A World of Elements (Shini)

Malm opened his eyes as he stepped out of the portal to find himself in a park of somekind. All around him there were strange creatures frolicking amoung the numerous strange plants around him. Plants that bared a striking resemblance to the ones on the other side of the portal. Wait a second. They're the same kind. Could this be some residual effect by the portal?

"Here we are. Republic City. Are you sure my appearance won't cause us any unwanted attention?" Mouse asked as she gave a small stretch.

"It shouldn't. At least I hope not. Supposedly people will see you and Phos as Spirits from the Spirit Wilds." Malm explained to her once again.

"I hope so. The last thing we need is an angry mob chasing us."

Malm gave a small a small chuckle. "Yeah. We don't need another one of those."

A puff of smoke appeared besides Malm. Soon the thick fog disperse to reveal a goddess from within. She spun about with a serious look on her face and her hands before her chest, making some sort of sign. She looked about, dropping her hands and her gaze to the mage with her.

"... I just remembered what Kaseki told me..." she said to him, "Perhaps it's best I lay off my jutsu techniques for a bit..."

She looked for something, but could only find an odd old man rolling a cart of cabbages. How odd...

"Yeah. I don't think it's a good idea for me to use my magic either." Malm replied to Shini's remark about her having to lay off her Jutsu. Truth be told he was still not exactly use to being able to use fire magic now. While he had practice with it for a bit during their travels, it still was a completely different from what's he's use too. With Plant magic being more about patience while fire felt more reliant impulses then anything else.

"So where should we head off first?" He asked Shini with slight curiosity. He had no real knowledge about this city, and hope she may know more then he does.

She crossed her left arm across her chest in thought, holding her right elbow. Her hand rubbed her chin as he studied the odd cabbage salesman. Perhaps he would know.

"Perhaps he would know." she said to him, thanking her trailing thoughts. Perhaps that old man would know a thing or two on what to do. They would portray from visitors from another city, or even countryfolk. However with the addition of the bunny and mouse, Shini would find being a nomad from the "Spirit World" would be most believable.

This place, just seemed so... familiar.

Malm looked over at the man that Shini pointed at. "Perhaps he would." The mage agreed as he approached the man.

"Excuse me sir. We're new in town. Could you perhaps tell us some of the sights you would suggest for us to see?" Malm asked the man. Mouse hanged back with Shini as she watched. She was really hoping the man won't end up freaking out over their presence.

The man looked up with a massive smile on his face. He seemed to be on old friend of them. He waved to them, hearing little of the mage's words. "Check out the park!" he say. He pointed towards the center of the city, giving general directions.

Shini smiled in a joyful reply, raising her hand as well. However, with the mix of feelings and energy, the greeting changed for the worst. With a smile on her face fireballs shot from her hands, heading directly for the old man. "CRAP. UH. DUCK!!" The fire engulfed the tiny cart, searing all of the green vegetables within. She watched from a few dozen yards away, watching the cart burn. She heard his yelp, and his cry for help...

"... My cabbages..."

Shini turned to the green-haired one and took a step towards where he pointed before. "Let's go to the park..."

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Jutsu (Acidentally) Used:

Malm just watched in a combination of shock and awe as the fireball flew right past him and right straight into the poor merchant's cart. The fire burned the man's cabbages in blaze of glory. It felt kind of like the making of an elegy for the cabbages, and the man's career along with it.

"Oh gods. I'm sorry about that. Please let me see if I can't..." Malm tried to tell the merchant before finding himself being dragged away by a certain rabbit-looking thief. Mouse knew full well that if Malm went to help the poor merchant, they be having to wait there all night.

"Come on Malm. I know you want to help the poor man out, but I know his type. He would drain you dry for every penny your worth." She told the mage as she dragged him off after Shini.

This cause something to occur to Malm. "That wouldn't be all that hard. We don't exactly have any money we can spend in this world."

Mouse paused as she let go of Malm. It was true. They don't exactly have much money on them to begin with. Much less have any idea what the currency for this world is. Perhaps that should be their piece of business in this world.

"Mouse. Your not thinking what I think your thinking? Are you?"

She looked to her side, seeing a poster on the wall. She made her way out of the sight and view of the cityfolk, only to find they paid no attention to the old man anyways. She admired the art on the wall, a bit confused by it. It seemed to something of the elements that she knew so well, yet seemed to be some kind of fight.

She reached into her pockets to find some Ryo, only to find... she had no cash. "Malm, how well are you with combat?" she asked, looking to see if he was close behind. "I think I found something."

"I'm kind of alright I guess. Why did you ask?" Malm responded to Shini's question as he approached her. He then took note of the poster she was looking at. "Probending Tournament? What is that?"

"It looks to be some kind of fighting competition that popular in this world." Mouse said as she looked at the poster as well.

"Fighting competition? I don't know. Sounds pretty dangerous."

"I wouldn't worry about it. From the looks of it, it's safer then a friendly spar normally is in our world."

"How can you tell that from this one poster?"

"Because just about everything tends to be safer then a friendly spar in our world."

"Good point. I still remember how dangerous just being in the Fairy Tail guild house can be. Especially when alcohol is involved." Malm shivered a bit at the thought. While his stay with Fairy Tail before the war was brief, it was enough to leave a long lasting impression on him.

"Interesting." Shini said as the purpose was revealed. "Well, come to think of it, all spars in my world were with the intent to kill." She rose a brow at a second look at the poster before continuing to move along towards the center of the city. Even if they knew what to do, they didn't know [i]where[/t] to go.

"But come to think of it, this is Kaseki's home, right Malm?" Shini asked in a peculiar manner. "If he's from here, and is respected here, than we should expect these people to fight just like him... childish." She gave a smile at the thought. He was built to kill, destroy and torment... but all he ended up doing was building, repairing and making the world stronger. At least, when he wasn't being hunted and held with an insanely high bounty.

"Sparing with the intent to kill. That... Doesn't like a spar I would like to be apart of." Malm admitted as he rubbed the back of his head. While most of the friendly spars in Fiore were pretty dangerous, most of the times they weren't trying to actually kill each other. Just trying to show off each others strength and see if they could simply defeat one another. Not actually kill.

While Malm seemed to be in deep thought about something, Mouse decided to ring her opinion in on Shini's claim. "I don't think it's a good idea to think that everyone who lives in a single world fights just a like person who lived on that world who lives in that world years ago. It's like saying everyone in Fiore fights just like Malm or I do. Or that everyone in Ninja Village fights just like you do. So while Kaseki might be from and respected her, I highly doubt everyone here fights the same way he does." She told Shini as she looks at the poster. "Anyways I think we should see if we can't find something that can tell us the rules of this competition and where it's being held at."

"That's true..." Shini seemed to agree with the rodent, only to recall the many little stories that Kaseki once told. She would keep it to herself for the time being, only to remember some of the movements of Waterbending, as well as the strikes of a Firebender. They were just methods of fighting and using the elements to their full potential. That didn't mean that they all fought with the same intent, but the basics of each style remained.

"It seems like a big deal around here." Shini said, "I would only imagine this to be some sort of festival or game for them... that being said, we should ask around, or seek out a large building that could house this... arena."

"Yeah let's" Malm said in agreement with Shini. Surely there must be somewhere where they could find out about this probending thing. Yet there was one problem. "Now where to look at first?" The mage asked himself as he ponder on the question.

"Hey. What about that building over there? That kind of looks like a place you would hold such a competition at." Mouse said as she pointed over at a castle-like building out in the distance. Malm had to admit he was impressed with Mouse's keen eyesight. It was a strain to even see the building between all the other buildings from this distance.

"I don't know Mouse. It kind of looks more like the place were this country's king would call home then a fighting arena." Malm pointed out.

"Well there's only one way to be sure now is there."

"You don't want to go the place just to 'scope it out', do you?"

Mouse jumped up so she could smack Malm upside his head for that comment. "You should know by now that I haven't done anything like that since the war. Now come on." Mouse said as she began marching off the building.

Following the mage and his companion, Shini couldn't help but think about the actual mouse. Her thoughts began to flow once more thinking about the elements of the world once more.

"Wait, if this is the case.... then fire and lightning is the same element here..." she said out loud, "That means my world's limited steel, is common to those that move stone.." it was mindblowing for her to attempt to grasp it, but there was no time to waste. She continued to follow the mage.

But to think that people fought lightly, for fun, without the intent to kill.... Shini wasn't sure if she could do it.


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OOC : Sorry for short post.

As they made there way to the building, they heard Shini mentioning something about the similarities between her world and the one they are in now. "What was that Shini?" Malm asked not fully understanding what she was saying, or even realizing that she was just talking to herself.

Mouse, on the otherhand, choose to ignore it. Instead she found herself a bit unnerved by everyone staring at her. While this was mostly the same like everywhere else, it still wasn't something she was use to. At least in Hargeon she had the relief that just about everyone knew about her and she wasn't an uncommon sight anymore. Yet here, even though the people supposedly see her as a spirit, she still is apparently an unusual sight. She could guess that it was probably be that there were no spirits that looked quite like her. That, and she hasn't seem many spirits away from the forested parts of the city, so they probably aren't well known to leave those parts of the city.

Ehh... It can't be helped. She just needed to remove those thoughts from her mind and focus on the task at hand. Getting to the arena so they could make some money. At least she hoped they would be able to make some money that way.

Shini looked at Malm. "The poster." she said, "I think they allow only one user of each element, excluding wind, allowing you to pick of the other three."

She followed, a bit perplexed about the situation at hand. If this was the case, even Earth Jutsu would work the same. She would have to crossbend, the same forbidden technique that Kaseki was run out of Konogakure for. And if her guess was correct, she would gain the element opposite to her own personality, ans she would have to master it. But she would use it for a purpose she knew.

"That would mean, I'm an air bender." she would finally say.

"Is that so? Then I guess that would make me a firebender then." Malm thought out loud as he looked at his hands. It's still a bit strange to consider that he's able to use fire magic now. "So if I'm getting this right. We need a water bender, an earth bender, and a fire bender to compete. Well we have fire, but where are we going to get people who can control the other two elements. Perhaps this wasn't a great idea after all." Malm gave a depressed sigh just thinking about it.

"Well I guess you can count me out then. I don't exactly use the elements in my magic like you two do." Mouse said with a shrug, "Though that doesn't mean that I can't perhaps help you in other ways."

"What do you mean by that?" Malm asked with some suspicion.

"Cheering you on from the side lines. What do you think I meant?" Mouse explained slightly frustrated by Malm constantly accusing her. Yet Malm wasn't entirely convinced that is what she originally meant.

"Not quite..." she would say to herself. "The way Wind works in my world, is not the same as this. Maybe I could disguise my wind as earth." she would think about it, being able to levitate pieces of rock like an earthbender by using the wind. I seemed crazy enough to work.

"So then we're missing water." she'd say to him. She wondered how common it was to find another bender. Perhaps asking around for a bender, and finding more information would help them find a final member, as well answers to what this element battle was. After all...

Kaseki was born a water bender, and he always said how their was two lion turtles of water, rather than just two...

"If you say so? Though where exactly are we going to find a uhh... waterbender then?" Malm wondered aloud as he thought about it for a bit. "If only Kaseki was here. We would be unstoppable. Though I think that would kindof be cheating as well."

"Hey. Maybe I should enter this tourney with a bucket of water and convince them that it's waterbending." Mouse joked with a small chuckle.

"Maybe. Let's make that our plan B for now." Malm advised with a small chuckle as well, "You know. A thought just occurred to me. Perhaps we should watch a few matches of this work. We're not exactly benders, and it might be a good idea if we first see what exactly we are getting ourselves into."

"That's actually not a bad idea. Especially coming from you."

"... thanks..." Malm said a little downtrodden from the insult.

"However there is one problem with that. We have no money. I don't exactly expect this to be some free event. Which means in order for us to watch a match, we would have to sneak in." Mouse said before she noticed something, "And now that I think about it, we probably have to put some money in the pot in order to compete in the first place. I hate being broke."

"Wait..." Shini pondered the plan. While it seemed to make sense, perhaps they could even meet someone else who could point them into another beneficial direction. Their first issue was to locate the arena for such the event. Their second issue was getting in.

But Shini thought about the values of this world, as well as their knowledge of the outside world. "I'll say I'm the Avatar." she said. She knew that her Lightning would only convince them that she was a fire bender, and her flames would do just the same. Using half-signs, she could fool them into believing that she wasn't a ninja, or an outsider. But to use two elements, she could persuade them to think suck a thing. But then she remembered... "Kaseki is the avatar.'

She'd slump down at the thought, burying her hands into her pockets. Then she felt the cold metal. She pulled out a few silver coins that seemed to have a square cut out from the center. She didn't know where they came from, nor what they were. "Wait... Maybe..."

She pulled out the coins to show them to Malm, "Maybe this is the money here?" she said to Maim. "It's kinda weird... I had this dream that Kaseki gave it to me. Kinda weird that it's in my pocket..."

She looked at the handful of coins, a little dumbfounded at the thought that her dream came to life.

"The avatar?" Malm asked curiously when Shini mentioned she could say she was one. Yet it didn't seem like it was a good idea as she retrace her step, mentioning that Kaseki was the avatar. Malm wasn't exactly sure what that meant, but it seemed that it didn't much anyways. Could the avatar perhaps be an incarnation of a god or aspect of this world? That was what avatars usually were in his world.

It then turned out that Shini had money all along. Apparently she had a dream about Kaseki giving her some. Could it happen that her dreams happened to not be a dream after all? Probably.

"Well... I guess that takes care of the money issue. I mean. It doesn't seem like it's a lot, but you two probably could join the competition with that. Now that just leaves us with finding a water user for your team." Mouse thought aloud as she thought about it some more, "Surely we could find some sad sap with the ability to control water that's desperate enough to join a rag tag team for a tournament they hardly know anything about in an attempt to earn a quick buck."

"Right." she said, listing to the words of the rodent. She would seek out someone with the water affinity. It wouldn't be hard. With Chakra paper she could tell the affinity of most people, but with the other types of magic, it was also highly unpredictable.

"And the Avatar..." Shini turned to address the young mage once again. "There's 4 types of elemental benders. Fire, Air, Water and Earth. Everyone here is limited to just one element... except the avatar. They are able to master all the elements, as well as their alternate forms. They say they're born to each nation in a cycle... but I don't know for sure. I only know that Kaseki is hailed as the Avatar of this world because he has mastered every element known to man. But even if that was true, a new avatar is born only when the former dies... and Kaseki knew the first Avatar personally..."

She thought about it. If the Avatar was some embodiment of the holiest spirit, then there would have to be one that is just and evil, right? And if the spirit is only born again in the lives of a newborn... what spirit allowed Kaseki to control all the elements of his world? After all, even in another kingdom, everyone's powers word liked their homeland... So what was his secret?

"So the Avatar is the master of all four elements then. I guess that would make him special then." Malm said as he rubbed the back of his head, "I wonder who the real avatar of this world actually is?"

"Perhaps this isn't exactly the place we should be discussing this." Mouse replied in a hush tone as she took notice of the number of eyes that were on them. Knowledge of what the Avatar is seems to be pretty common place, and over hearing people discuss these facts in public was probably a point of concern for these folk. She guess it would kind of be like people discussing that magic exists back in Fiore. That kind of stuff tends to easily raise red flags in people's mind.

"So Shini. Seeing how you have some knowledge of this... city. Do you perhaps have nay idea where you may be able to find any water benders at?" She then asked the ninja, trying her best not to raise any more attention on their group then they already have.

"Well even though we are all in the same world essentially, we are still bound to the laws of our own realm." Shini would say, "Who knows. Kaseki's powers are the same as the benders here, so he has to be like the Avatar.."

She would be cut off in thought by Mouse, only suggesting to move their discussion to another location. But even so, the name of Kaseki seemed to put them at ease. They seemed to be more developed into the clash of societies and wars more so than any of the other kingdoms. Perhaps knowing that the one who was in charge was from their own world was something that they took pride in.

She would look around, only to see a large building on an extension of land. It seemed like a sports arena, or like in Konoha, a fighting building. She would look at it, only to motion in that direction to detour their journey. But perhaps that was the probending arena.

"In my world, we use Chakra Paper. Usually how they react to someone's touch will show what affinity the person has." She would pull out a few pieces of scrap paper from her pocket. "It's tricky if someone has multiple elements.. but in this world... their is only four, which is like mine, only excluding Lightning."

The thought of asking people to touch the paper seemed simple enough. She would trick them, or touch it to them to get her results. It wasn't difficult... it was only... odd.

"Well that takes cares of that problem I guess. Now we just need to find out where to start our search." Malm said as he looked at the paper. It was weird to know such a thing even existed. He wondered what the paper would possibly say about him.

"Well we are almost at what I'm guessing is the arena. I think our best chances is finding some sad sap around there. I mean, if this thing is as popular as I think it is, surely there must be some random water bender looking for a team he can join up in." Mouse advised with a small shrug.

"Sounds like a good plan to me. What do you think Shini?"