Waiting. Her manicured hands wrapped around a warm glazed clay mug. The minted aroma of freshly brewed herbal tea helped to put her mind at ease, in spite of the fact that she probably wouldn't finish. Heedlessly, she supped, for the feel of the steaming liquid as it traveled to her core, brought a satisfying calm to her body. This would be her last few moments in this homey hut, so she made sure it was tidy before departure. The wooden floor had been swept, the ceramic dishes, placed neatly into handmade cupboards; in both her and her nephew's old room, the beds had been made, and their things placed carefully in their proper place.
She now sat in the center room, which served as both the living and dining room, at the large wooded table, a single candle lit, hot wax sweating off beneath its solitary glow. It was night, but the brown-skinned woman was fully dressed. A Sleeveless Crimson clothed top, split tailed to her toned upper calves, polished stone bracelets, flex shorts, and wooden bata sandals (worn commonly by samurai), suited her for the events to come. The Wind Valley was asleep, yet the outside, the subtle sounds of sporadic scuffling was prevalent. The answer as to why, was not lost to her.
Again, she sipped her warm peppermint tea, focusing on relaxing her muscles. While not exactly in meditative state, she remained devoid of tension, and apprehension hadn't, and wouldn't make acquaintance with her mind, body, nor spirit. Regardless, her core still churned her energies continuously as practice had trained it to over several diligent years. The rustling noises outside were becoming more obvious. The enemy was restless... antsy. By will of her own mental prowess, adrenaline poured into her blood stream. Her future would occur any moment now...
A crack... A creak... Then... BAM!
The front door smashed open, and her chair was suddenly connecting with the poor military sap that burst it. The high pitched cacophonic shrill of shattering windows reached her ears and her elbow found home in the chest of a soldier attempting an attack from behind. There was a snap. His sternum broke, chest literally caved in. Lucidity was her art, for a simple spin to the left disarmed another of his firearm, while breaking his real one, leaving him to the spine shivering sounds of his own excruciating screams, lying next to his chest-less comrade who couldn't scream.
The government was relentless. Two more had already appeared at the door, firing high powered rounds in her direction. She was an Awakened spirit streamer, those that the jealous government hated and feared, and her spiritual core was already spreading energy throughout her body at exponential rates. She was prepared. Her precision allowed a spinning kick of her tea mug to smash into the forehead of one of them, following through in the same movement with her other leg to kick the entire heavy wood table in their direction, taking them both out cold. Her spirit was visible now. Its arcane presence gave off a dimmed blue glow, while her eyes blazed of spiritual energy. Her essences siphoned off of her skin like the water vapor from a boiling pot. Her muscles tightened and her veins constricted. These were the marks of one streaming the energies of their spirit.
"Don't let her leave the hut!" A voice shouted in panic. It was too late, the adept, "Awakened" had already made a sprint out her front door where the dirt paved housing circle had been overrun with dozens of government officials wearing their navy and silver flex armor, armed with AR-500 techsmithed battle rifles, and accompanied by military vehicles mounted with heavy artillery. She stopped in the center of the concentrically placed ranks, spirit continuing to stream in heightened state, a feat only the most skilled "Awakened" could accomplish without tiring. A trim officer wearing a beret and excessive gaudy medals over his heart spoke up. "Don't do this to yourself Kyomi."
For several moments the Awakened spirit streamer stood silent, expressionless. Her callousness was almost as terrifying as her monstrous strength. The Vanguard waited in suspense. Neighbors silently watched from dark homes. The blow of the wind and the low hiss of Kyomi's spirit was all that could be heard. Finally, she smirked. "What's done is already done." The tension was thick enough to choke on. In a flash, she crouched and leaped straight up into the air, her glow disappearing into the starry night sky.
The worried murmurs of unsure soldiers filled the air as they exchanged confused glances. Seconds later, a deafening explosion sounded and soldiers scattered like ants, firing frantically at nothing. Kyomi had landed atop one of the artillery reinforced vehicles, crushing it to uselessness. She'd gotten a grip on the long nosed barrel of its mounted artillery canon, and using her foot as an anchor, ripped it clean off. She then leaped off of the carrier, taking a swing at the nearest soldier literally knocking him out of the park. He screamed as far as they could hear him.
The sting of bullet wounds were felt in her right arm, and she reflexively turned and flung the decapitated weapon head in the direction they came from, successfully incapacitating two soldiers. Without losing her momentum, a low ducking rush allowed her to get into melee range of another unfortunate soldier without suffering injury. She grabbed him by the collar and gave him a superhuman head butt knocking him unconscious to save him from the pain of his next job: The Human Shield. Holding him off to the left with one arm, her free one shot into the gut of yet another soldier, the force of impact sending him careening into a local vehicle where he remained, unmoving.
Her eyes locked on the commander, shouting orders while moving towards an APC unit for cover. Cut off the head and the body will die. Using the remains of her bloody flesh shield for what it was worth to soak up incoming fire, she dashed for the armored vehicle, hurling the body off at the attackers to her left. The APC's burst canon fired a round at her. She had already jumped and landed next to the commander on top of the unit. He stumbled back onto the ground behind it, shakily pulling his pistol, only for her to disarm him with a break of his wrist. "GAAARGH!" He screamed.
She followed him down, where she was covered for the time being by the armored vehicle, and pressed the captain's own weapon against his medals. "You really shouldn't have done this to yourself." She pulled the trigger, dropped the weapon, and stood, cracking her knuckles, preparing for the next never ending wave of soldiers.
The battle raged on, Kyomi grew tired but never quit. Their numbers were their strong point. Her spirit was hers. For all of the talk of the corruptness of those that had been "Awakened" and accessed the core of their spirits, she gave them a reason to fear her. Wrongly the government hunted them, claiming to be commissioned by unseen gods, for committing unproven crimes. Well, tonight they would feel the wrath of a true "Awakened"… perhaps they would think twice about their imperialistic ambitions… and come to terms with what they were truly up against…










