| Book 1: Under the Bridge _____________________________ Mission: A Bridge Too Far Mission Type: Do whatever you want as long as you get your shit done. Village: Kirigakure Specific Request: A local carpenter in charge of building a bridge to a nearby island has reported hoodlums gathering near the worksite and chasing away his workers. They seem to be deliberately stalling the construction. Regardless of their reasons, they must be stopped in order for progress to continue. Recruit a friend and remove this minor threat, there is no telling how many of them are waiting for you at the bridge. Objective: Get rid of the thugs. SP Reward: 60sp Difficulty: Hard (++) Party: Kutaume Manko (Sozu), Amane Kousoku (MotionBlue) _____________________________ |
SozuJan 24, 2015 8:29 AM
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| "Good morning," a soft whisper curled into Manko's right ear, waking her up from a nap she and Amane decided to take before starting the mission. Manko rested the left side of her face on top of Amane's lap as she sat up against a tree. The tree was part of many in a small grove located between the hidden village and the location of the bridge. Manko's waking eyes met with a tender smile Amane flashed as she lightly brushed the strands of hair covering her eyes. The girls wore kimono dresses as part of their cover for the mission in accordance to Amane's thought that being disguised was best for the mission, but she what she really wanted was to see Manko in a dress. When the two were on there feet, they began walking north towards the coast where said bridge was being built. "Manko-chan is cute isn't she?" Amane asked in a melodic manner as if she were singing to Manko. The two would exchange in back and forth compliments throughout the remainder of their journey until they would arrive at the bridge where no one was to be found and their only sign of life or what was left of it, was a pool of blood in front of the construction site. |
| Did you know every time you sigh, a little bit of happiness escapes? ~Senjougahara Hitagi |
| The left side of her face felt warm, but not by any kind of warmness. It was an emotional kind of warmness. A warm feeling that came from not only a warm surface but also from a place meant for nurturing the young. A place well-known to every human being. A woman's lap. Sadly, as far as Manko knew, this lap didn't belong to a woman, yet. It belonged to a very smart young girl. But that didn't make her lap be any more or any less warm. She would be a woman some day, and her lap would simply keep radiating her warmth for as long as she lived. Manko liked that notion. This warmth is mine for as long as we live. Needless to say, it was the most comforting thing Manko had in her young and childish life. "Good Morning," she heard Amane say whilst she daydreamt of being cuddled by Amane while riding a pinkish white dolphin on a sea of chocolate smoothie. Her voice had gently tickled Manko's ear, making her squirm a little from it as she drowsily woke up. An instinct made her suck on her own mouth, only to find out that it was incredibly dry. Where's my dolphin when I need it... I want my chocolate smoothie back. Faced with the inevitability of her current lack of saliva, she turned her eyes towards the owner of the lap and the sweetest voice she had ever known. Kousoku Amane. A lovely girl, shy of 10 years old. Two more than young white-haired Manko. Feeling Amane run her fingers through her hair made her cheeks redden more than she would've licked to show - which was not showing it at all - and therefore she turned around and pressed her face against the famous lap of this story; and what a wondrous lap it was. The reason why Amane had chosen kimono dresses as part of their cover was no stranger to Manko. She knew how Amane found her cute, especially considering how she usually fumbled when putting on her kimono. Manko had mixed feelings about wearing a kimono for Amane. She knew that Amane wanted to see her wear a kimono so that she would walk awkwardly all the way to where the mission was, but she also felt happy that Amane had such an interest in her clumsiness (a part of hers she'd rather leave at home whenever she put on a kimono dress). Calling her cute didn't help her feelings about it in the slightest either. The plan was to exchange back and forth compliments throughout the remainder of their journey until the impending arrival at the bridge, but Manko was so embarassed and head-over-heels and annoyed that all she could do was mumble unintelligibly at every remark Amane would throw at her. And then they saw the blood. It wasn't recent, or else they would've noticed its smell from afar, but it was reason enough to expect rough tidings to come in the future. Her chocolate smoothie didn't seem like it'd stay still and peaceful for long. |
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| Amane took a quick glance at Manko's face as she studied the pool of blood. With a quick nod, Amane agreed with Manko's finding that the pool of blood was not recent, later smiling in satisfaction that her partner had made such a keen observation. Amane was then about to hug Manko in appreciation when she was interrupted by the voice of an old man yelling out, "Goddammit!" in frustration. The man's actual figure would eventually appear from under the bridge, mop and bucket in hand, presumably ready to clean up the mess. "Those hoodlums went and did it again," he added, settling his mop to side and tossing water from the bucket onto the pool of blood. He began cleaning up the mess before the two girls could say another word. Meanwhile Amane shot a look at Manko so as to say, "let's wait this one out," when the old man finally blurted out, "travelers! travelers! You ought to be careful you know. Recently these parts have been infested with filthy hoodlums so I'd best stay away from here if I were you." "Thank you," Amane responded. She would then grab Manko's hand, asking her, "aren't you hungry? I'm hungry! Let's go get some food!" Amane jubilantly proposed to her partner. The two would then head towards a small store close to the bridge where various dishes were sold. The two one order a plate of twenty gyoza to share, most of which were eaten by Amane. After they were finished, Amane pensively stare out of the window of their booth for several minutes until she finally told Manko, "you felt it too didn't you? Something is off with that old man. I think this time we are gonna have to use it," and by "it" Amane meant Genjutsu, an area the two girls studied rigorously in the Academy and were both proficient in. |
| Did you know every time you sigh, a little bit of happiness escapes? ~Senjougahara Hitagi |
| Manko was unaware of Amane's hugging intentions when the voice was heard. The pool was old enough to not bring a scent, but Manko didn't like the "smell" of the area they were in. The hoodlums had been there and it was obviously a dire situation the bridge had at hand. But that was exactly why the dry pool was odd. If they were attacking people working on the bridge, where were they now? Both parties were gone aside from the old man with the mop cleaning up the floor in front of them. There were no workers at the bridge and no hoodlums pestering them. "Those hoodlums went and did it again," the geezer said, brushing the pool with his wet mop. Such must have been his age that not only had he lacked most of his hair (aside from a silvery ahoge placed just over his left ear) but he also seemed to be lacking some of his wits, considering he hadn't noticed the two kimono wearing girls just next to him. Amane was giving her a signal when the geezer warned them of the slums, again disregarding their kimonos. That annoyed Manko. How could he not notice the splendor of Amane's figure in her kimono? She wanted to bash his face into the bloody floor for that. But Amane was the one meant to do the talking, Manko knew. For good reasons too. Not only was she the oldest and more mature, but she was also the less emotional of the two. Amane was more shinobi-like, if you will. They thanked the dumb old man and decided to go eat something to discuss what they had seen at the bridge. Amane's hand was warm, Manko felt like napping while cuddling it then and there, but some food would be good for the both of them. They hadn't eaten much since leaving the village and they'd need plenty of strength if they were to be engaged upon by the hoodlums. She felt jealous of Amane eating more than her, but she knew there had to be a reason for it. Either she's planning ahead for the mission or she's planning ahead for her weight... either one is good though, I like Amane-senpai softer. A lewdness filled her face when Amane spoke again. Seemingly she had felt something odd about the old man and, if she had felt something odd about him then, there had to be something wrong about him. Manko nodded in agreement, but she couldn't remember what Amane meant with "it". It must've been sometime when she was daydreaming of being with Amane somewhere else alone that the "it" would've had become more easily perceived. "Yes, Amane-senpai," Manko felt pretty ashamed by it, so that's all she said in hopes of remembering what the older girl had meant by "it" before "it" would come. |
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| Amane smiled after Manko responded with a stiff "Yes, Amane-senpai," half-restraining herself from pinching Manko's cheeks which resulted in an odd set of arm movements. However, the odd maneuvers were put on hold when a group of three lads entered the same shop, blabbering in an incoherent manner. They would eventually occupy a booth next to Amane and Manko, sitting on the side behind Amane. Their chatter grew louder, but in the least the two girls could understand clearly what they were saying. "Gh-ha! Looks like we didn't rope anything in today boys!" "Fucking old man, had us sitting on our asses all day and didn't even pay us!" "That's why we got him good! Next time there won't be any waiting!" The comments went on and on, each one increasing in audacity after the other. Amane continued to hold her smile as she finished eating her share of the meal. One of the lads, the tallest of the bunch, sporting short red shaggy hair turned around while taking a whiff of Amane's hair. His nose brushed up against the back of the neck all the way to the top of her skull. He let out a deep breath, his face flashing a crooked smile as he stated, "hey little one, why don't you come home with me?" "I'd save the invitation for another girl if I were you," a voice responded, which belong to the waitress approaching the girls' table. "Ah! Big sis! I-I'm sorry!" the lad immediately responded, turning back to his table. The girls' had no idea whom this lady was, but it was clear she had a level of influence on the group of lads. "Can I get you girls anything else?" the waitress said aloud before inching in closer between Manko and Amane before she whispered, "stay here until they leave. We'll talk later." "Manko-chan, shall we do dessert?" Amane asked not phased by the lad's past action. One would wonder why the interaction seemingly had no effect on her but it was quite the opposite. Amane had that boy's head marked, and he would pay dearly for what he just did. The girls shared a slice of roll cake, taking their time until the group of lads finally left the shop. They were left alone with the waitress at last. She cleared the table behind them then pulled up a chair to sit perpendicular to their table. "I haven't seen you girls around these parts, and there's nobody I don't know here," she stated in a manner that gave off a bit of arrogance. "We're visiting our aunt that lives on the island on the other side of the bridge because we thought construction for it would be complete but....," Amane began to explain. "But its not finished isn't it?" the waitress finished her sentence. "The old man in charge of the construction has had trouble maintaining order among his workers because that group of hoodlums you saw come in here earlier like to raid the construction site, but you see......that's only the cover story." "Cover story?" Amane asked, her interest clearly piqued by the sudden discovery. "Yep, that old geezer is just as crooked as those fools that came in here. Its all a trap. I bet you saw the pool of blood didn't you? That was to cover their asses." Amane let out a slight chuckle, confident she was right to suspect the old man in the first place. The waitress seemed like she had more to say but the late night was soon approaching. "Listen, there's more to story, but its getting late, and we've got to close shop around here. You're both more than welcome to stay the night. We have a guest room upstairs." "What do you think Manko-chan? Should we rest?" Amane asked, placing her hands on top of Manko. |
MotionBlueSep 3, 2014 4:26 AM
| Did you know every time you sigh, a little bit of happiness escapes? ~Senjougahara Hitagi |
| It was the woman that had just shown up that made her uncomfortable. There were multiple reasons for Manko to dislike the sudden appearance of this waitress into the story: she had saved Amane from the hoodlum that was funnily trying to seduce her, both of those actions were Manko's job; she claimed to know everyone in the village, which meant that she knew enough to be the one to send a real request to Kirigakure, which she hadn't done; Amane had decided to take her advice regardless and order dessert to pass the time until the shop was closed. Manko had nodded postively to both of Amane's inquiries, however. As a child, it was really hard for her to not want dessert, that was a given. Then, when asked if they should rest in the waitress's guest room, she nodded "yes" once again. The reason for this is that she didn't trust the waitress in the slightest, but she did have some information that she wanted to share with two completely strange girls to the village. Her with her heavy make-up, short hair, mini-skirt and wide ring earrings. This whole village stank to Manko and the only choices she had in her mind were to leave or to beat the crap out of the hoodlums and be done with it. Amane didn't seem to share that opinion though, so Manko just kept her mouth shut, as she knew it was best to trust her senpai than to trust her own 8-year-old instincts. She knew she wouldn't sleep that night, wanting to protect Amane from the dangers she felt all around her. |
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| The girls followed the waitress upstairs and into the room the two would be staying in. The trio had tea, during which the waitress managed to change the topic of conversation to the girls' background. Amane provided the thought about cover story before the mission, they were two girls from a nearby fishing village and were on their way to visit their aunt that was agreed to be in charge for their care by their father. As expected, the waitress kept mum about the rest of the story, figuring the two girls must be tired and should be left to rest for the night. She exited the room, closing the paper door and leaving Manko and Amane to ready themselves for bed. For the majority of the conversation, Manko rested the right side of her head on Amane's lap in a position Amane knew to be Manko's comfort zone. However, Amane sensed that Manko was on edge due to the sensation of her heavy breathing on her lap. "I know she's a liar," a confident Amane whispered into Manko's ear. "Its time to put everyone to sleep Manko, nice and quiet," Amane brushed the side of Manko's face with the back of her right hand, signaling her to get up. Amane put out the electric light, undressing the kimono soon after. Under the kimono she wore a trimmed down, and much skin tighter version of her ninja garment. As Manko finished undressing, a flurry of footsteps prompted Amane to abruptly tackled Manko to the ground, throwing the futon over their heads. The paper door slid open, a barely visible figure peeking into the room. After several seconds the door closed shut accompanied by whispers in the hallway. Amane pushed off the covers then walked towards the window. She glanced at Manko, whom finished her own preparations then pointed outside. The girls maneuvered along a balcony attached to the building, advancing towards the front of the shop. When Amane passed by a certain window, a low grunt stopped her, her back next to wall by the left side of the window as she signaled Manko to duck under the window. A head popped out, and under the moonlight, the girls realized it was one of the guys from before, Manko instinctively slide a kunai through the bottom of his jaw while Amane placed her hands over his mouth to blocked out his screaming. His body was left unmoved, his neck still hanging from the windowsill. Upon closer inspection, there was another hoodlum inside the room sound asleep. The girls' entered and quickly disposed of him before he had the chance to wake up. To their surprise, footsteps could be heard approaching at a slow pace. Amane smiled at Manko, visible through the faint moonlight entering the room. Manko would wait by the window while Amane took to the corner by the paper door, weaving together the hand sings of the snake and rat. Then came the man, the same one that had made a pass at Amane downstairs. The man stared in disbelief, unable to speak from what he was looking at, at least what he could through the darkness. "Behind you," Manko commanded and he did, where Amane waited for him, her hands weaved into the sign of the rat. "Demonic Illusion, Hell Viewing Technique," Amane stated softly as a breeze slipped in through the window, carrying the man's consciousness into a nightmare. The man screamed whilst rolling on the floor, caught in Amane's genjutsu which triggered a set of lights to turn on including the room the girls where in by Amane. Frantic footsteps followed, and in the doorway, she finally appeared, the waitress, dressed in a nightgown, infuriated by what she had just seen. |
| Did you know every time you sigh, a little bit of happiness escapes? ~Senjougahara Hitagi |
| Her sour mood had remained for the rest of the evening. The tea tasted poorly, not sure if because of her mood or because of the tea itself, so Manko figured she'd just nap until the older two were done with their yabber-jabber. She was, after all, not interested in the telling of their own made-up story and she'd need to be as rested as she could for the long night to come. Realizing that Amane was offering her her lap to nap on, she felt her ears and cheeks redden and dove her head right on her older sister's lap to muffle the embarassment. Therefore, the reason Manko was heavy breathing on Amane's lap wasn't from being uncomfortable in a place with enemies all around them. The heavy breathing was brought upon by her own childlike lewdness. Gehehehe~ Adding insult to injury, however, was Amane brushing the side of her face with the back of her hand. Her left hand went straight to her nose to impede the nosebleeding, only to notice that Amane's lap was wet with her drool. Moving on to bed time, both the girls said goodbye to the lying pair of boobs, a quite affectionate nickname Manko had thought of - it's to be reminded that the two kunoichi don't yet have chests... or noticeable chests, that is - and only after the whole coming to check on them bullshit was she able to get dressed. She promised herself she'd kill them for ruining her precious and hot alone time with Amane in a room that wasn't of either of them, if not for being actually guilty of working with the hoodlums. They got out of their room through the window and she bathed in sweet sweet blood as the first guy came out of his own window to see if he had heard anything after all. Her head and upper body had been dyed in red when they got inside the bedroom and disposed of his partner just the same. And that was when they heard the steps. The steps belonged to the disgusting male that had tried to seduce her Precious. As much as she would've loved to kill him herself, Amane wanted to as well, and she had a much better reason to. Not to mention that his fate would be much worse being left to Amane's Genjutsu than her own kunai. So as he cried on agony, rolling on the floor and salivating everywhere around him. Then the lights turned on and the waitress showed up, both infuriated by what she had just seen and in disbelief by two little girls killing three grown men. She's a good cunty actress, I'll give her that. But before she could complain even further, Manko thought she could hear something coming from the outside while Amane tried calming the waitress down and so she looked. It didn't take long for her to notice what was making the noise. A big fuuma shuriken was coming at them. All Manko had time to do then was to turn, jump at the waitress, dropkick the waitress to jump in Amane's direction and tackle her onto the floor as the giant shuriken hit the wall of the hallway. Manko felt good about herself for being able to notice the danger and for being able to hit the bitch while having a good excuse to do so. Amane feels so soft under me though... So she hugged Amane and blissfully sniffed her, which could easily be confused with weeping. The waitress had sprained her wrist when falling on the floor and the dropkick had damaged one of her ribs, while Manko had sadly been cut on her shoulder by the shuriken. "THAT'S IT! I was trying to be nice toyou two because you're so young, but I WON'T have FUCKING FIGHTING IN MY HOUSE," she berated at the two while other people rushed to see what was happening. And then the fuuma shuriken puffed and dissolved into a small cloud of dust. |
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| Amane fastened her arms around Manko after the shuriken dissolved, hoping to ease the pain of Manko’s wound. However, her makeshift first-aid care would quickly come to an end as Amane kicked the waitress on her right shin out of spite. The waitress in turn drew a sharp needle like weapon from her bosom preparing to retaliate. Amane pushed off Manko to her left side as the waitress’ hands came down upon Amane. Amane raised her hands to guide the waitress’ hands to her right, avoiding any fatal damage. With the weapon stuck to the floor, Amane’s hands were now bathed in blood from her efforts. Reaching her limits the waitress’ rage transformed into a blind fury, relinquishing the weapon in exchange for her own fists. She wrapped her hands around Amane’s neck as the girl gripped the waitress’ wrist, painting them with blood. Amane was having trouble breathing with each passing second, to the point where she began fading in and out of consciousness. The cracks in her voice being the only lingering signs of life. Today would not be her day to die however, as another fuuma shuriken sailed through the window, lodging itself into the side of the waitress' head. Her grips on Amane loosen, and her body felt silently to the floor. Amane began to cough violently upon her release, fighting to regain her breath. Periodically she would pause mid-cough to gasp for air. She eventually felt Manko frantically crawl up to her and latching herself onto Amane. Amane returned the embrace as tears flowed down her blood shot eyes, apologizing to Manko when she was finally able to speak. |
| Did you know every time you sigh, a little bit of happiness escapes? ~Senjougahara Hitagi |
| Lying on Amane, Manko hadn't noticed how the waitress angered over them; especially not after Amane hugged her as the shuriken dissolved. It felt so relaxing for Manko to be lying on her older sister that it seemed like the feeling went for an eternity until she found herself to Amane's left side, with the waitress's head impaled by yet another fuuma shuriken and Amane gasping, fighting for her breath to come back to her. Manko felt terrible about herself. She felt guilty that she hadn't been awake to protect Amane. It was her desire to protect Amane and be as pretty has her older sister, and if she couldn't protect her that beauty would sooner leave her than later - at that age us (asian) women go from hot mature milf to dried up old mini hag. But that was when the second fuuma shuriken exploded in a cloud of smoke and a very tall hooded man showed up from it. He wore his sea-green hair combed back; his eyes were one green, one golden, so much alike that you never knew which was the green and which was the golden one; aside from that, his face contained a scar going across his nose. His hood, on the other hand, was completely devoid of colour, although not devoid of personality. It would be a plain grey hood that covered his whole body if not for the light golden embroidment it had all over itself. Manko tried to make something out of the pretty embroidment but couldn't figure anything out from it. "Ahhhh, maitta ne... this wasn't supposed to happen," he scratched the back of his head and worried as he knelt and fickled over the dead bloody body sliding down onto the floor now that it had no shuriken to hold it in place. It took him a while to pay attention to the girls, even though they knew he was aware of them from the start. His position made it so. He was placed between the girls and the dead body and the half-dozen people looking through the other side of the hall, people that couldn't believe what they saw. "Humm... what do you two say we get out of here?" He forced an embarassed smile at the two and grabbed the two under his arms, not waiting for their answer. He then turned to the people in the hallway, "I'm sorry for what happened here tonight, my two kids can be a bit reckless and misbehaved sometimes. I hope this can cover the expenses," he said as he tilted his head back and regurgitated a scroll and spit it at them. One of them caught it in his chest with his hands, it was yucky with saliva, he threw it to someone else who threw it to a woman who hit him in the head with it and then threw it to their backs. Meanwhile, with all the ruckus inside, the man had had time to get on the window frame from where the shurikens had came from. He was still holding the two girls under each arm as he yelled back inside, "in there you have a check, be sure to cash it in soon as it's due tomorrow!" He then took the girls away to a camp he had made for himself. It was a dirty camp, as dirty as any man's batcave. He offered the girls the tent as he slept by the fireplace. They didn't think it smart, so they refused his offer and decided to stay outside, where they could see any incoming attacks. He seemed hurt that they didn't trust him, even though he hadn't done anything to make them think of him so. He decided that the next day they'd be able to ask him any questions they had, but "right now it's too late for two young girls to be up and about, go and sleep. Tomorrow will be a big day for the two of you." |
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| The girls spent the night sleeping outside in their preferred sleeping arraignment that consisted of Manko resting the left side of her face on top of Amane's lap while Amane sat up against a tree. The two spent the night in this arraignment as if they were frozen in time. Time did pass eventually, and as usual, the first to wake up was Amane. What had awoken Amane was the smell of a peculiar concoction that was stirring above the fire the man had set. She could not recognize the smell, but it was potent enough to draw her interest. It was past morning, with the sun fully out yet blocked out by the numerous trees surrounding them. They were in a forest, not the same one the girls passed through on their way to the village. That much Amane understood. The man was standing over the fire, staring intently at the brew he was preparing. Although he looked as if he was unaware Amane had woken up, he knew well that she had been up the entire time she spent staring at him. When he returned his gaze to her, she bent her head down in embarrassment, her face flushed red. "There's no need for that," the man responded to her gesture. "Go ahead ask away," he added. It took Amane a while to gather herself together without disturbing Manko in her sleep. When she was ready, a smile flashed across the face as she tilted her head up to meet the man's eyes. "You were using them the whole time to lure us in weren't you?" |
| Did you know every time you sigh, a little bit of happiness escapes? ~Senjougahara Hitagi |
| "You were using them the whole time to lure us in weren't you?" He chuckled and went back to his brew. He hadn't anticipated such a question. He had only mentally prepared himself for questions like: "Who even are you?", "What's your name?", "Where do you come from?", "Why did you take us away from the inn?", "What is your purpose here?". Somehow, he had expected the 10-year-old to be more respectful to her elders and not start off with accusative questions about him. After a little, while staring at the boiling brew, he answered her. "I don't even know them. I came here for the same purpose as you two, although our intel seems to be fairly different from yours, or else genin like you wouldn't have been sent here," it was unclear if he meant the two of the girls or just Amane, but it was remarkable that he knew they were only as strong as a genin considering they were 10 and 8. "These aren't simply hooligans. The only reason you were able to kill three was because they had been drinking and were happily just waiting on their prostitutes... the one who opened the window probably even thought they meant to surprise them in a new way. I hope you know you were in a whore house, love hotel, brothel, whatever you want to call it, and the woman giving you a place to stay meant to have you grow up there and become part of it," the man lectured, avoiding talking about the hooligans. Looking back to Amane, he noticed Manko who is sleeping soundly next to the tree. "Your friend has an interesting hair pattern... is that common in the Land of Water?" It was apparent he was a shinobi, but definitely not from Kirigakure. That was as apparent as the few silvery hairs on his head and the silver shine from the embroidment of his coat that could both now be seen at the light of day. He must've been in his 30's, just like Senken. Right then the brew got noisier, he turned back and took it out of the fire. Put some of it in a couple wooden bowls, gave one to Amane, sat down on the humid weedy ground and threw a couple chopsticks at Amane, waiting on her answer. He couldn't help but stare at the sleeping Manko every once in a while, however, wondering about the black skull pattern on her white mane. It can't be... She can't be... |
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| "Your friend has an interesting hair pattern... is that common in the Land of Water?" The question played back in a continuous loop in her mind long after he asked it. Her brows lowered as she accepted a bowl from the man, a stew of some sort. She finally shook her head in response to his question before taking scooping up some of the stew. After swallowing a bit of the bitter stew, her lips squeezed together in reaction to the taste, however food was food, and it was a while since the two had ate anything so she continued to eat in silence. Amane was aware that Manko was not Senken’s daughter by birth. In fact, when Senken first brought the girl in the village, her father was one of the few that agreed with him keeping the child. Amane confirmed her suspicion that Manko was not originally from the village through eavesdropping on one of her parents’ many quarrels. Flashback Nekki: “I got a call from the Academy about Amane today. She was in another fight defending that girl.” Amane (Father): “You’re making it sound as if she is in the wrong.” Nekki: “She’s not, she did the same thing her father did before her, and would still do. In fact I’m jealous. She’s turning out to be more like you than me.” Amane (Father): “You’re not still upset about moving here right?” Nekki: “I have no regrets, it’s just, whenever I hear about Manko, I can’t help but to feel like she will always be treated like an outsider. I mean look at me….I- Amane (Father): “But no one treats you that way….” Nekki: “And that’s because of you and Amane is your daughter by birth but Manko….and Senken…..h-“ Amane (Father): “Wait stop! It’s Amane, she’s here. Amane come out right now honey….we have to talk……” Flashback end Amane finished her bowl, setting it by her right side as she took a look at Manko whose eyes were squinting as she begun to wake up. “Hey there sleepyhead,” Amane whimpered as she fought back tears from the recollection of the past. Amane hated jumping to conclusions but she was sharp, recognizing the few silvery hairs on the man’s head and the silver shine from the embroidment of his coat. This wasn’t a coincidence, not to her who did not believe in that sort of thing. Amane hugged Manko as she sat up, staring at the man with eyes that prepared for the worst case scenario. Whatever this man had up his sleeve, he was not taking Manko away from her. |
| Did you know every time you sigh, a little bit of happiness escapes? ~Senjougahara Hitagi |
| "Hey there sleepyhead," Manko heard. In truth, she had just been half-asleep ever since the sun came up. At the time, she drowsily opened her eyes only to notice the green-haired man squinting at them from afar. She had promised herself not to sleep that night, but she had fallen to the temptation of Amane's lap still early in the night. So, has soon as the sun came up and she woke up from the light, she decided to stay put, not only for the warmth of Amane's lap but also to spy on the green-haired man, unaware that he knew of her intentions. Then, Amane woke up and prompted to ask her single question. Manko knew in her maiden's heart that he wasn't evil, so that question was weird for her. He still answered her regardless and gave her more info than he ought to. He even gave her food! There was probably food for Manko too. But she had been building up a need to pee ever since she had woken up and had been holding it in ever since. The sound of the stew boiling and it being poured into the bowls hadn't helped either. "Hey there, sleepyhead," Manko heard, prompting her to get up and live the day formerly informed as a 'big day'. So she got up, but then she noticed Amane's tears and that was the last drop. She wet herself. Her face reddened like a tomato while her legs shone golden like good blonde beer. Steam lifted from her location as she covered her face while her legs struggled attempting to close the stream between her legs. And she cried. She cried like any 8-year-old might cry facing public humiliation. On top of that, she was a kunoichi; humiliation wasn't in her dictionary. Her worst nightmare had come true, she had been humiliated in front of Amane, the one person she wanted to rely on and be relied upon. How could Amane rely on her when she was a public urinator? She couldn't there was no way. On top of this, they still had a mission to finish and her attire was now completely ruined since it was a one-piece. While Amane tried calming Manko down, the green-haired man managed to take out his cape, cut half of it and threw one of the halves towards Amane. "You two go wash up and give that to the youngest. There's a small lake beyond those trees where you can clean yourselves up, the coast where the bridge is isn't safe," he said, even though it meant that Manko would have to walk around completely naked under her half of the cape. Nothing noteworthy could be said about the green-haired man's now exposed lower half. |
SozuSep 13, 2014 7:17 AM
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| Amane gathered the torn half of the cape while consoling Manko, who's head was now buried deep into her chest, agonizing over having exposed herself in such a manner in front of her senior. Amane stroked her hair when the girl's stream of urine had ceased, soaking her own feet in the process. "All done, now let's go clean up," Amane would go on to say, wrapping her left arm around Manko's back, then scooping up her legs with her right arm to carry her towards the lake. The girls slowly disappeared from the green-haired man's sight. When they had arrived at the lake the man informed them about, Amane stopped by the shore to survey the area. It was still relatively early so there was not a body in sight. Just as the green-haired man added, the bridge stood in the horizon far enough for the two to be in any sort of harm. Amane slowly let down Manko's legs as she sniffled through the last few bits of her tears. She helped Manko undress before she took off her own clothes, grabbing Manko by the hand before leading her into the lake. First Amane's right toes brush the surface of the water, lukewarm in temperature. "It's OK," she whispered, walking further into the lake while pulling Manko along. Amane washed Manko's hair as best she could along with the rest of her body while she sat at a depth that covered her chest. Manko's face was still red throughout the process, even up to when the girl's got dressed again. The two would make their way back to the camp this time without Amane carrying Manko. "I'm sorry for making you cry Ma-chan," Amane would apologize for Manko seeing her cry. "That man, we don't need him, we are fine on our own. Let's thank him and go our separate ways," she added. "We are back," Amane stated when the girls returned to camp. "And we would like to thank you for your generosity but I'm afraid we will be taking our leave," Amane suddenly said. |
| Did you know every time you sigh, a little bit of happiness escapes? ~Senjougahara Hitagi |
| Manko went with Amane willingly. She was incredibly embarassed from peeing herself in front of Amane, and even more so when she noticed from the bottom end of her eyes that she had wet her senpai's feet from it. But at the same time, she felt reassured that Amane did not care about her peeing in public and that she just wanted Manko to calm down, implying to her subconscious that it was all okay. Arriving at the lake the man informed them about, Manko just sulked all the time. She wasn't proud of what she had done, and was starting to feel annoyed that Amane didn't have a bigger reaction to it. It was like Amane was implying that Manko peeing herself was something perfectly normal. She would not have it! By then she was already undressed by her senior, so she just went along with her, still sulking. Washing her hair was what made her feel good again, she had always loved to have her hair brushed and/or scrubbed by someone else, and the fact that it was Amane doing it only made the feeling even better. She found herself imagining the two of them living together and taking showers together everyday. Amane washing Manko's hair and Manko washing Amane's back. But whenever Amane tried peeking at her front, Manko felt too shy about it and hid her chest in the water, slightly embarassed despite her feelings of wanting such skinship with the older girl. Manko whispered to herself, "it's not nee-chan's fault," when Amane apologized, making no remarks about Amane's own opinion of the man who had given her the only "clothes" she had to wear. As the girls got to the camp, Amane suddenly said goodbye to the green-haired man, only to find out that he wasn't in the camp at all. In fact, the camp was gone altogether. Not even traces of the fire could be found in the area that had been once the camp where they slept and where they had a brew with a green-haired man. It felt like a dream to the two girls. Not even the pee smell had stayed where Manko had peed herself. The only thing reassuring that their entire night and morning hadn't been a dream was the half of his cape now covering the fully nude Manko, glistening whenever rains of sun touched it. It was eerie to witness such an event, but the girls still had a mission to do. They gathered back up their courage and moved on once again towards the village, unaware of what would await them the rest of the day... |
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| Amane's confidence got the best of her, speaking words that made her seem like a fool when she realized she was talking to nobody. The man had disappeared and the camp along with him. She was on edge, and Manko could feel Amane's unsteadiness by the shaking of her hand against hers. On their way back towards the village, Amane grew more visibly unsteady as she continuously checked their surroundings. Her eyes shifted rapidly from one side to the other as if they were following a dot of light from an eye examination. "I don't like this," she muttered to herself, among other incoherent words. Manko didn't like it, and she began to tug back at Amane's arm in order to draw her attention away from whatever she was thinking about. "DAMMIT!" Amane angrily shouted, forcefully pulling her hand away from Manko, then punching a nearby tree with the same hand. She was at her limit. The man bested her, proving that both her and Manko are helpless, which they ought to be given their age. She cringed in pain from the impact, slowly withdrawing her hand away from the tree bark. Not a single mark was made on the bark, but her hand was another story. A partially distraught Manko lunged toward Amane, embracing her as soon as she saw Amane's bruises on her hand. Amane returned the gesture, relaxing her face so that she could smile. "I know, I'm sorry, Its just that things aren't working the way I'd like to with this guy, but that just means we have to be a little more careful right?" A rejuvenated Amane walked hand in hand with Manko on their path to the village once again. When the girls arrived at the village, the environment had changed completely from when they first visited. The village was booming with life at every corner, villagers were carrying merchandise up and down the streets. Children played joyfully around the adults. Everything seemed to be incredibly normal, all except the side where the bridge was being built. From their perspective, he girls could see that not a single soul was around the bridge. On top of that, the girls just finished disposing of the thugs last night, which begged the question, when was the town finally planning to fix that thing? However, what Amane didn't realize was that from the moment the girls had entered the village, they were being watched. At every corner, side street, and alleyway, someone was waiting, watching the two girls pass them by. To the villagers, Amane and Manko were just a pair of girls that look lost due to their tattered clothes. This was something Amane overlooked during her fit earlier. "This place isn't safe either," she told Manko, while checking her surroundings as her eyes met with one of the onlookers. "We've got to find a way to get in contact with home," she whispered to Manko, right when she saw an elderly woman carrying groceries stood several feet away from them. "Let's ask that lady," Amane suggested, hoping Manko would agree with her. |
MotionBlueSep 16, 2014 7:05 AM
| Did you know every time you sigh, a little bit of happiness escapes? ~Senjougahara Hitagi |
| Manko didn't know what to agree with anymore. She felt tired even though they hadn't actually done anything so far apart from killing three guys they hadn't liked, which would later on be known to be part of the hoodlum group terrorizing the bridge's construction. All of this uncertainty in her young frail maiden heart made her solemnly nod her head in agreement to what Amane had suggested. As Amane suggested, she quickly went to ask the old broad about a way to contact Kirigakure, hoping Manko would agree with her but not actually waiting for an answer from the smaller girl. Amane kept calling her, but she wouldn't listen to her cries. Finally Amane, starting to get annoyed from her already distressed state, starts tugging at the elderly woman's clothing and so the woman turns back to face the girls. From under her hood, the woman faced them with empty, dead eyes. A truly frightening sight, a wrinkly old face with eyes completely devoid of life or even awareness looking at two little little girls that had so much still in them to live with. Luckily for them, the old woman really did seem unaware of their presence. So as the girls just stared at the woman's face and she didn't react to them, they stood still until the woman turned back towards where she was headed beforehand, never knowing what had tugged on her and complaining about her old age playing tricks on her. That's was when Amane realized that even though she felt like they were being watched, everyone around them seemed not to realize they existed. An uneasy feeling started filling the girl's insides, with bile going up Amane's throat. Manko hugged her older sister, scared not only of her surroundings but also of Amane's growing discomposure. Then she hypothesized that the brew the Green-Haired Man had prepared for the girls had been part of an elaborate Genjutsu. She attempted to dispell the Genjutsu, to no avail as there was no Genjutsu to being with even though she could feel from the start that it wasn't a Genjutsu. It couldn't get any further real than this. It was possible that the brew had contained poison, but then there should've been other effects, like dizziness or shortsightedness. Neither of the girls felt sick from the brew, but they were both sick of where they were at. They decided to instead move back towards the bridge, to check if the old man of the silver ahoge on the side of his head was still there cleaning the blood stain, only to find out that the blood stain not only had gained depth and became a pool but that the bridge had also been completely finished in the less than an hour since they had been bathing. What the hell was going on here? |
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| An unresponsive elderly lady, citizens that couldn't recognize two girls that were obviously part of their village, thanks to Manko being half-naked, and on top of that, the bridge was built anew. "Why is it not adding up?" she spoke out loud, pondering what was the origin of such a phenomena. She scanned the pool of blood to try and gauge its depth but she was not in the right state of mind, especially after losing it earlier on their way to the village. She continued to stare at the pool of blood while thinking about a possible solution. "Whatever this is, its not normal that's for sure. Could it be that this is an illusion? which explains why we aren't feeling any physical effects aside from seeing these sudden changes...... What does the man back at the camp have to do with this....if he has any connection at all..... If I didn't know any better, I dare say we are under the effects of an illusion of sorts. Perhaps we were caught in the illusion the very moment we set foot on the village..." Amane's lips were moving as if she were speaking but her voice was not audible to Manko. Amane was thinking of various scenarios that could be the cause for what they were witnessing, but she continuously found herself at a dead end. Finally she stopped moving her lips, and drew out a kunai from her but instead of pulling out a kunai from her pocket, she realized she had no equipment to begin with! Her face was stunned, mouth agape from the realization that the situation was taking yet another turn for the worse. Amane couldn't take it anymore, ignoring Manko's very existence in the process as she lifted her hand towards her mouth, thumb facing her lips. "Just to make sure.....," she whispered to herself before clamping her teeth around the base of her thumb, tearing through her skin until blood began seeping from the sides of her mouth as she cringed in pain. |
| Did you know every time you sigh, a little bit of happiness escapes? ~Senjougahara Hitagi |
| "Come on, don't be so hard on them, they're just two little girls, let's help them back to their village Tenmu," a woman argued. They were both standing on top of a tree on the other side of the bridge. The Green-Haired Man sat down on a branch to reflect on her words. During the night, she had kept herself busy, killing the leader of the hoodlums and forcing the rest to finish the bridge. His drained head lying on the foot of the tree, with his silver ahoge shining off of a small beam of sunlight. They had finished the bridge in the morning, so as soon as they were done she had gone back to the camp only to find him packing everything up. He told her about the girls, and how they had to leave right away and meet up with Karakasa before he saw them. That sickening man would rather torture those two than bring them back to the village. "They're not little girls, and I doubt Tenmu would agree to take them to Kirigakure with us," he sighed. "One of them looks too much like the Phantom of the Hidden Mist, and the other one..." She was amazed to think the Phantom had a daughter, let alone such a young daughter basically alone this far of their village. "I agree about Karakasa, but I could go back with him while you took them to Kiri. And what about the other one?" The woman asked, wondering what more there was . He shed a tear before sadly smiling at her, "she looks like you, Natsumi-san." She could not believe what Tenmu was saying. It had been almost 10 years since then. It couldn't be possible, at least not in her heart. It was too painful for her to think that Nui could still be alive after all these years. Her hands had moved to cover her mouth by now, and her sweet-and-sour tears were already wetting them. Her eyes shined when she jumped off of the tree, muffling her cry on their packed goods. Tenmu soon jumped down as well, comforted her, and convinced her they had to move regardless. "No, please Tenmu, I need to see her! Please!" She begged, clinging to his cape and looking up at him with dreamy eyes, desperate. "You know we can't do that. We'll go back home and then ask the Kazekage if it's possible for you to come back here," he ordered, sad himself that knew the unlikelihood of such a thing to happen, "but now we have to go, you know that." And so they went along their way, completely unaware of what was about to happen to the two girls. Truth is, Karakasa hadn't stayed behind at all. He had left their main camp soon after they had, and he had supervised everything that had happened. Both the bridge building, the waitress that despite taking Tenmu's fuumashuriken straight to her head hadn't died, and Tenmu's experience with the girls. Two very promising girls... oh yes, yes indeed, hmm... As he was about to move for the girls, a while after his team left, however, the waitress showed up to the bloodpool. Threatening that she would kill them for killing her father. It was such sweet drama that he figured he'd wait a little while longer before making a move. And Karakasa grinned from the shadows. |
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| Her suspicions were incorrect, made painfully obvious from the stinging sensation of her exposed flesh as her bloodstained teeth released its grip from her hand. Amane spat out a gulp of accumulated blood from her mouth and immediately proceeded to tear off a piece of her sleeve in order to dress the wound. Without her realizing it, Manko had been tugging at her skirt the moment she decided to bite into her hand. However, the reason Manko was trying to draw Amane’s attention was not to stop her from biting her hand, but because someone had arrived. When Amane finally raised her head to look at what Manko was pointing at, her eyes widened at the sight of the waitress at the opposite end of the pool of blood. They were blamed for the alleged death of the waitress’ father. The same man they met upon entering the village. “We didn’t do it,” a disturbed Amane responded. Their eyes were locked onto one another, both with the intent to drown the other in the pool of blood. Amane would act first, stringing together the hand seals of ram, snake, and tiger before shouting out “bunshin no jutsu!” An intangible copy of herself stretched outward from her body, leaping into the pool of blood. Amane kicked the blood with her right leg, sweeping through as the liquid began to form a wave aimed at crashing onto the waitress. The clone ran through the wave, covered in blood as Amane summoned a second clone that would jump over the wave. Seconds later, the blood soaked clone flew back as the liquid crash onto the ground. When the liquid settled, the now blood smeared waitress held the second clone by the neck, lifting it off of its feet. The first clone disappeared in a puff of smoke after tumbling from the force of that pushed it back. “You have no idea do you?” the waitress began to retaliate with her own set of words as her grip tightened around the neck of the now struggling second clone. With a final and violent clench, the clone exploded in a puff of smoke, revealing a wicked grin slapped across the waitress’ face when the smoke cleared. “Let me show you,” she continued, licking the remnants of blood around her mouth until she began moving her head side to side as if she were stretching her neck. Next she would tilt her head backward at the sound of a sharp crack of bone. Her head was now at a ninety degree angle, perpendicular to her body. She opened up her mouth wide enough so that a large object could fit through. She then sank her left hand into her mouth, deep into her throat until she stopped to lift something out. As her hand rose from the inside of her mouth, the girls could see a hilt of a blade. However, this was no ordinary blade, in fact, when the waitress pulled out the entirety of the blade, Amane immediately recognize the blade. It was the same blade wielded by the legendary Zabuza nicknamed “The Executioner’s Blade. “Kubikiribocho,” Amane mumbled, astonished at the immense size of the blade. The waitress’ left hand immediately sank down along with the blade that crashed into the ground, breaking the asphalt upon impact. Her head snapped back into proper position before her right hand joined her left hand around the hilt of the blade. The waitress was now hunched forward, blade to the ground, ready to strike, and in a blink of an eye she dashed forward, sword at the ready, readying her swing to attack the girls. |
| Did you know every time you sigh, a little bit of happiness escapes? ~Senjougahara Hitagi |
| “The Executioner’s Blade. “Kubikiribocho,” Amane mubled next to Manko. The youngest had seen the waitress's blade before... drinking blood of whoever it cut to regenerate itself was it's power, the hole in its design was designed to execute anyone in it. She had learned that during her brief passage through the Academy, but she had seen it live once before, during a different mission. A solo one, as it wasn't seen as important by the higher-ups, until Manko gave Senken the sword she had found a fat idiot clumsily using to control other kids. It was startling to think how one of the Seven Swords of the Mist could've been stolen twice in such a small time span. Memories of Manko's missions came back to her. The mission of the kid who stole Kubikiribocho and called it a hammer because it was heavy where she she first found cutting up people's bodyparts something beautiful. The mission of the Ninja Turtles where she lost herself in bloodlust. It was time to let go of Amane's skirts now and be the bloodlusty one again. So she let go Amane and looked straight towards the incoming waitress. The less she thought about Amane the better for her, but that was too hard for her to do. Manko wanted to keep her older sister as safe as possible, and so she ran towards the waitress, jumped over the blade as she slashed at her (the waitress didn't have enough strength to swing as high as her jump) and took off her only garment to cover the waitress's face as she landed on her shoulders. "You little bitch!" At first she flailed her weapon around, tiring herself out for no real reason, but then she simply grabbed Manko on her back by her hair and slammed her on the dirty ground, bruising her skin as she was completely naked. The waitress's bloodlust was real, Manko's at the moment was not, and that made all the difference. The blade wielder lifted the blade up ready to strike down on the nude little girl cowering on the floor, when she inadvertently stopped in her tracks. Amane had caught her in a Genjutsu as she was about to strike. (the fat boy mission is here: http://myanimelist.net/forum/?topicid=1247923) |
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| Manko bought Amane the time she needed to setup the Hell Viewing Technique, weaving her hands together to form the seals then splash a handful of blood towards the waitress' face, blinding her temporarily. When she wiped the blood off of her face she found herself within one of her greatest fears, death by asphyxiation. She was steadily sinking in a pool of blood, unable to breath nor see. Aside from the sensation of the liquid against her skin, nothing else could be made of her surroundings. Amane and Manko witnessed the waitress become an empty shell of her former self. She released her grip on the blade, leaving the steel to sink in the pool of blood. She was in need of air, at least she thought she did, reinforcing the delusion by placing her hands on her throat. The waitress would eventually collapse, falling to her right side in front of Amane. Her face pointed towards the tip of Amane's foot. Amane would then lift her right foot and gently set it atop the waitress' temple, pushing lightly until she really began to drown in the blood. In the waitress' mind, the pressure was increasing as she sank, but in reality, her lungs were filling up with blood. In a short matter of time, she came in and out of consciousness, unable to distinguish between reality and the nightmare she was experiencing. "All you can see if red," Amane stated in a condescending manner, upset that she had looked down upon her and Manko before. The girls watched the last few moments of this woman's life sink into a pool of blood. With the help of Manko, Amane dragged Kubikiribocho out of the pool. They were both worn out, covered in blood from the scuffle, yet they had one of their villages' prized possessions which made up for everything they've endured up to this point. "Maybe we can finally go home now," Amane chuckled as she wrapped Manko in the cloth she used to blind the waitress. |
| Did you know every time you sigh, a little bit of happiness escapes? ~Senjougahara Hitagi |
| "Well, if we don't have a couple little interesting fellas here, ka-sa-sa-sa..." A wide grin stared at the two young girls in the aftermath of their brief struggle with the rampaging dead waitress. It was disquieting enough that there was a grin floating in the air, with no lips or borders whatsoever - just the teeth, there weren't even gums - it was a grin that spoke in a very eerie tone of voice. But before it or they could say anything else, both girls felt being pulled like kittens. They felt the skin on the back of their necks being pulled as they were actually lifted from the ground, despite their skin not being actually pulled. The imaginary floating hands that were pulling them up brought them close together, and for some reason they couldn't move. Their legs wouldn't move as they would've liked, nor would their arms. "Now, kiss!" the eerie voice said, and the hands brought the girls close enough for their lips to connect, and so they did. At the same time, a single black eye showed up on the opposite side of the teeth and, even though the eye had an eyelid like skin-pouch around it, it was fully opened as if to show surprise and contempt. "Oh my," the eye said, "two young girls, not even of age, participating in such indelicate acts for such as yourselves... you ought to be separated from eachother until you've learned not to behave so disgustingly!" Manko couldn't believe what was happening, deep in her heart she always knew she wanted her first kiss to be with Amane, but she was too scared of the idea of being rejected, let alone the act itself. But now she had kissed her and had been kissed back. Her cheeks were red with embarassment, even though this kiss had happened in far from good circumstances. She knew that such a kiss shouldn't mean anything to either of them, but she couldn't help but feel like she had wanted it all along. And that was when a void appeared from under her, just Manko, not Amane, and an umbrella opened beneath Manko and swallowed her into the void... leaving Amane all alone. The teeth and eye then gathered in front of the remaining girl, the older girl, the girl fully aware that they had been under a Genjutsu that she was too weak to dispel (and as so, she only knew it was a Genjutsu because the caster wanted her to be aware of it), and they began talking in unison. "Well now, how did you like the kiss you shared with your little sisterling? I bet it was soft. Soft and sweet. Sweet and wet. Hmm... so dreamy, isn't it?" A body shape started forming itself around the eye and teeth. "Now that we're all alone and that you can openly agree to it, I took the liberty of taking your nude little pet with me for... let's say reasons in the spectrum of my interest... yes, let's say that, ka-sa-sa-sa. Anyway, I hope that kiss was as good a goodbye as you could've ever asked for. I dislike it when people say I'm not generous. Wasn't I generous just now? Exactly, I was wasn't I? Thank you for agreeing with me Amane-san. Now I must bid thee farewell, however. I wouldn't like Natsumi's child to wake up while we've been talking," and the figure smiled, as the teeth had now been covered by a black human figure with only one eye. The figure was starting to fade when it remembered, "right, in case you're wondering how I know your name... you look just like your father... ka-sa-sa-sa, not that that's a compliment!" And it laughed until it disappeared, until Amane fell down on the floor, until the Genjutsu finally dispelled and Amane lay on the floor next to the dead waitress and the remains of the gold and silver cape the Geen-Haired Man had given Manko, in the dark of the night She was all alone now, apart from the cape Manko had worn on their last confusing day together. Chapter 1 End |
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| Book 2: The Wet Kitten Part 1: The City Hidden in the Sand |
SozuJan 24, 2015 8:29 AM
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| She began her morning routine in the usual manner she has done since being taken in by the ANBU special force. Wake up, brush the excess hair covering Manko's face so she could see her sleeping peacefully, sit on the side of her bed as she tidied her own hair, then shower, alone. Well, she didn't always shower alone, as the two agreed to shower together once a week. However yesterday was their "once a week" so unfortunately for you readers, the shower scene will have to wait. The light of the morning sun shown upon Manko making her look as if she were a goddess, and in Amane's eyes, she was exactly that. Amane playfully hissed at Manko while drying her hair, prompting Manko to wake up. Although she was drilled to erase any and all emotion from her thought process for the past two years, she never stopped being herself around Manko. Every day they spent together Amane would always be her normal playful self around Manko. A promise she kept since she reuniting with her after that faithful day. Dressed in uniform, she was the first to head downstairs while Manko showered and got ready as they prepare for their departure. Amane no longer lived in her parent’s estate. She lived in a small home provided by her father along with Manko, in which a maid would take care after them. Their maid was just arriving to begin her daily shift when Amane opened the front door. “Ah, oh! You aren’t dressed in your running clothes my dear,” the elderly woman stated in shock when she saw Amane in uniform. Manko was on her way downstairs when Amane told their maid, “we're leaving soon Mariko, we,” Amane began to explain before she was interrupted by her maid, saying, “There is no need. Go kick their asses and make it back home in one piece.” Amane nodded, letting their maid in, at the same time an ANBU member awaited them behind where the maid stood. The ANBU member held a scroll in their right hand, extending their arm towards Amane in order to take the scroll. She did, unraveled it to read its contents, and smiled as the ANBU member left. “Ooooo! Looks like this is a big one Manko!” the confident girl smiled after announcing their mission to her partner. "You ready?" she asked Manko. 2 years ago Everything happened at a speed that Amane could not comprehend. As soon as her lips pressed upon Manko’s, she was gone. The laughter of the unknown figure echoed in her mind long after its disappearance along with Manko. Amane was on her knees, eyes focused on the spot from which the figure first emerged, her hands clutching the remains of the gold and silver cape. Her eyes were opened wide, as if she were in an intense state of shock, but that’s because she was. She couldn't believe Manko was gone. Tears streamed from the bottom of her eye sockets while she remained fixated on the spot of the event. She couldn't speak nor move from the profound effect this unknown being had forced upon her. When the out pour of tears blinded her sight, she reflexively blinked. After the blink, her vision cleared, allowing her to see in plain sight that what had happened was in fact reality, and when she realized this, her lips quivered. Through her lips a faint yelp crept out until she began screaming, crying like a child in a severe amount of pain. She cried until her eyes burned, screamed until she couldn't breathe, and remained there until a pair of hands covered her mouth with a cloth, silencing her upon contact. The hands belonged to an ANBU member of Kirigakure whom was accompanied by a second member. Both of their genders could not be identified however due to their masks and identical uniforms. While the ANBU member that put Amane to sleep prepared to carry her off, the second member secured Kubikiribocho, asking, “Where’s Manko?” “I don’t see her anywhere. Looks like they may have been separated,” the other ANBU member answered. “Impossible. Those two are inseparable. The captain confirmed this multiple times that these two don’t last one minute away from each other?” “Wait, you don’t think she was-“ “Taken? Shit, this is bad, if he finds out……” “I’ll stay back and search the area thoroughly for any signs of Manko. Take Amane back along with the sword,” the second member ordered, while placing the sword on the back of the ANBU member that now carried Amane in their arms. The ANBU member nodded then disappeared in a burst of speed towards Kirigakure. What was now left of the scene was the corpse of the waitress, the pool of blood, and the ANBU member whom picked up the remains of the cloth worn by Manko. |
MotionBlueOct 5, 2014 6:05 AM
| Did you know every time you sigh, a little bit of happiness escapes? ~Senjougahara Hitagi |
| One week later, just before dawn Two men in their mid-30's were eating in a ramen stand just outside of Kirigakure. "Okay then, now that this is settled I'll go get your partner," the one dressed as a member of the Mist's ANBU said as he finished his bowl, his silver hair seemed to grow out of his mask, one without any holes for eyesight. "You're getting me my partner? I thought you'd be my partner," Tenmu argued, who could it be that was coming along that would be of use in this mission, he begged to know. "Don't be a little baby, Tenmu. This person is the only one able to bring her back. I was the best parent one could be taking into account the amount of responsibilities I have with my village... She's the only one who can make her remember the life she has had for the past 8 years," Senken said has he used a hand to brush the cloth from the ramen stand aside and moved out. "W-... what the fuck do you mean?" As soon as he paid for the food, Tenmu got out of the stand, albeit too late as Senken had already left the scene. And so he stood there, in the dark, scratching the back of his green head. ... Senken was kneeling beside Amane's bed for a while until he finally gathered up the courage to send her on such a long trip. His hand covered her mouth until she woke up, flustered about a stranger being in her room, then even more flustered that it was ANBU with a finger in front of his mask, signaling her to keep quiet. She gained her composure back once she noticed the silver mane behind the mask, making it apparent who it was. Once he saw that she was calm, he removed his hand from her mouth, pointed at her bedside table where a letter lay, then made a handsign and the lightning clone was gone. The letter was as such: if you want to see manko again meet me at the ramen stand outside the gates ive already packed all you need you'll find your bag in the corner of your room make sure not to tell anyone about this ps: youre infiltrating sunagakure Dawn At the ramen stand, however, Senken was nowhere to be seen. Instead, the man who had saved the girls a week before in the inn stood watch, equally surprised of both of them being there. But he quickly came to the same realization that Senken had had. The girls had seemed as close as two peas in a pod, and that was exactly what they'd be needing to get her back to her Kirigakure self. |
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| She couldn't believe her eyes when her eyes opened to see the figure kneeling next to her bedside. She was more terrified than anything else. Her encounters with Senken were few and far between, most of which consisted of a heads up gesture as a greeting. However, she did find him interesting, with him being part of the ANBU and all. After the disappearance of the lightning clone, Amane quickly skimmed through the letter, lowering the paper down to look for the bag Senken said he prepared. She walked over to the bag in order to confirm its contents. Everything seemed in order. In fact, he did a much better job than she would expect, well that is in comparison to her father whom would have probably packed an excess of underwear as oppose to soldier pills. When she was ready, she set outside through the window in her room, confident her parents were aware of the situation. Dawn was now upon the village and Amane took to the rooftops to meet whom she believed would be Senken at the assigned location. To her surprise, when she arrived at the ramen shop, Senken was not the one awaiting her. ""I came here for the same purpose as you two, although our intel seems to be fairly different from yours. That time you said that, back at the camp. Now it makes sense!" an elated Amane triumphantly proclaimed as she approached Tenmu. |
| Did you know every time you sigh, a little bit of happiness escapes? ~Senjougahara Hitagi |
| Tenmu looked at her deeply confused. What could that sentence of his make any sense to her or this mission whatsoever. "That was a different mission from this one... you ought to know that," he quizingly stared at her. "Anyways," he took a pause to pick up his gear, "we have a long way to go until we reach the Wet Kitten," and he started moving along the road, not waiting for her to follow him, but expecting her to. -------------------------------------------- Meanwhile, in a dimly lit room in Sunagakure, three people celebrate the re-opening of their long lost bath house. One white haired girl; one white haired woman; one, weirdly enough, masked centaur. "Kanpai!!~" the teenage girl ecstaticly pronounced. "Kanpai..." the older female repeated with a hint of sadness. "Kanpai," the masked centaur happily repeated. After their brief private festivities, the youngest ran to the front entrance and opened the doors, urging people to get inside as they had prepared a grand opening to the bath house they had re-opened after the past 8 years closed. |
SozuOct 9, 2014 2:07 PM
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| "Mhhmm, Mhhmm," the girl nodded while holding a smile that called him a liar. In her mind, she was right to assume there was a purpose behind him showing up in the village that their mission occurred. "Of course it was a different mission. That's not the point, the point is that it wasn't just a coincidence that you were in the same village as me and Manko," she retorted while walking to catch up to Tenmu. "On top of that, you know Senken whom I assume told you to take me with you. I was a bit surprised that he said to meet him but it turned out to be you. Well, I guess we will be travel buddies then. Oh wait!" Then it began, an unbearable series of questions that seemed to be more of an interrogation, rather than the curiosity of a ten year old. "So who are you really? I'm mean like REALLY who are you? Where are you from? What jutsus do you know? Oh wait, are you a Genjutsu user? Can you teach me jutsu? What's the Wet Kitten? Do they drown kittens there? That's terrible! Wait, maybe the name is a pun for a dirty act just like in those books my dad reads. Adults are funny aren't they? Oh dear that reminds me! "What's your name? I'm Amane." |
| Did you know every time you sigh, a little bit of happiness escapes? ~Senjougahara Hitagi |
| "Ugh..." It was the start of their journey, not even 5 minutes had passed since they had started walking, and the child was already pestering him. Tenmu pondered whether or not to tell her all about his mission in the village near Kirigakure a week before. He pondered whether or not to tell her who he was and what ties he had with Senken. So he decided to answer her other questions while thinking about the previous ones. "First of all, I'm not here to teach you anything. If you want to learn jutsu you should ask your dad. The mission is just about bringing Nu.. Manko back to Kirigakure, and yes, that includes me making the trip back here with you two." Who the fuck even names a child 'Manko'? Holy shit, what was he thinking... Upon her jape about the Wet Kitten, he couldn't help but reprimand her. "That's not a funny joke. The Wet Kitten was a very famous bath house around 10 years ago. Even your father had gone there before, and so had Senken. It closed about 8 years ago and it should re-open today. And I don't think the dirty acts involved in traditional bath houses are stuff for a 10 year old to be worrying about." He sighed, "I know who you are, Amane, or do you think you don't look like your father or that Senken didn't confirm who you were to me? I'm Tenmu, no last name. We in Sunagakure keep it that way. That way we don't end up like the Village of the Bloody Mist, wouldn't you say?" "Anyways, last week's mission for you was about the hoodlums impeding construction of a bridge, was it not? For us it was about tracking a deserter who had fled from Sunagakure when he found out he had a child in the Land of Water, as I'm sure your father would relate. Sure enough the child was the waitress you met in the inn, and the old man at the bridge was the deserter. While I distracted you two, my partner took care of the deserter and its group of followers, forcing them to finish the bridge during the night. I had been with you two for far too long, which was why I left abruptly." And he kept moving along, never looking back, not even showing his face to the girl noisily following him. |
SozuOct 11, 2014 7:54 AM
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| While answering her questions Tenmu never looked back, keeping his focus straight ahead. What he didn't realize was that Amane was not behind him during his response to her onslaught of questions. She was next to him, on his left side to be exact. Once Tenmu had finished, she continued to walk silently beside him, retracting into her world of thoughts. "Nu....he was going to call Manko by another name..... Looks like the Wet Kitten serves a hub for information. No last name? I wonder how ancestry works in Sunagakure..... Speaking of, I remember one of my father's accounts about traveling to Suna.....that's where he met mom before meeting Nekki." Amane was stuck in a daze that abruptly came to an end with a hard collision between her face and the sign of a bridge they were about to cross. Tenmu paid no attention to the child, moving forward as Amane gently rubbed the middle of her forehead to soothe the pain. She found herself behind him again walking behind him as if she were his shadow. They would continue in this manner until they reached the port where a small boat was waiting for them. They would sail west from the land of water along the southern coast of the land of fire until they reach the southern coast of the land of wind. |
| Did you know every time you sigh, a little bit of happiness escapes? ~Senjougahara Hitagi |
| They had just reached a port called Umitide and Tenmu was paying the owner of the small port to take care of the boat for following week while Amane unloaded the little there was to load. Their voyage had been easy and uneventful. They had gotten lucky as just the week before the waves had been quite agitated as Tenmu brought Natsumi and Karakasa back to Sunagakure. Well, apart from Amane's agitated nights. She didn't seem to be sleeping well and Tenmu couldn't put a finger on what it could be. She didn't seem to get seasick easily during the day, and the sea was for the most part quite calm, so Tenmu spent his days trying to figure out what it could be that was making her have such restless nights while spending his nights keeping the boat in place whenever she started moving about. He didn't want to get involved with the young girl more than he had to, so he made no inquiries about what she had been dreaming so far. Could be that she was actually usually this restless and that she hadn't actually slept the night they first met. His curiosity kept trying to get the best of him, but he kept fighting it. Nothing good had ever come out of him befriending young girls, at least not ever since she passed away... They spent the night in the sole inn of Umitide. The old woman in charge of the inn seemed to know Tenmu and presented herself very friendly towards both travelers. "No need for comodities baa-san. We're just here for a quick rest and are leaving early in the morning." "Bah, don't be silly, at least have some of my fish and anthropod stew... you wouldn't make an old woman sad, would you?" she turned then to beg Amane. Tenmu laughed at the energy she still had despite her old age, "ok, ok, fine. We'll have some of your stew, old woman. You'll have some too, right Amane-san?" No payment was seemingly required for the stew, just for the night. The next morning they got ready to move north towards Sunagakure, through the blazing desert of the Land of Wind, on foot. [Giving you freedom with what is troubling Amane's sleep so you have some more to write in your next post. The plan is to have Karakasa's lingering Genjutsu affecting you (I'm planning for that to be a trademark of his, like a trojan horse he implants in people so he can torment them at will even if far away) and you can now practice your Genjutsu writing because of it :3 ] |
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| (This is a bit of a long read. In short, Amane becomes anti-social while experiencing a string of bad visions due to the effects of a Genjutsu. She and Tenmu make to port and head off to Sunagakure.) Surrounded in darkness, the only thing Amane could do to ensure she existed was to pat her body down. Everything was intact aside from her ability to see, which made her wonder why she had gone blind after falling asleep. “Here, let me take care of that for you,” an eerie voice thundered overhead, subsequently followed by the clicking of fingers. The sound echoed for several seconds until Amane was basked in light. She had been exposed to the dark long enough for her eyes to have difficulty adjusting to sunlight. When she came to, an immense sea of sand surrounded her. For miles there was not a single soul visible, “but at least you have the comfort of light,” the voice chimed in again. Back on the boat, Amane was unsteady, groaning through her sleep. Her fingers trembled as if she was experiencing a frightening vision. The lingering effects of the Genjutsu she experienced left her with an extended subscription to a string of awful dreams. “The comfort of light….” She mumbled to herself, so as to confirm what the voice had assured her. However, when she attempted to take a step forward, her feet were clamped down. Amane struggled while trying to move in vain, and when she finally looked down to see what was holding her feet down, she found herself knee deep in a pool of serpents. She suddenly awoke while gasping for air simultaneously. She caught a brief glimpse of Tenmu while adjusting back to reality, but she refused to look at him directly, instead turning to her side to avoid contact. For the remainder of the night as well as the nights that would follow, she would undergo this process multiple times. Halfway through their journey, Amane had done well in coping with sea sickness. In fact, it seemed as though she was unaffected, which should come naturally since she is from the land of water. Oddly enough, she didn’t share much dialogue with Tenmu throughout their voyage, out of fear that she may worsen their relationship more than it was before they left Kirigakure. In addition, she never spoke to Tenmu about her dreams, and lucky for her he never asked despite witnessing her irregular sleeping patterns. She was in the desert again, this time, free from any constraints. She walked for what seemed like hours, but there was no sign of life. Occasionally she could hear a hissing noise which would prompt her to stop and survey her surroundings. She dismissed the first two or three waves but after a few more followed, she grew paranoid. The depth of her paranoia frightened her to the extent that the hissing noise became a noise of laughter. Instead of walking she ran, endlessly as the laughter extended while growing louder. She ran until she was nearly out of breath, falling on her knees do to her inability to block out the noise. Even covering her ears and closing her eyes was futile as the noise continued. Then suddenly, Amane felt what could have been a hand gently brush the top of her head. When she looked up to see, whom this hand might belong to, she couldn’t make out the face of the figure standing before her due to the position of the sun which made the person look like a shadow. Amane tried to focus her eyes to distinguish the face but her vision failed her. Red, red eyes was all she could see. The figure’s mouth opened wide as if to swallow her whole, and as the mouth lunged at her, she finally woke up. The speed with which she suddenly woke up jolted her chest upward while she gasped for air once more. Her eyes began to focus in on the dark room where she rested in the boat. Tenmu was nowhere to be seen as usual. She was left alone. She stood up from where she slept looking down to what would be her hands. Why the sudden chain of strange dreams? She thought to herself. The destination was Sunagakure so that could perhaps explain the vision of sand. The red eyes…..awful voice…..serpents…. None of it made sense she concluded, wiping off a few lingering streaks of sweat from her forehead. She would then crawl over to the door, opening it slowly to have a look outside. It was the dead of night. Their boat was smothered by the light of the night sky. It was a truly astonishing sight to look above. She looked on until she heard footsteps, presumably of Tenmu’s after which she immediately closed the door and went back to force herself to sleep. They had approximately one day left before reaching the land of wind. Their journey had been blessed with fortune, the winds were favorable and the sea as forgiving as it had ever been. “We will be docking tomorrow if all goes well,” Tenmu told her, as the two stared out to sea on the deck. Amane nodded without saying a word. She would retire for the evening despite the time being just after sunset. The sand was gone, well not entirely, there were traces of it left in what was an abandoned city Amane found herself in. The buildings around her were old and decrepit, painted with moss from years of abandonment. She walked towards what could be the city center, where one building stood as the tallest among the others. Throughout her journey to the building, an occasional shadow could be seen in the peripheral of her eyes, but when she turned to take another look, nothing was there. She finally arrived at the building. The doors looked as if they were blown off and the resulting debris formed an arrow pointing towards the entrance. She advanced forward. She couldn’t make anything of the walls, and before she knew it, she was climbing a set of stairs. Her footsteps echoed as she continued to climb and in a manner of seconds, she heard the eerie laughter once more. She hesitated to move forward, but her curiosity compelled her to continue. In the same pattern as her previous dream, the laughter grew louder with each step she took. Finally she arrived at a door, the entrance of the rooftop. When she opened the door, the blinding light of the sun welcomed her. Looking back down at the surface of the rooftop, she saw a person, a woman sitting on a throne at the far end opposite from the entrance. She wore a white gown, her eye pupils were red, and her long dark hair flowed elegantly with the light wind that past as Amane approached the woman. The woman stood up, gesturing with her left hand for Amane to come closer. However, the left hand would soon morph into a tentacle, shooting out towards Amane in a speed that was too fast for her to react. Amane was now strangled by the neck, getting pulled closer towards the woman. As she was being pulled, the sun began to set rapidly while the building they stood on began to crumble. The woman’s head contorted, becoming a disfigurement of horrendous proportions. The head would turn into a wide grin, the same she saw several weeks ago when Manko was abducted. “I know everything!” A voice hissed at her. Then a sudden flash of images rushed her mind. Manko, her father, the woman with red eyes, Tenmu, Senken, and Nekki. The flashes looped in her head until a hand reached out for her, breaking through the flashes as if they were glass, reaching out for Amane. “We will be docking soon!” Tenmu’s voice woke her up while he knocked on the door to her room. She woke up while wrestling with the sheets covering her. It was a dream? Yet it was too lifelike. The phenomenon shook Amane to the core enough that it took Tenmu several attempts to get her attention once they reached the port of Umitide. They would spend the night at the sole inn of the port town, greeted by an elderly woman that treated the two to a bowl of stew. Amane nodded when Tenmu insisted that she would have a bowl of the stew as well. She would then quietly eat her meal and retire for the night. The next day, their journey would begin across the scorching desert that separated the port from Sunagakure. As they began their journey, Amane would finally break the silence between them by telling Tenmu, “Thank you…..thank you for not asking,” referring to her recent behavior. |
| Did you know every time you sigh, a little bit of happiness escapes? ~Senjougahara Hitagi |
| “Thank you…..thank you for not asking,” he heard her say after such a long period of quietness. He wasn't very surprised, the heat of the desert tends to make people talkative right before growing exhausted, he knew. The reason people do it subconsciously is so that they take their mind away from focusing on the heat, even though talking will only make them use more oxygen and in turn limit their breathing. Tenmu was used to the heat of the desert, however. There probably wasn't a grain of sand in the Land of Wind on which he hadn't stepped in the course of his lifetime. It worried him that Amane was already feeling tired enough to talk when they had only been in the desert for a couple of hours, oblivious to the fact that Amane was actually still a girl and as one she just felt uncomfortable with the silence he had put her through. Anyways, he knew that it was not in his place to ask her anything. "It's not like there's anything to ask, is there? Oh, I actually have something to ask: how did you like baa-san's stew? It's a typical dish from the southern coast of our Land," there was a hint of nostalgic happiness in his tone of voice when he ask her. Then he stopped in the middle of the sand, looked around and placed his hand in the middle of the air. Quickly, he jumped back a few feet only to kneel on the ground and to put his hand in the sand. He didn't wait much for her to answer, "besides, it's not like you'd tell about your worries to a member of a different village, right? Even though you're so much like your fa- oh, I found it," and he pulled an iron trapdoor from under the sand, revealing a deep, dark and cool (because it was all made of iron) tube slide. "This is our shortcut. It'll lead to a mine with a single cart that will take us to the entrance of Sunagakure. I suggest you watch out at the exit, it can be a bit tricky." Amane was about to say something about his sudden need to rush when he just shoved her down into the cramped unlit well. [I call it a well because that's what it looks like. It looks like a void because it goes straight down for a while untilit gradually makes people go back up into the mine. In my next post we'll get to Suna.] |
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| She read books about the merciless heat of the land of wind, but the experience first hand was unlike any story known to her. The heat felt as if the sun was breathing on top of you to the point of asphyxiation. She wondered how anyone could live near these conditions, let alone trot through the desert with the tranquility that Tenmu displayed. "It's not like there's anything to ask, is there? Oh, I actually have something to ask: how did you like baa-san's stew? It's a typical dish from the southern coast of our land," he said, responding to Amane's words of appreciation to which she smiled in agreement. However, the smile faded shortly after he asked her about the stew they had at the inn. "That god awful thing," she thought to herself while hiding her under the cover of her hood. "It was a decent meal and decent meals are hard to come by when you are away from home," was her logical response. Tenmu stopped to and raised his hand to the air then jumped back before placing his hand on the sand, telling her, "besides, it's not like you'd tell about your worries to a member of a different village, right? Even though you're so much like your fa- oh, I found it." "This is our shortcut. It'll lead to a mine with a single cart that will take us to the entrance of Sunagakure. I suggest you watch out at the exit, it can be a bit tricky." She seemed to have ignored his reply and explanation as she watched him open a hidden latch to reveal a well. Before she could take a look over his shoulder as to might have been below, Tenmu had already pushed her into the hole, her screams echoing until she fell head first into a small sand dune. She didn't struggle for long however as Tenmu would soon forcefully dragged her out of the sand by her legs. She dusted off the grains of sand from her face when Tenmu appeared before her holding a torch. "We're almost there," he told her. She stood up and followed him deeper into the underground pathway. |
| Did you know every time you sigh, a little bit of happiness escapes? ~Senjougahara Hitagi |
| Tenmu actually would've enjoyed a response from the girl as to whether she'd talk about her worries with him or not. Sure, he had abruptly stuffed her into the dark and cold tube slide, with no warning whatsoever, but he had felt a sudden shift in the air current which could only mean trouble. Crusaders, Sandstorms, Pirates, Giant Animals... who knew. The desert was a harsh and vast place, and there were dangers a plenty all across its length. Soon enough they got to the single cart. It was very rusty as it stood quietly at the unfinished end of a track, almost as if it had been waiting for them until then. It didn't even look like it'd run since there wasn't a way for it to gain momentum. The mine was completely flat, its floor not slanted in any way. Songs could be sung about it's unslantedness, even, and maybe some had actually done it. Tenmu cordially waited for Amane to get in the cart before hopping into it and forming a sand-colored stick made of chakra to push the cart with them inside it. The cart rode in a straight line. Tenmu simply looked straight as he paddled his stick on the dirt, still wondering why Amane had kept quiet for so long. But then they entered a series of rooms that wouldn't be nice to the young girl.  The rooms had been vacanted for a long time, that's for sure. But whoever had vacanted them had forgot to take their belongings with them, so the rooms now looked more creepy rather than desolate. The rows of old-fashioned human-handled machines were disconcerning, to say the least. And the drift of air from the opening of the trap door and movement of the cart seemed to be resonating with something. It sounded like wood against wood, cackling softly together as the two people rode the rusty cart. Gradually the cackling got louder. Gradually it for more aggressive. Gradually it felt closer. Amane could feel cold air breathing behind air, but when she turned nothing was there. Turning back to the direction of Tenmu and looking up, she was relieved to see that there were just several puppets hanging on the ceilings of these rooms. She reassured herself that the cold air had simply been an air current from somewhere... which when she actually thought about it, it didn't actually sound like a good thing. That's when she felt something wet falling on her. She reached for her face to wipe it off only to get her hand smeared in a dark red liquid. Looking back and up to see from where the drop of red had fallen on her, she saw the first. A fresh, albeit clearly dead, human body was hanging on a couple of iron hooks on the ceiling. Much like the puppets, but the human body had the hooks stuck in it from below the shoulder blades into the inside of them. Actually, the moving of the puppets against eachother had caused a chain reaction, in which everything in the ceiling moved; including the body, which as it was now turned towards the cart thanks to the rest of the puppets. Much to her surprise, or not so much, the head of the body spasmodically lifted her head, revealing the same woman and wicked grin from Amane's nightmares. They then passed through another door into a much darker room, and the woman had been left behind. "We're here, Amane-san," Tenmu casually pointed to the iron door ahead of them as he stopped the slow cart in its tracks. Getting out of it, he dematerialized his stick and moved towards the door to open it. They now mocked Amane, however. They loved the cackling in her head. (in case it's not obvious, the cackling of wood from puppet on puppet is now a constant) (also giving you freedom to describe this Sunagakure :3 I left the end stay like that so you can enjoy creating your own Sunagakure, as I know you enjoyed creating an over-the-top Amegakure that other time <.<) |
SozuOct 29, 2014 3:57 PM
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| Amane continued to follow Tenmu deeper into a dimly lit hall. Eventually they would arrive at a single mine cart. It looked as if it had been abandoned for years according to the level of rust, but Tenmu assured her that the vehicle was properly suited for travel. Tenmu waited until Amane boarded after him. He would then create a stick from sand, molded with his chakra. The stick would be used to push against the floor and keep the cart in motion. "How long is he going to keep pushing that thing?" She thought to herself as the cart continued to roll on the tracks, letting out an occasional howl from the wheels scratching against the rails. Amane was puzzled. She knew for certain that Sunagakure was one of the most technologically advanced villages but this cavern was anything but any indication of the latter. But who was her to complain, after all the one doing all of the work was Tenmu. Then they entered a series of rooms which were unpleasant to say the least. As curious as she is, there is something about abandonment that Amane isn't particularly found of. Abandonment means that someone had the intention to finish something but couldn't because of an outside influence. The thought of this concept weighed heavily on her mind as they passed tables left with hand-held machines. She let a sigh of relief, trying to focus her attention forward while the cart continued to move on. However, relief would not come anytime soon as a cackle resonated throughout the rooms they passed. It sounded like a small piece of wood was continuously chipping away at another, created a cackling noise to mimic laughter. Amane would soon bury her head between her knees, refusing to let her attention trace the source of the noise. Unfortunately for her, these rooms weren't ones to be ignored. A slow wave of cold air, as if it were a single breath forced her to pop her head up. Her face met with an unwelcome drip of a liquid that was most likely blood, to which she wiped off and looked upwards for where it had come from only to have her eyes meet a human corpse hanging from the ceiling. The corpse was just one body among a sea of many hanging in the same fashion, however the one she stared at was distinctively different from the others. In response to Amane's gaze, the human's head rose up, surprising Amane with the same face of the woman she had seen in a previous nightmare. Her pupils dilated, her mouth quivered in fear, and she could not react, until the tenth time Tenmu assured her that they had finally arrived. Amane continued to hear the cackling of wood as she stumbled out of the cart. "I-I'm sorry...." a noticeably frightened Amane stuttered while walking past Tenmu while dragging her feet. She was a mess, but refused any help. She opened the door before them as their eyes were met with a blinding light that forced Amane down to her knees. When her eyes adjusted to the light, she was able to look ahead at the beauty and wonder of the village hidden in the sand, Sunagakure.  It was a simple yet pleasant design for a village, but Amane couldn't help but feel that there was more to this village than its humble structure. Tenmu didn't say anything as he walked past her, expected her to follow him, and she would faster than she got out of the cart. As they continued down the steps, from out of the left wall closest to them, a metallic tendril slithered in the air towards them. The pointed end of the tendril opened up to reveal a red orb. The orb projected a laser that scanned Tenmu from head to toe, and it would perform the same operation on Amane. To her surprise the tendril didn't flash any warning signs or reject her, as the tendril retracted back to the wall. They would continue to advance forward, deeper into the heart of the village. |
| Did you know every time you sigh, a little bit of happiness escapes? ~Senjougahara Hitagi |
| "Welcome to the new Sunagakure, Sunagakure no Toshi." Tenmu casually proclaimed as Amane eagerly followed him, seemingly afraid of the caves they had left behind. In the meantime, the red orb scanning the couple finished registering their entrance and retired back to its resting spot, never really resting. Tenmu had no idea of the red orb. In fact, Tenmu hadn't been in Sunagakure in a few months, and the red orbs seemed to be the current Kazekage's latest addition to what he liked to call 'safety'. He became obsessed with creating a bigger and safer Sunagakure after the last one misteriously sank. Of course, Tenmu knew better than to believe that it had misteriously sank into the sand. He had been there, that day... In the center of the city lay the Kazekage's quarters, held only by a few bridges from falling into a bottomless pit, said to be the resting place of old Suna, the core of the Earth. The Kazekage's logic behind this was that: if this Sunagakure were to sink just like its predecessor, the first house to fall would be his. He believed that as long as he carried the least safety himself in a single spot, not only would the rest of his people be more safe but he'd also be the one more likely to escape unscathed. Not an opinion Tenmu shared. Not an opinion most people shared. But the Kazekage had been a different man ten years before his election, and with Suna's elders gone with the sunken village there was no one to put some sense into him. They had been walking around for a while until Tenmu realized he saw no electronic bulletin boards with information on how to navigate the city. Helpful things in a place so big and sparse. He had never really gotten the hang of it, then again he never had spent a long time in the new city, even though he had spent most of his life in the old one and still knew it like the back of his hand. He was after all forced to ask a stranger about where to find one of the bulletin boards that existed the last time he came here. "Excuse me, could you help us for a minute? My name is Tenmu, this is Kiriko. It's been a while since I've been here and there doesn't seem to be any bulletin boards around anymore." The less people knew about the Mizukage's daughter being in Suna the better for all parties involved, Tenmu believed. "Those old things? Yeah, the Kazekage's safety department," he spoke of the department with visible scorn, "took them out and installed the Third Eye Network (TEN) just last month. But wait, did you just say your name was Tenmu?!" "Oh boy, not again.." The man held his hands against the corner of his hands, took a deep breath in and shouted in the air as loud as he might: "EVERYONE, TENMU IS BACK!!!" "There he goes! Towards Village 6!!" The man excitedly pointed at the now runaway duo. Tenmu had grabbed Amane by her arm as fast as he could've and proceeded to run away from the excited mob. Apparently he had a pretty big (good) reputation in the Sunagakure community, even despite not living in it for years. The mob had given Tenmu his position, however, and he knew how to get to where the broker was from Village 6. So, as they arrived in Village 6, with the mob still passionately running after them, Tenmu quickly moved the two through the sector and lost the loving mob. He looked out of breath, having carried Amane himself to be quick about losing the loving members of his fan club. That's when they noticed the red orb again. Or a different one. It made no matter, there probably were a lot of them and one probably didn't stick with the same people for the remainder of their stay in Sunagakure. The TEN... it gave Tenmu an eerie feeling, as it felt they were being more than just watched through it. It felt to him like they were stripping him naked, and for a second he thought of Amane naked. A thought that he swiftly pushed away only to look down at his side and see her looking straight into the eye, with her pupils dilated just like in the caves. So he turned back to the Third Eye and asked it where they could find an icecream parlor nearby. It turned its attention from Amane back to Tenmu, and Amane fell to her knees, regaining her senses. A serene and melodic female voice came from the Eye. "There is no icecream in Sunagakure no Toshi. You know this Tenmu-san," the voice itself sounded eerie, as if it belonged to someone that had gone through a great deal of pain in her past. "Well, you know, no one introduced me to you before, so I didn't know what else I hadn't been introduced to in this Suna. Anyway, thank you for your help, we have business to attend to, goodbye little eye thing!" And the orb slowly went back from whence it came. Leaving Tenmu to wonder what was going on with the girl that was supposed to help him retrieve Natsumi... and Manko. Soon after, they entered an old bar, Tenmu showed the bartender an enameled knife Amane hadn't seen before and was allowed to the backroom of the bar. Amane, however, was to stay in the main, barely populated, room. "Whatever you do, don't leave from the main room of the bar. Anyone can clearly see you're an outsider, so even if I gave you a pass for you to use they wouldn't let you through to the room in the back. Don't worry, I'll be quick. I don't like those TEN things any more than you do and the faster we're done with our mission the better it will be for both of us," he told Amane while they were walking to the bar. |
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| "Welcome to the new Sunagakure, Sunagakure no Toshi," Tenmu announced to her after the tendril finished performing its duties. She thought for a second that maybe it was the mechanism's job to welcome or spurn visitors and returnees, but that obviously wasn't the case. "Sunagakure no toshi....," she repeated after him as she followed behind, eager to get as far away from the caves as possible. To her surprise, Sunagakure was exactly what Tenmu had claimed, a city beaming with life. Her eyes continuously looked about her surroundings, while her brain tried desperately to register every face, article of clothing, tools, buildings, lights, food, anything that was within sight. Oddly enough there were no visible bulletin boards with information on how to navigate the city, which led to him inquiring from a stranger. "Did he just call me Kiriko? .... Kirigakure no kodomo .... how original. Might as well tell them my last name is Mizuhime," she thought to herself as the two men continued their exchange of words. She wasn't particularly interested in what they had to say, and shifted back towards everything around them when, "EVERYONE, TENMU IS BACK!!!" she was forcefully pulled up by the arm and carried by Tenmu, now on the run from an excited mob of would be Tenmu fanboys. After losing the mob, another mechanical tendril seemingly slithered from the shadows, meeting Amane's eyes. A voice, or so she thought was audible. Amane heard what may have been a melody, tantalizing to the point where she lost her focus, slipping into a dream like state. It wasn't until Tenmu asked for the whereabouts of an ice cream parlor that the melody suddenly stopped, snapping Amane out of her previous state. She collapsed to her knees as her consciousness came back to her. She did not feel good throughout the remainder of their travel and barely heard any of what Tenmu had told her after they entered the bar. She opted for a booth instead of sitting by the bar. She next to the window, looking out into a quieter section of the city. "What'll it be sugar?" a waitress stopped by her table to which Amane responded, "Oolong tea." The waitress smiled and walked towards the kitchen, however Amane didn't as much bat an eyelid towards the waitress, still in contempt from her previous mission with Manko. The waitress returned a few minutes after, setting down a steaming cup of tea in front of Amane. "Thank you," Amane responded in a melancholic tone. "It's pretty rare to see a red head her in Suna, don't tell me your a descendant of the fifth," the waitress concluded. Amane chuckled before glancing over at the waitress. When their eyes met, Amane's pupils began to shake frantically, her body unable to move. The waitress's eyes, that pattern, the pattern that resembled the one from the day Manko was taken. She began hearing whispers as her surroundings faded into darkness. She felt as if she were being swallowed whole by the sensation. Unconsciously she moved her hand, knocking down the cup of tea onto her right lap which triggered a loud shriek of pain. "Gyahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" By the time Tenmu had come back to check on her Amane was sitting on the floor of the bar, gripping her right thigh while swatting away at the waitress's attempts to help her. It looked as if Amane was throwing a fit. On top of that, when Tenmu's eyes met with the waitress's her eyes were perfectly normal. |
| Did you know every time you sigh, a little bit of happiness escapes? ~Senjougahara Hitagi |
| The backroom was dimly lit but surprisingly more active than the main one. Noises and miscellaneous smells filled the air as drinking men gambled and discussed loudly about all sorts of subjects. Every once in a while, one of them would try to convince the waitress to hang around with him, while the waitress would casually disregard their advances, albeit always with a smile on her face. Tenmu wasn't surprised, this waitress was once a kunoichi that decided to let go of that life when she married the owner of the bar. She was as much of a bodyguard as she was a waitress. But Tenmu hadn't gone there in search of the waitress, nor even her husband, which she shared with the waitress of the main room. He had gone there looking for the shogi player of the house, who was more of an information broker than a good shogi player. Not that Tenmu was particularly good at it, but he felt confident enough to get the information out of the broker before the actual game was done. Suddenly, someone clotheslined him from the back, clearly stinking of sake. "Green Hair, Golden Cape... you think I wouldn't recognize you, fucker?" Tenmu grinned as he felt a surge of happiness building up inside him, "Foul Breath, Fouler Armpit... I could smell you from the other side of the desert, Li!". They shared a very manly and noisy hug, albeit muffled by every other noise in the room. "So, what made you come all the way out here? You've been gone for a long time now..." - Li asked Tenmu, as they sat at the only available table in the room. A poor old thing, with its wood rotting from the humidity of several spilled drinks on it. "I came to get some info from Kon. I'm tracking someone and I know they were brought to Suna and then never left." "That's be a waste of time... you know how Kon can be, and while you've been away I'd actually wager he's only gotten worse with his fables and roundabout ways. Let me help you, Ten." Tenmu gladly agreed to have another pair of eyes, a friend's at that, help them out tracking Natsumi. He was about to tell Li about their mission when he heard Amane's cry from the other room. "Gyahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" No one else in the backroom seemed to notice the young girl's shriek, or maybe they just didn't care. However, Tenmu swiftly got up without a word and walked back to the main room. Just as he walked through the door, he found Amane on the floor swatting away the waitress that was trying to help her as if she was a fly or something. On top of this, it seemed as though she had burned herself on her thigh, only making the swatting more ridiculous. Tenmu turned to the waitress and gestured at her as if asking what had happened. The waitress didn't verbally reply but made a very convincing gesture that clearly meant "I don't fucking know what happened to this nutjob of a kid." Li was coming to see what had made Tenmu leave his company so abruptly when he saw him lifting Amane up by her arm and taking her back to the booth she had previously chosen to speak in private. He sat her on the bench and whispered in her ear: "What the fuck is wrong with you? You're bringing attention not only to yourself but to me too. You saw the groupies earlier, right? Well, even though I have a lot of supporters in this city, the people in power don't like me a lot. On top of this, I'm escorting an outsider that they'd very well like to get as a hostage. Don't make this any harder than it already is, Kousoku-san." Tenmu sat in front of her, laid back and sighed, only to speak to her more calmly. "Look, I know what happened to you the day you lost Manko. I even know it better than you do, to a certain extent. I'm just annoyed that I wasn't told you were already having hallucinations back when Senken made me take this mission. Do you think you'll be able to keep it together from now on, though? How do you think Manko would feel like if she saw you like this?" And he pulled off a small mirror and pointed it towards her... |
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| What she saw in the mirror was the hideous reflection of her current state. She was a mess to say the least. Her hair dismantled, strands hanging wildly down the sides of her face as if she hadn't bothered to tidy it up in months. Streaks from the tears she wept earlier clean the dust that had accumulated on her face. To top things off, her right thigh stung from the remainder of the burn. She was a total wreck, enough that she could not muster the words to reply back to Tenmu. She apologized or so she thought, but only the single letter “I” was audible over and over again like a pirate continuously acknowledging his captain’s command. “Over here sugar,” the waitress interjected, reaching her hand towards Amane. “Ten, I’ll tidy her up while you boys finish,” she suggested. Amane was slow to get up, laying her hands on the table to support her. As she raised her legs to step over Tenmu’s lap, she nearly tripped leaning forward, but the waitress reflexively caught her, further assisting her towards the bar. Amane sat on the stool furthest to the right, in plain view of Tenmu. “Let’s take care of that nasty burn first,” the waitress recommended as she smacked her hands together and rubbed them against each other for a few seconds. She then extended her left hand towards the burn, her palm facing the affected area. Her hand began to glow with a pale green aura. Amane’s wound was healing, bringing her immediate comfort. “You know, we all have bad dreams sometimes,” she moved her hand away from Amane’s leg, walking towards the bar and reaching over the stand for a towel. She then handed the towel to Amane, presumably to wipe her face while she began to fix Amane’s hair. “And the reason we have bad dreams is because we’re scared. But you know what? I think it’s good to be scared. If you’re scared that means you have something to look forward to but you just don’t know how it’ll turn out.” The waitress patted the freshly made bun atop of Amane’s head before taking the towel from her hands. “Thank you….,” Amane finally replied after an extended period of silence. Her voice was weak but just barely audible enough to make out those words. “What’s your name dear?” the waitress asked to which Amane hesitantly answered “Ki-Kiriko.” The waitress chuckled before shooting a look at Tenmu that read, “You know, you could’ve done better than that right?” Amane then sat up from the stool, walking back towards the booth where now Tenmu and Li sat at. As she sat down next to him, she forcibly pushed Tenmu towards the window with her arm and leg which took a push or two before he gave in. “I made a promise before joining you, and I plan to keep that promise until we’re done. I’m sorry,” she stated with a tone that ascertained the change in her attitude. “It’s nice to meet you sir,” she introduced herself to Li whom sat across from her and Tenmu, assuming he had heard her name before during the conversation with the waitress. |
| Did you know every time you sigh, a little bit of happiness escapes? ~Senjougahara Hitagi |
| “It’s nice to meet you, sir,” she said. “Nonsense, the pleasure is all mine, my sweet young lady!” Now, after regaining her composure, Amane could finally see Li for who he physically was. He had narrow lilac eyes and a large forehead right above them. His long slick hair was parted in the middle and turned into a braid at the back of his head with a golden bell at its end that would very softly tinkle every now and then. His trained upper body was plainly visible but for a single brown leather strap that connected to a belt full of miniature scrolls on his waist that kept his very baggy and worn-out sandy pants. He also seemed to walk around on bare feet. “Kiriko, was it? Tenmu here sure has a way with names, doesn’t he? Did you know that he always names his kōhai with the ‘ko’ suffix? I suspect that if you were to be taller than him, even if that is quite unlikely, he’d name you Ookiri. Ha ha ha!” Li seemed to have quite the cheerful personality, too. In contrast with the boring and uptight Tenmu. “That’s enough, Li.” “Relax, Tenten-kun… you know you’re safe in here, with us. It’s not like the Kazekage would ever leave his humble abode to come after you, right? Or is it that you’re scared of the creepy eyeballs? Those things don’t do anything aside from creepily slithering in the air. Quite the impressive technology, but then again they’ve built a palace over a hole. Who knows what Suna will do next to ensure its safety?” “That is irrelevant for now. We have to move and we have to move fast. We’ve already wasted too much time and brought too much attention to ourselves…” “Only because you have such a pretty little cutesy face Ten-kun. You’d think scarring it would make it worse but it only gave it more appeal. Tell me, was it your mother that gave you such a cute mug? I might find her myself and make sure, wouldn’t you say?” Li was ignored. “…so right now we have to leave. Li will take us back to the tunnels and guide us to our destination.” “Wait, you’re going there?! What happened to meeting with Kon? That’s suicide, Ten, you know that. Besides, even if you don’t die you’ll be put in the Bingo Book and branded a missing-nin anyway. As if the Kazekage didn’t have reasons enough to want you away,” he moved forward and turned his sight to face Amane solely as if it was something just between the two of them, even though Tenmu was right next to her and could hear it all, “Tenten here decided to date the Kazekage’s younger sister years and years ago and, when the time came to protect her, he chickened out-” There was a loud thump sound as Li was sent back first against the wall with his neck grasped by Tenmu’s strong hand. Tenmu had turned his back on Amane so she couldn’t see his expression. “Oi, oi, chill down Tenmu, I was joking! It was a joke, man! A joke!” Li’s neck was clearly under a lot of strain from the hoarse sound of his voice. Tenmu’s grip on Li’s neck allowed Amane to see Tenmu’s bare arm for the first time. It was troubling how white it was. Almost the color of milk, it looked like. On top of that, it seemed he had indeed been born with green hair, as there was a faint green hue on his white arm from the arm hair. The waitress came as soon as she heard the ruckus and separated them with swift ear-pulling maneuvers. “Geez, get your act together, boys. You have a child with you, what kind of example do you think you’re setting for her?” “Don’t worry. We were about to leave now,” Tenmu reassured her as he turned back to Li, “All we need is for you to guide us through the right tunnels since I didn’t oversee their construction. You can leave us before we reach it if you’re scared of having your bounty raised.” Tenmu felt utterly done with Li’s games. “What, and miss the amazing view of the gloriously boring Sunagakure no Sato of ten years past? You do know me, don’t you?” Both men grinned at each other in manly acceptance of each other’s drive. Li then turned to Amane and bowed to her, “It’ll be my pleasure to escort the Mizukage’s daughter to Old Suna.” |
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| Book 2: The Wet Kitten Part 2: The Village Buried in the Sand |
SozuJan 24, 2015 8:30 AM
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| A smile spread across her face when she heard Li address her as the Mizukage’s daughter. “I have a name, and it isn’t the Mizukage’s daughter, nor a clever take on my place of birth,” she replied to Li. “Knowing the man your father is I wouldn’t be surprise if he gave you his name,” the waitress chimed in as she let go of both Li’s and Tenmu’s ears. “Then don’t be,” Amane replied, standing up from the booth. “Shall we get going?” Amane asked as Li and Tenmu began to get up from their seats. Tenmu gave Amane a look after the exchange as if to warn her not to pull off something like that again. She sarcastically smiled back at him then stuck her tongue out while pulling down on the bottom of her left eyelid. Unfortunately, before Tenmu could react, Li had already wrapped his right arm over Tenmu’s shoulders, guiding him towards the back of the bar while Amane followed. The group left the bar through the back exit leading into an alley. Instead of walking towards the front of the bar, Li lead them further back down the alley. They would travel along a series of alleyways that felt as if they were walking through a labyrinth until they arrived at a dead end. A wide grin spread across Li’s face before he knelt down to inspect the asphalt in front of him. He would then firmly press his hands onto the concrete. Between his hands miniature sparks began to click and pop until they stabilized into one spark. The spark would begin moving in a pattern that mimicked drawing. It was drawing the symbol for wind. When the symbol was finished, the entire section of concrete covered in the engraving rose up, shifting to the right as Li let go of the concrete. They would begin their descent into the caves. With the help of Li, Tenmu and Amane made their way past spiked floors, swinging guillotines, and yes surprisingly, quicksand. They were now in the last area closest to the exit, a sandpit leading to a door as tall as the fifty foot ceiling. However, this was no ordinary sandpit. From the cracks in the ceiling, patches of light illuminated the spots where weak streams of sand poured in. Amane focused her attention at a patch of light closest to her and gasped when she saw what she believed was a human hand protruding out of the sand. “Here we are, the puppet grave,” Li responded to her alarm. Upon further examination, the group realized that there were a number of wooden body parts scattered about the pit. “This is where failed or worn out puppets were dumped years ago, kept hidden from the higher-ups as anyone can come here to salvage for parts. Some scavengers still say that you can hear the cackling sound our puppets make in this spot. However, savaging for parts isn’t that easy,” Li said, taking a step forward as a faint glow encircled his feet. He began to advance forward, warning the others that, “because this isn’t ordinary sand. You should make yourself lighter, or you’ll sink. The whole thing is set to trigger a trap if you’re knee deep.” The group moved forward, carefully avoiding contact with any of the wooden parts until they reached the door. Like he did earlier with the pavement, Li unsealed the door, gesturing for the pair to enter. “This is where we part ways Ten-ten,” a somber Li stated. Both Tenmu and Amane expressed their words of gratitude before being left at the entrance of a cave, in front of them a sand dune leading up towards an opening. When they climbed out of the opening, they had finally arrived at the remnants of Old Suna. Just as its name suggests, this was the Sunagakure of old. A humble village surrounded by a sea of sand. In the distance, Tenmu and Amane could see decrepit buildings surrounding the still intact Kazekage’s residence. Amane recalled her history lessons, amazed by how the depiction of Old Suna matched her studies. She advanced forward, curious to see more when Tenmu abruptly pulled her back. “Ah! He’s really here!” “Hmm, hmm, certainly here in the flesh.” “And the princess, the princess too!” “Hmm, hmm the readings were certainly not mistaken.” “Ten-nii, the Kazekage has sent for the Mizukage’s daughter.” “Hmm, he most certainly has.” “Thi-s w-ay pl-ease~” “We will certainly take good care of her~” Two girls, twin sisters at that, were standing several feet away from them. The sisters were the same height as Amane, yet unlike their counterpart, they both wore jonin jackets over their attire. “The one that sounds like she discovered sugar for the first time is Kanesa, the other one is Kuresa,” Tenmu informed Amane with a look of disgust. “The limitless sisters of the sand,” Amane responded. Kanesa wore golden hair cut into a fauxhawk, her blue eyes as clear as water were a mere deception to her playful nature. Kuresa, sported dark red hair into multiple strands of braids tied behind her head. She like her sister, shared the same eye color. “Fraternal twins, and taijutsu specialists at that,” Tenmu added with an even stronger sense of disgust as the two girls made the same hand seal before simultaneously calling out, “Taju Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!” A series of frantic explosions erupted throughout the sandy plain, kicking up sand everywhere. Once the sand settled, Tenmu and Amane found themselves completely surrounded by hundreds of the sisters’ clones. It must have been an estimated thousand between the two halves. “Unless you want to play with us~” “You’re most certainly welcome to~” |
| Did you know every time you sigh, a little bit of happiness escapes? ~Senjougahara Hitagi |
| Tenmu and Amane stood with their backs against eachother as the twins’ clones encircled them. “Very well then. It’s not like this wasn’t what I intended to do from the beginning. My job here is done,” he informed the hundreds of clones surrounding them and turned back to face the girl he had brought all the way from Kirigakure. She looked at him in disbelief of his words as he took hold of her collar and threw her way up in the air. “If you want her, however, you’ll have to get her before I kill her,” and he smiled while saying that. A golden spear formed in his right hand and he threw it straight at the flailing Amane. Most of the clones rapidly jumped up using eachother as stepping stones to move toward Amane faster, seemingly forming a pyramid around Tenmu to reach the hurled spear before it got to Amane. As the pyramid crept up and nearly reached the spear, the spear opened up like a scroll revealing none other than Tenmu himself as if he had teleported inside it. Slowly rotating in the air, cloak spread-out and empty-handed, Tenmu whispered. “Senjutsu: Choodama Rasengan” From inside the gold and dark red pyramid a ball of condensed rotating wind chakra grew only to engulf the pyramid, severely damaging and dispelling every clone involved in the making of the pyramid and the pyramid itself. The Rasengan was retracting to non-existence as Amane came crashing down on the floating Tenmu, hitting him and calling him bad names. As they got back on the floor, only a dozen of the clones and the originals (12 in total, 6 of each kind of girl) were still left in the wasteland Tenmu’s jutsu has caused. “I am sorry to inform you two brats that none of us have any intention of going anywhere with you. Whoever sent you clearly wanted to get rid of you somehow, and I can understand why. Who wouldn’t want to get rid of a couple of rabblerousers without any respect for their elders?” “This amount should be easier for us to handle, wouldn’t you think?” he spoke and looked sideways at Amane in a playful tone. ---------------------------------------- “Did you heard that, Uero?” Natsumi was sitting at the bar, drinking what could only be perceived as hard liquor, judging from the bottle next to her. “I did, my lady,” Uero answered, casually rubbing a glass with a dry cloth. Although only making it dirty because of the lack of water to wash it prior to the drying. “It sounded like Tenmu’s Rasengan, didn’t it... I’ll go look at it for myself,” she quickly got up and ran out the door, leaving her drink behind for Uero to attempt to clean. Uero then kept cleaning the same dirty glass while turning his gaze to the girl napping at one of tables. Let’s hope it’s not Tenmu... who knows what might happen if he brought that girl here now. |
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| "Got it, GOT IT! Umff!" Amane shouted before pushing off Tenmu away from her. She was scared, so much that whatever was in front of her could not be registered. She attempted to adopt a defensive stance, moving her right leg backward, however in the process of doing so she failed to realize a fist was already planted into her stomach, sinking deeper with every ticking second. The force of the punch did not give her a chance to register pain as she was sent backward by what felt like a violent gust of wind. She sailed for two seconds before coming to a halt at the hands of one of Kanesa's clones. The clone proceeded to run off with Amane secured in her arms and for a minute, it seemed that the combination attack was successful. That is until Kanesa stopped within two steps of her escape, letting Amane go by forcefully throwing her to the ground. The clone then began to scream in intervals, pausing in between to swat away at its body in an attempt to rid itself of harm. Amane remained on the ground unable to stand. The clone continued in this fashion until it fell to its knees, soon rolling on the sand and becoming one with the dust. Amane came to seconds later, holding her stomach with both arms as she rose up from the ground. "Certainly you are aware that she is a genjutsu user?" Kuresa asked her sister in a sarcastic manner. "Tch...," Kanesa responded half-embarrassed, unwilling to admit she did not read the dossier. Just as Amane rose up, she quickly fell down when the overwhelming sensation of pain from the previous hit finally registered in her brain. At the same time, Tenmu was making quick work of the remaining clones, reducing the total number to four including the sisters. After being prompted to "get the hell up!" Amane was slow to stand and nearly fell over if it were not for her ability to slant her body forward without losing her balance. "Wait....since when could I do that?" she thought before her back unwillingly moved backward to straighten her posture. Her hands which were instinctively over her stomach began to move towards her sides. "Certainly you can be of some use now," Kuresa said, not two feet behind Amane. Her fingertips were glowing from the chakra strings attached to Amane's limbs. Amane felt her body moving forward without having any control. It was an odd sensation, and coupled with the pain for earlier, she was not happy to say the least. "He should most certainly she you coming, which should give sister the opening she needs to finish this," Kuresa added as Amane was now drawing a kunai from the pockets at her sides. "T-t-t-ten....," she whimpered, her voice still shot from the sensation of having the wind knocked out of her. Kuresa then pulled and swung her arms about in an intricate pattern, commanding Amane to dash forward and strike a blow at Tenmu's back while he fought the remainder of the sister and clones. |
MotionBlueFeb 10, 2015 4:25 AM
| Did you know every time you sigh, a little bit of happiness escapes? ~Senjougahara Hitagi |
| Tenmu was busy fighting Kanesa and the remaining two clones when Amane came dashing towards him with a knife in her hand. Her body looked as if it wanted to stab him; her face looked as if it didn’t. Tenmu, however, was a seasoned fighter and he had long been fighting against larger numbers than his own. He could hear Amane’s footsteps running after him and he knew of Kuresa’s powers, which made him add two and two together and realize what was about to happen. The simplest way of disposing of such handicap was through dodging and allowing his foes to attack each other when trying to attack him. And that’s what he did. Despite having two clones constantly on top of him like a couple of nagging flies, or worse, nagging children, the real one kept keeping enough distance between her strikes, making it evident that she wouldn’t put herself in any actual danger as long as the clones were active. One of the clones made the mistake of being near enough Tenmu for him to grab her face and, as he did this, he shot a golden rod at her foot, binding her in place and sounding a scream from her mouth. This was enough to dodge the incoming Amane without the clone dodging for itself, and she had gained enough momentum to be unable to be stopped but for an equally powerful force. This was when the other clone jumped between Amane and the screaming clone to be hit instead, dispersing in a cloud of dust and stopping Amane in her tracks. As it turned out, the screaming clone was in actuality the real Kanesa, who had just gotten impaled on her foot. The pain made her lose her focus on the battle, causing her remaining clone to disperse (the one that was serving as the real Kanesa). “Sister!” – Kuresa yelled in distress. “I’m still debating on whether that was a smart move, or a really really dumb one.” – Tenmu interjected. After the initial shock, Kanesa then fruitlessly tried to remove the rod from her foot, prompting Tenmu to explain why she couldn’t – “That rod is a part of the floor, you can’t remove it as much as you can move the earth beneath you, child.” And the bitch child Kanesa replied by screaming yet again and forcing her foot away from the floor breaking the connection between it and the rod in the process. She’d still have the rod stuck to her foot, but she’d no longer be bound in place. Her sheer willpower was something Tenmu could appreciate. It was something quite remarkable. But her foot would keep bleeding and he’d always know where the real Kanesa was from now on, in case she chose to make more clones. She, however, was not inclined to do so at all. Kuresa saw what was about to come and let her control of Amane go to run further away. Leaving Amane feeling weird and abused and guilty all at the same time. Tenmu couldn’t bother to expect anything since he was too condescending to do so. In one swift motion, Kanesa grabbed both hands together and pummeled the floor beneath her, creating a gust of air that would send our heros away from her and also creating earth fissures all around her, causing buildings to fall on top of Amane and Tenmu. Tenmu was trying to pick himself up from among the rubble when he saw Kanesa hurling at him with her fist pointed at his face. He tried to create a spear to stab in her chest but his cloak had flown somewhere away from him, leaving him unable to use any jutsu. Kanesa was inches away from his face when she screamed in pain again, contorting her body back over itself for seemingly no reason. That's when Tenmu looked around to find her and, when he did, he laid back in relief. Who he had found was a white-haired woman seemingly in her late twenties, carrying large breasts and wearing nothing but a traditionally skimpy white dress with a floral design. "I didn't expect you to ever low your guard, Tenmu." – Natsumi pointed out. "I guess old age has made me softer on young girls then!" – he chuckled while laying down, thinking he wouldn't have to deal with children any longer. (In case it wasn't clear, Natsumi's specialized in the Naruto universe equivalent (that I made up for the purpose of this NPC) of Avatar's bloodbending. She can manipulate people's blood through her kekkei genkai (may sound like Tenshi's kekkei but I never actually knew how his kekkei worked) but is completely wide-open to attacks while she's doing so. Chakra threads to control her would likely not work as she'd just manipulate her own blood to counter-act them. She's not a kunoichi despite having trained as such and is often hired together with a bodyguard to control crowds with her ability. I guess that's enough information on her for now for you to judge what to write next :3 ) |
SozuFeb 24, 2015 6:59 AM
-INSERT EPIC QUOTE HERE- |
| Seconds before she struck the clone, Amane's felt her heart skipped a beat. The fear of successfully injuring Tenmu had overwhelmed her. However, due to his vast experience in battle, he was able to turn the tide in favor of his own, while getting rid of a another clone in the process. She was soon let go of Kuresa's strings before Kanesa conjured a gust of wind that launched both Tenmu and Amane several feet away. Structures collapsed around them as they fell to the ground, but they were fortunate enough to avoid being smashed to bits. Kanesa tried to bring about a sneak attack while Tenmu got up from the rubble, but she was quickly interrupted by a wave of pain that caused her to scream in agony. She retreated any further advances, leaving Amane puzzled as to why Kanesa would do such a thing, but upon hearing an unfamiliar voice address Tenmu, she realized there was another woman among them. The battle or lack thereof, was a humble reminder that Amane had many years to go before she could stand on her own much. She couldn't help but feel guilty because of how easily she was used by Kuresa and ashamed that all she did was stare as Kanesa tried to sneak in a last minute attack on an unsuspecting Tenmu. For a shot at redemption she made her way back to Tenmu after he laid on the ground before the woman. In the least, she could remain at his side should the woman attempt a violent act. There was no doubt by her appearance that the woman was older than Amane and the limitless sisters, but younger than Tenmu. She wore what appeared to be a dress, although that could have been debated due to how revealing it was. Her hair color was white, a trait uncommon to Sunagakure at such a young age. Amane wondered if she may have had a connection to her father despite him mentioning never having siblings, but her moment of curiosity would soon be interrupted. "Hmmm~ could that be who I think it is?" The woman asked in a manner that implied she already knew the answer to the question. Amane ignored the inquiry, instead opting to help Tenmu sit up as a gesture of gratitude. "I'm sorry you had to do everything on your own," she apologetically stated before being cut off by the woman. "And you think that ignoring me is going to change anything young lady? I just saved your friend and your's lives. The least you could do is make eye contact dear." "T-Thank you....," Amane begrudgingly replied. |
| Did you know every time you sigh, a little bit of happiness escapes? ~Senjougahara Hitagi |
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