Dead Beat [Free RP]

[Yudaya Junnan]

Whilst the sun set and scorched the horizon with its fading rays, the winds of change shifted the desert sands. At the base of the Kazekage's four stories, doors were pushed open and a dark figure practically rolled out. It's limber movements made the wiry figure appear to sway and lean to an unheard melody. Stepping forth from the tower's shadow and into what remained of the sunlight, highlighted unpleasant features.

No longer a mere figure, the slender but masculine proportions defined his gender. Having stopped in the middle of a crosswalk, a tender breeze lightly tugged at his wild hair. Eyes devoid of any color aside from white, stared perhaps at the thinning clouds. The village without doubt was used to many strange forms of life, having trained all manner of Shinobi. Yet; Junnan still managed to cause pause and whisper to mingle among folk. The sickly green tone of his skin suggested dire poisoning, maybe even rotting. Unlike the beautiful or exotic oddities of the world, he was not pretty.

Aesthetics were the least of concerns though, his "confiscated" leather jacket was all the style he needed. As a matter of fact, what likely drew even more attention than his tattered body, was the inhumanly massive smile on his face. Being recruited hadn't been on his list of things to do, but that list was always changing. Without memory of his past beyond perhaps a month at best, it was obvious to him that the village would keep tabs on him. It didn't take a genius to put together than the ANBU who had plucked him so easily were a "Hunter" class of mercenary. They'd been paid to track and find him, and then keep him from doing any more damage in Soon's Haven. Since he wasn't killed, that meant they'd be at the very least be keeping him on an invisible leash.

Without doubt every ANBU would be alerted to his presence, and be informed of the situation. This wildfire spread of intelligence natural reached the upper echelon of the council, captains, and others of high responsibility. Without having shown in any sense what he was capable of, nor being actually aware of it, his physiology was the liability. At first, the medical inspectors thought he simply hadn't a pulse nor a heartbeat.

Just as they prepared to leave with their findings a single pulse echoed throughout his entire core. They were astonished into momentary silence, observing quietly for what seemed and eternity until a second pulse followed. Junnan was barely alive. Concerns of necromancy or other foul play were frightening realities. While Junnan himself didn't know as much, his difference was clear. Unlikely to be seen, the eyes were sticking to his skin from the swelling evening shadows felt heavy.

Lurching forward caused the popped of his joints to fire off in rapid succession, jerking back to life as he spun forward with his arms spread. "If you plan on studying my growth, shouldn't you arrange for some...Growth...ing?" The near grating voice made one imagine the larynx having gone rusty if it were a machine, and desperately needing oil. When he spoke, it wasn't to anyone in particular either. His spinning came to a slow stop as he eventually began dragging his feet across the sands, all this time barely having made it a few feet from the tower's exit. Just where in the world was he going anyway?

[MFT]
WC:573​

 

[Michi]

OC: Only had 30 min after my shift before I had to crash. But a promise is a promise. can edit it to something comprehensible tomorrow because my brain is running on fumes.

IC:
Everybody these days was either an underdog or a martyr it would seem. Sunagakure has had its share of hard times, the bad was easier to remember than the good. The people of Sunagakure had endured despite tragedy, war and even self loathing, but the one thing Sunagakure could not be free of was the troubles brought into her by the outside world. As of late, perhaps due to the lack of a storm, there has been an influx of strangers into these lands. Many nameless, faceless, self-claimed nomads; a few of them refugees from broken worlds much like Sunagakure but they were not nearly as lucky; a few others were wolves in sheep's clothes. She did not fear these enemies, not because she felt secure or powerful but because she was a nobody. Nobody knew her as anything more than Sousuke's secretary. Some knew her by her name but not because she held any distinction, it was more out of courtesy. She was essentially the invisible woman despite being in the middle of it all.

There were a number of benefits garnered from her position of power, the most notable would be the fact that she was one of the first people to know anything. She knew who was about to become a Chuunin and which dignitaries were maintaining their good graces with the village by commissioning Sand's shinobi for various menial tasks. She also got first look at the 'new recruits,' something that kept her busy between pots of coffee because that was all Sousuke used her for -- an overpaid and grossly overqualified barista. Most novice shinobis enter the Genin Rank by graduating from the village's shinobi academy. One could call it prestigious but let's be real, they let all sorts of deviants, rejects and uninterested legacy youths into the academy. Their mantra being "if they are willing they will learn." She never agreed with the sentiment but if nothing else, one thing rang true: if it was not meant to be their time as a graduate shinobi would be short-lived. On occasion Sousuke would grant refugees from other hidden villages an honorary rank due to their past experiences and accomplishments, but for the most part it was the good old boy's club with Sousuke. Those close to him always seemed to climb the ranks rapidly. It was rather unusual to have a shinobi be placed as a Genin in lieu of incarceration, it was usually the other way around and a shinobi was stripped of their rank and distinction and tossed into the Obsidian.

She read his file completely. It was a rather strange story - a male of indeterminate age with no professed background or memory of the events leading up to a short time before shinobi intervention. She felt that the file was bullshit, if she had a dime for every time someone tried to play the amnesiac card she would be able to buy Sousuke those ass implants he always wanted but refused to admit he wanted. That was where all things common ended. She would read onward, at his physical description that described him as a dead-man walking. Severe bradycardia, the rate being defined as barely agonal. The flesh described as intact but a sallow greenish hue. Scleral abnormalities, lack of discernable pupillary response. He did not sound human and the inhuman were the ones she was most interested in. Interested enough to pursue them. Interested enough to try to determine if he was one of the Ancients she had lost.

She did not recognize the aura, whatever energies he omitted she did not recognize them as being what she would find in her kin. If he was not Ancient, it made her wonder what he might be. If he was a demon, he would likely have ties to the Toraono. She let out a sigh, she was too far away to determine who or rather what he was from her vantage point, that being the window of her office that overlooked the grounds. She made her way to the window, her palm pressed against the cool glass. She slid the window to the side, allowing the warm air to enter Sousuke's climate controlled office. She took a step onto the ledge, the scene would have been perilous if there was anyone to watch or if long drops were anything of concern for the average shinobi denizen. Her toes a few inches over the edge, she took a step forward and plummeted those four stories. She landed with a singular click and continued to walk, never breaking stride.

She was not trying to hide but even if she was, despite being invisible in terms of purpose she stood out from the average drab, sparkless Sunan. Her blonde hair was as yellow as the desert sands and her pale skin seemed foreign considering the sunny environs she represented. She wore as she always did white - all white from her heeled boots to her duster and even her dress. She looked like she was about to go out someplace, nice. Someplace much nicer than the streets of Sunagakure, but that was OK. Her appearance, much like Junnan's which was the antithesis of her own, was a source of power for her. People expected different things from lovely people. They wanted to hold conversations, be a source of interest. That was why one became beautiful wasn't it? To be noticed but not necessarily known, so few bother to look beyond the packaging. We are by nature a superficial society that bases our impression of someone on the first thing we encounter which is what we see. Junnin was of course the opposite, he did not have a becoming facade, in fact he had the kind of face that would repel most with the sense to run. Perhaps that is what he wanted. To be left alone. To be avoided. To be feared.

The click of her heels heralded her approach, it was not every step but more like every third that the bottom of her shoe would find a rock and a spark would be made. She was about to address him, but he made a sudden about-face turn.

"If you plan on studying my growth, shouldn't you arrange for some...Growth...ing?"

Blunt. His voice box was wrong.

This was the first time she saw his face, he grew pale. The reports did not lie. She was at a loss of words for a moment before she recalled what she intended to say. She extended a (thankfully gloved) hand in the direction of the criminal, "I am Rioshi, the Kazekage's secretary." She had told her first lie, her name was actually not Shiori either but something else but that was a story for another time. "I do not have the training to study you and I doubt I have anything of use to teach you, I was just curious if the reports were true." She actually told the truth that time. She furrowed her brow, "are you dead?" It was a rumor, none the less it was not in the reports but rather a personal conclusion she had come to as did likely so many others.

 

[Kazu]

Takeyashi had come to the Kazekage Tower to report back on a mission he'd recently completed. It wasn't particularly difficult, nor glamorous, but protocol dictated that he give an oral debriefing of his mission to at least one Moderator — they were the ones who presided over mission assignments. Takeyashi was dressed in his usual shinobi garb, unconcerned with hiding his four extra arms as he was not anywhere near the commoners of the village. His clothing consisted of: a dark brown shirt, which was cut off around the shoulder joint in order not to restrict the movement of his extra limbs; a light tan length of cloth that he wore around his neck, protecting his skin and being versatile enough to cover his head when out in the blazing heat; a pair of light tan pants that were tied down to his upper calf with drawstring; a dark brown covering over his pants and parting to each side just over his upper right leg, with a golden band around its edges and a small imprint of the symbol of Sunagakure on its left side; a pair of military sandals with an open footing design, secured to his feet with a few straps that allowed his feet to not be completely covered in the desert heat; a belt pouch which stored all sorts of shinobi supplies; a dark brown mottled coat, which was currently unbuttoned and billowing behind him in the heated winds which blew everywhere; and two bows — one a dark brown and the other an ashen white — fastened to his back outside of his cloak. He had the aura of a hunter about him, though the extra arms certainly tended to throw people for a loop.

As he approached the tower, eager to get his report over with, he spotted a familiar face. Rioshi, the Kazekage's secretary who had assigned him his Chuunin Exam, seemed to be walking in a brisk way around the side of the Kazekage Tower. Stopping in his tracks so that he wouldn't approach too closely, Takeyashi traced her path forward with his eyes to try and find out what she was so intently heading towards. He saw the shape of a figure, disheveled and ragged looking, walking out of the Kazekage Tower and, seemingly, was in the direct line of her path. Surely this vagabond couldn't be her intended destination, right? Curiosity filling the young man, Takeyashi ducked into a nearby alleyway and began to climb up the walls towards the roof of the building using all six of his arms and both of legs. He must have looked like some sort of monstrous spider to any who might happen to see him. However, he was doing his best right now not to be seen. Hopefully, he would be successful.

Climbing along the rooftops of buildings, Takeyashi made his way closer and closer to the odd pair. He poked his eyes just over the edge of the roof closest to them, trying to remain hidden within earshot range. He was a little far to hear everything, but he made out something about being dead. An odd topic for sure, until one got a closer look at the lumbering zombie that this man was. Pale green skin, unkempt nails, and what seemed to be an extremely malnourished body frame sent off red flags all throughout Takeyashi's mind. This man was like death walking, and it made sense as to the nature of the question Rioshi asked. Takeyashi was used to looking like a monster, or a freak. He usually hid his arms using the cloak so that he could walk among the civilians of the city without incident. But this man? He was a hopeless cause. He looked like he was doomed to forever be an outcast. Was he just a homeless drunk of the city? Or was there more to this story? Takeyashi decided to try and camouflage his appearance, insisting on staying to learn more. He could give his debriefing a little later.

[ooc: Used Active Camo jutsu in the last paragraph. Shiori should be the only one able to notice Takeyashi, so I'll let her decide whether she wants to notice or not.]

 

[Yudaya Junnan]

His timing must have been perfect, or maybe it was her's, but nobody would believe their encounter to be purely incidental. As though precognition were one of his unique abilities, his haphazard spiral cut itself short to face an alabaster maiden. The words that left his mouth just before seemed intended for her. The quizzical expression that loitered upon his face reinforced the aforementioned perception that much more. Still, his feet continued to drag slowly and dig into the sands as he moved backwards steadily.

Junnan's grin only spread further, slightly cracking his chapped lips and revealing and even paler shade of green where pink flesh should be. Maybe he couldn't see the extended hand, or maybe he just didn't care, but both of his arms dropped dead. As the woman gave her name, his smile faded away he silently repeated it as though impressed. By the time she was done, his bony shoulders were already finished shrugging. "How would I know?" Was the simple answer, spoken gently rather than with any tainted attitude or aggression. Without the freakish smile splitting his face asunder, he appeared solemn and void. The pitiable visage was destroyed soon as curve lips tore into his cheeks once again. "Kazekage, Kazekage...Right! That guy. His secretary? Maybe I am special." The sarcasm was pervasive in his last sentence.

There was a brief twitch, and Junnan's pure-white eyes rolled in their sockets to his right. Brows raised in intrigue and then he'd nod in agreement. The pristine ocular organs rolled again, presumably back towards the woman. "You're right, she does kind of remind me of you." He'd whisper to himself, but a Shinobi trusted enough to be that close to the Kazekage would no doubt be able to read uncovered lips. "The yellow hair and light peach colored skin threw the whole thing off though." The volume slowly raised as we went on, speaking more audibly. His sliding feet had stopped, and a second after that he was moving towards her.

The near shambling footsteps were quite soundless, and unusually nimble for his condition. The movement stopped short of an inch from the woman's reach. Lifting a finger he'd point directly between her cleavage, pausing then chuckling before pointing towards her chin instead. "What's your interest in the dead any way? If you're planning on using me as a guinea pig then be up front about it. It's either that, or you're a necrophiliac, and if that's the case... Maybe I'm your speed?" He was clearly joking, but his words weren't made anymore endearing by the jeering extension of a slightly pointed tongue. "If I'm not dead now, I will be if I don't find something interesting to do." He ended, straightening up and letting his hand drop.

[MFT]
WC: 461​

 

[Michi]

Her ears could hear his heartbeat, or his near lack of one. Could could hear the sluggish movement of blood that was likely more like syrup crawl through petrified veins. One of her former colleagues would refer to patients in similar piteous states as 'incompatible with life,' a cold, harsh and heartless assessment of the soon to be corpse before them as they carried on with another more viable subject. Still, he seemed to be both alive and dead - most certainly not dying but not quite living either. She could hear everything, the writhing worm and the skittering beetle, the swish of fabric twenty paces away, even the sound of saliva being washed down the gullet. So of course she could hear the rooftop shinobi, however she could not respond to his presence, after all she was nothing more than a secretary. A role she would continue to play for as long as she could reliably fool those around her with her practiced smile or gracious interactions. She was there for information and for opportunity; she wanted for nothing more than to undermine the Kazekage and all of his efforts.

He hurt what little was left of her own kind.

He let her son die.

He killed her.

A part of her wondered if Sousuke did not kill her son out of spite. A part of her wondered how much regret a man like him truly had for all of the trespasses he had committed against others. It was true that she was not without sin but she saw her own as venial in comparison. She killed to eat. Did they think that their hands were blood-free when they ate meat?

"How would I know?"

He never answered her question.

There were a few things people knew even if they knew nothing else. Even in the absence of a name, a history, a conscience, people still knew the basic facet of their existence. Cogito ergo sum. Or more aptly I doubt, therefore I think, therefore I am. People should know if they are dead or otherwise -- it would serve as a rather "life-changing" experience. Of course Discourse on the Method could not be applied to the concept of life or death but merely existence but in a way she disagreed - people know somewhere in the core part of the being what and who they are even if they could not recall the details. A killer was a killer by nature and a killer always knew that they were a killer; only social constraint made it necessary for them to put on a show. To play the role of the gentle, sane man until something would finally snap. It was not something they became but rather something that they were, so the result should not be a surprise for the man wielding the knife.

"Kazekage, Kazekage...Right! That guy. His secretary? Maybe I am special."

"Special - no. Different - yes." She replied.

"You're right, she does kind of remind me of you."

"The yellow hair and light peach colored skin threw the whole thing off though."​

There was nobody else speaking. She would know if there was. The doubtless, momentarily the doubter her eyes shifted back and forth. Was there someone she could not hear? If so, she also could not see them and it has been a long time since she was as blind as a bat. "Who are you talking to?" Was he some sort of crazy? He could be one of those strange guys that likes to look like a corpse, although most of them just use too much eyeliner and black nail polish. Next she would see a diary filled with dark and mundane poetry about how his middle class life was 'full of pain.'

"What's your interest in the dead any way? If you're planning on using me as a guinea pig then be up front about it. It's either that, or you're a necrophiliac, and if that's the case... Maybe I'm your speed?"

She let out a low laugh and raised a single index finger. "Did you know that rigor mortis only lasts for three days, after that," she frowned as she lowered her finger to half mast and shook her head. "I am afraid you have been in this condition for more than three days," so her 'needs' if she was into dead men who could tell no tales would not be satisfied here. But whoever did bring him back was exceptional in ways she was not. Little known fact: she could raise the dead and it had little to do with post mortem priapism. The only problem was that her creations were thralls to her will, something that sounds good in theory but quickly becomes tedious, repetitive and dull. But, HERS were a lot less... well, DEAD looking.

He stuck out his tongue. "Be careful, you do not want your face to get stuck that way." Well, it was probably too late for that.

"If I'm not dead now, I will be if I don't find something interesting to do."

"The village is under construction and we are on the brink of war. There is plenty to do that does not deal with tumescence or the embarrassing incident when you admit you have been dead for more than three days. What kind of work are you looking for?"

 

[Kazu]

This man was gruesome to watch. Did he have some sort of mental issue? Takeyashi wasn't able to hear much of the conversation going on, due to the distance from which he was observing the exchange taking place. However, the green skinned man's movements seemed a tad unnatural. They were a little too stiff for a normal person — almost catatonic, if he were to sum it up in a word. However, there were also times where his movements seemed graceful and nimble. This was a weird character, for certain. And yet the secretary didn't seem to be batting an eye at this strange display of a man. She didn't seem to flinch at all. He'd witnessed a taste of her stoic indifference, but was this because of her personality or had she just seen so much that things didn't really faze her anymore? It was an interesting question to chew around in his mind.

Still though, he wondered if this situation was going to develop into anything more. He certainly would like to be able to hear what was going on, though getting closer was an issue of its own. An idea struck the young man, though it was a dangerous one at that. He would have to be extra cautious if he wanted this plan to work. Molding chakra into his mouth, the young man began to chew and knead the saliva in his mouth. Upon mixing it with his chakra, however, a very different sort of material would be created. To those that knew of the Hachiashi Clan and their abilities, the clan's use of its signature Spider Mucus was common knowledge. While the people that could claim to belong to this group of people were few and far between, even fewer still would know of the enhanced abilities of the Hachiashi Clan: the lustrous Golden Spider Mucus. With especially strong tensile strength and malleability, this improved version of the normal Spider Mucus the clan wielded was highly versatile in its use. Stronger than steel, even a thin strand of the material was enough to hold up an Armatunk or two.

Takeyashi planned to put this material to great use. Having built up a good reserve of the mucus, the young man deposited a hefty chunk of it into his hands. Immediately he went to work: four of his hands kneaded the material, keeping it soft and malleable, while his other two arms rolled out a thin, continuous line of thread. As the material formed into the silk-like rope, it hardened and gained strength while maintaining its flexibility and ease of movement. The spiderling worked and worked, and eventually had produced a wound up coil of the material. Affixing one end of the line to an arrow, the young man drew his bow silently behind the roof. He loosened the arrow, aiming it at the Kazekage's tower directly across from himself — this put the line of Golden Spider Mucus directly above the two conversing. The arrow, while buried into the tower's surface, would certainly not hold throughout his planned maneuvering, so he channeled a stream of his chakra through the rope towards the other side. The arrow's point of impact would quickly be engulfed by a small tangle of vines and roots growing out of the side of the tower, anchoring the line to its surface and helping to support the weight of anyone or anything that might venture out onto the de-facto trapeze wire. Doing the same thing on the roof he was on to anchor the other end of the thread, the young man's plan was good to go.

Concealing the sound of his movement with chakra, and maintaining his technique in order to remain hidden, the young shinobi would venture out on the line. Hanging upside down from it and pulling himself forward with all six arms, he quickly made his way directly overhead the two. While the thread was not invisible, it was incredibly thin and hard to spot. Not impossible, just not immediately noticeable if one was not looking for it. Takeyashi, on the other hand, was as well hidden as he could be. Visual detection was difficult via active camouflage and audial detection was tough due to his sound muffling chakra. He was in pure stealth mode right now, doing everything humanly possible to avoid detection while being close enough to hear what was happening. Hopefully a bird wouldn't fly by and hit into him, though — that would instantly blow his cover.

[ooc: Maintaining Active Camo and added on Concealed Steps to trigger Super Stealth Mode™. If you want to have your character notice the thread, by all means.]

 

[Yudaya Junnan]

The reactions garnered from the secretary were... Uncommon. The honesty in regards to how special he may, or may not have been, was candid. She was ignored entirely when she asked about his conversational partner, it really wasn't any of her business. Instead, he focused on her clever retort which followed. He'd feign astonishment, but the falsified indignation melted away in favor of amusement quickly. Even as she ended it all with a final question, Junnan didn't appear to be taking anything said seriously.

It was obvious that the woman had the advantage here. They were in her village, and her position surely gave her respect to varying degrees and protection. Junnan, on the other hand was walking on thin ice. Although a fresh recruit, he was technically a captive and a liability. The secretary's eyes weren't the only ones on him, only a fool would expect less. Then why was it, that Junnan carried himself so loosely? Clearing his throat, and inhaling through his nostrils as though preparing a speech, he instead held up a single finger in waiting and laughed for a moment. "Alright, so firstly, we could just skip all the insinuations and put your little theory to the test." He stepped a little closer, and tilted his head a few degrees as though inspecting her carnal potential. Knowing very well that it was incredibly unlikely she'd have the stomach to even see what he'd look like below the belt, he pushed the topic aside in time.

"Why just the brink? Who needs to die before the party starts going full swing?" It was a brash and perhaps heartless question, but one that dug deeper than a shallow mind would realize. "If we've got enemies, then they should be priority. Everything you build will be destroyed, and every able warrior who wasted time reconstructing will be below maximum strength when the assault comes." Turning away from her and sliding his bony fingers into the pockets of his jeans, he began to walk away. "If the enemy can't crush you in a siege, they'll wreck your resources and forcefully divide your attention. After whittling you down, no matter how long it takes, they'll grab you by the throat and hold you down in the sand." The carefree shrug returned, but his face did not. Instead, the bushy back of his head was left for her and whoever else looked on. "If your leadership can't focus on one task at a time, how do they ever expect to manage multiple tasks? You'll be juggling everything forever, until your arms fall off. Good luck."

It would appear, at that very moment, that the meeting had been concluded. What interesting snippets of banter either opposite had for one another wouldn't satisfy him any longer. Fate was strange, and so was any world in which its will manifested itself... No sooner than the potentially decaying vagabond had taken ten steps, than a freak phenomena would crash the scene and change the tone. Almost perfectly between the secretary and he quarry, and directly beneath the spying spider, the air would shimmer. Visually, the fabric of reality, or what one imagined it to be, twisted and spiraled. A vortex was opening up, and the rotating atoms within began to turn a deep violet to change the overall color. Winds began to push forth from all eight directions surrounding the rift in reality. Nearby pedestrians scurried to safety, while some peeked out from corners. Junnan looked back over his shoulder just in time to see the peculiar entities that came from within.

The first one to be made whole from scattered particles was a yellow-skinned humanoid, with an elongated skull. The lemony man had a single patch of hair at the very top of his crown, and a length scar traveled diagonally across his falsified left eye. Instead of a pupil and iris, there was but a golden "Smiley Face" in total contrast from the humorless look of its carrier. Beneath the being's eyes were powerfully dark bags, and he was covered in small wounds and bandages. He was shirtless, tattooed, and wearing a loaded gun-holster. The type of firearm was a complete mystery though. The slacks and shoes he wore added some professionalism to his battered countenance. Though less than five feet tall, the grey stubble and unlit cigarette made it clear he was passed middle-aged.

The latter of the duo was almost a full foot shorter, with orange skin and a much rounder face. His hair was greasy, and mostly neglected. Large watery blue eyes surveyed the area, the burning ember on the end of his still lit cigarette smoked heavily. As if keeping in pattern with their opposite physical shape and demeanor, the shorter one wore a colorful turtleneck sweater. His gun holster was slightly more hidden, and his firearm a little smaller, but likely just as potent a weapon. The spiraling violet rift from which they came crackled with lightning, and began to recede into nothingness. It was then that the one with the yellow skin would intercede. "Do not be alarmed, my name is Pacchiri. My partner here is Genzen. We've come a long way to speak with you, Junnan."<i></i> Pacchiri's voice fit his countenance. There was a mild pause as Junnan remained looking over his shoulder, seeming unimpressed. "We'd like to speak with you as well Rioshi, the both of you. Is there somewhere we can talk, somewhere less crowded?"<i></i> How would those present respond? What purpose could this arrival have, and why did Pacchiri already know both the secretary and Junnan's name? Next time... On Dragon- I mean- Ninpocho Chronicles: Sand Version.

[MFT]
WC:945​

 

[Michi]

"Alright, so firstly, we could just skip all the insinuations and put your little theory to the test."

She let out an audible snort. She did not even like human sex, at least in concept. It sounded disgusting with a beautiful person, his corpse-like young man was certainly not one of the beautiful-people. Oddly enough, she failed to differentiate between him and the average person, after all she was not human. "Doubt you would have the stomach for it darling," she echoed his thought but she was eluding to herself. Vaginas were gross, slimy, musky-scented things. Those poor men, dealing with something she likened to a festering wound.

"Why just the brink? Who needs to die before the party starts going full swing?"

"Because some of us did not want to survive the tribulations of war," she replied, standing uncomfortably close to the decrepit vagabond. "And because some of us are already dead."

"If we've got enemies, then they should be priority. Everything you build will be destroyed, and every able warrior who wasted time reconstructing will be below maximum strength when the assault comes."

His back to her, the rambler began to walk away.

"If the enemy can't crush you in a siege, they'll wreck your resources and forcefully divide your attention. After whittling you down, no matter how long it takes, they'll grab you by the throat and hold you down in the sand... If your leadership can't focus on one task at a time, how do they ever expect to manage multiple tasks? You'll be juggling everything forever, until your arms fall off. Good luck."

Well, he was not wrong, that is exactly what happened and what was happening. It was not hard to imagine because a small group of anarchists were able to seal the entire village tight and oppress the masses with a mere handful. The Diamyo's threat of the Soverign was still not fully uncovered, however that was not Sunagakure's only looming threat. The Earth Court had declared war, the duplicitous nature of the Deep Court revealed as they side with both the tribes of men and courts of Ancient alike. "You're right," she admitted with a smirk. Sousuke was not able to focus, he never could. He was the sort of man that could not focus on a singular task and that would be his undoing. Good.

It appears that it was time to part. Complacency made it hard to remember one's objective, one's mission. She was not only looking for her throne, but she was looking to put mankind back into their place and she wanted Sousuke to experience the same pain she felt. She did not want to kill them, she wanted to rule them. A part of her wanted to hurt them. To make them feel the pain and the loneliness that she felt. The fear of the hunted. The degradation of living below her worth. She needed to get to work, before the Diamyo took away everything that there was -- she needed a kingdom left to rule.

She was going to walk away. It was then that reality was torn asunder and the void was revealed, a tear in the fabric of space. Such would not happen without vibrations, without a ripple of repercussions. Reality was a singular constant, something that always was and always will be, but then there was a space where it was not. A space from which something that was not and is not but somehow is. A bizarre pair stepped from the breech in reality, she recognized neither - not the jaundiced balding man with a uni-brow and a floppy phallus for a nose nor the carotenaemic with blue eyes that looked like sad pools. Neither looked human, but humanoid.

"Do not be alarmed, my name is Pacchiri. My partner here is Genzen. We've come a long way to speak with you, Junnan."

She did not recognize either of them nor did she have any inclination to try to. The last time strangers just 'shown-up' - people died. A lot of them died. She did not care about the blood and brains that were splattered on the floors and the walls, those were human lives lost. Sadly, there was little differentiation between man and Ancient these days, she wore their skin like a mask as did the few of her kind that remained.

"We'd like to speak with you as well Rioshi, the both of you. Is there somewhere we can talk, somewhere less crowded?"

She chuckled haltingly. "The dead, now the alien," she replied. But they only knew -that- name, or so they chose to call her by that one so she was not scared of what they knew. As for what they are, she had well over a thousand in her belly, let's just say she stopped feeling fear some time ago. "I consent." There were other things that she could have done, she could have made a scene like the other civilians. She did not share the same dangerous sense of pride her brothers did. She was also pragmatic enough to know that this was not the place to start a fight and make a public spectacle. She chose the position she took in Sunagakure's hierarchy for a reason, high profile and low martial capacity so she had time to recover and heal. She had already done just that but she was not going to let something such as pride cause her to discard the handhold she had in the village's governing system.

 

[Kazu]

This was a weird conversation. That was the first thing that he had noted since getting within earshot of the two below him — what sort of people were they to have such an odd conversation? At first, it seemed as if there wasn't going to be anything worth noting. They spoke weirdly, and about odd subjects, but there wasn't really much to discern from their conversation. Takeyashi was close to admitting that this little adventure had turned out as a bust, and was readying himself to pack up and be on with his business. However, that's when things got weird. Glitches in space-time were not a normal occurrence, although the two people below him seemed to think otherwise. Unfazed by the two apocalyptic humanoid creatures that emerged from the portal, the half dead man and the secretary proceeded to converse normally with the beings. Takeyashi, on the other hand, was wondering whether someone had slipped something less than legal into his meal earlier. Eyes wide open, the young man's jaw hung open in disbelief. What was unfolding before his eyes was ridiculously crazy, and definitely not something that he'd ever expect to see in a million years. He couldn't even move his limbs properly — it took him a moment to regain proper motor functions. His mind was racing to try and piece together an explanation for this occurrence.

What was almost more surprising, however, was the fact that Rioshi was so calm about this whole thing. How was an ordinary secretary so calm about this whole event? In all honesty, all of his surprise was being overwhelmed by the need to flee. His instincts were screaming at him to get out, to avoid this disturbance in the natural order of things. He could handle a lot of dark things, but this was just plain unnatural. He pulled himself backwards along the rope of spider's web that he'd created, quickly reaching the rooftop that he'd started at. He quickly ran the other way, trying to get away from this freakish disturbance. Thoughts still swam in his mind about how odd it was for the secretary to not be disturbed by the events that had occurred, but for now they were mostly drowned out by his need to escape. He'd ponder on those thoughts later.

[ooc: Topic Left. Sorry to keep holding you guys up, I'll just withdraw so you can continue.]

 

[Yudaya Junnan]

[ About 8 days or so had passed before Shiori/Rioshi was able to respond. ]
[ I had checked back some time after waiting on Takeyashi, but I ended up busy and overall forgetting about the thread and site entirely. ]
[ According to the rules here, that was over the 5 day limit. ]
[ No hard feelings towards either of you. I'm not the fastest poster either. ]

[ Maybe I'll have better luck/momentum with the next village/character concept. ]
[ I'm guessing it's okay to consider this topic as dead? ]
[ You'll see me in the OCR, eventually. I'll take this opportunity to do something more ninja! My avatar and signature likely gave that away! ]

[ Either of you should send me a private message if there's any problems, or if you want to RP another time. ]​

 

[Michi]

No problem. I was on shift and doing my catch-ups today. Best of luck.

[Topic Left]