Parlor Tricks [Open]

[Mienai]

The buzz of the market place drew Kasen in. She wanted to purchase a few things that she couldn't necessarily obtain in Soon's Haven. It was a nice treat from time to time. One of her favorite things to buy here was a special blend of sushi. She made her own from the fish she purchased fresh from the harbor, or ones she caught herself, but something about the small local shop stands that lined the streets made the food seem better. One shop in particular carried a rare fish and used some kind of special ingredient that just elevated the appeal of it. In fact it was so good that you had to be there just at the right time of opening to even get any, and it was limited to 6 rolls per person. Whenever Kasen was in the village she made it a goal to be the first person in line during the days she was here. That's where she found herself now, standing by the small stand as the old couple that ran the stand finally opened. They smiled at Kasen knowingly, giving her the usual order she received. She smiled at them, knowing that the couple never found her teeth to be strange. In fact, they were quite friendly towards her, always making sure she had a little bit extra sushi in her box. "Thank you." Kasen brightly replied before moving on and allowing the other customers to get their orders. The shop would probably close for the day, given they made enough money from just the small amount of hours they were open throughout the day. Different hours meant different kinds of sushi.

Kasen made her way out of the tourist area, distancing herself from all the shopkeepers that were shouting out prices and items that they sold, along with the noise of the people chatting and the strong aroma of food. She always went to the same place every time. A small bench that was made of rock, worn down to be smooth. She would sit there and listen to some of the peddlers that came to this area and played their music. She sat down and broke apart her chopsticks, savoring each and every piece of the sushi that was contained within the box. It was pure bliss. It was even something that Samebizu found incredibly acceptable.

Not a moment later, Kasen looked up to notice a large crowd had formed nearby. That was unusual for the area. She threw away her box, making her way over to the crowd. In the middle stood a man and a beautiful woman dressed in very revealing clothing. The man was swanked up, with a handlebar mustache and a top hat. He had a deck of cards in his white gloved hands. "Step right up ladies and gentlemen and witness the magical wonders of the Amazing Airo. Let the mystical wonders of the world unravel from my very fingertips as I show you sights your eyes have never seen. Before the day is done I'll have you questioning your own reality. But first, a volunteer! Ah, yes you, sir!" The crowd was absolutely enamored with the man. A large man from the crowd appeared, one that had hulking muscles and a strong jawline. He stepped forward as the Amazing Airo withdrew a stack of cards. "Now this is very simple. Cut the deck anywhere you like, shuffle it yourself even, feel free to show the crowd." The man did as instructed, drawing the six of diamonds. "Now without showing me, write your name on the card, place it back into the deck anywhere you like and shuffle." Again the man followed the instructions. When ready, the magician turned around and took the deck back into his hands, giving a Cheshire cat grin. "Thank you good sir, I will now find your card." The crowd leaned in ever closer. Kasen was somewhere in the middle of the crowd, peeking through lots of body, but she found herself moving ever closer to the front.

The magician tapped on the deck three times, then finally stared at the man. "Now, sir, you and many other witnesses here can attribute that I have not touched the cards, I have not seen your cards, in fact I have no moved from this very spot. So, with that in mind, I shall ask my lovely assistant, Nina, to kindly hand over the card that is between her bosom and show the crowd." Many looked on in confusion at the woman that was not standing close to the magical man, but close enough and bedazzled enough to know she was part of the act. The woman slowly reached in with two fingers, removing the card and showing the six of diamonds with the man's signature written on the card. The man stared in shock and the crowd started applauding. "Now sir, I do believe...this is your card." The Amazing Airo seemed very smug in his ways. The man passed around his top hat, allowing people to pay money for the spectacle. Kasen put a small amount of her own money in the hat as it went around.

The Amazing Airo performed a few more tricks, but each time the hat went around it seemed like more and more money was being put in, and not just like the average amount of money. Each person who had previously donated was putting in more and more money. Before too long, Kasen noticed the large stack of money building on the stage. She looked up to the other members of the crowd, tapping one on the shoulder. "Excuse me, are you alright?" The person ignored her, they appeared to be in a zombie like state. Kasen stared back at the stage. The man seemed to almost be...reeling them in, keeping them fixated on him and in return they did as he asked. Some of his tricks seemed like more than just slight of hand or deception of the eye. Kasen gasped. "Genjutsu?" The magician turned his head just them, speaking to the other side of the crowd and that was when Kasen noticed it. One of his eyes had the sharingan. Kasen quickly backed away and started to sneak through the crowd without drawing suspicion. Maybe she could find someone to help. Behind her she could hear the voice of the Magician boom out again amongst the crowd. It sounded much darker than before. "Who is my next volunteer? Don't be shy."<i></i> Kasen gulped. She needed to find help. She scanned the crowd for any face not enthralled in the man's spell. There had to be at least one, right?

 

[Ryu Hime]

[Topic Entered by npc Taisen Ai]​

There was one person in the group that did not seem hypnotized by the magician's special eyes. It was a priestess to the local temple of Mother Suna. She did not seem amused by the man parlor tricks. With heavy steps she walks onto the stage. The Amazing Airo mistakes her to be his next volunteer, but she quickly correct him. "You have made quite a bit of money here. Would you care to donate it to the less fortunate?" True what this man was doing was horrible, but if the money went to a good cause, she was sure the mother would be merciful. However the man laughs at her with no intention of give up what he stole from these people. The priestess gives a disappointed sigh before pressing her point.

In a brilliant flash she transforms into a knight in shining armor. Golden plates clothed her form from head to toe. The suit was polished to perfection so much so that it shown in the rays of the morning light giving her a majestic aura about her. Despite the beauty there were some imperfections that marred her precious suit. Dents, nicks and cuts littered its surface. However, even with these imperfections the suit still serves its purpose. Ai had wings like an angel and when she was first came into view she had them stretched out wide and they looked to be like veils of pure fire. Plumage of red, orange and yellow adorn her wings. The feathers shimmered in the light like a flickering flame. Her feathers were unique, though they looked like a birds upon closer inspection one would see not tiny little hairs sprouting from the stem but scales like that of a reptile. The scales were light but durable and were in a sense the armor to her wings. Now as she stands before the group tall and proud, she folds her wings into what looks to be a long flowing feathery cape. The wings however were not her only animalistic appendage she possessed. Around her legs a crimson tail lightly wraps. The tail was serpentine with yellow and orange fur stemming from its tip like a fine paintbrush. Its scales were like that of her wings. Around her flew five serpent like creature with scales and feathers like her own. "I encourage you to reconsider."

The thief would not be threatened and attacks Ai with a black flame. The priestess ended up looking a bit singed, but quickly draws her sword and cuts down one of her serpent. In a blink of an eye she was back to normal as if she was never hit. This was her Name of the Rose jutsu, which is a jutsu that transforms Ai into an entity of pure chakra and any damage done to her would be taken out of her chakra. The five serpent-like creatures flying around her represent the number of round in which she can maintain this form. By sacrificing one of them she can replenish a significant amount of her chakra. However the was a crack in her armor that could be clearly seen. The trickster sees this and believe he can win this fight so naturally he continues to decline her offer. Again Ai gives a disappointed sigh and slaughters all but one of her remaining serpents. The crack in her armor spread and completely shatters exposing the being underneath the plated armor. Ai had a bestial appearance like that of the legendary dragon. “It is not too late to earn the mothers mercy.”

 

[Kazu]

Takeyashi had been one of the first of the crowd to gather around the magician. The young man was a believer in mysticism, superstition, and most things that required belief. So, when he'd seen a magician doing tricks, he'd gotten really excited about it. He stood at a respectable height, and his tanned skin showed he was a native of these lands. His black hair, with a slightly blueish tinge to it, was short and out of the way. The main article of clothing he wore was a rather long cloak, which covered his torso and arms down to his knees. On his feet were sandals, which contrasted slightly with the cloak. However, people wouldn't be looking at him too closely today — they had a more interesting show to watch. When the first trick finished, and the hat went around, Takeyashi gladly deposited some of his own money. It had been a spectacular performance, and he was more than willing to support a skilled performer. However, as the acts continued, he began to feel a little funny. He was focusing on the act just fine, but it felt like the world around him was spinning ever so slightly. He felt like his arms and legs were hard to move, and when they did he barely noticed it. Takeyashi relied on his instincts, and right now his instincts told him something was wrong. This was no ordinary performance.

With his sluggish mind, it took the young man a few more moments before he realized he was under the effect of some Genjutsu. Willing his body into motion, the young man dispelled the illusion with the Cancel jutsu. Everything felt like it was warping back into place, until a few seconds later the world around him had stopped moving. He looked around him, seeing the zombie crowd around him still stuck in the Genjutsu. He also noticed that there was someone, an older woman with a priestly vibe, already on the stage, and he witnessed them donning their armor in some sort of showy manner. The magician and the newcomer began to fight, which Takeyashi used as an opportunity to gather more information about the scene around him. He saw another person, a girl his age, who seemed to have broken the Genjutsu as well. Takeyashi moved towards her, his expression serious and militaristic. "Do you know what happened? It felt like some sort of Genjutsu, but beyond that..." He didn't have much time to ask his questions. It looked like the priestess was fighting the magician up on the stage, and the two of them ought to be helping out. "We're obviously going to have to capture him. Let's go back her up." Takeyashi undid the buttons on his cloak, allowing the fabric to billow off to one side or another. With the cloth out of the way, Takeyashi's most obvious trait become apparent rather quickly: he had six arms. Wearing a dark brown shirt which cut off at the shoulder joint so as not to get in the way of his extra arms, a pair of tan pants which ended at his upper calves, a dark brown covering (the same color as his shirt) over his pants with a Sunagakure emblem on it, and possessing a multitude of belt pouches for supplies, it was fairly clear he was a shinobi of the village.

Glancing to the girl next to him, he motioned for them to make their way over to the fight. His plan was to catch the performer off-guard, perhaps binding him with a Genjutsu of his own. Either that or a well placed arrow into his leg. However, as he thought through his plan, a complication flashed into his mind. Not looking back at the girl, but instead scanning the crowd as he spoke, Takeyashi's voice seemed a little concerned as he spoke. "Wait a minute. What happened to the assistant...?"

 

[Mienai]

Thankfully for Kasen, it appeared that there were a few others that weren't affected by the magician's genjutsu. Kasen breathed a sigh of relief, but it was short lived as the woman that had made her way through the crowd started to anger the magician. He's a con man, what made her think that he was just going to hand all the money back, let alone give it to a charity! He was robbing these people blind! In a spectacle of illusions, the other woman transformed into some sort of knight, cloaked in fur and feathers with large winds and some sort of serpentine creatures around her. Kasen was beginning to wonder if maybe the woman was in the act, but the magician seemed to be far too hostile for this to be a mere staged event.

Just then, Kasen was brought out of her thoughts by a shadow that overtook her being, a rather tall man stood beside her. The short girl looked up at him, the man with seemed to have a rather hardened feature about him. He asked her if she knew of what took place here but she merely shook her head. "I don't know much more than you do, I'm afraid. I just thought this was some kind of show." The man didn't seem much more interested in expanding upon his own question before he decided to turn and make the decision to stand with the woman. Kasen paused. "Capture him? He has an army at his disposal..." Kasen huffed as the man threw his cloak aside, hitting her in the face. "Hey, what's the..." Kasen grasped the fabric in her hand, pulling it away from her face, a slight glare set before she noticed the extra appendages sticking out from the man's body like "....a spider." She finished her sentence allowed without even thinking about it. She had never seen another affected in such a way to resemble an animal without some sort of intervention. It was all rather fascinating and she felt rather drawn to study that further. In any case, the man had already headed toward the stage and Kasen hurried to catch up with him.

She broke through the crowd, right behind him, and caught wind of him asking where the assistant was. Kasen turned her head this way and that way, trying to see beyond the zombie mob of spectators. Just then, something caught her by her ankle, throwing her onto the ground below her and dragging her a fair distance away from the man. She came face to face with what she assumed to be the assistant, the pretty woman from before had somehow transformed. Long, dark spindly threads weaved from her body, appearing as if she were stitched up. Her knees were bent, in an almost sumo wrestler kind of stance as her thread pulled Kasen closer and closer to her, her mouth dripping with them. Kasen took a deep breath. As she drew closer she could hear it so much more clearly now. The woman had more than one heartbeat. Kasen dug her fingers into the ground beneath her, making trails as she was pulled ever closer to the woman. In her head another voice interjected. "The man said fight, so FIGHT."<i></i> Kasen glared at the assistant, listening to the coursing of blood through the woman's body. "Stop." The woman's threads fell limp, allowing Kasen to stand up, keeping the woman's body locked in place. The woman would be seen fighting, struggling and growling as her limbs refused to do what they wanted her to do. She fell forward onto her knees, unable to support herself. Kasen's blood bind wouldn't hold forever, the woman was very powerful and very determined to break free of it, but for now it would hold. Kasen huffed turning back to the other two. "I have the assistant pinned! What's Airo doing?"<i></i>

Kasen looked toward the stage, seeing Airo grinning rather maliciously still. He hadn't quite noticed Kasen or his assistant Nina, whom was currently indisposed. Instead, he was currently laughing. "You think this little spectacle is going to impress ME? You're merely a distraction, a pest. As if many have not tried to stop me before. Hah. I am a master of illusions, a cunning clever man. I will not be defeated by a holy woman and someone who should really see someone about the tumors growing out of his chest cavity."<i></i> With a mere wave of his hand, he summoned two abyssal harbingers, taking the form of tigers made of black flame. It was clear that he had also activated his Mangekyou Sharingan. "If it's a show you want, however, it's a show you shall receive! For NO ONE has ever beaten the all powerful AIRO!!!!"<i></i> The two tigers gave a menacing roar, slowly creeping toward the priestess and the man with many arms. Kasen gulped, awaiting to see what would happen.

 

[Ryu Hime]

So her attempt at intimidation did not work. That was unfortunate considering she could not hold the form for much longer. In fact as the magician summons his fiery minion she transforms back into her natural priestess form. “Very well, if you are not going to listen to me. Then perhaps you will listen to them." She then proceeds to the crowd of hypnotized people and casts a cancel jutsu on one feral looking person and his feline companion. For some reason she could have sworn she recognizes that cat. She then continues to cast the cancel jutsu on the rest of the audience until they were hooting and hollering about their money. The magician might not be afraid of her, but how well will he handle a mob now that they are onto his tricks? Ai then departs with a wave and a smile.

“Why you little son of a bitch. Give me back my money you cheat.” The boy casts his own abyssal harbinger to counter the one going after the priestess. In a brilliant ball flame a giant fiery bird is conjured before him. As it was first summoned it had its wings stretched out wide and they looked to be like veils of pure fire. Plumage of red, orange and yellow adorn its wings. The feathers shimmered in the light like a flickering flame. It then soars around the room creating a trail of embers in its path. The small flakes a burning ash quickly fade as it gently floats in the air. The phoenix like creature attack the tiger while let out a loud screech. The black cat that was once sitting on the man’s shoulders, jumps off and transforms into a clone of its master. Soon the magician would find two feral looking human with claws draw charge towards him. Behind them stampedes a mob just as angry.

[Ai left topic]

 

[Uchiha Izura]

From amongst the crowd, Izura had been watching, his hood over his head as he witnessed a man possessing the mangekyou sharingan….abuse it for petty profit and manipulation. It was a pitiful sight, and Izura couldn’t help but wonder just how this man was able to acquire mangekyou sharingan in the first place. It was a rare power to have, and yet here this random brigand was- wielding one of the more powerful dojutsu in existence. It wasn’t easy to acquire such a power- usually something very traumatic had to have happened in the ninja’s life to awaken. Whatever drove him to petty thievery was a mystery to Izura- with that kind of power, one could be of far more worth and use in the shinobi world. Many would’ve paid a fortune for someone with the skill to wield such a power. And yet even then, out of nowhere this priestess appeared with an equally powerful jutsu, followed by a random bystander who clearly was able to resort to high level fire ninjutsu instantly. Sunagakure….was this the land where S-ranked ninja were the everyday citizens of the village?

Izura took careful note of that….and used the split second caused by the abysmal harbingers clashing into one another to rapidly teleport behind the assistant using space-time ninjutsu. Over a lifetime of combat, a ninja comes across many a great deal of types of ninja, and a revenant-type ninja was nothing out of the ordinary. Although fairly uncommon, Izura had run into a few similar ninja in the past, with their bodies seemingly sewn together in an almost inhuman fashion. Naturally, he had learned the hard way that it wasn’t exactly easy to kill such targets, even if one got the drop on them initially. He’d have to be swift in his execution….

Five lances of scorch release chakra burst forth from his hand, impaling 5 hearts of the revenant woman instantly from behind, before superheating and beginning to vaporize the threads that composed the interior of her body. If that move didn’t kill her, she’d be hard pressed to move without intact threads. Izura’s eyes, active with the sharingan, then turned to Airo, and Izura wasted no opportunity to attack yet again, teleporting behind the trickster using space-time ninjutsu and attempting to assassinate him with a lance of scorch release chakra.

WC 397

(I did the assistant kill with Kasen’s permission, also taking into account my character’s prior IC knowledge, Human Anatomy ability, and Conservative Motion ability)

 

[Kazu]

Not a second after the spiderling inquired as to the status of the assistant, he was answered quite clearly. The once beautiful woman had turned into some sort of threaded freak — Takeyashi was having a hard time looking at her without hurling up his lunch. Before the man could even react, tendrils made up of what seemed to be long black threads shot out at the red-haired kunoichi he'd just teamed up with. The tendrils wrapped around her, and begun to pull in towards the mutant assistant. Panicking slightly, the young man began to build his chakra up for a retaliatory attack. "Hold on! I'll cut th-" His concern was not needed. All at once, the assistant's tendrils all stopped moving and dropped to the ground. With the threads' grip on the red-haired woman lessened, she picked herself up off the ground as casually as if she had merely slipped and fallen. The assistant seemed to be struggling against some sort of unknown force holding her back — how peculiar. Takeyashi wondered what precisely had just happened. "Well then, I'll put a more intensive bind on her. If time is of the essence, then I'll use a-" What was it with him and getting interrupted today? A flash of red appeared in Takeyashi's peripheral vision near the assistant. Turning his head to see what had caught his eye, he merely saw another brilliant flash of orange, yellow, and red. A wave of heat washed over him, and suddenly he smelt the putrid stench of burning flesh. One hand moving to cover his nose and mouth, the young man fought back tears of disgust as he tried to analyze what had just happened. "Was that woman just singed alive?" It certainly seemed that way. Whatever the case, her situation seemed rather grim. Movement looked out of the question for her, so he turned his eyes back towards Airo, their real target.

As he did, he was met with more surprise. Another pair of sharingan eyes, belonging to another man, floated in the shadows behind the magician. Was this the source of the red streaks he saw just a moment ago? Did this man singlehandedly kill the assistant? It certainly seemed that way. Instead of pondering and questioning, however, the spiderling sprang straight to action. With the stranger poised for attack behind the magician, Takeyashi figured the best way to fight would be to distract Airo. Hopefully, this stranger would take the opportunity to take down Airo. Drawing his bow, the young man lined up a shot as he called out to the magician. "You're no master, Airo! You're not even fit to be called an amateur! You're just an imposter, dreaming of being treated seriously. Why don't you just go home, and hang up your cape?" As he drew the bow back, an arrow seemed to appear out of nowhere from the palm of his hand. Takyeashi never carried arrows, because he made his own using the Mokuton Element. Notching the arrow, the spiderling had his shot lined up. He fired the arrow, straight at Airo's chest. As soon as he released the first arrow, he drew the bow back again with amazing speed. Not a fraction of a second later, he fired a second arrow, and so on and so forth. A small volley of arrows, targeting everything from his head to his toes, was heading towards the mischievous magician. There was no way the man wasn't focused completely on the incoming assault.

Muttering to himself, Takeyashi hoped that the teleporting stranger would take the opportunity to strike the man down. That had been the whole point of this charade. They needed to bring this man to justice, no matter how powerful he seemed to be.

 

[Mienai]

In the blink of an eye, it appeared that the crowd was removed from their haze of control. It was a....strange thing to say the least. A good thing, but she never expected someone could just do that all at once. He had a very advanced sharingan. She was even more surprised when a figure appeared behind the assistant that was currently within her grasp and she disintegrated in an instant. Kasen didn't think she would ever get used to the sound of hearts once they stopped beating, in this case, all 5. She stood there, breathing, trying to clear her head. She turned back to the stage, then looked back at the man with the many arms. He and the figure that had just killed the assistant now stood addressing Airo. One prepared to strike him down it seemed. Kasen listened to them, having been too surprised by the events to move much further. The boy that looked more like cat than boy was also there, prepared to attack Airo. Such an odd day of events, all from a magic show. Kasen briefly wondered if she'd ever attend one again.

The man from before drew his bow, aiming it at the magician. It seemed they planned to double team him. That was brilliant! Although, to be completely honest, she didn't know how it escalated so quickly to the point of needing to kill them. They just stole some money, surely they could have just been disarmed and handed over to the authorities? Either way, too far gone now. On stage, Airo just grinned at the man. It was so cold and almost unhuman. "An imposter, do you say? You clearly don't know the science behind good magic."<i></i> As a rain of arrows fired towards Airo and the man behind him attempted to spear him with flames, Airo took the full brunt. As each attack hit him, a little bit would disappeared and wither away in bits of wispy gray smoke. With the final blow from the man from behind, Airo poofed into nothing more than a haze drifting away. On the stage, lay the pile of money stolen from the crowd, and in the middle was a card that said "There is more than meets the eye. - The Great Airo".

The crowd, in a confused state, came and reclaimed the money stolen from them during the show, all too confused as to what happened. Kasen stood, trying to move out of the way of people rushing by her, now that the show was over. Being that she was a rather short and petite girl, she preferred not to be crushed to death. She made her way over, standing by the man with many arms. "Thank you for the assistance, I was scared nobody would help. That was rather...strange. Where do you suppose he went?" Kasen looked up to the man that had killed the assistant and attempted to kill Airo too. "Oh, thank you as well. I don't know how long I could have held that....woman....thing." Kasen kind of shuffled her feet for a moment, still feeling a little uneasy. Airo went through all this trouble, his assistant died, and he just....leaves? Perhaps he knew where to cut his losses, but Kasen still didn't feel at rest with it all. Still, he appeared to be nowhere in sight and most of the crowd had cleared out by now. Kasen supposed to would wait to see what these guys were doing, seeing as the priestess had taken off.

 

[Uchiha Izura]

And just like that, the man named AIro had disappeared. Izura scanned the area for more threats as soon as the impostor had poofed into wisps of smoke, nowhere to be seen.

This wasn’t an ideal situation for Izura. The whole point of him coming out here was to scout the village- not gather too much attention. But his “hero complex” got in the way, and he couldn’t stand watching a wielder of the mangekyou utilize it for such petty thievery. There had to be a reason for it all, right? In any case, he stuck around far too long for his own liking. Looking at Kasen as she offered her thanks, he activated his Snapshot Master Rank jutsu, making sure to record the aftermath of the scene, along with everyone who was there, for further review in his meditations.

His sharingan were still active, as he listened to Kasen speak. Izura held a face of apathy towards the two- almost as if he was lost in thought. It was definitely true- his thoughts were almost constantly about Ayame and Sojobo. How he’d manage to get Sojobo to remember himself. How to pull Ayame away from the life of crime that was constantly trying to pull her back into it’s clutches. All heavy stuff, really. Izura wasn’t the same light hearted, shy kid he was when growing up…

He nodded to Kasen before his body dissipated into a flock of ravens, before disappearing entirely as they spread out across the skies.

[Topic Left]



[Sorry for the delay >.< Bad muse + lots of work lately]

WC 251

 

[Mienai]

Things just were getting weird. It certainly wasn't what she was expecting when she came by the market to buy some of her favorite sushi. Kasen looked up to the man that had killed the things. He seemed cold, didn't even speak to her. That was all good and fine but it's weird to just step in and kill someone and walk away? I guess the priestess had attempted something similar. Airo was gone too. A sigh left her lips, albeit a quiet one. She felt...drained, somehow even though she didn't really do anything. She looked up to the man with many arms. "My name's Kasen. I'm sorry for the trouble that was caused. You look really cool, like a spider. I didn't think there were other people with similar conditions to me but with other animals." Kasen smiled her shark tooth grin. She though she could have said more, added more, but the time wasn't going to allow for it. She needed to be getting home soon and she more than likely needed to decompress after today. "I've gotta go. I'll see you later." It felt awkward to leave like that. She gave a small, shy wave and started to head home.

[Sorry, I know I'm skipping posting order, I just really needed the topic slot. Would like to RP later for sure. Topic Left]