A Salt God & Two Crimson Princesses [P]

The Crimson Princess

 
 
 

Word Count: 0628/0000

The Second Crimson Princess

Mornings were certainly fun for the child that woke up at the most ungodly hours of the morning, though not so much for the one she had come to live with a little over a week ago. Though she had brought much joy to the life of Chikara, she had also made things a little more difficult for the older Shurajo, albeit the latter of which was unbeknownst to Shinku. One such she had brought upon her older sister was waking her up at the ungodly hours of the morning, even more so that she tended to scare the living daylights out of her sister, though it was never intentional. Her mornings started with her waking up next to her sister, quietly sliding out of the bed so that she may play with the rumbustious pup known as Arisu.

Since coming to live with Chikara, Shinku had certainly formed a bond with the white pup, for the two were very similar. Kurisu enjoyed her company as well, but only as long as she didn’t intend to play with him too extensively, he was lazy like that. But, being a child who didn’t have the best attention span ever, playing with the pups grew boring and thus she would return to the bed she shared with Chikara. She didn’t get back in to sleep until her sister woke up, but instead stood at the side of the bed, her face inches from that of her sister and when her sister would finally wake up, she would freak out. Every time Shinku would look at her sister strangely, cocking her head to the side as she questioned what the matter was, and the answer was always the same. She had scared her sister, and she would apologize before dragging her sister about.

Of course her sister would proceed to get her feed before moving along to shower and dress, leaving her sister to do some errands, yet this time around things were different. Her sister took her usual sister, but had made sure that Shinku had also showered. Wrapped in a towel, Chikara proceeded to draw her hair before dressing her. She was ushered out of the room so that her sister may dress herself, told to pour herself a bowl of cereal as she waited. Something, which she did, and had finished by time, Chikara emerged from the room with a hat. Putting the hat upon her head before proceeding to eat breakfast, Chikara would fill her in on the plans of the day which involved visiting somebody who wore a fancy hat.  

Of course even with the plan layout for her, getting out the door hadn’t prove an easy task for Chikara, for Shinku had little desire to wear shoes and her sister wouldn’t allow her to walk the streets barefoot. Thirty minutes of arguing and her sister relented, deciding that she didn’t have to wear shoes but that she was to be carried to the office. So with that the two departed from the house and would soon arrive at the building. Shinku laid her head on Chikara’s shoulder as the older Shurajo stood before a door, which could only be the entrance to the Mizukage’s office. And she had stood there for a while, but after flashing her a smile, Chikara knocked on the door.

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The Deity of the Sea

Mornings had become set in stone since Ōsharu put into affect the newest defense to Kirigakure no Sato, yet, with a daily routine of waking before the break of dawn and standing a top the enclosed circle of the Administration building to bring about the Mist that was this village's iconic symbol and also its most important factor toward its safety. Since the techniques first conception it had increasingly became easier day by day for the moderately young Mizukage to perform the tasks that came with his title while simultaneously keeping an eye out for foreign chakra signatures and increased levels of negative emotions that could potentially lead to harm to the village or its residents. It was in these moments, overlooking the village with the rays of the sun scarcely piercing the mist at his back, did Ōsharu truly come to enjoy the most. The responsibility was what he thrived for the most, though such a thing was not foreign to Ōsharu with being the twenty-first head of his clan, the magnitude of what the man had riding on him made this daily routine a worthwhile experience.

Equally though, Ōsharu enjoyed these early morning moments because of the lack of attention to himself and the piece of mind that he was allowed to focus on himself. Yes much of a contradiction, but the man that the people saw behind the big cherry wood desk was more than just the leader whom they rallied behind to bring to office. Who the man really was had been shoved to the recesses of his mind called upon only when left alone with his own thoughts, what he portrayed, Mizukage and Twenty-First Head of Clan, had become who he would be seen as. Per request of the Juudaime Mizukage a second room had been installed within his office due to his "special needs", it's door had been partially shut allowing unsuspecting eyes to get a glimpse of the man as he stared at his reflection in the mirror while his hands worked to get clean under the warm water.

The look that he gave himself as he viewed his reflection in the mirror was blank to say the least, in these moments Ōsharu was typically lost in his thoughts, but something  was odd. Minutes had gone by yet he remained motionless with the exception of his hands which had stopped trying to clean one another and began to tremble in a peculiar manner. Water began to accumulate at a slow pace within the small sink, the means for the drain being stopped up remained unknown or unseen. Several knocks upon the double doors that was the only entrance and exit to the office, but the man remained void of the outside world. The only world that appeared to him was one that appeared to be plunged into darkness, currents of black waters pushed and pulled the man as he looked around for a sign. This was not a foreign place to Ōsharu, many times had he been here both in the literal and figurative sense, yet never had he simply been within this realm alone…

By this time the knocks on the door had become quite violent, the water from the sink had just about filled the rim before it would spill over. All of which still completely oblivious to the blue haired Mizukage as the binds that his mind had on his body remained constant. Knowing that moving within this endless pool of dark liquid would lead him nowhere, Ōsharu remained floating in a suspended animated state, though his senses remained on high alert with not knowing what to expect from this state. The water from within the sink began to push over the rim and a single drop began plummeted to the ground, but before it could splash down it remained suspended within the air. Out of his peripheral vision he caught a glimpse of a silver streak passing by his right side before a fiendish chuckle began to echo from all over, the tonality of it's voice was familiar to the man, but oddly different in the same sense.

Then, just like that, the dark liquid that had filled his surroundings to become his reality was no more and he was back standing in the bathroom attached to his office. To his surprise, all the liquid from within the sink remained suspended within the air around him. A sense of lack of control flooded the man's mind as he grasped the rim of the sink with both hands, all of the liquid that had previously been in it returned before spiraling down the drain. Osharu watched this as if it were a metaphor to his life before he cocked his head up like a canine as the sound of someone knocking on the double doors continued.

Rather quickly he gathered himself to the best of his abilities before exiting the bathroom and walking the short stride over to his double doors, a deep sigh was released from his chest as he swung the doors open only to be greeted by two young females. The older looking one of the two he knew to be Chikara Shurajo, a recently promoted Chunin of Kirigakure no Sato, but the younger of the two remained a mystery. "Good day ladies, how may I assist you today?" The velvety texture of the man's voice flowed in its naturally deep tone.

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The Crimson Princess

 
 

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The Second Crimson Princess

 
 

Word Count: 0998/0000

The Deity of the Sea

In response to Chikara's slight bow Ōsharu bent over with a flat back as a sign of respect for his guest before assuming his full height once more and listening to the older of the Shurajo sisters. An eye brow was raised as the younger sister latched rather tightly to the man's leg before he chuckled at her cute display of public affection, he returned the gesture with a smile and a wave before removing her from his leg and bringing her up into his left hip. Looking from one girl to the other, the blue haired Mizukage could not help but to think inappropriately as to the circumstances of the younger of the two, but his thoughts proved false upon the title of little sister being bestowed upon the little silent girl he had his arm wrapped around. "Oh she'll be no problem, right little one? How about we discuss this matter further in my office…" As he said this he took a step back whilst holding the door open to allow the older of the sister's access to his office. Upon the older sister walking past him he silently shut the door before beginning to walk toward the glass window that stretched across the width of the man's office, a hand gestured toward the seat across from his cherry wood desk if Chikara wished to take it. "So does the little one have a name?"

In the time that he took to gaze out at the village through the window Ōsharu found himself the next victim of the infamous mouth checking, though confused at first by the bizarre actions the humming stemming from the little child allowed him to guess that she was checking his pearly whites. Surely he would pass her little inspection, as brushing his teeth was among the list of things in his daily routine. After finishing he turned back to address the older of the two sisters. "Well Chikara… You have proven a competent shinobi by the title of Chunin that you have acquired… As you may know by now not many make it that far, but those that do have gone on to hold high positions within our village… Thus, in exchange for your sisters residence and enlistment within our village's military rank I ask that you do a favor of me… After attaining the title of Special Jounin partake in the ANBU entrance test…" He paused to allow his words to sink in for a bit, all the while extending his chakra throughout the building catching everyone in attendance under his radar.

Ōsharu adjusted the little one within his arms as he smiled at her before looking back at Chi. "I'm sure you'll do find with who you were taught under… How is your old sensei? Hakai of the Hozuki clan…" Another pause was taken as he focused in on the girl. "He has been absent from his position… Normally under these circumstances we would hear classify a person as a Missing-Nin, but with the position he held and his loyalty to the Hidden Mist village I've simply labeled him Missing in Action… He was of the finest shinobi bred within the Mist although his craft and manner of going about things may be unorthodox… Nevertheless, do you know what has become of him Chikara?" He chuckled lightly as he walked back to his desk placing the little one between Chi and himself before taking his own seat. The symbol of Kirigakure shown proudly on the hat resting on a coat stand behind his desk along with the man's formal Mizukage garbs.

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The Crimson Princess

Shinku would definitely be receiving a scolding when the duo returned home, but for the moment Chikara restrained herself from chastising her baby sister. She also prevented herself from forcibly removing the little Shurajo from the Mizukage’s leg. The only thing she could not prevent was the dismayed look that had crossed her face, as well as the glare she shot at her grinning sister. She half expected for the man to hand the little trouble maker back to her, but upon removing her little sister, he rested her upon his left hip stating that the little one wasn’t any problem before inviting her inside. She blinked for a moment, a tad bit shocked that he wasn’t annoyed, or at least not visibly so. But instead of asking if he was sure, she stepped into his office.

“Uh. Shinku,” Chikara answered upon taking a seat upon the chair situated in front of a large desk. “Shinku Shurajo,” she repeated, deeming that adding the last name would be important, though now that she thought about it the surname would have been obvious. But she wouldn’t mentally kick herself over something so insignificant, especially when she should be kicking herself for she had failed to warn the man of her sister’s habit. Every fiber of her being wanted her to jump up and wrench Shinku from the Mizukage, but she remained seated, kept herself calm, and relaxed. If the man had a problem with a youngling inspecting his mouth for pearly whites, than he would promptly remove her. Yet, she noted that she needed to break her sister’s habit.

Silence fell between all within the room, only being broken once Shinku was done and the Mizukage turning to face her. Chikara cocked her head to the side as she listened to the man, her mind processing what was being said. Her mouth formed into a scowl at the mention of the man that had destroyed her trust in higher authority as well as her family, otherwise known as Hakai Hozuki. She didn’t know what had become of the man since their last encounter, which was the day he had decided that having her kill her uncle would be fun, and quite frankly she didn’t really care where he ran off to. She did hope that the man she had once foolishly looked to as an older brother had died, and she wished his demise had been gruesome as well as slow and painful.

“I don’t know where Hakai-sensei ran off to,” Chikara stated, closing her eyes before sighing deeply, “but wherever he may be…” She trialed off, eyes opening and drifting to a corner in the room before landing on the Mizukage, “I do hope he’s either choking on his own blood or nothing more than a rotting corpse,” she said, placing a smile upon her face as she motioned for her sister to come to her. If the child did, she would hoist the little Shurajo onto her lap before speaking with the Mizukage once again. If her sister didn’t come to her, she wouldn’t push the matter. “Perhaps a harsh thing to say about my former sensei, but we did not leave on good terms last I saw him.”

"As for joining Anbu upon becoming Special Jounin in return for Shinku's citizenship as well as her entering Kiri's forces, I shall agree to that." Chikara added after pausing for a couple seconds.

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The Second Crimson Princess

Shinku continued to stare into the eyes of the Mizukage, though a couple seconds later she would nod before resting her head upon his shoulder, showing her sister that she wasn’t being a problem as well as agreeing with the blue haired man. Albeit, the thought of her being troublesome probably wouldn’t cross the mind of her sister for the rest of the day, especially since she was going to inspect the mouth of a certain blue hair man. Whilst he gazed at the beautiful view of the village from the window, she would make her move. Without warning, the Mizukage would find himself the victim of her mouth inspections. The tiny Shurajo hummed as she mentally checked things off her list, and from what she had gathered, the man would be receiving an A+ as well as a gold star, though he would have to wait for the latter since she didn’t bring any along with her. Just like Chikara, the Mizukage had pearly white teeth, pink gums, no cavities, no discoloration of the tongue, and not a single canker sore in sight.

“Shinku gives blue haired man A+ and gold star. Shinku says that blue haired man should keep up the good work,” Shinku chirped, before directing her attention to the man’s blue hair. She hadn’t actually seen somebody with blue hair before, and thus she was intrigued by the hair color. Since the conversation that was about to commence wasn’t of any concern to her, she proceeded to play with the blue hair. She twirled it around her fingers, combed it with her fingers, and ruffled it a bit, the enthusiasm never leaving her mismatched eyes. For a flitting second she thought about tasting his hair to see if it tasted like blueberries, but shoved the thought away as soon as it came into her head for it obviously wouldn’t and despite the Mizukage’s cleanliness, she didn’t know where he has laid his head.

Now having become bored, she rested her head on the man’s shoulder. She attempted to follow the conversation between the man and her sister, but ultimately failed because she didn’t know what was being talked about. Placed between the blue haired man and Chikara, Shinku was now allowed to explore the office whilst the two older people continued to discuss whatever they wanted to discuss. But, when she caught her sister gesturing for her to sit down, Shinku would swiftly walk over to the older Shurajo. Hoisted onto Chikara’s lap, Shinku would rest her head on her sister’s chest, placing her eyes on the Mizukage.

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