[Contract Search] Dearly Beloved

[Shieo]

The wet-lands; a biome not commonly found in a lot of places in the country. I was sent out here for the sole purpose of hunting down a target from Merces Letifier HQ, he was a politician that was spouting propaganda against the Shogun and in tow, ill-words to the Raikage. Personally, I didn't really care too much; those in power will likely stay in power until someone strong enough in will and power is capable of not only stepping in, but killing for the positions.
Those who talk just end up in the mud.

The thought coursed through my mind at the very moment of time, as my deep violet eyes; steeled in focus over the man's lifeless body. I felt my face was in a state of adrenaline; a sickle-like smile slowly receded back to a normal, emotionless slate. With the scene returning to reality a bit, the lust of a hunt was hallowed ever so slightly; the man's body floated gently and peacefully in the slog of mud and wet-land water, I was ankle deep myself too. A quiet sound of repeated drops of blood ticked away every other second, the tip of my chain weapon held only a few inches from the water. It was staining the muddied brown into something that resembled a red mahogany; a much better color in my opinion.

Taking a moment to swipe an inhale of the musky air, from both the aroma of blood and mud caking my senses for the time. "Well.. That about finishes that up-- Now to deal with this." I muttered with casual discontent looking at the body. The blackened chain vanished into the thick of my aura; a manifested weapon. Freeing my hands to grab the man by the legs and drag him to somewhere with a bit more solid ground. As I did so, I took the time to draw a circle of Jashin underneath the man's body with a stick, I haven't heard the gods' voice in many years; but I still idly served him in the rites of sacrifices- even if his blessings didn't truly course in my spirit and body.

Us Merces' members carried enough tools to properly sanitize, sterilize and purge the surrounding land of the remnants of our hunt; I spent the next twenty-minutes doing this, from alcohols, salts, and finally burning the body away. And later vaporizing the bones of the man.

All that was left was the choking smell of flesh, bone and death- But it would pass. It always does.

After my offering was addressed to my unorthodox god, I cleansed my body of any stains and residual markings of combat. And made way to head towards a nearby village; if I recalled correctly, it was about four kilometers west of here; it's main purpose was set for gathering and exporting raw materials of the regions around it. From this wet-land; I'll have to pass through a small thicket and a lake. Should be a scenic walk; I figure.

Patting my hands together afore sliding them into my pant pockets. I took to my walk; "Bless'ed be my hunt; another good day it seems."

Requested Things About Search
Since it's guaranteed I figured I'd note some things that may or may not help the contract mod decide if they want to take this or not.

• Generally speaking; Kikai is not a 'Nice' person. The closest thing she can be described as is a Bounty-Hunter/Killer; with a Neutral-Evil or Lawful-Evil alignment. So if you are taking this, please don't make it a fluffy bunny story. She's evil, I like a challenge; but breaking character for a contract is boring, and not fun. Please keep this in mind*
• Dark-Themes are welcome, since she's almost villainous (Or is, but no one knows yet); it fits well within' her personality, and goals
• On the whack chance you roll Kami; please make it so it's again, not some goodie-two-shoes being. Not all Kami are good, not all Youkai are bad.
• If you have any questions, or wish to collaborate a little. Feel free to DM me or PM me.

---

[WC - 528]

[Using 'Discovery of Random Choice' + 'Natural Talent: Special Find ~ Water Country List]
Kikai

 

[Otani Ryuichi]

Congratulations! You've found the feline contract! Please DM me to tell me if you decide to continue this thread to achieve this summon, or wait another 2 months for another shot.

 

[Otani Ryuichi]

The wetlands were normally a perfect place for one that relied on stealth, or one who could utilize the vast amount of mud and water. The sent of wafting death, fire, and blood was covered by mud the further one would travel from the location of the cultist like ritual. Of course, no human would notice it before it faded away entirely. The dark red stained mud had already begun to swirl into more of the area, fading away with time.

This scent was bound to attract some animals, and at the same time draw more away. It wasn't exactly something one could find naturally on a regular basis. These wetlands were soon going to become a hunting grounds for a while due to this, and when hunts begin it quickly becomes clear who's at the top of the food chain. The first to arrive, the last to leave. Coming to, and leaving from no living thing. That is what this particular ritual had summoned.

As time went on Kikai may have felt the sensation of eyes locked onto her, or movement in the distance too loud to be a small creature. However, should they glance in that direction there would be nothing.

When she arrived at the edge of the wetlands a voice boomed from her left.

"You!" The voice yelled, it obviously being one of a man. It sounded like a voice heavily damaged through smoking, or constant yelling yet it held no less power, and authority. Out of a large puddle of mud came crawling a massive lion that was the originator of such a voice. His fur made most of the mud slip down without trouble due to an aura of elemental chakra surrounding him, yet his mane was mangy and disgusting. It looked as if it all started sticking with other strands of fur via blood. All through his mane were dried flakes of the once red liquid, giving him a smell of death not unlike the one Kikai should be very familiar with by now.

"You....woman." He said, showing his red and sickeningly yellow fangs as he spoke. "Did you cause that smell? The smell of a successful hunt. Answer me, or there will be problems..." He said, lifting his legs up to more solid ground, showing several patches of skin devoid of fur, instead adorned with scars. His right paw was also missing, replaced with a metal contraption that appeared to replicate a cat's claw with retractable blades. He had two tails adorning his backside, one of them missing the fluffy tip with bone being visible in it's place. This creature had obviously seen some gruesome battles.

"If you did, I need some....assistance." He offered, remembering that the last thing he wanted was aggression....well, at least the aggression of the one he needed help from. "If you accept there will be a fine reward...one that no man could give you. Something that transcends petty money." He began stepping closer to Kikai at a slow pace, awaiting an answer from the Jashin worshiper.

 

[Shieo]

For a time, Kikai continued trudging through the slog of the wetlands; the slurping suctioned sounds of her boots to mud filling the void of silence. Despite the lingering eyes on her form, the woman didn't care; or appeared to not care, almost inviting the lingering eyes to challenge her aura of dominance. A state of feeling in a way of words, loomed in droves around the woman; a mixture of the bloodied mud that stained her form, the posture that gave a rulers edge a run for it's money in form and stature. She was a being that challenged everything that perceived her, and nothing was perceived by her without that challenge; it was a surreal drive for woman of war.

And as such, when the voice finally drove itself from the foliage of guise; she acknowledged the presence of the feline monstrosity. But only so much as to turn her eyes in it's direction, the rest of her form deigned not to follow. An air of egoism stilled the moment when she spoke, her vocal tone like steel being sharpened to a fine edge; it acted to instill a rigid chill to the listeners.

"Hmmm...~?"

A moment passes while she examined the beast slowly crawl itself out of the muddied pits that death often claims. Her examination inevitably fell to fit the whole picture of the beast into her mind. Upon the commands it filled the air with; Kikai couldn't help but let the corner of her lips curl into a sickle like smile; scoffing out a few stifled chuckles through her nose. "Problems? My butchered friend, you look hardly a quarter of what I'd consider a problem." The woman's tone was defiant, her body still facing the direction she was going; but had yet to leave. Figuring the vocal beast was, perhaps worth the curiosity it imposed; not by its form, but by it's linguistic aptitude.

A curled brow arched at the proposition of assistance, whether she was taken aback by the odd request; or by the situation in general was hard to discern, but what was certain-- "Hoo-ho! Assistance? -- From a killer?" Her tone was mocking, it deigned to position the beast below her in the tide of social combat; after-all, if it was one thing she knew between the two already. She wasn't hurt- it was. But even still, she took the time and energy to instill a tone in her voice that fluctuated to emphasize each section between her words, there was the heavy-drowning baritone of sarcasm that filtered nearing the end of her sentence.

"Now; I wager there's no bunny that needs saving from a tree- So consider my interest piqued on account of letting something's blood... However, I won't work for those I don't know; so give me a name you mangy thing. And I don't work on ambiguity; so perhaps a revision on your proposition could be presented, mmh?" Her brows lifted at the end, to entice something of a verbal stab. She wanted dominance, and she would twist something's arm until she got it.

---

Notes:

• Total Post Count: 2
• Total Word Count: 1042

Kikai

 

[Otani Ryuichi]

The lion let the woman speak as she wished, taking in her minor insult and demands all while laying down with his front legs crossed, his metal claw on top of his natural one on the opposite leg. When she was finished he looked down, letting his crusty and mangy mane hide his forever grinning face due to his rows of over sized fangs. He simply sat still for a few seconds, as if pondering. He was thinking of how if this were to go smoothly, he'd have to work around their desires as well as his own. It would seem like she was either the stubborn type, or one who just cared for themself.

The lion then lifted his head and opened his mouth to let out a bellowing laugh, showing that even the inside of his mouth had seen battle damage, with black and yellow cuts and marking lining his mouth and throat, most likely from the likes of animals he had bitten and somehow didn't die on the spot.

He stopped laughing to simply look at Kikai, his grin only growing. "I like you, woman. I'll tell letya know what you want" He stood back up and nudged his head in the direction Kikai was already headed, and should she follow he would explain everything along the way.

"My name is Suekai. I'm part of particularly feisty felines that call ourselves 'the pride'." He explained, flicking off a large semi-solid clump of mud from his mechanical claw. "There are ten members. All of us gather in these wetlands once a year three days from now to bring the bones of our best kill of that year. There are no prizes in it for any of us. Simply the pride, and bragging rights of the win."

As he explained, a sharp eye could easily notice that he had a decent limp in his hind left leg, as well as a sizable scar that seemed fresh and pink compared to his others. "I've won this contest for five years in a row. I've eared the respect of the others, and I'm the one who attracts others to abandon a posh, pampered lifestyle to enjoy the hunt. However, this means I'm forced to spend a sizable amount of time in the wilds...and after this long I'm not sure I can do much more." He glanced back to Kikai with his red eyes.

"So I want you to help be with my final hunt, before I leave. The last thing I want is to slowly become worse and worse in the eyes of the others before dying weak, and old!" He growled, allowing a rumble to escape his throat.

He stopped dead in his tracks. "But I don't think you care much for that. You want to know the details, and the prize, do you not?" He then used one of his metal claws to point to a small spec in the distance, east of the village. "Right there is an outpost. Inside are some of the most renown beast hunters in kumo. I want them dead first. If you can do that much, then I'll let you do one more thing for me....then I can give you the right to sign ...this..." He then belched, and gagged and punched his own neck a few times as if spitting up a furball, before a scroll, decorated in cat heads, made of what appeared to be an autumn wood slid out past his teeth. It was much too long to simply be in the thing's stomach, noting a possible supernatural element to the lion...aside from it's speech, of course.

"The summoning contract..." Suekai wheezed, recovering from spitting up something so solid. "Something coveted by most humans, and only able to be given by the likes of us." He picked up the scroll in his mouth, showing how it was barely longer than his mane was when held from side to side. Between his teeth, the lion asked "So. Will you do it? Plenty of fighting for the likes of you. Plus, more work would definitely come around if the exterminators can't keep up with their prey anymore."

It was clear now that if the beat hunters were gone, bigger and better creatures would arise due to not being killed at a young age, and eventually there would be another problem in the area. Innocents would be endangered, along with the lives of the people in that outpost should Kikai go through with this. However, the perfectly crafted autumn scroll lay in front of her, clear as day.

 

[Shieo]

While her intrigue was silent, she observed the large beast for a few moments while it took the leading steps towards the direction she was headed regardless. During the time of his explanations, her visual attention was divided to the surroundings subtly and every now and again would grant the beast her ears and eyes; needless to say. She was not unfamiliar to methods that employed befriending, or lowering the guard of another being so a kill can be both silent, and efficient.

As they neared, and the explanation of the beasts culture and history was drawn out; it eventually crossed it's mind that Kikai's interest was slowly dwindling to dying embers, her expression told plenty enough of this to be apparently. Upon halting some distance from the topic of conversation; Kikai allowed her senses to adjust narrowly, accounting for the dispersal of their own footsteps, and took into account of the surroundings; whether or not there were other sounds mimicking theirs prior. While it was highly unlikely, habits don't simply vanish because one felt like disregarding them.

That was of course, until the Lion decided that now was as good of a time as any to vomit up a scroll. This was met by a momentary, but plain as day look of disgust at the beast. With a mixture of her mouth not fully closing in disbelief, and a brow twitching into that of an arch; curiosity in the gross display of it's bestial nature. Nevertheless, it didn't take long for her to shake the mixture of nauseating states to shift over to an intrigued; if a little blood-thirsty guise.

Guiding her arms to her hips, her attention altered to the direction of the outpost; it was still some distance away from their position, allowing them to not only use distance, but the coverage of the trees for their observation. Though, to close that distance wouldn't require much time, nor effort for the seasoned hunter. "So to begin, just slaughter some unsuspecting people... That sounds no different than my normal job-- What's the following task? I did state I don't like ambiguity." Her tone shifted into something cold, once more nearing the end; as her eyes drifted to the beast. It was clear, she wasn't about to budge her convictions just like that. "While hunting is entertaining, it's not enough to persuade me on account of some scroll. All cards on the table so to speak, and then I may act." While her tone overall betrayed her ever so slightly, as she was in-fact; interested in the slaughter, she was resolute enough to not just jump into a frenzy fanatically without knowing the whole course.

Now she set her sights to the beast, eyes lidded in the steeled appearance; inquisitive and domineering. What was to come?

---

Notes:

• Total Post Count: 3
• Total Word Count: 1509

[MFT]
Kikai

 

[Otani Ryuichi]

A clicking sound came from the lion's claw as the barely standing feline moved the scroll from it's jaws into a small opening in it's large metallic claw, locking it in place up against his front leg. A look of annoyance upon it's face, and an obvious lack of patience due to the tapping of one of it's organic claws against the ground. Suekai looked up to Kikai, and shook his head from side to side. "No reason to hide it I suppose. Truth is, those hunters would just get in the way once they heard the cries of what I really want dead." The creature's toothy grin bared itself once more, showing off grime and gunk between it's fangs.

"I want to kill a massive elk. I'm talking about thrice as tall as you, not including it's antlers. Those are probably as heavy as I am. I've seen the thing with my own eyes, but it's a fast and tricky one." He says clearly. Suekai begins walking again, eventually stopping as a lake came into view from a distance, earlier obscured by hills. "Thing is, I think it's smart enough to know to run towards the town when trouble arises. Those folks think it's some kind of symbol of prosperity, so anything that happens to it usually gets met with those damned hunters. That's why they need to be removed from the picture." He let out a hearty laugh in between talking. "Of course, that makes it all the more worthwhile. Imagine it! After I rub it in the pride's face, the village finds their symbol of prosperity and fertility gutted on their rooftops. It's borderline comedic, don't you think?"

Obviously he was done with talking at this point, running in front of the running water to get himself a fresh drink. After a few seconds of this, he simply glanced at Kikai. "So, if you're ready for this, just give me your own name and we can begin. I know how to get to that outpost unseen."

With that, he kept silent. His eyes weren't exactly filled with any kind of hope, desperation, or worry. Just a dead stare that wanted to know if a killer would be willing to kill. So....the eyes of knowing. The entire time Kikai had seen the beast it was clear that he had no care for safety, or his own life due to approaching a trained killer off the bat, and asking them so plainly to end some lives. It would make one wonder if he had known people like Kikai before.

 

[Shieo]

"The name is Kikai." Tone seeming to have shifted some from the toying, perhaps almost teasing excitement that was developing; and changed to a cold edge. Her attention had eventually caressed across the horizon to take into the sight of the outpost in the distance for a few calculative moments. Her hands had instinctively started going to work, like a primal understanding of the situation and what the scenes following were going to become; a mental mapping that even if it weren't to go exactly as planned, as it rarely did. It would at least grant her some alacrity to making sure things went somewhat planned. "So, wipe out the outpost; and then potentially aid in the hunt- Or at least that's what it sounds like. Simple in concept, but I suppose I aught to find out what these beast hunters have in store." In the moments of her speech, she had taken the time to remove her headband and slide it away into the confines of her storage bags at her waist. Afterwards, a momentary time spent to tighten the grips of her gloves, tucked any loose clothing to be a bit less prone to accident.

Finally she brought either hand to her neck as she braced it, cracking it twice and looking to the beast. "I'll walk. Not like they're expecting me, could be any other aspiring hunter to go and test my might." She shrugged, stepping forwards and started walking towards the outpost; her hands moving still ever so slightly, one slowly gripped the edges of her shirt, pulling a loose fitting cloth wrapping to go over her nose and obscure the sight of her mouth and most of her facial features. Adjusting the position of some of her tools to be more-or-less hidden that could give away any indication of shinobi-talents. And tugged a tanto to be more visible on her persons, suggesting it was her choice weapon of combating monsters.

It was ever prevalent that Kikai was everything that encapsulated confidence, perhaps arrogance. But nevertheless, her steps were decisive; and her actions were thought through. Now what was left to discover, was how this outpost treated visitors.

She muttered under her breath before she got too close. "He who watches over me in my glorious hunt, bare witness to the coming bath of blood. Sow the seeds of blood; and set aside the morality of man, for the ever-present mortality of them. Jashin, give unto me your power; for I will draw to you, more souls for the realm." Her hand reached to her neck, a rusted and stained amulet that had a tarnished shine of Jashin's symbol; a momentary embrace within' the confines of her fingers. Until she tucked it away, hidden from the world. With her god to be hidden from her impending foes.

---

Notes:

• Total Post Count: 4
• Total Word Count: 1980

Kikai

 

[Otani Ryuichi]

The lion nodded, his permanent toothy grin remaining unchanged as he gave a short, swift nod. "Perfect. All perfect. Let those humans fear the wilds for years to come!" His voice was that of confidence, and excitement. "Kikai, and Suekai... hell, it's got a ring to it if we do get caught, don't you think?" He joked, continuing towards the outpost. He didn't hide himself, or attempt to give himself a disguise simply because he looked like a normal animal from a distance.

The trip to the outpost was straightforward with little talk. It was clear that the lion would only speak when he was in need of something, or bragging and for barely any other reason. Once they were a small distance away from the outpost, the lion stopped. "This is as far as I go. A talking lion with a mechanical claw tends to scream 'kill me, I'm a monster' to people with such pathetic amounts of courage." He stated, laying down in a patch of wet grass. His fur began to gain streaks of green to help hide him from plain sight. His mane began to puff outward to mimic a dead bush, and cover his face in the process.

From the fake scenery, the lion's voice could be heard. "If you get caught, I'm not bailing you out. No mercy to everyone in there, and you'll be on the right track for your prize. Understood, woman?" He said.

The outpost was a tower made of stone, topped with a round glass orb that appeared to be a lookout room. No one was currently in it, making it seem as if it may have been empty, however the sounds of music and talking from beyond the walls proved otherwise. There were no windows aside from the top floor of the 4 story tower, and a normal wooden door was all that kept the inside of the building protected from the outside world. However, a quick and clever mind would easily notice a clicking noise should they turn the handle, so faint it was almost nonexistent over the music, hinting at something not exactly normal about the building itself.

 

[Shieo]

With a dismissive wave of her hand, cast like the words of a play that have been recited to her a million times. It was a fact of the job, both as a Ninja; but too as a member of a branch that's motto is to erase the existence of others- Including themselves if one must. All a part of life Her mind churned the words in her mind, all while the Lion spoke the words of her life was in her own hands past the point of the beasts' stopping.

With her trip to the tower being mostly uneventful, it gave her adequate time to fully garb herself in both a combination of the corrupted magics and chakra' of Jashin and her own. But to mentally fit herself in the mindset of murder, needless to say- even the most vile and vicious of people with some modicum of sanity can't simply act without regret or apprehension, and she in some way was no exception. Even if it is easier for her to flip that mental switch.

With her eyes and attention fitted to the state of the building, the size and the purpose of the building she made some mental anticipations of what each floor was designed for. How many individuals it should potentially house; figuring at least one of the floor operated as a barracks and a smithy, or somewhere to self-sustain and repair equipment. Narrowing down at least one of the floors; she continued. Wagering the first floor was a hybrid floor; operating as both a lounge and a serviceable area for dispatching units for hunts, in addition to act as a hub of trophies; often these places employ bartering and payment based off hunts and will exchange. The first floor made sense for that. Then that left one floor for housing and then the top for scouting and tactical planning.

With narrowed eyes, she took a leveled head; depending on type of living, there could be only a few talents hunters that resided and operated from this base of operations; or a great deal if they had dormitory and bunk accommodations. Whether her presumptions were correct or not, all weighed down to her continuing nevertheless.

And so she did, when she arrived. It was clear she wasn't hiding her presence or her seeming intentions of either aiding, or joining the cause. By reaching the door; her sense of the surroundings was elevated and on-guard. While she reached up and in three quick strokes. Knocked on the door.

'Bang!' 'Bang!' 'Bang!'

"Requesting permission to enter!" She bellowed in following, with everything on the table- seemingly. She had to wait and see the results of her boldness, or was it truly bold? After-all, they shouldn't know her allegiance or otherwise, a straggler. And that's exactly how most hunters start, but confidence wasn't about to win this challenge. Though, it'll certainly keep her cards safely hidden she figured.

---

[MFT - 489 WC]
Notes:

• Total Post Count: 5
• Total Word Count: 2469

Kikai

 

[Otani Ryuichi]

The sounds inside of the building didn't stop, yet it was very clear that she was heard due to the sound of footsteps towards the door. A few shouts could be heard, yet exactly what they were saying was ...distorted. Not dull, as one would expect, but instead it was as if what they were saying was being said backwards, then jumbled randomly in a mess of sound. Even more perplexing was the fact that the music being played didn't suffer nearly as much to the distorted effect. It sounded like music played on several flutes, a drum, and a strumming that wasn't exactly able to be pinpoint recognized at the moment.

After this distorted speech ended, there was a rattling at the door. It opened slooowly, revealing that the inside was lined completely with ninja seals of unknown origin. The one to open the door was a man of a rather tall, and bulky stature with amber eyes, and red hair. Upon his face were several scars, and marks showing his experience with the supposed profession of the building's inhabitants. He gave Kikai a small smile, and a wave. "Hello! You must be Hitomi-san!" He said, not bothering to hide his excitement.

He didn't move away from the door, but the music inside inside made it very clear that others were present. Should Kikai have some kind of sensory talent she could feel a total of 19 individuals, which is way more than one would expect from a small outpost. However, if the Jashinist didn't have such talents this was obvious to see due to the voices from inside no longer being scrambled. She would be able to hear a multitude of voices. Men boasting, women gossiping.....and children. Laughing, and running about.

"Ya know, I'd imagine you would pack a bit more. This was a living arrangement, after all....well, most of what you need can be bought in the town. I guess an ex-ANBU wouldn't have many personal belongings." He rambled. "Anyways, Just tell me the password that was sent in the last letter, and I can get the tour started." He said, obviously confusing Kikai for someone else entirely. This could be a big chance to get a lay of the land, if she answered carefully...

 

[Shieo]

Needless to say Kikai was being incredibly patient with the task at hand. In-spite what seemed like her nature to be a sadistic monster; she had a side of a ferocious beast, one of cunning, aggression and a hunter's patience- there could easily be some irony dug in her personality. Faced with beings that pride themselves as men and women of the hunt, set in the ways to slay beasts of tremendous stature in hopes for glory, fame, fortune and the ability to continue living on in their own legend.

She wasn't much different. But different she was. Upon the introduction of a name, she while somewhat obscured in her appearances; loosened her muscles and shifted into a sign of comfort; while it was of course not a name she owned, it was however something she could at the very least, feign. A rental of sorts. It wasn't one she needed to wear for terribly long, in the end- in both mind and plan, she could use it successfully or fail; in the end all she needed to have some assurance was the death of those around in the building. Through thick and thin, she figured some way or another she would manage to do so.

How, just remained to be seen. "Heya, good to finally be here." Kikai worded with a slight intonation in her tone to suggest excitement, a higher pitch and comfortable body language. "Mm, was never one for belongings; things of the wild can always provide that in which I need." Her shoulders lifted in a shrug to attribute the thought, figuring it was obvious enough for the two conversationalists. "Unfortunately that letter got damaged before I was in possession of it. Without giving too much details for the sake of honor; we had some run-ins with some fanatics. They've been making efforts to destroy all forms of communication..." Her form slumped ever so slightly to add emphasis to the irritation that the sentence brought; semi-ironically. It wasn't a lie just altered ever so slightly to fit the mold of the problem that she immediately faced.

In the end, it boiled down to whether or not the man was willing to buy the fact she didn't have it.

---

Notes:

• Total Post Count: 6
• Total Word Count: 2841

Kikai

 

[Otani Ryuichi]

The man nodded at first, and gave it a few seconds to think, looking Kikai over from head to toe. He held his hand to his chin in a thoughtful manure, as if really pondering if he should let the woman through. After a few seconds, he slammed the door shut. Hard. On the other end, however one could hear,,,,rattling? As if someone was moving around armloads of loose chains, and locked despite the fact that none could be seen from the interior. Eventually the sound stopped, giving the area a few seconds of silence before the door opened wide once more.

The very same man opened the door again, his once happy and energetic face now replaced with one of a serious demeanor. "Alright. But I'll be sending another letter to our benefactor tomorrow in order to sort things out with this. For now you stay in the quest rooms. Can't have ya hanging around the families unless we're certain everything's fine." He said, moving aside for Kikai to enter.

If she did, the main room could only be explained as simply, boringly, extremely average. There were no trophies of hunts, or the smell of booze that one would expect, considering the music from the inside that was heard earlier. Come to think of it, now that music was entirely gone without any sign of coming back. Only the sound of chatter from upstairs. The man walked into a small room that was beside the stairway into what looked like an office, with a few cabinets as well as a desk covered in papers and folders. He sat down, and rubbed the side of his head.

"Alright, so just as planned you'll be standing guard for the next three months. Just as we talked." he said, before opening a drawer in the desk to start sorting, mumbling to himself about 'plans', 'that thing', and 'food' in an almost unrecognizable way. he soon pulled out a folder labeled 'sightings' and slapped it on the desk. "Alright, so simply...there've been reports of something trying to invade our food supply. One of the kids went as far as to claim a recent gash on his leg was caused by it, but it was too dark to get a good look of the thing." He said, opening the paper document to several reports that he had stored. "Simply, we don't have the man-power for this thing, let alone the tracking skills should it show up...that's why you're here. And just as planned, Tager-san is coming in the morning to give us what was agreed upon for payment."

With that, he gave it a moment to sink it, awaiting some kind of answer from 'Hitomi'. Now, all the documents were in front of her, and should she read them three things were very clear. Whatever this thing was had some gnarly claws, being able to rip through the metal silos that stored a food supply.

 

[Shieo]

Awaiting with mostly obscured yet stoic face until the man permitted entry to the now drastically different floor-plan than anticipated, all in which betrayed the prior sounds from only moments ago. While Kikai made doubly sure she wouldn't let her thoughts surface to affect her expression; her mind was at play, Flooring mechanism? Initiating combat so soon would cause an issue; they probably have means to quarantine the area- Even though I could probably break the defenses, it'd leave them an opening to escape or counter attack... Plus the seals, there's chakra users present; should prove to be an interesting challenge. Will need to play carefully.

"Understood." She replied in kind to his comment about her residence in the guest rooms until verification was reached. In the present, she followed the man as he made way to the office; her attention was glued to the man, evading any abnormal; or suspicious motions, she figured in the worst draw of scenarios. She could simply take some time during the night to observe the area and get a feel for it- If it even came to that. As the man took the time to lay out not only the role, the problems present and the contract; her air was that of professionalism, there was little words from her; but she made it in due diligence to be observant to the details he was discussing, even if it were previously discussed; an astute individual never shied from refreshing their memory. "Understood, so it seems there is a rather aggressive nocturnal predator." She echoed the thoughts, she imagined the man was equipped with already.

Her body language shifted to that of thought. While it wasn't deceiving the truth of thought, it didn't tell the whole story of what she was plotting. "I suppose the only things I wish to bring to the table are two points." She gestured to nothing, but used it as a means of simply inviting life to her monotone conversation. "In the case I encounter the beast, or see it's making efforts to seemingly sabotage the facility; is there a means to notify those present for either combat, or in the worst case scenario; prepare for evacuation or rescue of residents? And then secondly, since it's nocturnal- And apparently has the capacity to sabotage resources. Why not setup a trap? We should have the man-power to devise something and if we work together it wouldn't take long for all of us to build something." While the intentions of her propositions seemed clearly beneficial to the fort, rather than the Lion she agreed to slaughter for; there were of course- ulterior motives.

What better way to discover their weak-points, alarms and various means of communication? Or on the other hand, get everyone where she needs them. In one place; unsuspecting of her vile intentions.

Her deep violet eyes observed the man, reading his expressions, movements and language he expressed strictly of his body. If it was one thing, she knew a person could say one thing and mean another; or have something behind the curtains all together-- After-all, she was doing it now. With the benefit of having a scarf masking the lower-half of her face. She was harder to read, and she liked it that way.

---

[MFT]
Notes:

• Total Post Count: 7
• Total Word Count: 3,387

Kikai

 

[Otani Ryuichi]

At first the burly man looked at Kikai a bit confused, as if she had completely forgotten the situation they were in. Of course if she had actually gotten the information that was in the supposed letter, it would have been very clear why. "It must've been a long trip. You remember this is a homeless shelter, right? I'm the only one capable of fighting here, and I need to stay in here to activate the escape seals." He raised a brow when revealing that this wasn't at all what Kikai was first told to believe. The man gave it a few seconds to look the woman over to make sure the description matched who he was expecting one more time. Strangely enough, his inspection ceased, as if he truly believed this was 'Hitomi' "Say, did you think this place was still an outpost by any chance? Hasn't been for years." He finished, before shaking his head, wanting to get any extra information out of the way before it dragged on long enough to give him a headache.

"In any case, we don't have the manpower to defend, or the resources to set traps. We had one that we set up last week, but that's all. It was a blade trap set to swipe at anything trying to enter the food storage. We think it worked, because there was a cry a few nights ago, and a blood trail....but my hunch is either that it was a man trying to break in since the blood stopped suddenly when the hunters from the town were sent...so they were able to path up the wound. It was either that, or maybe it's something smart enough to know have the same knowledge." He said, putting down one more file on the matter, before rubbing his temples, stretching his skin enough to reveal countless more scars too small to see on his hardened, and tanned skin normally.

"Look, how about we get you into the guest room for now, and we can see if the beast had shown up overnight. That way we can put your tracking skills to the test if it does show up." He offered, standing up. "Don't bother to clean up the papers. I can get it." Now his voice was a bit more relaxed, as if he had gotten a lot of tension off his chest due to the situation.

He then walked out of the room, and to the main hall, where he peeled a small paper tag off the floor to reveal a slightly rotten looking trap door that appeared from some kind of appearance-altering seal. With a little bit of a shift, he knelt down and opened it to reveal a room that would surprise most when compared to the door that separated it from the rest of the building. It was clean. Almost too clean. Everything inside was an unblemished white, from the carpet to the wardrobe to the walls. Even the bed, and it's sheets. "Here's your room. I'd like to ask you keep yourself hidden from the kids. They can, and will never leave you alone if they know you're a ninja." With that he walked back into his office to write another letter to the person that was mentioned before in regards to some kind of infiltration of the previous note.

Now Kikai was left to her own devices for the time being, and a shifting outside would note that Suekai, the lion was outside and waiting in the faux brush.

 

[Shieo]

While the slip-up, at face-value seemed to be harmless; Kikai held it close in mind, her body language was controlled to help avoid giving away any tension that may have filled the silent gaps. However, in the back of her mind she had concluded that entertaining the falsity of being Hitomi would risk a slip-up far more problematic outcomes. She had only dipped her head in response to the man when he commented on the long-journey bit, at any rate; the man seemed intent to continue forwards with his comments.

Her eyes gleaned the files, while she didn't feel they were at all necessary for her now; it may serve some interest later- after-all, to her this was only the first stage of many challenges to come, even though she insisted the Lion-figure to be blunt and open; it had shown time and time again to air on the side of ambiguity, and she made the safe assumption it was still withholding further information on the tasks to come. These files, could provide insight as to what was to come. Besides, the Lion had spoken that this place served as an outpost that warded the beast off whenever it attempted to hunt this deer.
Already, there was conflicting information. While at the present time, and lingering tensions; it wasn't the primary concern, it didn't however escape her attention of the divided information she was provided by both parties. It did leave an unpleasant taste in her mouth; all the political tomfoolery that was underlying the whole operation was derisive of her time, or felt that way. Why couldn't things be straight-forward... she thought airily as the man moved from displaying his battle-scars to commenting about moving on to the guest room; while she recognized the man's scars. Kikai has always had a unique taste on the show of intimidating presence; she feared old warriors with no marks to show- why? Because they don't get injured. Those with scars, shows they're careless; while some are from their youth and have learned from their mistakes. Often times, they choose durability over finesse or skill. And Kikai knew all too well how effective she was against walls who thought to be invincible.

Upon the departure of the room to the main hall, Kikai followed with grace. "Understood, I'll be sure to be ready if it arrives." She ensured he could hear her steps, after-all; it was a sign of trust to know where another person was, and that a shinobi had the capacity to acknowledge their presence to another person. It was psychology, and a killer often times has a poetic irony to how well they can break it down.

Once he revealed the room, and explained the warning about avoiding sight from the children; she gave an understanding smile and nodded in acknowledgement. "Very well, I'll keep out of everyone's hair." She glossed in her words, as she stepped towards the hatch. The man having turned and began to depart to follow-through with his earlier comments about reaching out to the benefactor through letter.

Well, now's a better time than ever. She mused in her mind. One might question her reasoning, but as far as she was concerned. The man had made significant efforts to separate her from the others, whether it was in-fact truly children; or other hunters. It didn't really matter. What did was he had the capacity to pull suspicion from the air and materialize it into a plan. If he was cunning enough to grasp that, and the capacity to action a trap for her this quickly; letting him slip would be a dangerous move- If such was fact, that would make the clean-room a trap. One she wasn't interested in entering, even if she had a gross amount of tools to escape.
Secondly, even if she was being lured into acting violently against the man. It wouldn't be an attempt to discover her true intents, it would be to discern whether she was Hitomi or not. And in confirming she wasn't the real Hitomi, would effectively play little part in her overarching goal; if anything it could play into her hand. If they acted in tandem to flee or fight; she could ensue a battle she lusted for. If they fled, she could hunt and savagely assault them- If they escaped? It didn't really matter, as the Lion's wish of freeing the hunting grounds would still be fulfilled.

A lion in the den of hyenas. She smirked coyly from underneath the guise of her attire. "Oh!" She announced, without shouting; but intent with a higher pitch in her tone. "I almost forgot." Followed, an eerie calmness to her voice. As the moment she had paused after her first verbalized 'oh'. Followed with a sickening crack from her form; her left hand had extended towards the man in-spite the distance apart. And from the base of her palm unleashed a horde of eldritch black tendrils, chains and barbed wire. The moment Kikai did, a darkness filled the room- the air felt thick and muggy. The bond of Jashin to Kikai had been activated, and bags filled underneath her eyes; she started to look crazed as the dark-energy manifested.

The destination of the eldritch manifestations? The man of course, but she was planning ahead just as well. As they rocketed to impale the man and bind and blood-let him with the rotting energy; she wished to coat the doors and windows with the vine-like horrors. She didn't want him to escape, but that too locked her in the building for the time being...

And it excited her.

---

Notes:

• Total Post Count: 8
• Total Word Count: 4,321

Kikai

 

[Otani Ryuichi]

The large man was quick on his feet the moment danger was obvious, pulling his arms back to release some sort of mechanism in his sleeves. He would turn to the coming eldritch tentacles and hold out his bare fist before they were quickly brandished by two metal knuckles decorated in scratches, and marks. With countless swift movements he attempted to punch the mass of matter with chakra-infused fist, and succeeded...or the most part. Of all the mass that the Jashin-worshiping woman had sent most were now adorning the walls in a mess of gore, and metal...But the man had several pieces of tendrils and barbed wire impaling him in a few location, keeping him from moving. One was lodged in his left shoulder, two in his right leg, and one in his gut.

"I had a hunch..." He said, glaring daggers into Kikai. "Shame you didn't go down there. Would have made the interrogation eas-" With that he spit up some blood onto the ground, before grinning. He quickly flashed three hand seals to allow a clone of himself to appear, who ran directly into his office, having to punch through a small mass of tendril to get through. With a press of a button alarms could be heard upstairs, and so could countless feet running...somewhere.

"Go ahead and kill me if you want. I knew my enemies would get to me some day, but you won't lay a finger on the others I swear by it!" He said, biting down hard on nothing and attempting to rip the tendril from his shoulder. Regardless of if he was successful in trying to remove whatever unholy material Kikai was using, the man would smack his fists together to allow chakra to surround his body, and cause the entire building to shake. "I was...hoping it wouldn't come to this, but you don't seem like one to stall. I guess I need to take you down....with me." He said, not moving.

Before long, rock began to fall in tiny pieces and roaring could be heard from outside, most likely from the Lion that had started all of this. Of course, with the windows blocked not much could tell why he was making such sounds, but one could hear the occasional roar, clashing metal, and muffled shouts from outside. The fact that this was possible noted the possibility of all the chakra tags in the building losing their original purpose.

A rough guess for when the entire outpost collapsed? With the rate of the falling stones, the shaking ground, and the fact that no MORE chakra was being put into the man's jutsu gave Kikai a solid 15 minutes to find a way out of here, or a way to survive several tons of falling stone.

 

[Shieo]

Snapping her wrist back as the man managed a semi-effective defense against the horde of eldritch energies. Her right hand had without much effort twirled and a spear-length rod of blackened energy hissed in a sick bone-like cracking sound. The edge of the weapon had licked against the ground with a hair crawling screech of what sounded like nails to a chalk-board.

She had simply narrowed her eyes as the weapon formed, watching with idle interest as the man struggled against the rotting power of the Jashinist energies. Even though the clone escaped and sounded an alarm; Kikai, as she had suspected didn't seem bothered by it, in-fact in a way it played into her favor regardless. As the man commented on the fact that Kikai was not quite the sort to make efforts to stalling; she couldn't help but express a quick shrug with a flashed, but sinister smile. Even to go as far to work towards removing one of the barbs so he had some control over his muscular form still didn't incur her to move much; though she was ready to strike like a panther on the hunt- this much was clear just by the way she held her stance, it was always at the ready; despite a deceiving comfort that she wore over it.

Moments passed as she looked at a nearby falling stone as the buildings structural integrity started to falter. "I suppose there is one thing you're wrong on. I don't be going down with you, though the Lord below wouldn't mind. I have greater things to attend to. As you can hear, there is a calling- or perhaps a culling that is occurring outside, that I'd very much so appreciate some time within'-- After all the blood of others being spilled does create favor in my position to my Lord." At the same time she was saying all this, she had taken a few steps to the side; gauging the man and the area around. Afore she impaled the blackened spear of horrors into the ground, rotting the flooring to a brittle, decayed state. All while, both her hands came together and begun to quickly, at an asinine speed weave a series of abnormal seals.

"Never the less, good night. And may your soul be welcomed into the loving embrace of the Lord, where you will rest for eternity." She cooed the words as if it was a blessing; but to the knowing- it was a curse. A sending to Jashin.

And just like that, in a flash of inhuman speed; her hands extended towards the man, and a translucent white formation established itself into reality; "Dust Release" She worded into existence, bringing forth any knowing person the reality of what they were about to face. "Detachment of the Primitive World" Like an executioner's ax, the woman's chakra had erupted in a flash of light that expanded without inhibition across the man, the wall that followed behind him and in the moment of her closing her hands. The box that the Dust Release encapsulated too, started collapsing; eradicating the particles down to an atomic level into effectual nothingness.

If all went, semi-according to plan; Kikai would waste no time to maximize her speed with a burst of chakra planted to her feet, flickering through the night air to the outside. In attempts to gauge the situation outside.

If things didn't go according to plan; she would have to re-evaluate the situation in general, and decide her next course of actions with new found information.

---

[MFT]
Notes:

• Total Post Count: 9
• Total Word Count: 4,912

Kikai

 

[Otani Ryuichi]

As the area around him started dissolving, from the tendrils that held him in place to the stray drifting paper sent flying from the chaos, the man had one last ditch attempt to keep whatever was outside from being harmed. He pulled a chakra-enhanced fist back before shifting his entire body forward, shattering a small opening in the dust release box, and allowing him to try and get a grip around Kikai's neck. He reached, with a look of desperation on his face and pieces of skin already fading away in the jutsu to allow blood to seep from the chunks of vanishing flesh.

He reached with all his might, yet the closest his got was touching her chin, even just barely, before every other piece of his body went away in an instant leaving only a pool of blood that had accumulated over the course of the jutsu, and his dismembered arm that had fallen off, unphased by kikai's jutsu due to being outside. On it was still one of the chakra knuckles that he supposedly called his weapon.

Now the floodgates were open.

With him gone and the others evacuating the mission that the lion had gave had been complete, or at the very least the first part of it. However, despite how well (or gruesome) that went the image Kikai was met with outside may change the course of this entire ordeal.

Just outside stood Suekai, and a group of roughly a dozen people of all ages. There were kids, men, and women alike all looking at the lion in fear several yards away with the adults separating the children from the battle scared lion.

"Which one of these brats escaped last time...?" He asked them with a scowl on his twisted face, which was only warped into an expression of worry when he noticed Kikai. He was quick to glance around as if looking for something, and fast. "Kikai! The...the hunters! They ran off into the woods!" He obviously lied to her in an attempt to get some distance away from the kill hungry woman. "You see here, these are their families and they off and ran...prideless fools, the lot of them. Go kill them." He commanded, before looking into the crowd once more.

Then the beast's eyes locked onto one particular target. A small boy no older than 11 with bandages covering the entirety of his upper face except for his left eye that looked as pure and green as an emerald. Nothing else about his outward appearance seemed obvious aside from one tiny piece of metal that held little value to the common folk of the world, but kikai would be able to recognize in rain or shine. A necklace consisting of beads, and a metal emblem made up of a circle, and a triangle inside.

The symbol of Jashin. Nothing else about the boy noted any kind of worship of the evil god, yet he displayed the necklace around his neck without a single effort to hide it. It was much too large for a child his size at that, dangling down to almost reach his midsection.

Yet the lion didn't care for such trivial matters. He growled and stepped forward towards the crowd. He gave kikai a glance "Go on. Go away. It's gonna get messy here. With those hunters dead, and the witnesses gone it'll be a cakewalk." He said, awaiting Kikai to leave.

 

[Shieo]

Her deep violet eyes seemed to watch with intrigue, they weren't shocked; or even fettered by much emotion- there was simply a glint that appeared nearly illuminated under the beaming energy of the dust release. While the man made his strained efforts to make his way to strike her, she maintained the jutsu- witnessing his momentous ending with both content and exhilaration. This is what Jashin and her worked towards; an ending for all life.

The ashen flakes of his body slowly eviscerating through the calmed storm that was the atomic level break-down of the dust had warped into the sound of an eye of the storm; silence befell for what felt like days as the white glow vanished into thin air; along with the man. In the glorious moments of calm, the thud of his detached arm clamored to the flooring beneath Kikai, the blood oozing out and staining the air with the smell of shaven iron. Her gaze fell to the arm for only a moment, afore the rush of the outside sound filtered through the newfound hole in the building; revealing the landscape littered with foliage, fields and the skies cleared above. "Well well. I guess the rest of the hunt is on." Her tone like liquid silver, it oozed poison; it too held sharp to her formed discipline, in-spite her lust for the death of others; the resounding militaristic dominance of her history couldn't quite escape her, even in the mind of a hunter. Such was the damage that being a Grim Reaper would do to those who served for a long time, they became something mythological. Their minds filled with a mania of super-human clarity and killing intellect, but they lose much of their humanity in some cases; flakes of what makes a human-- Human. While it wasn't painfully obvious on the surface, as they act and move like any other; inside the lanes of their mind, some roads are missing- Things that they should feel, lost to the ages.

And this, this feral emotion is what filled the lull in Kikai's darkened purple eyes; as they all but pulsated for a moment allowing her the moments to close her eyes, as the chaotic, malevolent and ... cursed energy filled her veins, as corruption no longer was subject just to the land around her; but too did she start permitting the vile blackened eldritch energy to flow into her systems. An air of sin thickened, there was a palpable evil that coursed like a river of death.

Her eyes reemerged from the safety of her eyelids. Peering uninhibited by the flowing black mist that oozed from her pores; they were a stark yellow, as she lived the curse. Her body got low, planting both her hands to the ground; and took a runners stance. And for someone as fast as she was- this could only mean something maddeningly more proficient in speed.



In the span of a blink; she pressed with such momentous force that the floor caved from the pressure. Her body vanishing into a blur of death; flying through the air well beyond the capacity of the naked eye tracking.
Perhaps, against the hopes of the Lion; Kikai didn't simply stop to listen to words, screams, pleas or otherwise. Her goal was set by the Lion at the start; she was clear with the beast just how she handled these sort of things.

And that is exactly what came in droves, the air fumed with an ever thickening red mist. A blanket of crimson mist washed in a horde of stench of corpses, something felt abnormal; or out of this world as the red mist thickened and began to obscure the vision of those within'. And deep within' the confines of this mist began to fill the air with the sounds of the dead; but not just any each was tailored by the Lord himself, Jashin ripping the voices and sounds of each individuals family; filling the ears of those within with the cries of torture and their wimpers of death. Oozing into a playground for the damned.
Seconds is all it took for all this to form, and only a second longer for the grips of unseen invaders to grab at ankles, wrists, necks and drag those within' to their knees. And like a ghost, a reaper from the depths of hell; the blur of semi-luminescent eyes zipped through the red. Armed with blades, clubs, scythes and many other weapons of death- her intent, was to defile the lives of all those within' with death. Some quick, some were left with their throats targeted, or major arteries to be left to bleed out.

That was all when she came to the boy. Who adorned the necklace; one might think she held some form of compassion, or even respect for other worshipers. However, those who did were left with an unfortunate realization. She wasn't a blind follower of religious ques, and ways and beliefs that many cults or sects of Jashin found themselves doing; she was in-fact not a follower of a cult, but a due follower of Jashin; and no other. And he sought blood.

So she stood above the boy, with a gut wrenching vile look; one that left humanity to wonder where it went wrong. "Wish the Lord well." she muttered with a subtle smirk. And lifted a maul, the head of which was the size of her torso; and in a swift unsightly scene- brought it down, with enough force to crack earth. Of course; all if uninhibited.

---

[MFT]
Notes:

• Total Post Count: 10
• Total Word Count: 5,840

Kikai