Yuudai Kaito blinked heavily, his eyes still weren't fully adjusted to the sheer power of the midday sun in Wind country. It seemed like whatever Aburame Shigeo had been up to for the last forty years he hadn't lost everything the academy had taught him.
'It's the tallest building for miles, you'd think you'd be able to spot him from Soon's Haven. With that sun behind him though, I can't see anything. No room for two to hide either. Going to have to catch him going up or coming down, if the reports are right.' Kaito peered absentmindedly down at the map of the surrounding area he'd sketched in the sand on the flat roof he was hidden on.
'Still, if I can take this guy I'll know I'm ready to graduate!'
</I></I><I><I>
His plan of patrol made, Kaito scattered the sand drawn map with his foot and set out. His route took him in and around as much cover surrounding the tower as possible taking particular advantage of the near omnipresent construction crews that still littered the re-emerging village.
'This guy's an information specialist. I need to bring my A game if I'm going to catch him off guard..'
A few hours passed, Kaito did his best to keep from getting downhearted or giving into the temptation to ease up on his efforts to avoid detection. The academy had always been very clear that sloppy work killed more ninja than anything else, but he'd be dammned if the mission wasn't boring him to death! The sun had long reached its peak and was finally, finally beginning to descend in the sky when he saw it. Reflected in the sheet metal one of the workers was carryinh was the clear outline of a figure on the tower roof!
Faking a stumble, Kaito knelt and watched the image for a few moments more. It didn't seem to be moving at, just staring out at the village. Kaito's eyes narrowed and, as the crowd briefly surged thickly around him, he leapt to his feet. Vaulting through an unfinished window next to him, he kept his head down, moving to circle the tower and staying under cover as much as possible.
'Can't risk him noticing me looking up.. He might run.' Kaito completed a three quarters circle of the Kazekage Tower before moving in to climb it. he wasn't quite directly behind the figures back, but there was an outcropping at the upper levels of the tower which he wanted to take advantage of.
'Okay, covered approach and a purely physical climb. Don't think I can get any better chance than this; here goes nothing!'
The climb was exhausting, worse the only real distraction was wondering if he was in over his head; challenging a missing nin with a thirty year career or if the Tower guards would pick him off before he even made it to the top. Getting branded a spy himself would be a stupid way to end his career.
A foot from the roof Kaito paused, resting his head against the warm stone of the tower wall. his feet braced on top of the last window frame and fingers inches from the top.. Catching his breath, he listened carefully for any sign of an ambush.
'Nothing. Sooo, ambush for me or of me? Guess I'll find out...'
Vaulting onto the roof he felt a surge of victory; the man hadn't changed position at all, still staring, arms crossed, out over the village. Charging forward, Kaito rammed his left hand into the man's back. Grabbing a fistful of his thick jacket, he yanked back, even as his right hand brought his sword down on, and through, the trespassers right leg just below the knee. Slamming the target to his back on the roof, Kaito leveled his sword at his captive's throat.
"What the.." He'd opened his mouth to demand a surrender only to gasp in shock as the body he'd pinned burst apart into an immense swarm of bugs.
'A fake? Trap? Distraction? Real one must be close.' Kaito's mind raced even as he jumped away from the writhing mass of Kikai. Moving quicker than he'd expected they turned to follow him, even as he heard a crash of breaking glass from below him.
Throwing himself into a knee slide he skidded to a stop at the opposite edge of the roof. Peering off the side, Kaito did a double take; four or five floors down there was a giant centipede bursting out of a window and scuttling down the wall of the tower. A quick look back showed him that the little bugs were spreading out to cut him off from the rest of the roof and over the side the centipede kept growing; it was nearly twice Kaito's height now and rapidly descending the Tower. Kaito grit his teeth and flipped his scimitar into an unwieldy double-handed ice pick grip.
"Fine then. We'll do this the hard way!" He spat and tumbled off the roof. He spun wildly in the air, his body turned, his entire focus on two quickly closing gaps, the one between himself and Shiego and the other between them both and the ground.
It felt like it took forever to draw level with the scuttling man-bug, just as Shigeo
had reached the second floor. He immediately launched a full body strike using the twist of the fall, his sword wreathed in lighting chakra.
"Taijutsu: Arcing Slash!" The blow hacked away a deep slice of the Shigeo's tough chitin covering, exposing the weaker tissue beneath. Without hesitating Kaito flipped head over heels, savagely stabbing his blade through the gap up to its hilt.
The sudden stop nearly wrenched his arms out of their sockets. It only got worse as Shigeo thrashed, trying to throw him off. The teen grimly hung on as the giant bug kept running along the Tower. Only when the missing nin's unnatural form touched the floor did he tug the scimitar free and collapsed to the ground. Rolling roughly to his feet he cracked his knuckles, sword dropped at some point in the last fall. The huge centipede reared over him with a hissing, spitting noise, nearly all of its eleven foot length held over him.
'Two fangs. Lots of legs. Fangs are wet, might be venom. Too much reach. Need to get close.' Even as Kaito finished his assessment the huge head lunged at him. He tried to twist away but it still caught him, scoring a deep "other word for gash" on his shoulder abd across his back. Through the pain he dived forward, stepping into a sharply defined taijutsu stance less than a foot from the trunk-like torso of the centipede.
"Taijutsu: 4-hit Combo!" Four crunchy impacts sounded out and the beast toppled backwards into the sand.
Retrieving his weapon from the ground nearby, Kaito wobbly climbed onto what he guessed was Shigeo's throat and spoke up.
"Deserter Aburame Shigeo. You are wanted by the Kazekage for questioning. Change back and surrender now, or I will cut off every single one of your damn legs."
Slowly the monster went through a hideous transformation till Kaito found himself kneeling on the chest of a fourty year old man, red blood now staining the sand from the deep stab in his back.
"You win kid. I'm done, do your worst."
"Damn right!" Kaito linked his arm under the captives shoulder and dragged him towards the office for drop off.
[MFT, Wordcount: 1249]
'It's the tallest building for miles, you'd think you'd be able to spot him from Soon's Haven. With that sun behind him though, I can't see anything. No room for two to hide either. Going to have to catch him going up or coming down, if the reports are right.' Kaito peered absentmindedly down at the map of the surrounding area he'd sketched in the sand on the flat roof he was hidden on.
'Still, if I can take this guy I'll know I'm ready to graduate!'
</I></I><I><I>
His plan of patrol made, Kaito scattered the sand drawn map with his foot and set out. His route took him in and around as much cover surrounding the tower as possible taking particular advantage of the near omnipresent construction crews that still littered the re-emerging village.
'This guy's an information specialist. I need to bring my A game if I'm going to catch him off guard..'
A few hours passed, Kaito did his best to keep from getting downhearted or giving into the temptation to ease up on his efforts to avoid detection. The academy had always been very clear that sloppy work killed more ninja than anything else, but he'd be dammned if the mission wasn't boring him to death! The sun had long reached its peak and was finally, finally beginning to descend in the sky when he saw it. Reflected in the sheet metal one of the workers was carryinh was the clear outline of a figure on the tower roof!
Faking a stumble, Kaito knelt and watched the image for a few moments more. It didn't seem to be moving at, just staring out at the village. Kaito's eyes narrowed and, as the crowd briefly surged thickly around him, he leapt to his feet. Vaulting through an unfinished window next to him, he kept his head down, moving to circle the tower and staying under cover as much as possible.
'Can't risk him noticing me looking up.. He might run.' Kaito completed a three quarters circle of the Kazekage Tower before moving in to climb it. he wasn't quite directly behind the figures back, but there was an outcropping at the upper levels of the tower which he wanted to take advantage of.
'Okay, covered approach and a purely physical climb. Don't think I can get any better chance than this; here goes nothing!'
The climb was exhausting, worse the only real distraction was wondering if he was in over his head; challenging a missing nin with a thirty year career or if the Tower guards would pick him off before he even made it to the top. Getting branded a spy himself would be a stupid way to end his career.
A foot from the roof Kaito paused, resting his head against the warm stone of the tower wall. his feet braced on top of the last window frame and fingers inches from the top.. Catching his breath, he listened carefully for any sign of an ambush.
'Nothing. Sooo, ambush for me or of me? Guess I'll find out...'
Vaulting onto the roof he felt a surge of victory; the man hadn't changed position at all, still staring, arms crossed, out over the village. Charging forward, Kaito rammed his left hand into the man's back. Grabbing a fistful of his thick jacket, he yanked back, even as his right hand brought his sword down on, and through, the trespassers right leg just below the knee. Slamming the target to his back on the roof, Kaito leveled his sword at his captive's throat.
"What the.." He'd opened his mouth to demand a surrender only to gasp in shock as the body he'd pinned burst apart into an immense swarm of bugs.
'A fake? Trap? Distraction? Real one must be close.' Kaito's mind raced even as he jumped away from the writhing mass of Kikai. Moving quicker than he'd expected they turned to follow him, even as he heard a crash of breaking glass from below him.
Throwing himself into a knee slide he skidded to a stop at the opposite edge of the roof. Peering off the side, Kaito did a double take; four or five floors down there was a giant centipede bursting out of a window and scuttling down the wall of the tower. A quick look back showed him that the little bugs were spreading out to cut him off from the rest of the roof and over the side the centipede kept growing; it was nearly twice Kaito's height now and rapidly descending the Tower. Kaito grit his teeth and flipped his scimitar into an unwieldy double-handed ice pick grip.
"Fine then. We'll do this the hard way!" He spat and tumbled off the roof. He spun wildly in the air, his body turned, his entire focus on two quickly closing gaps, the one between himself and Shiego and the other between them both and the ground.
It felt like it took forever to draw level with the scuttling man-bug, just as Shigeo
had reached the second floor. He immediately launched a full body strike using the twist of the fall, his sword wreathed in lighting chakra.
"Taijutsu: Arcing Slash!" The blow hacked away a deep slice of the Shigeo's tough chitin covering, exposing the weaker tissue beneath. Without hesitating Kaito flipped head over heels, savagely stabbing his blade through the gap up to its hilt.
The sudden stop nearly wrenched his arms out of their sockets. It only got worse as Shigeo thrashed, trying to throw him off. The teen grimly hung on as the giant bug kept running along the Tower. Only when the missing nin's unnatural form touched the floor did he tug the scimitar free and collapsed to the ground. Rolling roughly to his feet he cracked his knuckles, sword dropped at some point in the last fall. The huge centipede reared over him with a hissing, spitting noise, nearly all of its eleven foot length held over him.
'Two fangs. Lots of legs. Fangs are wet, might be venom. Too much reach. Need to get close.' Even as Kaito finished his assessment the huge head lunged at him. He tried to twist away but it still caught him, scoring a deep "other word for gash" on his shoulder abd across his back. Through the pain he dived forward, stepping into a sharply defined taijutsu stance less than a foot from the trunk-like torso of the centipede.
"Taijutsu: 4-hit Combo!" Four crunchy impacts sounded out and the beast toppled backwards into the sand.
Retrieving his weapon from the ground nearby, Kaito wobbly climbed onto what he guessed was Shigeo's throat and spoke up.
"Deserter Aburame Shigeo. You are wanted by the Kazekage for questioning. Change back and surrender now, or I will cut off every single one of your damn legs."
Slowly the monster went through a hideous transformation till Kaito found himself kneeling on the chest of a fourty year old man, red blood now staining the sand from the deep stab in his back.
"You win kid. I'm done, do your worst."
"Damn right!" Kaito linked his arm under the captives shoulder and dragged him towards the office for drop off.
[MFT, Wordcount: 1249]