Fandom &nbsp; Naruto: Last of the Fallen Blossoms

AtlannianSpy · Nov 4, 2023

Team Nadeshiko
"Wonderful," said Nadeshiko, smiling and clapping her hands together, choosing to ignore some of the silent dynamics at play. Children should be able to work out that sort of thing amongst themselves. "Well now that we all know each other we should set off. Time and Tide wait for none and we have a bit of a journey ahead of us," With that Nadeshiko ushered her charges out of the inn and onto the road leading out of the city.

The early leg of the journey was fairly peaceful, with no one bar the occasional trader or farmer taking their crop to market to share the road with. Nadeshiko made use of the early morning quiet to expand on the mission that lay ahead of them.

"As you hopefully remember, our destination is Shizunamori, a trading town close to the Eastern border," Nadeshiko explained. "It's a bit of a hub for the logging logging and mining in the region, the products of which are exported over the border in exchange for finished goods such as tools and house goods. There has been some discussion about trying to foster those manufacturing industries locally but the local noble houses seem to prefer the current arrangement as they get to levy taxes on caravans going to and fro across the border," Nadeshiko frowned. "On top of that Shizunamori is also a hub for criminal activity. The logging and mining attract itinerant workers, who attract gambling and other...improprieties which in turn attract criminal interest. The caravans going in and out of the city are usually too well guarded to be of interest to bandits, but bandits do gather in the city to spend their ill gotten gains; recruit new members and exchange 'intelligence' or whatever passes for it in their circles. This last point is what particularly interests us today. Recently Akari and I, along with her previous teammates, apprehended some bandits preying upon travellers at the sight of a sabotaged bridge.

I found it suspicious that bandits were able to so quickly position themselves to take advantage of an incident like that and so I asked those fellows some pointed questions. They informed me that their source was someone they referred to as "The dealer" an information broker selling tips on where infrastructure will be damaged, allowing his clients to opportunistically target the affected trade routes. After asking around I linked this "Dealer" to several other incidents of suspiciously well timed banditry that followed in the wake of acts of sabotage. This information broker is almost certainly a foreign shinobi leaking information on their targets to the criminal underworld to exacerbate their economic impact. Needless to say this kind of predation on Land of Iron citizens is totally unacepptable and we shall be forcefully apprehending this "Dealer"" Nadeshiko said, turning back to look expectantly at her students.

"Now usually when I have to apprehend a specific criminal instead of criminals in general I just sort of subdue and question the first ones I run into until one of them kindly directs me to the person I need to find. I can be quite persuasive you see. However the last time I visited Shizunamori my usual tactics ruffled some feathers with the local nobles, to the point that they issued some kind of complaint to the Taishou," Nadeshiko wrinkled her nose cutely. "Which I thought was very unnecessary, it was raining that day so nearly all of that blood would have washed away in short order and the destroyed property was all stolen anyway, but some people are just particular about that kind of thing. In any case, the Taishou has asked me to take a more 'surgical' approach in this case and I thought this would also be instructional for you children. So, I would like you three to come up with some ideas for how we might track this fellow down. Does anyone want to start?"

Nilionis · Nov 4, 2023

Niko didn’t find his team captains preference for brute force and pain to be all that shocking. If anything, he was thrown off by the fact that it would be frowned upon. After all, his clan was well known for their interrogation strategies heavily relying on fear and mental manipulation. The “Hokori Widow Intimidation Technique” was heavily relied upon for a reason in his clan.
These people were criminals being brought to justice, were they not? Why shouldn’t individuals like Sensei Nadeshiko be allowed to do whatever necessary in order to put an end to these wrongdoings?

“Well this ‘Dealer’ is definitely our guy. He would probably need a lot of resources in order to consistently pull this off. Not to mention he’d probably only do all of this because he’s got a lot to lose in the caravan business. And if he’s a foreign Shinobi… maybe we could ask around and see if any of the recent refugees are heavily connected to trading game?” While Niko wasn’t the greatest tactician, he didn’t have high expectations for his teammates and opted to voice his thoughts first in an effort to avoid silly antics.

godjacob · Nov 5, 2023

~~Search for the Four Tails' Fang~~

"Very well, I shall go secure us some torches. Will be back momentarily so please wait." Tokita said as she moved to step outside and seemed to have a hand on the handle of her blade, Endless Dawn. She eyed the old tree whose leaves and life seemed to not be present in the chilly mountainside.

Slash!

Within a flash, several slashes were made along the branches as they were cut from the tree and landed around Tokita in a pile. She had placed the blade back in its holster as she grabbed a few of them, working to trim the extra branches off before she had some make-shift torches. A sudden burst of sound caught her ear as Tokita turned to the cave entrance and entered back inside as the group seemed present minus Izanami.

"I uh, got the logs. Where is Izanami?" Tokita asked the group as she missed her message and venture into the dark unknown. She was soon updated that they ventured ahead which of course set alarms as she quickly used some flint to light one of her tree branches and produce a torch before they ventured inside after her. Mission just began and already they had this complication....guess "please wait" didn't reach her ears.

The walk itself seemed to be quite the venture, the light of the torch hopefully helping to provide a light for the group so that the Byakugan had not been their only source of navigation. In truth Tokita had nothing against bugs, if anything she found them something to appreciate and the beauty of the tunnels was something admirable. Honestly one thing her ventures through the land had taught her was to appreciate the beauty of things around her, even things others would find creepy or disgusting as were the creepy crawlers along its soil.

However, as they neared a water source, everything seemed to change.

They had managed to catch up with Izanami but they also encountered a giant centipede seemed to appear from another tunnel as Tokita's eyes widened; instantly she set her torch aside and pulled her blade out as her instincts seemed to take over and she figured a fight was inevitable.

"Seems we have added company. Always a complication." Tokita said, as she seemed set for battle and in spite of some nerves readied herself for what was to come.

InsaneAsylum

KageYuuki

Ganryu · Nov 5, 2023

Akari Tone - Squad Nadeshiko

Nilionis

Akari! Akari! Let go! Making this awkward!

Akari had the strangest attempted smile as she tried to shake Daisuke's hand, her entire body trembling with the vicegrip strength. The look of confusion said the awkwardness had long since past. Gulping, she quickly grabbed her arrows, and wordlessly turned straight around, marching to the door as they left.

Would Seppeku make it more awkward...?

Thankfully, they began out on their journey, and it was a route Akari knew well, through the rural farmlands of Hanamachi to Shizunamori. The occasional farmer got a much less rough hello from Akari, passing waves, and her dead fish nervousness started to fade to a genuine smile as she stopped at one of the carts, motioning to the farmer at what he'd strapped down his load with, before fixing it in a flurry of motions, before running back after her teammates. The man laughed as he handed her a few carrots from the load.

"Mr. Takeda keeps losing his loads, ever since his sons left in the war... Never gets it strapped down tight enough, his arthritis makes it hard." She said in what was almost a full sentence, before gnawing like a hamster on her 'reward'. Even as she did so, her stomach growled, Akari blushing slightly. She had just had breakfast, but her seals of 'Amano-Iwato's Hidden Sunlight' kept her muscles constantly flushed with chakra and under pressure, which used a lot of calories.

Smiling even larger as they passed a larger wooden house, Akari waved to the windows. "And... that's my house."

As she was given the mission, Akari gave a sigh of relief, having calmed down slightly. Her brow furrowed at being mentioned in previous mention of herself, and eyed Daisuke and Niko. Her... new teammates. For how long, who knew? She shook her head, trying to remove the bitter thought. She had to get along with them!

Shizunamori was a city her mother had long said to avoid, and the explanation only added to why.

Wait... Intelligence? W-was that meaning she'd have to interrogate people?! Maybe they could stick her in a room with them til the other person felt so weirded out they confessed... Akari bowed her head with a sigh.

Listening to Niko's plan, she nodded in agreement. Taking a deep breath, Akari raised her hand like she was in a classroom, tossing away the carrot top into the nearby grass.

"What country...?"

If he was a foreign ninja, and selling planned attacks, Nadeshiko Sensei probably already knew what country's attacks were being sold, would make it easier. Akari briefly wondered for a moment if her giant bow nearly twice her size on her back with distinctive red string would give her away in 'intelligence gathering'.

Akari paused. She had done a terrible job introducing herself. But the other's hadn't exactly done better... She suddenly held up her hand as if to silence people... even though no one was talking. Mostly it was to prepare her nerves. Her voice, straining to be at a normal volume almost sounded like she was barking each word.

"I think we need a sensor... What can people do? I'm an archer. B-but better at close quarters. W-when I said I jump a lot..."

Akari lowered herself in a sprinter's crouch. Whisps of cold air steamed from her nostrils as lines of blue traced down her legs. Her eyes flickered open, before a body flicker's 'fwip' echoed as a cloud of white erupted from the ground. Leaping high in the air, Akari passed over a tree branch, before sticking her feet out. They retraced the same ground as earlier under her, giving her a platform. A 'boing' echoed as it sprung into existence.

Double jump

Backflipping over the same branch as before, Akari notched and drew an arrow. A 'thwump' sounded as the arrow disappeared in a brown blur, snapping straight through the branch, and exploding into the ground beneath Akari as she landed gracefully.

"N-not really good at sensing...or ninjutsu... or talking... Amaratsu above, I-I h-h-h-aaate, hate, hate talking... B-but I can do rooftops...? Anyone else have sensing stuff?"

Akari clutched her chest, resting against a tree after initiating all that, near heaving. She quitely reached into a bag and pulled out a fidget spinner, closing her eyes, and slumping down as she fidgetted.

AtlannianSpy · Nov 6, 2023

Koyome Omozukai-Whispering Puppets
As the chunks of wood flew towards Koyome she reacted quickly by... ignoring them. After all Koyome's exterior body was made of sturdy wood not pathetic flesh and skin so mere chunks of carpentry were insufficient to damage her or even cause any pain. Koyome weathered the storm of wood with a sneer and then replied instantly with another volley of chakra infused senbon thrown at the clone who was weaving handseals to target Enkai, trying to destroy them before they could switch focus. At the same time Koyome activated Chunori and the bird puppet erupted from the pouch and flew towards the oil stained clone, trying to impale it with the puppet's razor sharp, metal beak.

If that didn't kill the clones then Koyome would simple keep applying pressure with more and more thrown senbons, while Chunori circled back around for another attack pass. The goal of this was to keep the clones busy so that Enkai would be relatively free to launch a more powerful attack of some kind, he seemed generally to have more jutsu like that than her. As soon as the clones were destroyed though Koyome planned to sprint after the original Yue, trying to prevent her from being able to gang up on Akari with whoever was down below. It would be for the best if they could prevent their enemies from linking up and besides, how dare she try and kill Koyome's favourite new ~~victim~~ Teammate?

Phayne

Phayne · Nov 6, 2023

Team Yukari

Enkai Kaji

Mokunoha

Whispering Puppets - Dining Roomt

With the Mist acting as a sensory barrier, Enkai had enough forewarning beforehand to manoeuvre himself to the side; his hair dancing against the oncoming rush of wind as the ethereal spear penetrated the wall behind; shattering a large portrait that had been hung. Enkai's plan however wasn't to simply dodge the incoming attack. While he was aware that his aim would be affected, Enkai had briefly glanced back towards Yue, smirking as he did so.

Having maneuverer out of the way, his trigger finger had tensed in the process; causing a globule of condensed water to shoot forth from the end of his kiseru pipe; rushing through the watery particles of mist towards the general direction of Yue. Given his sudden change of position, his aim had been off by a few inches yet even then the bullet was heading towards her... just not her head.

Not only had his shot been fired, the bullet of water had begun to grow in size ever so slightly as it whizzed through the watery particles of steam, absorbing some of the water vapour into itself and roughly doubling in size by the time it would have made contact with the Kunoichi.

"A bit feisty aren't we!" shouted Enkai, clambering to his feet as he begun to make his way to Koyome. Having effectively avoided having his head skewered like some piece of meat on a shish kebab, Enkai could not deny the momentary concern as he heard wood strike against wood; the reverberating clash emanating from where Koyome stood; his partner seemingly unfazed as she continued to apply the pressure with the introduction of Chunori.

"Koyome, you good?" he questioned, moving around so that he was now positioned behind her. Considering how unfazed she was to the clones attacks, he had subtly figured that she would make a good barrier for him to hide behind as he put his next plan into motion.

He hadn't failed to notice the large chandelier hanging above the dining hall; the ornate piece of art defying its obvious weight while it remained suspended above. A perfect target; one that didnt move out of the way.

"Keep them distracted.. don't let them move" spoke Enkai, turning from his hiding spot behind Koyome' an arm outstretched upward as he aimed his 'kiseru pipe pistol' towards the ceiling. Once satisfied, he would unleash three shots upwards, hoping to sever the chain that held the chandelier in place and if that didn't work, to at least burst a hole big enough in the ceiling that the weight of the chandelier would cause it to fall towards the clones anyway.

Code by Serobliss

IG42 · Nov 9, 2023

Yusuke Satomi - Fear of the Dark
Glancing back at Yanma as he revealed the only thing hidden up his sleeve was a sense of yawning emptiness Yusuke suppressed a sigh. "I see." The Taisho's words were sounding like a bit of a joke now, sending along someone who wouldn't take risks turned out to be because they'd be incapable of surviving placing themselves in moderate danger.

Stiffening when asked what he knew of the Kuroinu Yusuke kept walking a few more paces but whipped around at the idea he could have been with them willingly with his expression twisted in fury. "You think I would-" Choking off the rest of the hasty response he angry mask collapsed leaving only hurt behind. "If you recall the Taisho mentioned that abduction before they went underground. I am the son of the Chūseigumi they took thinking they could make a trade for members of their organisation that had been captured." He scoffed with a sense of bitterness but also a touch of twisted pride. "They should have known the Chūseigumi doesn't negotiate with terrorists."

ZackStop

AtlannianSpy · Nov 9, 2023

Koyome Omozukai- Search for the Four Tails' Fang
Koyome hissed and shuddered at the alien, unwelcome sensation of something moving inside her sanctum with her. How dare those filthy insects invade her puppet? Her refuge from the filthy and chaotic outside world!? Disgusting! Almost instinctively threads erupted from tenketsu all over her body, seeking to ensnare and garrotte the unwelcome intruders. This seemed to limited effect, even with Koyome's Byakugan being able to pinpoint the location of every irritant within her sphere of vision. Suspicious. With a frankly herculean effort of will Koyome forced herself to ignore the sensation of crawling legs all over her body and studied the wider situation she was in. The chakra of her teammates seemed subtly off in some way and the giant centipede was radiating an odd chakra of its own. Could this sensation be some kind of instinctive, evolved genjutsu?

"We just need to get those peppers remember," Koyome reminded her teammates, through gritted teeth. " if we can lure it over here and distract it I can have a puppet sneak by and pick them up. Also I suspect its emitting some kind of genjutsu from its antenna, so try to damage those if this doesn't work," Following her own example, Koyome activated Chunori and sent the bird puppet flying forwards towards the centipede, firing senbons from its beak at the creature's antenna. If that proved ineffective Koyome would next have the bird close in and use its sharp, metal beak to peck at the sensory organs.

KageYuuki

InsaneAsylum

godjacob

ZackStop · Nov 9, 2023

Yanma rubbed the back of his neck as he followed where Yusuke was leading them to. He could tell the samurai was less than intrigued about the ninja's prowess after giving such a lackluster answer, which was in line with Yanma's demeanor, but it didn't give much hope. He then thought to himself, thinking he probably should have come up with something or even lie to atleast sound competent. No going back now.

As Yusuke began to explain his part in all this, the ninja who followed behind proceeded to rub the back of his neck even more nervously. "Definitely struck a nerve..." He said under his breath before speaking up. "Well, I wouldn't call bandits terrorists... but at least now I know you're not one of them. That's good to know, right?"

He wasn't making the mood any better, so he gave up on that front quickly and instead focused on business. "We know what they want then. If they want to negotiate a trade, that must mean they're weak. And feeling vulnerable they sought shelter in the mines. That's my theory." Yanma looked around then at the ground. "Do you think your "Chuseigumi" is down there with them? You're not gonna get emotional if they are, are you?"

IG42

Spoiled Bread · Nov 10, 2023

WHISPERING PUPPETS
Location : Dining Room

The short clash from the four figures was enough to transform the entire dining room into unrecognizable mess. While the simple table pieces were ineffective at piercing Koyome's wooden layer, it was more than enough to block the senbons and the bird puppet all at once. The oil stained clone moved her arms so fast it almost looks like she poses a dozen arms. Meanwhile the paint stain clone remains stuck in place, every time Enkai let out his voice she shot another of her wind spear towards his direction. The clones coordinates really well at covering each other's back. Still, none of them expect the mokunoha to drop the chandelier on them. As Enkai punched a hole through the chain, the paint stain clone looked upwards and had her eyes widen as she realize what was about to happen.

"Tch."

The chandelier smashed both clones, and also the floor. Dust filled the entire room and the cough of an old man could be heard somewhere.

"T-this is madness." Mr. Ouzen finally spoke after being silent during the clash, he didn't want to make himself a target after all. He looked around the room, for a brief moment it seemed like he would about to explode, but then he suddenly sighed and looked at the only remaining mokunoha in the room. Koyome seemed to had ran towards the gallery so there's only Enkai there.

"Your friend said something about shaft in the gallery right? She must be talking about the one beneath the diorama. Across the corridor there's a door between two rooms. It's locked and I haven't been there for years." The old man briefly looked down to his feet to imply the cause.

"That door leads down there into the basement. I'm giving you permission to break it down. Please finish this nightmare."

Phayne

------------------------------------

Location : Gallery

When Koyome arrive in the gallery, the place was far from recognizable. It looks more like the nest of a spider monster rather than a gallery. Half of the massive yarn dragon that was supposed to hang on the ceiling had been unraveled and now hundreds of blue yarn had been strung randomly across the room with some of it lumped together into large yarn balls that covered the other puppets. Hanging right above Koyome was an upside down coccoon-shaped yarn wrapping what looks like another Yue clone, her entire body except her face had been covered with strings so she couldn't do anything.

"I'm surprised you can see what's happening in the other room, samurai." A sharp and cold voice could be heard from the top of the giant buddha in the middle of the room and Koyome could see the original Yue sat calmly on the buddha's shoulder. She shooks her head.

"Unexpected things keeps happening on top of another unexpected things. Oh, well, it doesn't matter. At this point I will just wipe everything clean and start over somewhere else. This place is good, but it doesn't need to be done here." Yue grabbed a handful of string nearby and dozens of chakra strings homes towards Koyome like a group of hungry snakes. Koyome could feel the thick amount of chakra emanating from the tip of each string.

AtlannianSpy

------------------------------------

Location : Basement

"Wait, wait. Why? You're not supposed to fight back!!" The tall man sounded very irritated when Akari started jumping and sliding around the room to avoid his attack. At one point he tried to run in order to catch up with her but immediately stop while wincing in pain as he clutches his chest. Akari's warning didn't seems to deter him but he was caught off guard when the mokunoha threw her dagger and knocked both the dagger in his hand and the lantern on the wall. A quick yelp echoed through the large chamber as the place was plunged into total darkness.

"Ahyahyahyahyhyahyahyahyahyahyahya." The man let out a dragged maniacal laughter. The echoes of the walls made it sounds like there's a group of psychopaths in the same room. A loud thud can be heard, followed by the sound of wooden lids being opened.

"This darkness announce nothing but your miserable death. Tremble in fear as the minion of darkness push you down into bottomless despair. Feast your eyes at the bewitching eyes of your shinigami, as this will be the last thing you ever see. O Lord, please accept my offering." A new light source appeared. A pair of red ethereal light, slotted inside the eye sockets of a 10 feet tall skeletal figure with horned bull head and long spiky tail. The giant skeleton let out a deep growl before it extended its hand forward in an attempt to grab Akari. Meanwhile the darkness hides the tall man very well, but there's occasional rustling noises coming from somewhere behind the giant skeletal figure.

Ganryu · Nov 10, 2023

Akari Tone - Whispering Puppets

Phayne

(whoo, godmode permission!)

Akari clutched her bleeding arm as her new playmate was unveiled, before letting out a sigh of relief. Her own crimson red hair flickered like a flame behind her before the light of those red eyes, her tattoos a negative against it's light as the giant's arm reached out for her.

THUD!

The entire room shook, dust falling from the ceiling with a few broken planks from the cieling falling down around Akari, who held up her arm in a backhand motion. The wrist shook, with Akari inhaling sharply. However, the skeleton's hand found itself buried into the wall next to it, impact lines spidering out from the wood.

"That's not scary." Akari said in a monotone, "Talking to people is scary. Knowing you're weird is scary. Always being wrong, and not knowing why... That's scary."

Not being able to see the man seemed to boost her confidence. It was like she was talking to a mirror before heading out in the morning. She practiced every day, hoping it would help her speak just a little bit. It... generally didn't. But right now in the dark, Akari's voice was the most normal it had ever sounded. An honest to goodness smile started to slowly creep up her mouth, like ivy up a porch in summer.

She didn't know how she was going to find a perp who was touching puppets. She didn't know etiquette in a mansion. She didn't know how to introduce herself to new teammates. But, skeletons... blood... giant prey. This was a hunt. And Akari, Akari knew how to hunt.

Leaping forward, Akari leaped foward onto the skeleton's head. A 'boing' echoed as Akari leapt up it, and landing at the bottom of the shaft from earlier, leaping several jumps up. For a moment, Akari briefly pondered just breaking out. But she shook her head. This guy was bad news. Akari was a samurai, and a samurai didn't back down!

She closed her eyes, holding her bloody arm again.

Tomo Tone - Akari's Mother said:
Go on. Show us what a grateful child can do, Akari.

Light began to trace in lines down her leg, tracing across the side of the shaft. Her eyes opened, and Akari pushed against the wall with all her might, throttling down like a rocket. One jump to the other side, then bouncing off of that one even fast. The third left an impact crater, the chute shaking unsteadily as she dove at the Skeleton. Akari brought her foot up for an ax kick straight down aimed between it's eyes.

"Falling Crescent Moon!"

A blue crescent traced her kick downward in an arc, the tip of it bringing the full weight of section of chute she had been on along with her already insane strength for a single devastating attack. If it landed, the entire house was going to feel it. Probably most of all Akari.

Nilionis · Nov 11, 2023

Niko could feel his frustration only grow as the trek continued. When he first decided to travel out away from home, he was well-aware of the fact that he’d likely be forced to work alongside people he wouldn’t usually pair up with. But this? This already seemed like so much less than he had expected.

“An archer that can’t hold their own in ranged combat? You know… I’ve let a lot slide, but what’s even the point of you? An archer who can’t fight at range is about as useful as a hound without a sense of smell. Why even bother practicing with a bow if you’re just gonna waste chakra to close the gap, anyhow?” Niko finished with a small huff before turning on his heel to face Daisuke. He’d tried to give Akari the benefit of the doubt; assuming her skills in combat would outshine her ditzy personality… but that didn’t appear to be the case.

“I can make my sight and hearing omnidirectional, but I can’t actually increased its range. What about you, big man? Ready to surprise us with a skill other than being quiet?” The Hokori prodigy gave Daisuke a light punch on the shoulder as he questioned his fellow teammates capabilities. His face was stuck somewhere halfway between a fake smile and an annoyed glare. It was highly apparent that just about every interaction thus far only added to Niko’s mountain of doubt.
Now? It was all up to Daisuke to prove wether or not this squad actually stood a chance.

AtlannianSpy · Nov 12, 2023

Koyome Omozukai- Whispering Puppets
"Oh I'm full of surprises," Koyome said with a sneer, more trying to goad her opponent into losing her composure than display any confidence she actually felt. Koyome didn't necessarily feel at a disadvantage, but she didn't hold any obvious advantage either: being split off from her teammates like this was less than ideal but if she fell back to link up with Enakai then Yue would be free to join up with what was presumably her ally and...was that a giant minotaur skeleton? What the fuck was going on down there!? How had Akarai managed to get herself in such a ridiculous situation in literal minutes of being unsupervised!?

As the threads closed in on her Koyome responded with her own thinner, less tangible chakra threads. A battle of worms versus snakes ensued, one that the worms would probably lose if it came down to pure strength. Fortunately for Koyome she had no intention of fighting her battles like that, instead Koyome's threads wove chaotically between the oncoming threads, weaving a chaotic snarl of a tangle that Koyome dodged and wove her way through with the aid of her byakugan, closing the distance between her and Yue somewhat and leaving a web of wrestling threads behind her. In a smooth motion, Koyome slipped her shoulders out of the large backpack she wore; let it the strap slip down to her hand; spun once to build momentum and hurled it at Yue. The sturdy, canvas backpack sailed forwards and then suddenly rustled as a skeletal, humanoid puppet made of wood burst free from its confines and tried to rap itself around Yue in a crushing bearhug. Bizarrely, the puppet hummed loudly with the sound of a powerful fan and even as it flew forward a balloon like sack in its abdomen began inflating rapidly, quickly reaching the point at which it would burst with concussive force.

Phayne

Phayne · Nov 13, 2023

Team Yukari

Enkai Kaji

Mokunoha

Whispering Puppets - Helping fight the Red Eyes Demon Skeleton

Hazel eyes watched as the expensive chandelier finally broke free from its bindings; the large crystaline ornate piece dangling momentarily before surrendering itself to gravity's grasp. "Checkmate!" chimed the blue haired mokunoha as his eyes sparkled; reflecting the shimmer of light that danced across the falling crystaline fragments that adorned what was formerly an intricate chandelier. There were very few things in the world that managed to conjure as much adrenaline and excitement outside of a plan succeeding without a hitch; even if it were to only get rid of two mere clones. His attention would be stolen away from the falling artpiece and instead be drawn towardsthe two clones; the audible 'tch' signalling the final few moments before their inevitable demise.

Watching the scene unfold amidst the dust cloud of debris and remaining steam, Enkai could not help but give the two of them the finger; a smirk prevalent across his face as he inwardly hoped that these clones experienced the rumoured 'slow down' in time before they met their maker; to witness the final moments of their existence... even if they were just clones. Alas, he would not see their reaction to his immature act of goading; instead he would simply watch as they dissipated into a puff of smoke amidst the crescendo of the chandelier shattering into several pieces.

"Two down... god knows how many more to go.... god damn clone users!" cursed Enkai, as he rose to his feet and dusted himself off; the chaotic remnants of their benefactors dining hall doing little to deter Enkai from feeling momentarily good about himself; though that selfish moment of 'ego stroking' would be quelled as the man coughed; bringing Enkai back down to reality.

Quelling the inner ego that had momentarily reared its ugly head, Enkai would rush forth towards where Ouzen lay; the man sprawled against the floor and half coated in dust and debris. It was sheer fortune that he had remained largely uninjured by the fight that had just occurred; a miracle to be honest considering how his condition would have made it all the more harder to avoid being hit. A sigh would escape Enkai's mouth as he leaned over the man, placing one arm against his back as he raised him up to a seating position; Ouzen taking that moment to divulge some key information; to which Enkai was very grateful for.

"Thank you, old man" replied Enkai, reaching for his gourd with one hand before reaching for a cup that had managed to survive all the chaos. "Here drink this.." offered Enkai, momentarily prioritizing Ouzens condition as he poured water into the glass and handed it over to Ouzen. "... afraid its not alcohol... but at least this is better than nothing.." winked Enkai, now taking a swig directly from the gourd. "..also... take this.." he added, reaching into a pocket of his hakama and pulling out a card. "... as an apology for the damage... please take this card. My father owns a merchant store in Haganenoha, I'll be sure to tell him to give you a discount on any raw materials you might need in order to fix this place up" offered the part-time worker. "... now I'll be off. The more I stay here, the longer your nightmare. I'll try keep destruction to a minimum... but I make no promises.." he added, before standing up; left hand swiping up a few knives and forks that had fallen off of the dining table. "Don't forget... the store is called the Azure Dragon! We welcome your business!" he shouted, disappearing down the corridor.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rushing through the corridor and towards the locked room; the sound of manic laughter could just about be heard reverberating from within the basement; the depravity that emanated from the voice causing Enkai to act with increased vigour as he shoulder barged the door open; grabbing a lit torch from the corridor before descending into the darkness; a wave of unease gripping him as the sound of combat could be heard.

It would be a few moments before Enkai reached the battlefield where Akari and her foe were located; the initial darkness causing Enkai to pause at the entrance; his senses in overdrive as he attempted to listen to the subtle noises generated by both parties; though given he was lit up by the torch in his hand; his position was a dead give away to those that had been shrouded in darkness.

A flash of blue from above would be all that Enkai needed to know, the vague outline of Akari briefly lit up as she descended downward; ready to strike. Given what he knew, it was clear what Enkai had to do next. "Oi! RED EYES! Over here!" shouted the mokunoha waving the torch as he attempted to get the two large red glowing eyes to stare at him; the boy simultaneously tossing several of the utensils he had earlier grabbed towards the direction of the large figure in a further attempt to draw its attention away from Akari's incoming strike.

Code by Serobliss

Spoiled Bread · Nov 17, 2023

WHISPERING PUPPETS
Location :Gallery

The battle between the two puppeteers continued with threads from the two slithering around each other. Though during this time Yue hadn't move an inch from her seat on the Buddha's shoulder. Her arms were the only parts that moves around, weaving and dancing the chakra threads around. She seemed like she's bidding her time, or probably analyzing Koyome's strength. When Koyome threw kakego out, Yue immediately reacted by performing a quick hand sign and shoot out a wind spear from her mouth, hitting the puppet's inflated belly midair and prematurely exploding it midair. The explosion sent a shockwave across the room and tearing countless strings.

For a moment there's silence in the gallery. Yue wiped out a streak of blood from her forehead. While she was ready to shoot down any puppet sent her way she wasn't prepared for the follow up explosion and had a few sharpnel grazed her. She really shouldn't play too much here.

"Say, you aren't from Sunagakure right? I don't remember any kids who stuff themselves inside a puppet." Yue suddenly asked Koyome, though she quickly shook her head as if changing her mind. "Nah, nevermind. I will just see it myself."

Yue suddenly vanished from Koyome's sight, she flickered right on top of Koyome's head and gracefully landed there, standing upright as if she was balancing on a single thread. Despite standing on top of someone else, Yue barely weight anything, as heavy as a drop of water, and as silence as a feather. Along with the maid landing on her Koyome would sense sharp piercing sensation on several parts of Kurago's body. Mostly the joints as Yue had connected her chakra threads there in a direct attempt to forcefully take over Koyome's puppet mount. Kurago's joints let out creaking noises as Yue didn't hesitate to twist the joints in the wrong direction. Threatening to break Kurago the longer the struggle go.

AtlannianSpy

Location : Basement

"Being weird is scary? Ahyahyahyahyahya. You pathetic brat. Unworthy of The Lord's blessing." The man's voice echoed from somewhere in the darkness as the skeletal giant keep trying to catch Akari, though the massive speed gap didn't seems to allow him to catch her. When Enkai arrived in the room and shouted to distract the skeletal figure however, what his torch would reveal wasn't some independent beast attacking Akari. In the corner of the room, the tall man was extending his hands forwards with some strange looking threads coming out of his finger just like a ninja puppeteer. What's different was the stretchy completely physical threads made of sinew he was using, and of course the bone construct that he use as his 'puppet'. Regardless of what he discover, the shouting did distract the man and allows Akari to land her heavy strike on the skeletal construct. The kick completely blast the skull away from the rest of its body and split it in two, ramming it into the floor with enough force that it leaves a small crater underneath.

"No! M-my masterpiece, MINOMARUUUU!!!!!" The tall man fell on his knees crying for the destroyed bull skull. For a few moment it seemed the man didn't have any will to continue the fight. Until he suddenly clutches his chest in pain.

*cough* *cough*

*cough* *cough* *cough* *cough*

*cough* *cough* *cough* *cough* *cough* *cough*

The man let out several coughs that sounds worse and worse. At one point both mokunoha could see the man coughing blood onto the floor.

"O Lord, am I still not worthy of Your blessing? How many sacrifice should I bring? Or is it my suffering that You desire?" The man mumbled to himself, both of his hands were clutching his necklace like he was praying.

*cough* *cough* *cough* *cough* *cough* *cough*

*cough* *cough* *cough* *cough* *cough* *cough*

His coughing continues. Blood trickled down his mouth.

*cough* *cough* *cough* *cough* *cough* *cough*
*cough* *cough* *cough* *cough* *cough* *cough*
*cough* *cough* *cough* *cough* *cough* *cough*
*cough* *cough* *cough* *cough* *cough* *cough*

*COUGH*

The man coughed out a lump of organ out of his mouth. The organ was red, bloody, and beating. The man looked in disbelief at the organ, then at the two mokunoha. His hand raised forward, as if trying to ask the mokunoha for help, but no voice came out of his mouth before he collapsed onto the floor.

The still beating heart started twitching, and then it grew an eye, A clear, confused and somewhat traumatized eye. The eye scanned its surrounding, looking at the fallen guy next to it, then to the remains of Minomaru, then to Akari, then to Enkai. Though the moment it landed its sight on the torch on Enkai's hand it reeled back in shock. The heart grew several pair of tendrils made of blood vein just so it could scutter away from the light's reach. It lets out a whimper before growing several small claws at the tips of its tendril and started scaling the wall.

Phayne

Ganryu · Nov 20, 2023

F̷̞̪̪̈́̿̑̓͋̉̆̀̐̽̓̀͘e̴̛͇͍̹͓̦̒͋͂̉̿͌̃́̉ą̶̻̲̦͓̟̫̗͎̤̹̍̃̉r̷͕̜͉̜͙̦̭͇̱̮͈̤͇̗͉͆̂̑̊͛̓̓̽͆͋͘͘͝ ̸̛͎͚͈̒̋̿̀́̌̀̊̉̂̀̉̿̍ó̶̫̜͕̣̟̦̝̪̮̋͆̿̂̂͝f̸̲̩̞̤̥͖̠̻͓̺͛͆̅̽̽̽̀̐͘̕͜ ̶̖͎̱̠͐̄̐̊͌̀͑̈̒͐̈́̿̓̑ẗ̷̢̩͖͙̖̰̯̖̮̥̲́̌̚h̷̨̡͓̲̹̯̭̺̯̝̼̩̺͛͛́̒ȩ̸̤̌̿̒̅̔̈́͝ ̸̢̡̢̗̟̬̹̝̝̤͍̫̿̈̔͑̃̃͜ͅͅD̷̖́̆̃̿̋͗a̸͚͆̈̀ŕ̵̡̧̛̰͔̻̬̔͐̎̌̓̎͝ͅk̶̨̨̡̧͚͔͇̹̼̘̼͍̫͕͑̉̓́̚͝

IG42

ZackStop

Deeper in the mine, the first sound's of people could be heard, a sudden strike of a pickax, a bark of orders, the flare of lights made with jutsu. The place below was very much alive.

Across the wall, an abandoned mural could be seen, a complex summoning circle worked out and cut with stone, but a chipped line apparently made the entire thing abandoned. A rather large woman could be heard barking orders.

"Mess up on this one, and I swear I'll run you over with a mine cart. And I'LL be in the cart."

Several grumbles could be heard, along with a snide 'fatass' comment made. A whip cracked followed by a yelp. The victim scrambled away, running towards the passage Yusuke and Yanma were in, clutching his side where several burn marks that followed a cat-o-nine line.

The woman called after him. "When you're done putting your tampon in, get back to work!"

He grumbled "Crazy bitch... Where's the damn antidote...?" as he stumbled towards where a room with medical supplies was kept, coming closer and closer to the two, tears in his eyes. The wound festered and muscles convulsed wildly and visibly in cramps on his side.

To Yusuke, the woman's voice would be familiar, Madoka The Enforcer, who earned her name by more often being aimed at the gang than away from it, and when Yusuke had been kidnapped, preventing anyone from spilling the beans. In his rescue, she'd been cut down, but apparently had recovered, or her ghost was particularly vengeful. Her weapon was a whip forged from braided jellyfish tendrils, and called the Man-o-nine.

To Yamna, the medical room contained several emblems of the Land of Water, the particular antidote being known to a large summon Man-o-War that was lethal, even to Shinobi as it's venom lit up the nerves, forcing them to contract and light up, causing a particular painful muscle seizure to spread across the entire body. Not that anything past the heart mattered. She had to have been a rogue ninja from the Hidden Mist at some point, or had suppliers from the region.

AtlannianSpy · Nov 20, 2023

Koyome Omozukai- Whispering Puppets
Koyome cursed inside her shell as Kakegoe's pouch detonated, rocking her even from some distance away. She had forgotten about the wind release jutsu the clones had displayed earlier, tunnelvisioning on the battle of threads and she hadn't even really pulled ahead there for her trouble. Sloppy. All of a sudden the maid was on top of her, worming her thick, disgusting threads into Kurago's joints. Koyome seethed, how dare she touch the joints she'd spent so many hours on? How dare she try to peel back the armour Koyome had laboured to put between herself and the shitty outside world? Nobody had the right to see her like that, to judge the weak and pale flesh she'd been trapped in for so long! NOBODY!

"I'm not from Suna no," Koyome hissed through gritted teeth as she pulled back her threads to try and contest Yue's for control of Kurago. That's what it was supposed to look like anway, really she was just trying to slow the demolition of her puppet down while a few of her threads stealthily wound their way around Yue's feet and ankles, not even touching her skin or stockings yet but ready to pull tight at a moment's notice. "Some idiot from Suna tried to kill me but they failed, so I took their techniques and made them my own," Koyome said, sneering even as she struggled to hear herself over the groaning of Kurago's joints. Unlike a traditional puppet Kurago was emphatically not designed to seperate at the joints to disperse impacts, the expensive, lifelike vinyl skin and other features were incompatible with that design, so hearing the joints stretching like that almost caused Koyome physical pain. "Now GET YOUR FILTHY STRINGS OFF MY PUPPET!," Koyome spat, her voice cracking slightly as anger and a certain amount of fear overrode her composure. Just as Kurago's joints were about to give out entirely Koyome unleashe a scything burst of chakra out of her lower tenketsu, severing all of the threads from the hips down regardless of if they belonged to her or Yue.

Gentle Fist Art: One blow body

Kurago dropped like a... well, like a puppet with its strings cut, hitting the floor like a sack of potatoes while the threads coiled around Yue's feet ensured she was pulled down as well, at least for a moment. At the same time Koyome triggered the escape hatch in Kurago's chest, surging upwards to meet Yue and unleashing a second Gentle Fist Art: One blow body with her upper body's tenketsu this time, trying to blow the woman away...roughly in the direction where Kakegoe had been blasted away earlier, if Yue landed closed enough to the forgotten puppet then Koyome could transfer the threads around the woman's feet to Kakegoe and reactivate it to grab her.

Ganryu · Nov 21, 2023

Background Plot

The unnatural quietness of the Taisho's residence was broken as a samurai crashed in through the gate, stumbling in on one foot before tripping at the door frame, face planting on the ground. In front of him was the Taisho, Kaizo Shima, above a cushion, sitting in meditation, literally floating as his sword orbited around him.

"S-sir! T-there's been a rebellion from one of the clans-"

The Taisho fell out the air to a cushion with a bounce, still not opening his eyes. He held out his scabbard as his sword fell into it neatly a with a sharp 'shiiiing'. He cut off the messenger with a held palm, and than changed it to a ram handsign. His shoulder's slumped as if he'd fallen asleep.

Tension hung in the air as the man looked confused, slowly trying to get up, before finding their shoestrings tangled with the door slider. Finally untangling it, he stood awkwardly waiting to deliver the message. Instead, the Taisho startled, then readjusted in his sitting position, and simply nodded. "Taken care of. Well... the head of the serpent at least. We'll need some clean up, get all available Tetsunoha and above on standby, and at least 10 squads deployed."

The man blinked mid delivery, with a raised eyebrow, and slowly opening jaw. "If you don't mind me asking... how, sir? We were about ready to call for the army, as we didn't want this happening while the Cloud and Mist are circling."

Slowly, the Taisho's eyes opened, a blue fire burning in his irises, drawing in the gaze of the two messengers like a void. "Already had a trap ready. I knew the old man's ambitions ever since I laid eyes on him. I just couldn't act because his reputation was better among the establishment than even mine."

The samurai rubbed the back of his head. "Heh, suppose that's true. None of the older clans really like you, you have no tact, are young, aren't from a notable clan and really suck at speaking. Guess that does make dealing with the established clans hard."

Each comment hit like a brick on the Taisho, who look like a brick had just dropped on him, his serious demeanor changing as the fire left his eyes, and an 'oof' following each one as he stared at the floor. "Come on, Saito! Y-you don't have to phrase it like that! I'm the damn Taisho!"

The samurai held a glistening smile. "But I guess you can read people better than anyone else. It's almost like you can see their very soul. Kinda hard to stage a rebellion when the Taisho can read you like a book! What kind of trap was it anyways?"

Kaizo pouted with his hands crossed, before slowly starting to spread out and yawn. "Ugh. Not going to butter me up after that... It was a trap with a rooftop, a loyal samurai, and a long bow that doesn't miss.... Dojutsu aren't too helpful when you aren't looking for anything, and seeing chakra doesn't help against a flying block of wood from a mile away...

A-Anyways, been waiting for that to go off for a bit. Hey, while you're available, want to sort out some matters for Hanamachi. That Yoshi kid with the weird crappy looking sword still available? I like his clan. They're funny."

"Is... that really a pressing matter right now, sir? I thought there'd be more important matters, like cleaning up the rebell-"

The Taisho yawned, reaching out, and grabbing a fistful of crackers from a nearby bowl. "Yup. Most pressing. Tell him to hit the road and hit Shizunamori. I need to go deliver a message real quick to Nadeshiko. She's so sweet."

"Sir... I hate to tell you this, but she's abso-fucking-lutely terrifying. Wait, you're the soul guy, why aren't you afraid of her?! Do you know what she's done?"

"Yup. Thinking time for some squad changes. Oh, I'm going to need that young one here, what was his name. Uhh... Think it was Daisuke. Oooh... remind me to buy radishes. Wait, those are Daikons. Anyways, I'll handle that, know Nadeshiko well enough can send her a message.

Oh, I should probably tell you to shoo, Yoshi'll not make it if he doesn't start running, and I don't know him well enough to give a message directly. And we'll need the standing orders for the Tetsunoha for cleanup." The Taisho held a ram handsign once more, his shoulder's slumping.

"Sir... you're literally not allowed in the market without a security detai- aaaand he's gone. Great. Sometimes I feel like he needs a baby sitter... But... there's a reason he's the boss."

-----------------

Squad Nadeshiko:

Orikanyo

As Nadeshiko stood watching the fire between her students start to burn, a voice pleasantly sounded, as if behind her, though no one could be seen. It didn't seem to automated like a simple message, and moved around as if it was walking. It had an odd pressure with it, one that made the hairs on your arm prickle.

"Hey there, Miss Toyotomi, how's teaching? Think you've got some good students... Well, uh, guess I'm kinda lying, there's a bit of a switch up. You know how the office gets. You mind sending Daisuke back? I have some matters I need to talk with with him. But don't worry, wouldn't want you not to have a full squad, I'd be wasting your talents as a teacher otherwise. Sending you one Yoshi! From that one clan. Uh... Watanuki! That was it! Take care."

The apparent ghost's voice then drooped, a tone of seriousness in it. "Seriously, take care. I've heard rumors of Shizunamori that are concerning. Like, get your squad ready RIGHT NOW concerning. This mission is immediately B rank. I'd call you back, but we have no one to spare and I think this mission is important enough to warrant some risk. Especially if it's being taken by 'The Blood Soaked Onryō'. Just... don't leave as much of a mess as last time, the nobility already doesn't like me. The sheer numbe- oh, got to go."

The presence faded.

Ganryu · Nov 22, 2023

Akari Tone - Whispering Puppets

Krrr!

Akari winced as her ax kick cleaved the skull, sending her bouncing off of it. However, as she gained height above it again, suddenly a vacant expression crossed over her face. Her lip slightly parted, eyes open hauntedly, iris's narrow. As if by habit, one hand held firm gripping in front of her, the other pulled back against an invisible string that did not exist. An imaginary arrow, that would have landed right in the center of the puppets back. A second that would have easily dealt with the puppet master.

No 'twang' came, except for in the imagination of Akari, who snapped out of it as she landed, one knee slightly folding before she caught herself against a pillar. She winced as she looked down at her ankle. She grimaced as she rolled it around, giving herself a diagnosis. Not broken, possibly fractured, definitely bruised. She looked back at Enkai, and actually tried to bow, though half of it was leaning against the rotted pillar.

"Thank you... S-sorry... I'm not a taijutsu specialist. I should have brought my bow. Didn't think of combat on this mission. I feel... kinda dizzy. Can you deal with him. Sorry..."

Blood loss is a b-

However, before she could even contemplate patching herself up, the man began to cough up a lung. Akari winced in sympathy, clutching her chest, then eyes widened as she saw it was literal. W-what could make you cough like that!?

Wait... that wasn't a lung. It was... beating? A heart?

Akari was not squeamish. She was telling herself that. Half her personality was defined by being a hunter, and sometimes gross things happened when you shot an animal. But... That excuse she was telling herself was not working for her stomach. She covered her mouth.

"Hurk, hurk.... Hghllllll!"

Like a lady all over the nice blood stained floor...

AtlannianSpy · Nov 22, 2023

Team Nadeshiko
As Nadeshiko received the words of the Taisho her mouth fell from a polite smile to a hard line and she nodded curtly when he was finished. "I understand sir, I shall entertain a certain amount of caution," she said crisply, turning to Daisuke. "You'll need to return to the village Daisuke kun," she said, more gently. "The situation is complicated but the Taisho will work through things with you. I'll come see how you're getting on after this mission,"

After Daisuke had departed back towards Hanamachi Nadeshiko turned to her remaining students, becoming business like once more. "Alright, these circumstances aren't really ideal but we'll just have to make do. I suppose that this can be a learning experience in and of itself, the battlefield is a constantly evolving situation. I had originally planned to give you all a fair amount of leeway to experiment and learn but I can't in good conscience do that on a B ranked mission. You'll need to stick close by me and follow any orders I give you precisely and quickly, otherwise you'll put yourselves, each other and even me in danger and I won't allow that. If you're uncertain about your ability or willingness to do that then you'll need to catch up with Daisuke kun and accompany him back to Hanamachi. Akari are you listening as well? I can't have you suddenly wondering off this this time alright?"

When Nadeshiko was certain she had been understood she lead the two mokunoha back onto the road towards Shizunamori at a brisker pace then they had been using previously. "Its possible that this Yoshi kun will take a different route to us and I'd like to make sure he doesn't enter the city alone," Nadeshiko explained, her diction clear despite running at a decent clip. "So we'll hurry until we reach the city gates and wait for him there then discuss our next move. Interviewing the refugees seems like a reasonable place to start though. Sadly a not insignificant percentage of them resort to banditry or know someone else who does so there may be some people with an awareness of the current situation,"

At the pace Team Nadeshiko moved they ate up the miles easily and it was only a few hours later they arrived in front of Shizunamori, though they smelled it long before then. The city was not well organized, it was a sprawling collection of uneven neighbourhoods only partially corralled within a wooden, palisade style wall. Most of the poorer regions of the city stood outside of the walls, crooked amalgamations of wooden buildings that ran through a spectrum from relatively well appointed cottages down to shacks little better than braving the outdoors and it was plain these ghettos had not been plumbed with enough resembling modern sewerage systems.

The city "gates" were actually set far ahead of the actual wall that contained the inner city: on the very edge of the slums surrounding Shizunamori some guards in the colours of one of the local noble houses had set up a checkpoint of sorts, seemingly to extract fees from arriving refugees rather than to exert any kind of order over who entered the city.

"We'll wait here," Nadeshiko said, leading Akari and Niko off the road a little ways ahead of the checkpoint. The tetsunoha looked a little different, having taken some cursory efforts to disguise herself. The funny little disguise trick that shinobi could do was something Nadeshiko had never picked up so instead she had tied her bright, orange hair back and hidden it underneath her head scarf and stopped in a little village along the way to buy a plain, humble looking kimono to wear. The overall effect would probably not defeat any kind of serious examination but it would probably be enough to avoid Shizunamori guards who might otherwise have attempted to interfere with their mission.

Orikanyo

Phayne · Nov 25, 2023

Team Yukari

Enkai Kaji

Mokunoha

Whispering Puppets - Helping fight the Red Eyes Demon Skeleton

The large skeletal behemoth that was Minomaru would soon be revealed to the newly arrived Enkai; the skeletal construct of significant size causing him to falter ever so slightly in shock. Frozen in place for that split second; he would begin to notice the threads of gorey red sinew dangling from the creatures body; these threads leading into the dimly lit darkness where the faint silhoutte of a man could just about be seen. The hellish image soon to be destroyed as the looming threat of Akari's assault neared.

It had yet to really register in Enkai's mind, just exactly what it was that he was actually seeing before his eyes, the horned creature .. the monstrosity before him only surviving for a mere few moments before its horned skull was sent crashing into the ground; the skeletal face of the abomination causing a large crater to appear beneath it; shattered fragments of calcium splintering off in every direction as the bone shratnel threatened to cause collateral damage to the immediate surroundings.

Dodging a large piece of skull fragment that came shooting towards his direction, Enkai would turn to watch as Akari landed; her descent marred by the less than perfect landing; the woman leaning against a nearby pillar for support. Merely watching her movements, it was evident that she had not come out of that attacked unscathed; the movement of her ankles suggessting that her mobility was significantly impaired at this moment.

".. Do.. Don't worry about it.." replied Enkai, half surprised by how cordial she appeared to be, despite the situation; though he was admittedly also surprised by how she didn't come fully prepared. Even if the mission didn't explicitly state that there would be combat.. it was always better to come fully prepared; especially in their line of work. ".. You just sit back and relax... I've got this" he spoke, taking another glance at the injured ankle before glancing back towards Akari; though any more words of assurance that he would have offered were quickly cut off as the cacaphony of coughs soon began to echo from the darkness of the basement.

Turning towards where he had seen the silhoutte and where the coughing was coming from, squinted eyes would soon begin to make out the visage of the puppet master; his body convulsing from the coughing fit amidts a vitriol of nonsense that he was spouting.

"What... the..." mumbled Enkai, stepping forward with the torch in an attempt to reveal the man in more light; however the sight that would soon be unveiled would cause his gut to twist; his free hand rising to his mouth instinctively as he fought back the instinctual desire to hurl.

Blood painting the floor; the pulsating lump that had been unceremoniosly regurgitated onto the ground was none other than the mans beating heart; the organ beating on its own accord before coming to life as a beady little eye winked in their direction. It took everything in Enkai's willpower not to faint from the sight of nightmares or to vomit up todays lunch. Alas, the same could not be said for his partner; as the faint scent of vomit began to emenate from the rainbow colored slime that pooled just beneath a bent over Akari.

Deciding it best not to look behind himself and add his own ingrediants to the mess, Enkai would remain looking forward; watching as the beating heart began to convulse and shift; tendrils growing from the lump of bloodied flesh and worse yet; its beady little eye was still fixed in their direction.

"Seriously... what the actual fuck..." mumbled Enkai through gritted teeth; before lowering the hand he had held over his mouth and reaching for the utensils he had borrowed from the dining room.

As soon as the heart began to scurry away, Enkai would unleash several forks and knives thrown in the direction of the creature; a spoon added into the mix.

"Akari... hold onto this.." began Enkai, extending his hand that held the torch in her direction. "Whatever that thing is... it doesn't seem too fond of the light..." he continued, scanning the dimly lit room for any more signs of movement; "... so as long as you have this... I doubt that it will attack you.." he finished, before noticing a discarded torch on the floor; perhaps the torch that had originally been used light up this room which had earlier been snuffed out. "Honestly... I'd rather we burned down this damn basement all together..." he sighed to himself as he stepped to the boundary of where the torch light was at its brightest.

Grabbing his gourd, he would shake it ever so gently to gauge just how much water he had left before taking a swig. The sound of water swishing in his mouth could just about be heard before a large inhale of air.

"Sea Dragon's Miasma" he mumbled, this time using his mouth instead of his pipe to unleash a thick cloud of heated sensory steam directly ahead of himself; hoping to detect the presence of that foul demon spawnling that had scurried up the wall.

With his other hand holding onto his pipe, he would begin to hold it in a manner similar to how a samurai would hold their katana with one hand, ready to attack the moment he sensed the enemies presence or looming danger. With the sensory mist acting as his eyes in the darkness, Enkai would begin to progress into the darker parts of the basement.

Code by Serobliss

Orikanyo · Nov 25, 2023

Yoshitsune Watanuki
Squad Nadeshiko

He was admist eating when given the orders to march forth to Shizunamori, a curry dish upon a paper plate and a plastic fork in hand, he had been sampling this sweet curry when the word came. Not being the type to wait, he began his run, food in hand and not spilling a grain of rice as he hoofed it towards the road. Though really for most people running while eating would be a troublesome prospect...

Not so for Yoshitsune, who had been trained to clean his plate, he wasn't about to let anything go to waste...

So, running full tilt as shinobi might in this series, he was still eating mouthful after mouthful of curry, eagerly washing it down quickly with his drink he had placed carefully in his pocket, sloshing haphazardly.

It was at the half way mark he had finished his meal, but.. Luck would have it, a travelling salesman!

What luck!

Pickled radish, paying for the jar of these bitter treats he once again rushed to his destination.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I'm here." Yoshi landed with a slam on the scene, not so much arriving carefully as one might like... Not to mention he had three corndogs sticks in his fingers arrayed as one might senbon. Though he looked around with the final one currently being masticated between his teeth, the young man was not fully certain who he was supposed to be meeting... or even who he really said that opening line to...

Perhaps simply to himself, he sometimes needed to remind himself to stop running.

When his body was put to a task, sometimes he needed to remember to tell it to stop... Lest he cause trouble like barreling through a building again.

"...Hrmm... You'd think personage of my homeland would make themselves known immediately... Perhaps I must bellow my name from a rooftop..? Were the orders to remain silent...? or perhaps I am assaulting this place and putting it to the sword...?"

Ganryu · Nov 25, 2023

Akari Tone - Squad Nadeshiko