[Kyodai Yuriko]

A vibrant slip of blue paper hangs from a bamboo shoot, blending in with the rest of the tanzaku. The spiky handwriting makes it hard to read, but the ink holds a simple wish:

I want to see the bamboo bloom.

[Fuji Naoko]

Wish: I wish to become one of the seven swordsman like the Kiba and have a really cool sword of my own!

[Okada Sakuraba]

Wandering, wondering, bamboos suddenly appeared on the cliffside. The barren wasteland that outsiders would call fruitless, but which this Iwa-nin called home - bamboos were invading the image! It was alarming at first, but there was a strange tradition rumored about this emergence of bamboo.

Something about making a wish on a tanabata. A piece of paper to be put at the very top of one of those sprouts. Obviously, Sakuraba wouldn't let a free wish go to waste - even if it was childish to expect anything from it. And thus, he climbed the tallest bamboo he could find - seeing Iwagakure in its full glory from there - and attached his wish:

"Make meh a dragon dat can protect Iwagakure from danguh."

[Maboroshi Masao]

Masao absentmindedly clapped along to a jubilant song that haphazardly played from somewhere in the small crowd around him. Currently he was leaning heavily into the half-facade of a venerable old man who had provided great service to his village, but was just waiting out his remaining time at this point. A great many likely bought into the act, others might suspect something lurked beneath his actions, less knew that it was an act and only a very select few knew that while it was intended as an act that there was a kernel of truth to it like all the best lies.

As an attendant pushed Masao towards one of the larger clusters of bamboo which had sprouted within the civilian districts of Ame the elderly man tenderly tied a scrap of paper with a rather mundane wish. A small amount of people closest to Masao cheered and he weakly smiled and waved to those around him who were kind enough to pay attention to the feeble husk in front of them. The words on the paper read 'May Amegakure be recognized rightfully so as a major village' which was a simple enough desire. Masao's true desire though echoed in his thoughts, a beast that grew more restless everyday longer that he lived.

Please, whatever powers that will heed my prayer. Let me last a little longer... Let me at least last until I can find someone I can truly trust to take over for me as I took over for Rin-Sama so many years ago.

The thought of the first Ame Lady nearly brought a tear to Masao's eyes as did the unavoidable reflection on his order to kill Honshiu later who had proved an incapable successor. Many more Lords and now a new Lady had followed and all of them came up short in Masao's eyes in one way or another. As far as he could see none of them held the all the skills a true leader needed. What was worse was he knew he was running out of time. While in some ways he slowly was pulling his mind back from the precipice, his body continued to weaken and he feared at any moment he could slip into a coma again. Yes, he certainly was running out of time much like this bamboo before him which was said would burn through its sudden life by the end of the month.

Made by Riley at THQ!

[Yasuraka Hitsukai]

Hitsukai ascended the narrow staircase leading from within the Temple of Bishamon up atop part of the plateau which surrounded Sunagakure proper. It was the one place he most felt at ease even as a young boy. The wind almost constantly blew with a surprising amount of strength with the occasional gust that as a child threatened to knock him over. Now though the pressure of the wind was just comforting, as if the village itself was giving him a familiar embrace to welcome him home.

Even up here a few stray stalks of the unnatural bamboo had sprouted from the stony crevices of the plateau. The monks while not putting any stop to the revelry of the common-folk or shinobi seemed unsettled at the very least at its appearance while others outright said it was a sign of terrible things to come. Hitsukai did not know what to believe. On one hand it was said to be expending some strange chakra, but on the other even Bishamon with his disdain for the usage of chakra objected merely to its manipulation and not its existence. For better or worse even he a sworn warrior of Bishamon had chakra within his body. Did this imply humans themselves were inherently apostates for simply existing? Hitsukai could not bring himself to belief Bishamon was such a hateful god. He was strict, at times to the point of brutality, but he was never hateful when dispensing his justice.

Crouching down with his arms crossed slightly across his knees as if to help prop himself up, Hitsukai stared at one of the bamboo stalks that even now seemed to be battling for its life among the harsh terrain and climate of Kaze no Kuni. "So what are you then? Are you a sign from the gods? Are you some ill omen? Are you just a some act of nature?" The questions lingered in the air, it already obvious the plant would not answer him, but a small part of Hitsukai was ever so slightly when the hope of Bishamon answering him showed him as unworthy of such treatment.

"Whatever you are, I hope Bishamon gives me the strength to deal with what lies ahead, but... I hope you are a sign from him, that this peace might continue."

Made by Riley at THQ!

[Nue Toru]

While Toru's smile was often commented on being just surface level, with the joy it was intended to indicate never quite reaching his eyes, today seemed to be an exception. Not only was the Head Medic grinning nearly ear to ear, but he even was going so far as to energetically hum as he went about writing on a small scrap of paper. The letters while incredibly small were written with his usual overly curved manner of writing.

| I hope more fun things like you appear. |

Finishing his written prayer Toru nearly danced over to where a small stalk of bamboo resided, simultaneously stretching himself out while also bending forward while extending his left leg backwards to act as a counter balance for the unnatural pose. Like a child at their first festival Toru quickly tied the Tanabata prayer to the stalk of bamboo before quickly clapping his hands together.

"Now, what will the result of this be I wonder?"

It was only then that Toru finally deigned to even look at the patient before him, one of the few prisoners he had left in his stockpiles from the dear child Shuka. She had been a good Lady for Yuki or rather a good lady for him, she had understood that sometimes sacrifices were needed and if one had prisoners that were going to be killed anyways that they might as well use them for those sacrifices.

This particular patient resting upon the table had been subjected to having a small stalk of the bamboo surgically inserted with its roots being wrapped around the delicate chakra pathways within the body. It had taken ages and the loss of both the patients arms before Toru had finally managed to properly locate the pathway within the leg. When such things went untrained they became such a pain to locate. Would the minimal supply of the patient's chakra help to fuel the bamboo's limited lifespan? Would the bamboo cause some unforeseen shift in the patient's chakra or chakra network? In all honesty Toru highly doubted it, but the confirmation either way was something he awaited with great excitement.

Made by Riley at THQ!

[Sourei Kobashi]

Kobashi circled around the bamboo. In part he was observing the crowd as a shinobi of Kirigakure, always on the outlook for any shinobi acting out of turn or for any signs of issues among the civilian populace. Admittedly though he also circled looking for a spot to approach the bamboo without bumping into anyone he was familiar with. He had no real desire to make small talk here and preferably he did not even wish to be seen here. Part of him felt a fool for even deciding to place a wish, but ultimately he also wanted whatever help he could get and maybe, just maybe the gods would look favorably upon him once more.

Spotting an opening Kobashi deftly wove through the crowd and within just the span of a moment found himself before the unnatural looking bamboo. With dexterous hands the Sourei quickly tied the slip of paper around the bamboo before shifting the small cluster of stalks to hopefully have his wish disappear into the light foliage. As soon as it was placed the young man clapped his hands once before immediately turning on his heel and leaving.

| Let my siblings reach chuunin without issue. |

It was perhaps an overly generic wish, but one he truly held. Besides he had no desire to leave any unnecessary information on the wish, if the gods were going to listen or help then they would know who he and his siblings were; anything beyond that was unnecessary. At least that was what Kobashi believed, what he told himself. The truth, the reality that he did not consciously accept was that the message might as well have read 'Let my siblings get strong enough that they don't need me.' that small dark corner of his soul which while fearing for their safety without him, also yearned for the death which had eluded him for so long.

Made by Riley at THQ!

[Akimichi Chono]

"Alright, who's next!"

The words boomed out of the Akimichi followed by a roar of his laughter accompanied by the cries of many children gathered near the bamboo. A fair amount of them were the children of clansmen or the families of those working for the Akimichi, but a great many still were just kids who had seen the previously mentioned children being lifted so as to tie their wishes higher up on the bamboo and were scared of missing out.

"Right, you're next. Up you go!"

Chono leaned down and quickly lifted the boy under the arms and raised him high into the air. For the first few seconds he simply laughed at the suddenly reality of towering above all the adults which normally loomed over him, but quickly a tiny tinge of fear set in as the boy gripped onto Chono's hands, apparently afraid he might fall.

"Don't worry I've got ya, hurry and tie on your wish. Wouldn't want to drop it now."

The child quickly acquiesced to Chono's gentle reminder of why he had been lifted in the first place and tied on his wish. Like some great crane the Akimichi lowered the boy and repeated the process for another child, slightly shifting his position to ensure the young girl had a free patch upon the bamboo to tie her wish to. All in all she seemed much braver than the previous child, never once grabbing at Chono's hands and only pausing to wave at a nearby woman who was probably some member of her family.

As Chono continued the process, it was unavoidable for his mind to wander a bit back to memories. Thoughts of lifting his own children this way at festivals whether to tie Tanabata or just to watch fireworks. His children had never wanted for the best vantage point on such occasions. They all were grown now and some had begun to make families of their own. While it filled him with immeasurable happiness, it also left a tinge of sadness with it as well. The opportunities to be a father were rapidly diminishing and while they were good kids, he could not shake the feeling it was in spite of his parenting rather than because of it.

As the thought crossed his mind again, Chono paused for a moment to glance upwards. It was difficult to see, but he knew somewhere at the absolute highest point on the tallest bamboo stalk was the wish he had written. In a rare selfish moment he had taken the point closest to the heavens for himself and was unlikely to let anyone close to it. The words were simple, but truly reflected his deepest hope.

| Let my children be twice the parent and even half as proud of their children as I |

Made by Riley at THQ!

[namikawa suisei]

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"A shooting star, huh?"[break][break]

Steady fingers fumble with colourful paper, a faint glow traced across her cheek as she stands before the towering bamboo shoot. Call it superstition, but how strange is it these have been left in the wake of a shooting star?[break][break]

"Silly humans with their silly little wishes! Imagine praying to a bamboo shoot!"[break][break]

"Hush now, Kou. Don't disrespect them."[break][break]

Each paper that hangs here is a soul laid bare. A heart and many, many thoughts poured into writing that perhaps will never be heard.[break][break]

"Do you not have wishes of your own?"[break][break]

"Hmmm... No?"[break][break]

With this little slip of paper and a careful splash of ink, she too will join them.[break][break]

"What about growing big enough to terrorise a country?"[break][break]

"You think too small! It's gonna be a continent! And it's gonna happen no matter what!"[break][break]

"I see." She laughs. Another stroke of the brush, another character scrawled down.[break][break]

"What about you then?"[break][break]

"Hmm... A secret!"[break][break]

Flipping the paper over, she reaches up and hangs the slip.[break][break]

"Awh, why can't you tell me?"[break][break]

"You might laugh."[break][break]

Waving a hand over her shoulder, she begins to walk away from the bamboo, unbothered if her lizard companion dares to sneak a peek at her wish or not. And in the wind it flutters, a sketch of a Lily of the Valley swaying and singing with the quiet chorus.

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tanabata bamboo

made by gimmick

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[Uchiha Tokaku]

Tokaku's Wish: I wish to become stronger with my Sharingan. Only then I can eventually take over the Uchiha Clan and then become Hokage. Then I'll lead Konoha to its former glory, crushing all of our enemies.

[Takehara Aiya]

Wish: I wish to one day be rid of my ghosts....

[Hana Chieko]

Wish: I wish for continued profits for my business and for maybe....someone special...

[Yuie Junichi]

When the shooting star flew overhead, despite the continuing tension between them, Kenichi got Junichi out of bed and pulled him outside and they stared up at the sky together to watch it pass. The next morning, when the stories of the tanabata bamboo spread around the village, Kenichi did it again, forcing Junichi to stop work to drag him out to see the sights.

There were so many colorful papers, people lining up to put down their wishes. Kenichi rambled for a long, long time, excited to try to decide what he wanted to wish for. Junichi didn't have to think about it at all, though.

When his turn came, he wrote, simply: "Make me strong enough to protect my brother."

[Senju Minazawa]

Minazawa's wish was relatively simple. She wished for little more than longevity and the restoration of her health that she'd since lost. Tying the Tanabata, she said a silent prayer, and wish it, she hoped to be able to be in the best condition she could be, so that when the times were dark, she could rise to the occasion to protect her loved ones, no longer impeded by the condition of her body. 

[Miyamoto Ikana]

Ikana's wish was relatively pedestrian, considering, as she took the Tanzaku and tied it firmly along one of the magical bamboo stalks so they put it. And why wouldn't she believe it was magical? Ikana wished for her happiness. To feel as if she belonged, and no longer felt so empty. Her life had since been filled devoid of purpose, as she desperately tried to fill it, and yet never felt "right" in any sense of the word.