Yoru stood off to the side of the stage, fingers flickering casually, prompting the kabuki humanoids to move and begin the show. "Lo, the story of Cunning Seagull and the Mountain King." The performer announced, listening as the 2-bit-band struck up a small tune. It was evening, the streetside performance had attracted a small crowd that was beginning to grow. Puppetry was not that common in Kirigakure, let alone one who used it so naturally as part of a show as Yoru did. Curiosity seemed to have snagged the audience for now, just the way he liked it. "Long ago, when animals could talk and when the gods still walked the earth, a contest was held by the king of the mountains, to see who was most fit to win his daughter's hand in marriage." Yoru announced, narrating the tale and using a free hand to pull down the backdrop of the mountains, as well as reveal two new puppets, one of an old man and his daughter. The kabuki master deepened his voice, opening and closing the mouth of the Mountain King to mimic his voice, "Whoever so can retrieve the Moon Lily from Mount Colossal will have my daughter as their bride." Yoru used his free hand again to form a few different hand seals, creating a benign genjutsu showing a vision of a mountain reaching up into the sky from on stage.
Yoru looked to the intrigued crowd, pausing for a moment to eye the children that had sat down to watch the show in wonder, as well as those increasingly captivated adults. Oh, he had 'em now. "None could scale the mountain's impossible summit, so instead, they used their powers to command their animal subjects to do so for them... The Forest King sent a hummingbird to use great speed to obtain the Moon Lily, yet froze before It reached the top. The Desert Queen sent a falcon to climb with all the ferocity it could muster toward the summit, yet was battered down by the even more ferocious winds. And the Storm King's Eagles, although able to reach the top, were unable to find the Moon Lily due to an otherworldly fog. All hope seemed lost, it would seem the Mountain King's daughter would be destine to never find love." Yoru explained, presenting three new figures with his remaining fingers, each representing an ancient god of the earth and the bird that they sent to retrieve the flower. After explaining the story, he moved them off stage, replacing the three with one.
"Lastly, there was Ocean King. He had no birds to fly and retrieve the Moon Lily, and so watched as the other gods competed for the princess's hand. Despite having loved her all his life, he feared that his watery abode would never be able to compete with such lofty heights." Yoru said, instantly gaining more attention once the obvious Kiri-god moved on stage. Nationalistic sympathies? Check. The Ocean King puppet looked to the princess, and her in return, seemingly destine to remain apart. "Determined to not give up, Ocean King called upon all the knowledge his subjects could bring him, crafting a new bird out of coral and saltwater unlike any other. 'Let it be crafty like a carp', 'Let it be as mentally sharp as the shark's tooth', 'Let it be brave like the great whales who dive deep into the dark below'... All these things and more, Ocean King put into his creation, molding it out of the sea until, at last-" Yoru said, moving a small bird to fly onto the stage, "The first seagull was made." He explained, smiling as the puppet fluttered about over the crowd for a short while, much to the delight of the crowd. He moved it back to rest on Ocean King's shoulder.
"When the other gods saw this new bird, they laughed. Such a small and ugly looking little thing could not possibly scale the heights of Mount Impossible, not when all others had failed! Ocean King remained firm, however, and knowing his love was on the line, sent the seagull out to begin its task." Yoru said, sliding all of the other puppets off the stage for a short while, leaving only seagul as he flew through the air, creating a number of effects such as wind and clouds through simple genjutsu, much to the delight of the audience. "Seagull was cunning, and knew that he could not reach the summit without help. Instead, he flew to the goddess of Fire, pleading for some of her flame. Touched by the bird and Ocean King's plight, she did so, allowing the Seagull to fly high up the mountain without freezing- only for the mighty winds to batter him back down..." Yoru continued, illustrating the scene by creating a woman made out of only fire to stand on stage, giving the puppet a small flame to carry in its beak, much like a hot coal. Although a genjutsu, it certainly took the audience by surprise! "Seagull waited for night to fall, seeing that, in fact, a pair of menacing wind yokai were guarding the path to the summit! What's more, they had been placed there by Mountain King himself! The miserly man had no intention of marrying off his daughter, and had only cooked up this scheme as part of a ruse to humiliate all the other gods!" Yoru said, showing a pair of menacing looking oni through illusion that hovered in the air, unaware of seagull's presence.
"Seagull waited until nightfall, hatching a plan. Using the flames of the fire goddess, he created a terrifying silhouette of himself that, when combined with his shrieking caw, so terrified the oni that they thought it surely was the king of the yokai himself coming to kill them both! The two fled, allowing Seagull safe passage... After flying further, Seagull at last reached the top of the mountain, as well as the unnatural fog blocking him from finding the Moon Lily." The seagull puppet fluttered up around the top of the illusory mountain, though a thick fog had materialized on stage that not even the flame goddess's fire could penetrate. "Finally, Seagull discovered the source of the fog: Mountain King's sleeping wife, the Queen of the Sky, she who held up heaven and all its wonders." Yoru said, moving a sleeping noblewoman onto the foggy mountaintop for Seagull to land in front of. "The bird knew that the queen would never allow him to leave with the Moon Lily, yet also knew that he had to wake her to get rid of the fog. So, again, he hatched plan..." Yoru said, coughing and getting his voice ready for a more crackly and high-pitched voice. "My wife, it is I, the King of the Mountains, embrace me so I may show you my love." Seagull said, hopping up onto the Queen of the Sky's chest as she began to stir, dissipating the fog. "Oh, my love, long have I slumbered, kiss me so I may wake again to see your face." The puppet said, its eyes fluttering as if stirring from sleep.
"Seagull said no more at this, hopping closer, and closer until THWAP! It pecked out both of her eyes!" Yoru shouted, replicating the events on stage and causing the Queen of the Sky to shriek and flail in alarm. "Seagull grabbed the revealed Moon Lily and flew as fast as he could, yet as he descended down the mountain, he could hear the words of the Queen of the Sky. She curse him to be the scum of all birds, to be loathed wherever he went, to bring nuissance and mischief, to be in all things a white rat with wings scrounging about at the feet of all other animals... Seagull brough the Moon Lily to Mountain King, allowing the princess and Ocean King to marry, yet, all that the Queen of the Sky said came to pass." Yoru said, showing the bird giving the Moon Lily to the old god, as well as the loving embrace of the two youths. As the scene died down, all other puppets besides seagull drifted off the stage. "Seagull remained cunning, but after that day, became what it is now today. He was the only bird Ocean King made, and although he is often seen as a pest now- there was a time, long ago, when he outwitted heaven herself, and the mountains she called home..." Yoru said, finishing the tale by using genjutsu to make the puppet seemingly disappear and be replaced by a real seagull that flew off into the night sky.
The crowd erupted into applause, the streetside play ending. Yoru stepped on stage, moving his puppets to stand up there with him. They gestured to the band that had been playing before all taking a bow together. With that done, Yoru watched a great deal of civilians begin tossing generous amounts of Ryo in his 'donation box'. It was enough to make his heart warm. What could be better? Indulging in a bit of kabuki theater as well as scrounging up some money ahead of the Chunin Exams? He felt a bit like cunning seagull himself, though with far more luck. As the crowd began to disperse, Yoru hopped down off the stage to begin counting the net profit, paying off the band as he did so.
So far, this was a great night for him. He hoped the luck would hold out....
Yoru looked to the intrigued crowd, pausing for a moment to eye the children that had sat down to watch the show in wonder, as well as those increasingly captivated adults. Oh, he had 'em now. "None could scale the mountain's impossible summit, so instead, they used their powers to command their animal subjects to do so for them... The Forest King sent a hummingbird to use great speed to obtain the Moon Lily, yet froze before It reached the top. The Desert Queen sent a falcon to climb with all the ferocity it could muster toward the summit, yet was battered down by the even more ferocious winds. And the Storm King's Eagles, although able to reach the top, were unable to find the Moon Lily due to an otherworldly fog. All hope seemed lost, it would seem the Mountain King's daughter would be destine to never find love." Yoru explained, presenting three new figures with his remaining fingers, each representing an ancient god of the earth and the bird that they sent to retrieve the flower. After explaining the story, he moved them off stage, replacing the three with one.
"Lastly, there was Ocean King. He had no birds to fly and retrieve the Moon Lily, and so watched as the other gods competed for the princess's hand. Despite having loved her all his life, he feared that his watery abode would never be able to compete with such lofty heights." Yoru said, instantly gaining more attention once the obvious Kiri-god moved on stage. Nationalistic sympathies? Check. The Ocean King puppet looked to the princess, and her in return, seemingly destine to remain apart. "Determined to not give up, Ocean King called upon all the knowledge his subjects could bring him, crafting a new bird out of coral and saltwater unlike any other. 'Let it be crafty like a carp', 'Let it be as mentally sharp as the shark's tooth', 'Let it be brave like the great whales who dive deep into the dark below'... All these things and more, Ocean King put into his creation, molding it out of the sea until, at last-" Yoru said, moving a small bird to fly onto the stage, "The first seagull was made." He explained, smiling as the puppet fluttered about over the crowd for a short while, much to the delight of the crowd. He moved it back to rest on Ocean King's shoulder.
"When the other gods saw this new bird, they laughed. Such a small and ugly looking little thing could not possibly scale the heights of Mount Impossible, not when all others had failed! Ocean King remained firm, however, and knowing his love was on the line, sent the seagull out to begin its task." Yoru said, sliding all of the other puppets off the stage for a short while, leaving only seagul as he flew through the air, creating a number of effects such as wind and clouds through simple genjutsu, much to the delight of the audience. "Seagull was cunning, and knew that he could not reach the summit without help. Instead, he flew to the goddess of Fire, pleading for some of her flame. Touched by the bird and Ocean King's plight, she did so, allowing the Seagull to fly high up the mountain without freezing- only for the mighty winds to batter him back down..." Yoru continued, illustrating the scene by creating a woman made out of only fire to stand on stage, giving the puppet a small flame to carry in its beak, much like a hot coal. Although a genjutsu, it certainly took the audience by surprise! "Seagull waited for night to fall, seeing that, in fact, a pair of menacing wind yokai were guarding the path to the summit! What's more, they had been placed there by Mountain King himself! The miserly man had no intention of marrying off his daughter, and had only cooked up this scheme as part of a ruse to humiliate all the other gods!" Yoru said, showing a pair of menacing looking oni through illusion that hovered in the air, unaware of seagull's presence.
"Seagull waited until nightfall, hatching a plan. Using the flames of the fire goddess, he created a terrifying silhouette of himself that, when combined with his shrieking caw, so terrified the oni that they thought it surely was the king of the yokai himself coming to kill them both! The two fled, allowing Seagull safe passage... After flying further, Seagull at last reached the top of the mountain, as well as the unnatural fog blocking him from finding the Moon Lily." The seagull puppet fluttered up around the top of the illusory mountain, though a thick fog had materialized on stage that not even the flame goddess's fire could penetrate. "Finally, Seagull discovered the source of the fog: Mountain King's sleeping wife, the Queen of the Sky, she who held up heaven and all its wonders." Yoru said, moving a sleeping noblewoman onto the foggy mountaintop for Seagull to land in front of. "The bird knew that the queen would never allow him to leave with the Moon Lily, yet also knew that he had to wake her to get rid of the fog. So, again, he hatched plan..." Yoru said, coughing and getting his voice ready for a more crackly and high-pitched voice. "My wife, it is I, the King of the Mountains, embrace me so I may show you my love." Seagull said, hopping up onto the Queen of the Sky's chest as she began to stir, dissipating the fog. "Oh, my love, long have I slumbered, kiss me so I may wake again to see your face." The puppet said, its eyes fluttering as if stirring from sleep.
"Seagull said no more at this, hopping closer, and closer until THWAP! It pecked out both of her eyes!" Yoru shouted, replicating the events on stage and causing the Queen of the Sky to shriek and flail in alarm. "Seagull grabbed the revealed Moon Lily and flew as fast as he could, yet as he descended down the mountain, he could hear the words of the Queen of the Sky. She curse him to be the scum of all birds, to be loathed wherever he went, to bring nuissance and mischief, to be in all things a white rat with wings scrounging about at the feet of all other animals... Seagull brough the Moon Lily to Mountain King, allowing the princess and Ocean King to marry, yet, all that the Queen of the Sky said came to pass." Yoru said, showing the bird giving the Moon Lily to the old god, as well as the loving embrace of the two youths. As the scene died down, all other puppets besides seagull drifted off the stage. "Seagull remained cunning, but after that day, became what it is now today. He was the only bird Ocean King made, and although he is often seen as a pest now- there was a time, long ago, when he outwitted heaven herself, and the mountains she called home..." Yoru said, finishing the tale by using genjutsu to make the puppet seemingly disappear and be replaced by a real seagull that flew off into the night sky.
The crowd erupted into applause, the streetside play ending. Yoru stepped on stage, moving his puppets to stand up there with him. They gestured to the band that had been playing before all taking a bow together. With that done, Yoru watched a great deal of civilians begin tossing generous amounts of Ryo in his 'donation box'. It was enough to make his heart warm. What could be better? Indulging in a bit of kabuki theater as well as scrounging up some money ahead of the Chunin Exams? He felt a bit like cunning seagull himself, though with far more luck. As the crowd began to disperse, Yoru hopped down off the stage to begin counting the net profit, paying off the band as he did so.
So far, this was a great night for him. He hoped the luck would hold out....
