno… wait,” Kanna would reach out and grab his arm. ”Who is that?” The figure didn’t seem deterred by their presence at all. In fact, it came closer and closer, until her features were noticeable through the dense rain. She would promptly stop, tilting her head at the duo. ”The rain. It really dampens the senses, but I’d know that scent anywhere. The Moriyama always smelled different, metallic like the forges Fuyu works out of. Then again, it could just be those swords. Not like I care enough to find out why. Jinnosuke, I’m assuming? Hard to tell with that funny hat.” The way she let the rain drench her being wasn’t strange in the slightest. Gina had always been a bit unique and the elements didn’t seem to bother her much. It was all part of nature anyway.

“It’s smaller than most of the other villages, but there’d usually be some movement around here.” Jinno explained while they walked closer towards the ruins that lay ahead. He became too focused on what the potential cause could be that he would have almost missed the Storm shinobi casually walking by. This one he was more familiar with, of course it was likely at this point that Gina would be working for Anami. “We’ll see, just be ready. That bounty was enough money for some people to risk their lives.” He stopped on the trail and waited for the woman approaching to speak.

She went on to comment about some sort of scent that the Moriyama clan had, so their disguises weren’t foolproof. Not that it mattered. “That’s right. You know you’re the first member of ‘Lady Anami’s’ new regime that’s found me. Lucky you!” Jinno’s hand drifted down to his blade. “So, I’ve got an offer for you. Explain what happened here and I’ll let you go.” Really, she was lucky he hadn’t seen what had gone on inside the village walls yet. Though lying now when he was going to go, and check might not be clever either.

“Start talking.” Jinno’s tone made it clear that wasn’t really an offer, it was a demand. What Jinno might do if he was denied wasn’t so easy to guess. He was known to be a rather level-headed shinobi, during his father’s reign he had been an outlier when compared to the other Moriyama. That wouldn’t mean safety of course, as soft hearted as he might seem Jinno was still a shinobi. She’d just have to make a choice.

Kanna would listen to Jinno as he warned her about the bounty. She hadn’t really thought about what people might do to get it. The girl would slip herself slightly behind him, as the woman approached the duo. She couldn’t fight this one either, but Jinno would be more than enough for her. She was strong, but he was stronger. He seemed to be in a very serious mood. Was it the sight of the village ablaze? Was he just angry that she was Storm aligned? Or was he just trying to intimidate her? Kanna wasn’t sure, but she wouldn’t get in his way.

Jinno demanded answers from Gina, placing his hand on his sword as a sign that he would attack her should she misspeak. A frown was evident on the woman’s features. Her eyes drifted between the duo, as she smirked at Kanna hiding behind her friend. ”I didn’t know I was supposed to be looking for you. Yay me! What do I get?” She would ask before she set her sights on his hand. He was reaching for his blade? What did she do? Oh, this was serious time, okay. ”Okay okay. Didn’t realize we were on such bad terms, Jinnosuke. How mean.” Gina would say as she poked out her lips and crossed her arms.

”Okay, look. We came here to take the village. Storm influence or whatever. We were told to take control and then we could use this village as an outpost to get to other places on the continent, right? Well, little did Lady Anami know that these swordsmen are fucking chaotic! They do whatever they want! They don’t care! Listen, Jinnosuke, the Boom Boom Sword is in there and it is WORKING… a little too well.” Gina would shake her head with a deep, exhausted sigh. ”What's the point? Innocent civilians. Women and children. I’m not here to be part of that. That’s not what my mission was. Those children were innocent and I’m sorry to say, they’re using your name. The evil Moriyama clan, the evil emperor, sent the Storm Shinobi to destroy them. They don’t know that the Arashimage isn’t your father. The news never made it here. We got here first.”

Gina would put her hands up in the air, as if surrendering to the former heir. ”I’ve done some shit. Fought some shinobi, but I didn’t kill no innocents, Jinnosuke. You have to believe me. I just want to go home now.”

Jinno scowled, unsure if Gina was taking him seriously at first only to see her quickly realize he wasn’t playing about. Only a few days ago he would have considered her a comrade. “If you didn’t immediately decide to side with my father’s assassin we might not be. Ignoring our current circumstances.” He calmed himself, at let the woman speak her part in the attack.

The story was about as bad as he would have expected, the reasoning for the attack wasn’t of interest, but he had hoped that the swordsmen would still be back in the Storm. “Arata? They sent him alone?” He was known to be a particularly cruel member of the Seven Swordsmen, and without anyone to watch him they'd essentially let a wild animal reign free. Jinno sighed, things were getting more complicated by the second. Worse still, they were targeting the civilian population specifically. Trying to blame the attack on his clan made some sense, at least if he saw it as part of Anami’s game. He silently thought over his options, tilting his hat back slightly to properly look his former ally in the eyes.

“You’d better not be lying to me Gina.” The dull red seemed more lively than usual, darker. “Tell Anami not to wait around for anyone still in there, they won’t be coming back.” He began to move, nodding to Kanna to follow and keep close as they passed.

There was an uneasy few moments as he walked by, pausing only to pull his old headband out and toss it to the side. “Next time we meet, I hope it’s on better terms. It’s a shame it’s come to this.” He had nothing else to say to her, but he truly had no quarrel with her. Orders were orders, someone like Anami wouldn’t have given her a choice.

--

Jinno walked onward after the short interaction, silently awaiting Gina to vanish off into the rain before a silence crept over the scene. He was conflicted as to how to proceed. Assuming he’d been told the truth, the only real unknown was the Amekage.

“I’m not sure I want you to be here for what comes next Kanna.” He frowned, breaking the silence. His real concern was letting her see just how much anger might have built up. How that anger might make him fight. “It might get dangerous.” He chose to make it more of a safety concern, that was normal. They passed close to the main gate, which was slightly ajar and unguarded. He stopped before crossing the threshold. “It’s up to you though.” He added, turning to wait for her decision.

”What do you expect me to do? Turn my back on my home because someone else took charge? You know it’s not that simple.” She was sure he would take this as an excuse, but it didn’t have to make sense to him. What did make sense was when he realized what the Arashikage had done. Setting one of the Seven free to do what they pleased wasn’t typically a bad thing. She knew a few who were actually sane enough to know when they needed to stop. This guy, on the other hand, was completely unhinged and didn’t have a moral compass. So, it seemed that Jinno got the picture when he realized the swordsman was alone. However, what she really focused on was the fact that Jinno believed she would lie to him. Gina would gasp, placing her hand on her chest, ”Have I ever lied to you? I’m not much of a liar, Jinnosuke. I’m not smart enough for that and you know it.”

He seemed pretty keen on the idea that nobody else would be leaving this village, which was perfectly fine with Gina. She had no obligation to them, especially after what they did to this place. ”Well, see you around! Good luck!” The woman would say passing up the duo as they continued toward the village.

———

Kanna had watched the whole situation, although she didn’t quite understand why this was so bad. Yeah, the swordsmen were strong, but what was different about this one? When she heard Jinno say he wanted her to stay behind, Kanna would stop in her tracks before crossing her arms. He was concerned for her safety? As sweet as that was, he was the one that brought her here. ”Jinnosuke,” Kanna would speak sternly. It wasn’t often that she called him by his full name, but it would get the point across. ”I appreciate your concern, but I am not going to sit out. We’re in this together, mostly because you picked me up literally, and I can’t get stronger by hiding behind you. So, I’m going with you. Where you go, I go.” Kanna would nod, walking past the man and straight through the main gate. Although, she wasn’t sure she was ready for the sights she was about to see.

Jinno sighed, hearing Kanna so adamant that she wanted to help left him little choice. She was right after all; he had literally dragged her along with him. If she wanted to accompany him through to battle, he would just have to ensure she made it out alright. With the enemy forces he anticipated he didn’t feel the need to worry. “Alright, we’re in this together. Just stick with me.” He did make sure to quicken his step and take the lead once they were through the gate.

The village itself was in shambles, as to be expected of Arata’s handiwork. The sight alone was enough to have Jinno draw Dojigiri. Free of its sheath and the containment seals that surrounded the blade, the sickly feel of the cursed blade’s aura suffocated the area. Jinnosuke was long since used to it, and within moments the lingering malice was contained as they walked. It wouldn’t mean much to anyone else, but Kanna could tell that using the family blade meant Jinno wasn’t concerned with holding back, which rarely ended well for those he faced.

The first few minutes were quiet, they’d managed to move quite a way through the village and there wasn’t a soul to be seen. Jinno’s focus wouldn’t waver, and he continued on through a residential area. The ruins of the tightly packed houses and apartments made for good hiding spots.

Jinno raised his free hand to signal for quiet while they moved ahead. Something wasn’t quite right around here.

Kanna would listen to Jinno say to stick close to him. Well, she wasn’t going to wander too far in this mess anyway. It was a devastating sight. Buildings turned to rubble, half standing in some instances. The rain fell fresh and turned into bloody puddles in the streets. The streets themselves looked like something horrifying with the stone stained red, even with the pouring rain. In fact, it seemed to make the streets shimmer crimson right in their faces. The clouds overhead dulled the world around them. It was eerie. The silence that fell over the place was uncanny. Where were the people? Was anyone even still here? Peeking from under the rubble, Kanna could see semblances of what looked to be human body parts. Her eyes shifted away from the damage done and her stomach churned.

It seemed that Jinno wasn’t too fond of the environment either. He would pull his sword, but it wasn’t the one he typically used. The moment it was released, a shiver would run up Kanna’s spine and she was forced to place her hand over the mask she was wearing. What was this feeling? It was sickening. Was that from his family’s blade? Is that why he never used it? Kanna could only close her eyes, but she knew the implications behind letting Jinno run free with that sword. He wouldn’t hold back and he probably wouldn’t ask questions, if he managed to catch any of the Storm shinobi wandering about. That was something she couldn’t let happen, even if her body’s reaction was immediate fear.

Thankfully, the aura became more bearable as Jinno more than likely managed the radiance coming from the blade. She would continue forward, following Jinno, only veering off the path for a moment when she spotted something in the rubble. Kanna would squat down to dig a small, plush bear out from under the pile of brick. It was wearing a purple dress and the arm was torn only to be held on by a thread. A somber expression would wash over her face as she placed the bear in the pack she had been carrying. She would fix it later. When she looked up, Kanna was faced only by a small axolotl and no Jinnosuke. Confusion. Concern. Panic.

———-

Akira and Tatsuya had been wandering mindlessly through the village, hoping for some change. They needed supplies, but she couldn’t find any anywhere. Not at the destroyed shops, not in any abandoned houses, and not in any of the factories nearby. What were they supposed to do? ”Come on, let’s turn around.” Akira would say defeated, as they neared the main gate. However, a feeling of absolute dread would wash over her. It wasn’t much different from what they had been subjected to, but this was unnatural. ”Wait, this way, do you feel that?” The genin would whisper to her partner before taking off down a nearby alleyway. She could see the new arrivals through the cracks in the buildings still standing. All she had to do was get ahead of them. It wouldn’t be hard, since they were being so cautious.

By the time the duo made it to the alleyway Akira had been hiding out in, she would reach out with her hammer, hooking the taller figure around the neck and drag him into the darkness. He was the one. Whatever he was doing, he was the one with the evil feel about him. ”Don’t move. Who are you? What do you want with us? Don’t lie. I can feel your evil intentions,” Akira would whisper practically hissing next to Jinno’s ear. Of course, he would probably be able to tell that she was no real threat to him, but she couldn’t quite tell how dangerous it would be if he actually decided to lash out against her.

Tatsuya was getting hungry, and the last of their food had long since run out. They’d been looking for the better part of the day and had come up with nothing. Even Akira seemed defeated. Things were starting to look dire. That was before a lingering sense of doom washed across the area. “What is that?” He managed to withdraw a kunai, but before he could question Akira further, she had moved in, sneaking around the source of this feeling. A man walking casually through their warzone, weapon drawn.

Lil’ Man had clambered free of Tatsuya’s hood to climb across the rubble to follow the strangers. Something his summoner would have advised against if he could muster up the courage to speak. Before he knew it the axolotl had vanished from sight to end up in the street after tumbling clumsily from its perch in the rubble. A little shaken, Lil’ Man peered up at the stranger.

--

Jinno’s expression soured as they moved onwards, searching for any signs of life and coming up empty was going to be the worst part of this. He couldn’t imagine that no one had made it out alive. At least until he noticed ‘something’ appear from the alley and draw him forward.

“I’m here to help you.” Jinno peered toward the girl who had dragged him off the street, the sheer audacity had shaken his focus to the point it was almost funny. He’d been looking so hard, and they were right here all along. “My name is Jinnosuke Moriyama. It might be hard to believe but I want to see the people that did this pay for their crimes.”

He stood up after brushing the hammer aside to stand up and step away, showing a lack of concern for the genin and her weapon. Jinno then backed away into the street to put some distance between them, only taking the time to sheath his katana to try and show he wasn’t a threat.

--

Tatsuya emerged from his own hiding place, seeing as Akira apparently had the swordsman dealt with. He stood behind little man with his weapon ready. Lil’ Man noticed this and similarly took up a fighting pose. “Who are you people?” He peered back, seeing the red cloaked man walking backwards from the alley he’d been dragged into. Though the intense feeling of dread was gone.

--

With the blade sealed away for the moment, Jinno could think properly. “Kanna, don’t hurt them.” He held up a hand, looking to see the girl’s companion attempting to hold the older kunoichi off. There was no reason to fight them, as agitated as the young shinobi seemed they were barely hanging on. Whatever remained of the Storm forces could wait for their justice.

Kanna stared down at the small creature that she had never seen before. ”Uhm, hello, little guy. Is this some kind of lizard? I’ve never seen one like this before.” It was almost as if she had just forgotten that Jinno disappeared. Then again, it wasn’t everyday that she was faced with such concern and confusion in a situation. She wanted to find him, but what should she do with the lizard? Should she leave it here? It was staring right at her, which meant it must be familiar with people. What if he was a pet? Kanna would scan the street to see if maybe its owner was close by, but it seemed they would find her first. He appeared in front of her with his weapon drawn. Slowly, Kanna would reach for her own blade, but she wouldn’t draw it so carelessly. ”Hello. My name is Kanna.” She would speak, as she carefully stood from her crouched position.

——-

Akira had been so sure of herself, until the man was introduced to her. Her brain froze, as he pushed her weapon away and began backing up. She would hold her hammer in front of her, as if she was trying to defend herself. Her body responded to the immediate fear of hearing his name. As he backed out of the alleyway and even sheathed his sword, Akira could hear Tatsuya on the other side. She would inch forward, until she was near the end of the alleyway and make a break for the boy. Standing between him and the two rounin, she would hold her hammer out in front of her. ”M-Moriyama. Moriyama.. he’s one of them! You’re not here to help, are you? You’re a liar! You just wanted to see what you did. You’re evil! That sword tells me everything about you!” As unconcerned as he was about her, Akira would attempt to step back, pushing Tatsuya along with her. ”I don’t care what you’re here for, just leave Tatsuya alone. I did it. I killed them. So, just be mad at me. He didn’t do anything.”

———

Kanna wasn’t keen on hurting children, so when Jinno told her not to, she didn’t have any issues with it. Before she knew it, the other genin had shown themselves and was doing whatever she could to protect her companion. It was a scene that broke Kanna’s heart. She would release her grip on her blade and put her hands up. ”He’s telling the truth. He’s not evil. He just wants to help. We both do.” It seemed that even her own words were taken with caution. ”Why should I believe you? You’re not even showing your face. Are you one of them? Are you evil too?” These children were rightfully scared and she had to commend this girl for her suspicion. It was probably what kept them alive. Still, she couldn’t help but notice that they looked rather unhealthy. Tired maybe? The girl at least looked like she was wearing some dirty, worn clothes. Kanna would turn to face her partner, even if it was just the look in her eyes, he would be able to tell that she just couldn’t understand why anyone would cause them this much pain. She was concerned and sad.