A month later-
Yugao's awakening caused a chain reaction only possible amongst women.
The sudden growth of a rival creates a spark in the women who deemed her as competition, this spark can combust to a flame which converts to stubborn determination to surpass the former at all costs.
This statement has no scientific backing at all, this just an hypothesis Taiju came up with to understand his Squad-0 teammates recent change.
A month had barely passed before Tayuya and Kin forced their bodies to evolve at alarming rates– hours of strenuous training in the frost and too many occurrences of chakra depletion between them truly made him concerned, but he wouldn't dare to intervene when they had that look in their eyes, he was no different when he wanted to grow stronger.
Tayuya's blossoming came first, her focusing on awakening her short blade as it was more suited for her duel- fighting style, which utilises her demonic flute for long range combat and her short blade for short range combat.
"Damn it!" Tayuya stabs the snowy ground, steel not even connecting with earth just to spite her. "I swear this blade is f#cking with me." She spat out, a furiously glaring at her blade.
"It's been two weeks you stupid piece of steel– just work with me for once!" She growls in frustration.
The snowy land has no affect on her body, weeks of circulatory training made her adapt to the weather conditions, most of her issues stem from her blade. This stubborn thing that Ameyuri proclaims can make her ascend to Kage-level strength(She never said that).
Letting out a deep groan, Tayuya plucks her blade out of the snow, wiping it clean, she saw her reflection on the blade.
"Even now your still a loud mouthed brat." She berated herself.
A haunting truth about her is that the trauma caused by Orochimaru still haunts her. From being imprisoned by that very man to being forced into a one-sided loyalty and later reforming to Danzo's own forced psychology of "Ninjas are tools." Which lead her to meeting Taiju, Kin and Yugao. Every moment leading to now, she was always angry, using her anger to make herself chase strength so she would never feel weak had finally reached it's limit.
"I-I hate this feeling..." She fights back a sob, a tear escaped her eyes just to freeze halfway down her cheek.
Looking at her blade with full vulnerability, a rare display she vowed to be concealed until she died.
Sniff...sniff
"Are you happy now?" She chuckles through a sob, reaching for her blade, she takes the handle softly, changing from her usual firm hold that was about full control.
"F#ck it! I'll let you lead." She channels chakra into her blade, not forcing her weapon to contain her violent chakra, she emits her raw energy into her weapon.
WHOOOSSHH
A bright scarlet beam explodes around her, consuming her form in the vibrant energy–snowflakes flowing around the explosion of energy.
"Momiji." She calls out.
The scarlet enegy around her faded, her hair was back to it's vibrant red colour, eyes calm as a summer's breeze and her short blade had become pitch-black, her 40 cm long blade had a Kijo(female demon) engraved along the blade, red energy pulsing faintly.
"This is a weird feeling." Tayuya uttered, her voice loosing it's sharp edge, replaced with serenity.
Holding Momiji closer, she hears demonic laughter echoing from her blade.
"You are one crazy lady, you know that~"
-----
Kin Tsuchi
Kin understood that in every hierarchy there were the weakest links–those who were looked down upon and might be seen as sub-human to the few who dared to say it.
Orochimaru made it abundantly clear of that when she joined his Sound nation. From her 3-man team in the Sound to her 4-man squad currently with the infamous Squad-0 of Konoha.
In both of her teams she was the weakest, overlooked, underestimated in battle and the worst part was the forced sympathy to make her contempt worse.
Her ego died at the Chunin exams after her embarrassing loss to the Nara boy.
She was later discarded by Orochimaru after the failed invasion of Konoha and the forced rehabilitated to Squad-0 under Danzo's orders. Taiju,Tayuya and Yugao were amazing people to her, very bizarre characters but accepted her like family, but that never stopped the constant feeling of being weak, even in the pseudo-equality she could see through the illusion, suppressing her anger until she can show them her value as an equal.
The brutal loss to Ameyuri nearly crushed her spirit, and seeing the very people she respected fall as easily as she did, was not relieving, it mad her more furious.
Kin considered just letting go and dying buried by snow in a foreign land.
"I'm tired of feeling weak." She growls, standing in the middle of the snowy land, she clutches her blade with both hands like a prayer, pressing the sharp edge against her forehead protector, she starts to pray to her steel, seeing it as her only chance of salvation.
"I'm putting my faith in you." She promises, transferring her chakra into her blade, she puts all her strength into her steel.
HISSSS
A scorching wave of purple energy burns into the snow, poison seeping into the earth, destroying the life hibernating under it.
Kin was covered in violet slime, her eyes cloud white making her look like a toxic monster.
"Tsuchinoko." Kin revealed.
Her poisonous form diminished, returning back to her normal appearance– her blade still resembles a katana but by the point of her blade is shaped like a snakes head, a drop of purple liquid flowing down the blade.
Her surroundings is nothing but dead soil, dead roots sticking out. The snow was only present 50 meters from where she stood as if the cold is afraid of her poison.
Kin no longer felt any negative emotions, her tranquility came from the presence of her blade, no the presence of herself.
"Hey guys?" She calls out, not breaking her gaze on her blade.
Tayuya stood 60 metres from Kin, holding Momiji tightly as scarlet chakra glows in warning.
"Kin, honey. I don't like poison. " Tayuya warns.
Yugao had Runa pointed at Kin, a barely visible beam of yellow aimed at her student,
"So your awakening is poison?"
"Kami–you lot are amazing!" She chuckles excitedly, goosebumps forming all over her skin as Kin's surface area wasn't safe for her to enter. Kiba crackles in warning at their wielders curiosity.
"Sorry." Ameyuri chuckles, black eyes staring at Kin from a safe distance.
Taiju stood stare completely perplexed at what he has witnessed in the past week, he has spent hours upon hours training ruthlessly under Ameyuri, bare-handed comabat at all times, even when Ringo would attack him with her blade, he barely survived the sessions and the worst was when she just sent lightning bolts at him like a mobile training dummy.
Ameyuri refuses to give him a blade until he evolves.
Ameyuri turns to him, devilish grin dominating her face," Taiju, you better evolve fast cause these girls could kill you with one strike." She cackles into the howling wind, the cruel winter echoes her voice like a haunting alarm.
"You're all monsters."
Author's notice:
So I created sword awakening as away for predominantly swordsman or ninja-swordsman to use their chakra for combat outside of hand seals.
The awakened swords are all black blades as it is the superior metal for combat and I like the idea of steel blooming like flowers.
Yugao's blade, Runa: Meaning Luna–relating to her moon affinity.
Tayuya's blade, Momiji, a prominent femaledemon in Japanese folklore.
Kin's blade, Tsuchinoko: a Japanese snake-like cryptid, known for is high potencyof poison.
Please drop reviews on the story and Power stones please.