Koharu had prepared for a long day of working in the Academy, not so much on combat skills, but her mission this day was to work on scrolls for the students. She had aspirations of being able to use these tools for her own use, not only for ninja applicable arts, but also for the expansion of the priesthood, by documenting parables and stories for the education of Children of Evergreen. As the priestess prepared her first scroll, she did so with dedication and focus. This was a task for the future of Tanigakure, and she was not keen to shirk on quality.
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[Crafting: Basic Calligraphy [Scroll Crafting 1]
The next scroll Koharu prepared was just like the last. At first, it was nothing more than blank parchment, rolled up along the wooden supporting rod. Then, she applied her brush and ink and began to write the initial workings for the scroll's activation. Preparing these in advance was useful, as if they were to be used for even the mundane, simple concealing jutsu could be used to hide the true nature of the writing inside. Though, secretly, Koharu hoped that the scroll would be used to spread peace, rather than conflict. While that part of shinobi life was natural, she still worked for the defense and peace of her Village as a core tenant.
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[Crafting: Basic Calligraphy [Scroll Crafting 1]
Koharu's work was not done with just two scrolls, no, she had more to do to fulfill her quota for the day. As she began work on her third scroll, a smile widened on her face. It was not a labor she lamented in any shape or form. No, instead it was an honor to her, to be able to develop her skills and perfect her talent. If she was to be known for anything in Tanigakure, it was her contributions, not just as a combat asset, but as one who could provide and nurture for those around her, spiritually, mentally, and as a provider of essentials in this case. As the teal haired priestess worked, her brushwork became more on the line with the other apprentices who were contributing their efforts to this cause. It was a skill, just like a jutsu, that needed time and practice.
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[Crafting: Basic Calligraphy [Scroll Crafting 1]
Her work continued on into a fourth project. Koharu was determined, not just to provide the requested scrolls for the Village supplies, but also to improve her technique in the art. It was important to the Kunoichi Priestess of Evergreen to become a recognized talent by her Kage. Each brush stroke on the scroll she primed for eventual use by her colleagues was driven by that desire. It was with each line and symbol initialed into the fibers of the parchment that she imparted her will to serve. This duty and service provided to her Village was, on the surface, of little significance outside of basic supplies. But, to Koharu, this was her contribution. It was how she intended to make a difference.
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[Crafting: Basic Calligraphy [Scroll Crafting 1]
Then she came to the last project for the day that she was assigned to complete. Koharu had a moment to pause, looking over to the four basic scrolls she had calligraphed and completed. "One more, and let's make this the best one.", she remarked as the priestess of Evergreen took a new blank parchment and began to prepare it with the proper symbols and writing for the initial seal-work. It was like watching a budding artist paint, but in this respect, it was a skill being honed. The refinement of her writing had seen a dramatic improvement over the course of her work since her Academy days, but even in just these projects, it was clear she was not just a common student. Koharu was well on her way to being recognized as an artisan of her craft in scrolls.
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[Crafting: Basic Calligraphy [Scroll Crafting 1]
Title: Basic Calligraphy [Scroll Crafting I] Rank: D-Rank Reputation: Positive - Fame Impact: Local Information: By assisting the Village with it's need for basic scrolls, you are tasked with preparing them with the simple calligraphy to prepare them for the actual application; be it for technique recording or basic summoning. /spoiler]
Koharu Ichikaru took a big stretch before sitting down at the desk with her supplies given to her by the Village quartermaster. The young priestess of Evergreen began by starting the more advanced calligraphy on the scroll by preparing this one for summoning. Her brush work was more fluid and her seals accurate, so she did not need to waste materials. As she produced one scroll, she produced a second in the same time it would have taken her to produce just the one. It was her hard work and dedication to the craft that made her work harder.
She continued on with the task at hand, as while she had fulfilled one order, she was here to work. Koharu smiled as she took the next batch of materials and began to construct and prime the scroll for sealing away weaponry. "Let us pray this is used in defense and not for malicious deeds. May the Mother bless the user of these scrolls with a righteous mindset.", Ko prayed over the scrolls she was crafting. While she had no control over how her crafts were going to be used, Koharu still had hopes that she was working to better the Village's defenses and unity.
The next craft was before her, and Koharu let out a soft sigh. She was getting tired for the day, but this was the last one she had agreed to do. Besides, she had her own projects she wished to undertake, and the young priestess needed the ryo and skills in order to pull it off. Each brush stroke she made on the scrolls she was priming, now for fuinjutsu purposes, was precise and full of the same dedication she had to her end goals. It did take a bit longer with this particular batch of scrolls as she was not well versed in the sealing arts, and thus a little more concentration was required of her.
Title: Intermediate Calligraphy [Scroll Crafting II] Rank: C-Rank Reputation: Positive - Fame Impact: Local Information: By assisting the Village with it's need for basic scrolls, you are tasked with preparing them with the simple calligraphy to prepare them for the actual application; be it for technique recording or basic summoning. Though, the amount needed is increased in demand due to one's proficiency.
Back to her study, it was time to continue on with her progress in the art of Scroll Crafting, but in this instance, Koharu was working more on a secret project of her own. The crafting of special scrolls to contain the summoning jutsu for special creatures which she had come into contact with shortly after becoming a Human Path Sage, ordained by Evergreen. The Yokai were called Elementals and upon meeting them, she was able to establish a bond with one type in particular known as a Greenman. The one in particular the priestess wished to bind to her summoning scroll was a simple sprite known as Mee.
Small sprites, the Greenman breed of Yokai in particular are attuned to the spiritual flow of nature and are often the unseen carriers of seeds, planting new plants at night and leaving as stealthily as they came. Their body is composed of green leafy buds on a skeleton made of sticks. They are known, also, to be able to grow a variety of plants from their body making them valuable assets in the hands of a skilled pharmacist or even one skilled in toxicology... so long as the Greenman is treated with respect and kindness.
With the ingredients gathered, and the ink manufactured, Koharu began the final process of scribing the summoning scroll. Each of the intricate designs in the sealing jutsu were carefully inscribed on the fine paper. To her, this was a defining moment of becoming a true emissary of her goddess. With the scroll complete, she would be able to summon Mee and bring forth the Greenman to her side. Of course, these creatures only responded to the faithful of the nature goddess, so careful devotion was needed to maintain the bond that the scroll entitled the bearer to.
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Mission: C-Rank: Craft Original Summoning Scroll [Mee] (-500 Ryo)
Title: Craft Original Summoning Scroll [Mee] Rank: C-Rank Reputation: Positive - Fame Impact: Local Information: Koharu's first attempt at crafting a summon scroll, and one for herself. Requiring a good deal of knowledge and proper craftsmanship, it was going to be her greatest undertaking yet in the career.
It was the start of the day in Koharu's study. She had a lot on her plate, especially when it came to actually getting things together and prepared for the upcoming summit and further missions around the Village. The first project on her list was preparing a pair of scrolls to be used by herself and her Kage to communicate with one another. From a tactical perspective, this would be important incase of an emergency that the sage-priestess of Evergreen needed to be alerted to. She simply hummed to herself as she worked in the study, preparing the first scroll of the pair with the needed seals for the sealing technique, before going on to the secondary scroll in the set. Despite it having one purpose, the jutsu required two perfectly crafted scrolls capable of this task.
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Mission: C-Rank: Craft Matching Scrolls for Scroll Communication Technique (-1000 Ryo)
As she began work on the second scroll, Koharu Ichikaru began to focus on making sure the sealing techniques were identical so that the two would pair up and link, sending chakra-based messages to one another. It was not a particularly complex technique, but still, her pride in her work demanded that it be flawless. The fact this was meant to be presented alongside another special jutsu scroll to her Kage, Usagi, was of great importance. She wanted to be seen for her drive for perfection and good craftsmanship with attention to detail. Besides, she was certain that shoddy work would be an affront to her end goal of being seen as a reliable force in the Village.
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Mission: C-Rank: Craft Matching Scrolls for Scroll Communication Technique (-1000 Ryo)
Lastly, Koharu found herself coming to the project she seemed to deem the most important. A direct means with which for her Kage to call her if her particular skill set was needed immediately at their discretion. Most ninja considered this type of fuuinjutsu to be sacred, given to only somebody they placed absolute faith in. In this instance, Koharu knew in her heart that if she could not trust her Village's leader with her very life, then she had no place in it. No, the Hidden Valley village had become her home, and as she worked hard on scribing the very kuchiyose seals that would be used to summon her, the priestess paused to pray over the work. In a show of devotion to her goddess and a profound adoration for her religion, she blessed the creation and then scattered some of her own crystal dust over the paper to encode her chakra into it. Now all that was needed, was to present the creations to Usagi for approval and hopefully acceptance of her offering.
Title: Craft Matching Scrolls for Scroll Communication x2 Rank: C-Rank Reputation: Positive - Fame Impact: Local Information: Preparing for the upcoming missions, and now that she had become a Sage of Nature itself, Koharu made a direct line of communication between herself and her Kage.
Title: Craft Scroll for Reverse Summoning Jutsu Rank: C-Rank Reputation: Positive - Fame Impact: Local Information: Preparing for the upcoming missions, and now that she had become a Sage of Nature itself, Koharu made a way for her Kage to call upon her at any time should her services be needed.
It was another day around her home in Tanigakure, and outside at her small shrine to Evergreen, Koharu began her religious duties. Her neighbors knew of the priestess and even word had spread around the Village Hidden in the Valley about the presence of a devout of Evergreen. Upon Koharu ringing a ceremonial bell gently, she began a prayer of blessing upon the day. "Mother of All, guide me in my actions. Allow me to project kindness and mercy to those around me.", she asked of her deity in reverent communion before she used her suiton jutsu to sprinkle water on the shrine. The water then dripped down the sides and onto the plants she had growing before it. With the blessing of her own home concluded, it was time to go about her duties to her neighbors.
She then continued her way over to the neighbor's house to her right. Standing before their door, Koharu rang the ceremonial bell and then began to pray over their home. Upon hearing the ringing of her bell, her neighbor could be seen in their window, offering a bow of greeting and thanks to her for her blessings. Her neighbor was an elderly woman who welcomed the attention, even if she was not particularly religious. The priestess continued the ritual blessing of her neighbor's home by sprinkling pure water over the flowers near the door, and then produced a small jade crystal with her bloodline, which she powdered and sprinkled along the door-way to ward off evil spirits and bad fortunes. With that blessing concluded she smiled gently and offered a wave goodbye to the older lady through the window, and went on about her duties to her other neighbor.
As Koharu approached the house of the neighbor on the left of her own home, she was greeted by their two children. A small boy and a girl, their mother and father were local workers. Meigi and Jinta were the girl and boy's name's respectively. "Are you two behaving?", Koharu asked them with a smile before offering the pair of them a small jade crystal. The children took the offered gems and bowed in thanks. 'Yes, Miss Koharu!', they chimed together. As Koharu began to pray over their home, the children joined her, mirroring her movements and copying her words. It was good that she could set an example for a younger generation. With the prayer and blessing concluded, with the children's help, Koharu patted them on the head and left to go on about her day.
Koharu had been in communion with nature and the agents of creation during a deep meditation in the woods outside her home, just near the Village. Preparing for the eventual travel from her homeland, she had brought with her a scroll with which to make a contract with another of the powerful elemental yokai which tended to stay out of the view of humans. This particular creature was known as an earth elemental, or Daichi Seirei. This individual that Koharu had been in contact with was still considered a child by it's spirit brethren, but still it was a powerful ally to be able to call on.
Chip, as it had come to call itself was the son of a larger Daichi Seirei, and the small elemental had come to visit with Koharu as she meditated. Koharu was able to commune with these spirits best when she tuned out everything around her and focused more on the lifestream of the planet which connected all things in nature. 'Wowow... Miss Koharu comin' ta ask da' Chip to come wiff 'er on a twip? Chip will come awong.', the small elemental, the size of a large boulder declared happily. Chip was, as a matter of fact, a large animated boulder with four small legs, and a smaller sized boulder that had a mouth and two bright glowing blue eyes. The Priestess of Evergreen smiled and reached over from the stump on which she sat to pat Chip on his rocky head gently. "I appreciate your willingness, Chip. I am going to need a companion who is, ahem, rock solid... and your father seems rather keen on remaining stationary.", she chuckled. The smaller elemental looked off to the mountain range in the distance, the place where his large peak-sized progenitor slumbered, and had so for the last couple hundred years. 'Wock solid...Yup! We good. Papa gonna sweep till things get wough.', the small earth spirit remarked.
As Koharu worked on the fuuinjutsu seals for the scroll, so that she could bind Chip's chakra signature to it for future summoning, she watched the small child-like elemental play around in the forest grove. It used it's small, stubby, legs to chase around a butterfly which kept evading it. She shook her head as her brush and ink worked with delicate care, and mastery in producing the spell-like jutsu that would be used to call forth Chip whenever she might have need of him. A part of her was pleased with how this binding was going, but the other part of her knew that this was a blessing from Evergreen that should not be taken for granted. Contracting agents of nature directly in this manner was something few were able to do, even if the subject was a playful little boulder-sized elemental.
Koharu knew she was asking quite a lot of a spirit who was so young for it's kind. But if Chip was willing to assist her in her ministry and protecting those she cared for, she was not going to deny him the opportunity. Besides, even for a young Daichi-Seirei, Chip was not one to be underestimated in combat. Moving earth, and growing plants were valuable skills to a Senju. The fact that Koharu was lucky enough to be able to come to amicable terms with such a creature would be a source of envy among those of her clan.
Then, with the seals completed on the scroll, Koharu signed her name at the bottom, and offered the scroll to Chip with a small dish of ink so the elemental could sign in it's own way. The spirit then reached out with a vine that sprouted from it's back and brushed neatly the character for 'Chip'. (破片) 'We know da mountain, Miss Koharu. We wiff ya till the edge of the cliff comes for ya.', the elemental said happily. 'But, Mista Butterfly be floatin deepa into da woods. We go bye now.', it concluded in departure before the elemental rolled into a boulder, and then rolled along into the trees until he was out of sight. "Well, perhaps I should be like Mister Butterfly and go to my home as well.", Koharu concluded as she was left alone in the grove. The priestess then stood up, dusted off her kimono and walked gracefully through the trees, back into the Village and toward her home.
