An air of fear seemed to be sensed about the Kaguya by even the insects that creeped in the grass beneath his feet. The very Earth seemed to tremble in helplessness as it was cursed by the presence of Roku Kaguya; Honeshin, The Bone God. His movements seemed to carry with such precision that he somehow managed to "dance" as he walked, in a seemingly graceful way. The dance of the Kaguya, as strong as it was beautiful. The dance invented by the ancestors of Roku. The dance taught to any Kaguya whom was raised by those of his same clan. The dance of combat, of bloodshed. The Dance of The Bloody Red Rose as Roku called it. If it portrayed such beauty, such charisma... How was it that it somehow led to the death of so many, at the hands of a single man? Of Roku?
How was it that the law of Shinobi was so absolute? The law of deception? That a dance even as beautiful as Roku's could be molded out of the pure malicious cravings that caressed the Kaguya of old? That this same dance was the death of hundreds... Of thousands on the battlefield? And yet... Yet, even the deaths were beautiful. Something that could be seen in a theatrical performance as pure dramatic artistry? Perhaps it was not the pure malice of a single clan, but malice induced by the world. Perhaps the Kaguya of Old merely embraced it... Loved, it... Thrived on the natural human instincts written deeply within their genes, set in stone to never change.
But there were efforts to change. Roku knew the history of his clan better than anyone. It was a history full of decisions that he could never decide for himself whether he agreed with them or not. The Kaguya, driven into hiding, lost in the passing of time had managed to control their cravings of blood and danger. They had essentially become monks, living lives of discipline, away from combat. The Dance of The Kaguya had become something different. It had lost its killing intent and had become what one could call an art form. It was never to be used for actual combat and members instead looked upon it as a medium through which to instill discipline into others of the clan. Those such as Roku who had come to Master this practice were referred to as leaders and legends.
And for the most part, Roku agreed with these teachings. It was important for any person to learn to control their cravings, especially if those cravings involved deaths. But Roku was the first Kaguya for 200 years to become a Shinobi... To abandon his clansmen and set out for a life of heroism in the village of Kumogakure. And he used the Dance of The Bloody Rose on the battlefield extensively. The first person he'd had to kill plagued his dreams for years... Insisted on drilling itself into his memory, branding itself on his mind. And then came the second. And it was easier. He took hundreds of missions and have to kill hundreds of living people, and by the time he had left Kumogakure, he wasn't sure about his morals anymore. Whether he agreed with the suppression of his bloodlust. Because when he let it loose, when he killed on the battlefield... He felt empowered. Dangerous and like he was simply doing what he was meant to do.
And then... Then, he'd have to sleep that night. He'd have to reflect on his actions of the day he'd have to tell himself he had to end the lives he did that day. He'd tell himself it was necessary. He'd force himself to believe in his own words, not allowing himself to tremble at the thought of the evil deeds he'd done. Even now, as he walked, he was unsure of his thoughts. They felt scattered, meaningless, and empty. As if they were the ramblings of a madman crafted to consume his mind in doubt. Doubt of his character and of his mission. As if they were crafted to cast his mind into shadows, to place him in a danger zone impossible to escape.
Flashbacks of the innocent man he'd killed shadowed his mind. Flashbacks of having justified the man's death by telling himself that the accusations made by a woman he did not know were true. And the most terrifying thought of everything that had just entered his mind was that it wasn't terrifying. It just felt like it was supposed to happen, a basic problem undergone by everyone. It felt natural. And he was comfortable with the thought that he was losing track of his morals, as if he somehow didn't mind that the person he once was was no longer there.
But he has to clear his mind. Roku was a Kaguya taught to control his bloodlust, such an art requiring the utmost self-control; the experience of which allowed him to evacuate his mind of all plaguing thoughts and to remain completely calm. His mind went blank. He allowed it to stay blank for several moments as his feet tapped against the ground, beating steadily, marking the path of the Bone God. His pulse slowed, below average, as his mind lost the majority of its activity.
And then he allowed it to resume its functionality once more, though no more dangerous, self-doubting thoughts managed to snake their way into his mind. Instead, he was focused fully on the day's mission, which was, simply put, to learn to wield weapons. He was a man whose entire body was made of the most powerful weapons in the world, and yet, he was never trained in their art. He was unsure of nearly everything that had to do with such a thing, though he had a basic foundation of Taijutsu to build upon.
It was only now that Roku became aware of himself. Only now that he became conscious of his attire, of his appearance... Even of his actions. He wore a basic white kimono that opened widely at his chest to show a black t-shirt. Around his waist was tied a black cloth belt, causing Roku to resemble a Martial Arts Master; though such a term wasn't inaccurate. His white hair flowing around his head, caressing and outlining his face. He wore a pair of hard rubber black sandals that opened at the toes ad the heel as was basic attire for any Shinobi. His Kimono could be removed with ease to reveal an all-black attire beneath, consisting of cloth black pants that were just barely shorter than average so that they weren't revealed beneath his kimono and the black t-shirt mentioned previously.
Even though he wore no headband or symbol of affiliation at all, Roku was posing as a member of Konohagakure's Shinobi forces. He had become well-versed in the politics, current events, and local legend of the village enough that the only person who would know truly whether Roku belonged to the village was the Hokage himself; the only person who knew the identities of all those in his village. He was unknown to anyone to be a missing nin, nor was he known to have any affiliation with the Akatsuki. His identity was flawless, and there was no way that anyone who could read minds would know the truth of his origins.
He walked along an old, beaten dirt path, en route to one of the basic training grounds used by Konohagakure Ninja. The path seemed to be fresh, as if it had never come into heavy use until recently. The trees loomed overhead, casting shadows on the form of the Kaguya, though light was not an issue as it was still bright enough to see clearly, even without the use of the Byakugan in Roku's left eye, which formerly belonged to the Hokage, though it was nit activated and could not be recognized as a Byakugan; though his eyes did look a bit strange as the left was white and the right was black. Dew rested on the patches of grass not yet worn down by pedestrians and, in the odd lighting, made it seem as if each individual blade cast its own rainbow, fading into oblivion within a few inches of its origin.
The man carried a sword of bone in his left hand which had been removed from his right arm, though that had occurred much earlier and had long since regenerated the bone in his arm. He swung it as he walked, accustoming himself to the balance of its weight and force. As the sword swung past his face, he could take in its details. It was deathly white and the handle was about 12 inches long. Connecting the handle to the blade was a now rigid, immobile joint that used to be his elbow. The rest of the sword was formed by the bone of Roku's forearm, becoming progressively thinner as it neared the tip, though widening a bit about 7 inches from its tip before coming to a point, representing where the hand was wider than the wrist, which, too, was now rendered immobile.
As other paths converged onto the path walked by Roku, he passed a few citizens of Konohagakure and the path became progressively brighter and neater. The patches of grass became more scarce and the trees grew straighter, allowing for a wider opening overhead to let the early morning sunlight through. He took a right and knew he was nearing the training field as he saw the lone Shuriken embedded into the trunk of a tree here or there, probably misused during training. There were also various trees scorched with fire, a representation of the high amount of Fire Release users in Konohagakure.
It was not long before Roku emerged into a wide open area. It was a smaller training ground, as was his preference. He was not fond of fields occupied by others, though the occasional Shinobi here or there did not bother him. There was a lone figure in the middle of the field practicing hand seals over a scroll, though Roku did not pay him much attention. However, avoiding the impulse to ignore him entirely the Kaguya spoke. His words seemed to come calm and precise, as if he selected each word individually from his vast array of knowledge. "Ah... I did not realize someone else was here... Come to work on a particular skill have you? Don't mind me, I'll keep to myself."
Roku expected the man to continue their conversation. He just had that sort of read on people. The rare ability to judge someone's character based solely on their demeanor. However, Roku kept true to his word. He walked slowly to the opposite end of the training field. He faced away from the other Shinobi, though he was still within auditory range and could carry a conversation.
It was, however, time for Roku to focus on his day's training. He performed a basic E-Rank Technique known as Clone Jutsu, forming an exact replica of his own figure standing across from him. He lowered himself into a stance, readying his bone sword, drawing it up and holding it vertically with both hands near his face. He swung at the ethereal clone multiple times, his blade passing directly through it, but giving him a good idea of how to carry his form. Given his skill in Taijutsu and combat experience, he could diagnose for himself what seemed to be effective and what wasn't.
He formed a few combinations, echoing in his mind the types of strikes he was using; "Left slash, downward vertical strike, impale, spinning slash..." All the while practicing and adjusting his form to what seemed effective and comfortable. His speed as a Taijutsu Specialist was evident as he formed his strikes, blurring at speeds impossible to follow for those without a Doujutsu or with just as much speed as himself. He was often referred to as a God of Taijutsu because of this, though he rarely embraced the title. Bone God was more fitting for him...
WC: 2021
Bukijutsu B1 -> A1: 1900 words
121 Words excess