Patience & Wrath [Open]

[Okada Kaji]

There was more than falcon coops and clerks to be found at the Aviary today. The office was quite busy for a change, with villagers and couriers buzzing along, in and out of the facility. The office was a two-floored facility, with an abundance of roosts, and exterior ledges open to allow the courier falcons to come and go. Down on the first floor, the building resembled your average busy mail center.

Among all of the patrons coming and going, Kaji Okada was making his first trip to the Aviary. He was in his top form today and striding through the facility with an easygoing energy as he made his way to the service counter. He appeared as a proper gentleman, with a white collared shirt, black suspenders that ran down to his earth-toned slacks, and black riding boots. Kaji then traded his identification and a receipt in exchange for a package he was expecting. He obtained a thin ingot of mithril; a silvery metal stronger yet lighter than steel. His trusty blade Eelspine was attached at his hip and forged from the same rare metal. With an accepting nod, Kaji put the ingot in the weapon pouch hanging from his belt and turned away from the counter.

But then, a budding altercation caught Kaji's attention. One of the aviary's staff members came running down the stairs from the coop level, seemingly in a panic. His eyes were red, his face was flushed, and he was flailing wildly until he tripped on an uneven step, and spilled himself across the tile floor. The staff member seemed incredibly ill, and on the verge of convulsing. The other patrons within the aviary were rife with horror, gasping, and forming a crowd around the fallen man. He then let out an agonized howl and ground his teeth as blue veins arose on his forehead and cheeks. "Are there any medics around?!" A patron called allowed seeking aid, and others repeated the call but no medics were around to aid this man. "Oh, snap" Kaji murmured as he witnessed the occasion. As an offensive class of fighter, Kaji lacked the skills needed to aid a fallen man, let alone one so mysteriously endangered.

- Kaji has entered the thread.
- Requesting Ryuichi.​

 

[Uchiha Arata]

Ryuuichi had many places to explore in the leaf and didn't have much time to do it. He had to know the layout by heart before it was too late. He supposedly graduated from the academy here so he should at least know the Leaf by heart. He already visited the shops and where his apartment was, now he was visiting near the gates, the delivery.

He may as well visit the delivery station since all mail and such would arrive here. As he walked in, it looked like any mail place. Nothing special happened here. Today Ryuuichi was wearing a black long sleeve button up and dark beige pants. In his pocket was his Leaf forehead protector. His golden eyes scanned around and before he knew it, he noticed somebody.. have a seizure or something? He wast that close so he couldn't necessarily tell what was happening but it turned out to be a rather big deal.

With another look around, it seemed no medics were around and if they were, they hadn't stepped up yet. He wasn't trained to be a medic so this was most definitely out of his area of forte. He was useless in any situation like this. Though perhaps somebody in the crowd could help?

 

[Okada Kaji]

The ill man laying upon the tiled floor entered a state of shock with several other citizens attempting to coach and comfort him. "He's gone into anaphylactic shock" Kaji surmised as he observed the shaking body, turning puffy and swollen purple with widespread, extreme oedema. Suffocation and the blockage of his blood circulation were the cause of all his struggling: as a violent allergic reaction was occurring as the result of an unknown cause. His legs were kicking until someone pinned him down, and another villager grabbed him by the wrists, trying to calm him. The fighting was persistent until his suffocation was complete, and blood was running from his eyes, nose, ears, and mouth. The struggling faded and the first victim sank into an endless calm and the blackness of death. Someone shrieked out their witness of the dead, and the crowd quickly expanded backward, away from him.

The experienced shinobi he was, Kaji had experienced this kind of encounter before. "Listen to me everyone... we need to clear out, now," he said nervously to the mass of people, before sliding backward through the mass of overreacting and concerned citizens. Kaji passed by the unacquainted boy he'd soon know as Ryuichi while making his retreat, like a spotlight sweeping across the shadows. Luckily, Kaji was in an earshot of young Ryuichi, and he was in a position to observed Kaji hooking around a corner. If he were wise, the boy would follow him. However, most of the other's weren't responding, at least most of them didn't as many remained corralled like sheep. Some uncaring people continued about their day, and they were the wisest for doing so. They'd be spared from what would come next.

A massive swarm of decrepit insects arose out of the victim's mouth and quickly launched a repeat attack on the aviary premises. The horde of minuscule red dots erupted from the dead body in impossible numbers. Their numbers were so deep that they were blocking out a vision as they struck, quickly ravaging everyone in sight on the aviary's first floor. Now was a great time to find some cover.​

 

[Uchiha Arata]

Ryuuichi didn't want to get close. Who knows if whatever happened was contagious. One man however stated what it was, though he was only vaguely familiar with it. He wasn't too sure what it was. However what happened next was kind of... disturbing. To Ryuuichi however it was normal. He hadn't done plenty during the past three years and just watching this happen was nothing to him, while as somebody else would be freaking out.

The man eventually said it would be next to clear out and so he did as he said. As he looked back, the man was bleeding from all the opening in his body before it happened. Bugs swarmed out of his body.. was he an aburame? Ryuuichi decided not to stick around and watch. Being in the back of the crowd he was able to quickly turn the corner and followed the man. Did he know something like this was about to happen? Just who was he? Would he figure out just exactly who he was instead?

 

[Okada Kaji]

All of the exits were barred so people were smashing out windows, attempting to escape the swarm of ravenous insects. From the hidden vantage point, Kaji noticed how tightly the formation of the swarm kept in the room. The swarm maintained an area of effect; indicating the precise control only a shinobi could maintain. With his suspicions confirmed, Kaji quickly advanced to considering the motives of such an attack. His first idea was robbery, but what was so valuable within the aviary that a shinobi would murder openly for it? "No, a thief wouldn't work this way", Kaji whispered, speaking to himself as he contemplated the meaning of the madness.

The sly shinobi was stricken by surprise when one of the citizens in that fateful crowd took his warning and chased him at the time of his escape. A mere boy was the only one to heed his warning in time, and he came darting around that same corner into a dead-end hallway, which led to the bathrooms and a maintenance locker. The boy was far less perturbed than the other people, who were not stuffing themselves through the exits they could create, or convulsing on the floor in their last conscious moments. A straying red beetle followed Ryuuichi as he passed Kaji, but two of the veteran shinobi's long fingers caught the vermin in a pinch, mid-flight. He squeezed it in a vice grip that sent its blood drizzling down his index finger and thumb, being sure to kill it before it could inject him with its venom.

Kaji would not dare take his eyes of the swarm long enough to look the boy in the eye, but he did acknowledge his presence. "I'm glad someone listened to me," he said regrettably. "I have seen this tactic before, but not the bug." He observed the thorny red flesh of the bug, and it's jagged pincers long enough to disgust himself before flicking it off into nothingness. "When I was a lad, my squad recovered a downed man while we were holding Kannabi bridge during the war... An Aburame used our man as a host to launch a sneak attack on our camp, and summoned a swarm... but it was nothing like this."

The swarm was still buzzing at its peak, but the victims were all turning cold and still on the floor. Once the victims were impaired, the insects were moving on, rather than nesting in them the way they had in the first victim who fell down the steps. As the seconds turned into minutes, the nature of this attack turned from mad slaughter to a mastermind attack with numerous impaired hostages on the verge of death. The chance to save these people became an opportunity, but it would require good timing, and striking with fury and speed once the culprit surfaced. Any errors would expose Kaji and the boy to countless Kikaichū, or provoke the enemy into executing his hostages. Nervously, Kaji eyed the boy for some positive sign that he was a shinobi, or at least capable of assisting in their survival. "Hey kid... you and I, we're going to make it out of here alive... and we're going to save these people, alright?" Against his better judgment, Kaji devised a simple way of figuring out how to utilize his young partner in this situation. "My name is Kaji... there's an Aburame controlling this swarm from somewhere in this place, and we're going to handle this guy together. So tell me: how should I count on you in this?"​

WC: 615 MFT

 

[Uchiha Arata]

As the man spoke, he spoke from past experience. Sure Ryuuichi had dealt with aburame, but tactics like that were.. well.. they weren't unheard of but they were very gruesome. Desperate times, desperate measures. The man continued on about them going after the Aburame themselves. However.. was it even an aburame? That was indeed the most obvious and reasonable choice and explanation but.. perhaps it was a set up? Maybe it wasn't an aburame, maybe it was something or somebody else. However this wasn't the time nor the place to think about conspiracies since something had to happen now.

"Well.. alright Mr. Kaji. My name is Ryuuichi. I am a Genin so I can at least do something. I'm going to trust you on this and assume it is an Aburame. With our current available knowledge, I feel what you have planned is for the best. Do you have a way to find out just who the Aburame is though, Mr. Kaji"
Ryuuichi had a look of determination on his face. He didn't want anybody more to die, if he could do something, anything to stop these deaths, he'd do it. He felt by sticking with the man who introduced himself as Kaji he would be able to do just that.

 

[Okada Kaji]

The veteran in this pair kept an ear facing his junior associate, keenly listening to Ryuuchi as he set a standard for Kaji to hold him to. He modestly declared himself a genin; and though that was a novice position, Kaji knew that shinobi at any level could serve a purpose in combat if implemented according to their strengths. Even Ryuuichi could prove to be an asset against this foe, inexperienced or not. And even though they were strangers to one another, Kaji would dedicate himself to protecting the boy from what lay ahead: nothing was for certain besides the threat their foe was imposing.

“Not yet,” Kaji said in response to Ryuuichi’s inquiry about the identity of the foe; “But, I have a feeling that old bug-brain isn’t going to leave us waiting much longer, Ryuuchi-san.” The victims lying on the floor were still struggling in the final throws of their fading lives. Kaji knew that a thief would have already made his move, capitalizing on the brief window of time before the village guards arrived with backup. This entire plight began with the host, from what Kaji could tell. The man appeared from the second floor and was already entering shock by the time he tripped on the staircase.

Kaji then held out his left arm and began rolling up his sleeve until his forearm was entirely revealed, and a large tattoo containing the glyphs and patterns of a Summoning Seal was fully exposed. His pact with the Lizard clan of the Hidden Oasis was a permanent bond, and with their aid, he intended on gaining an upper hand against this unnatural foe. “Hold fast, I’m going to call on a friend of mine to give us a hand” but before Kaji had the chance to puncture hand for the blood pact or perform the hand seals to complete the summoning, both he and Ryuuichi would hear the sound of another disturbance taking place around the corner from their hiding place.

“It’s him” Kaji knew it instinctively and felt the chill crawling up his spine. Another body was the source of the hard thud that caught Kaji’s attention. A bloody and bloated corpse was thrown down the stairs from the second floor and left a damaged wall covered in blood. Whoever the attacker was: he had to be strong as hell to toss a human so mightily. The action was enough to stir the calmed swarm of Kikaichū, and they flocked to it naturally, converging onto it as they would Kaji and Ryuuchi if they dared to reveal themselves. The black swarm was so thick that the shinobi wouldn’t notice the large cavity torn in the victim’s chest, but the fountain of blood was enough of a warning. Then came the creaking of slow steps hitting the old stairway. Thump, thump, thump, went the culprit, leisurely making its way downstairs.

A grotesque being appeared, barely resembling human-kind as it marched down to the first level where most of its mayhem had taken place. He resembled an adult male and was as old as dust, with morose, half-rotted, sagging skin that might as well been glued onto his muscle and bone. Putting it simply, the being was easily mistaken for an undead amalgamation back from the grave and was shrouded by a long red cloth, which trailed behind him as if a wind blew it wildly. His visage was also shrouded by some kind of white mask-helm thing, which flowed behind him as well.

The monstrous being had a pick of the litter lying on the ground and began to tour around the victim's, selectively browsing like a shopper in the market. The Kikaichū he commanded suddenly flocked to the being now that he was in person, creating that opportunity Kaji hoped for, though this daunting figure left him even more hesitant to act. The being then arrived beside a stocky shinobi who was laying face down, still breathing but barely. He rolled the victim over, and then stripped the incapacitated man’s chest bare by unclasping his flak jacket and ripping his shirt open.
“.....” The veteran of the two shinobi was at a loss for words, and his eyes grew wide as he witnessed the monstrous being plunged a hand into the stocky ninja’s chest in a single blow. After a pause, Kaji found the perfect words to whisper to Ryuuchi: “ohhh shit. ”​

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[Uchiha Arata]

Everything happened so fast. As they made their way, the man was about to do a summon to help them fondness the culprit. Was it going to be a dog? Maybe the man had a contract with dogs that could help them smell out their target. Actually, it wouldn't have been very hard for a dog to sniff him out with this much scent in the air. However Kaji was cut short from his summoning. It turned out the summon wasn't very necessarily in the first place. They job was made much easier but, were they perhaps in over their heads?

More and more victims piled up, and Ryuuichi couldn't stand it. A stern look was plastered on his face as he had to simply ignore the deaths around him. By ignoring their deaths, he would be able to save even more lives. Of course normally it would be alright to check up in the wounded but the target had finally revealed himself- itself?

This.. entity seemed like t came out of a a zombie movie crossed with some classy movie. Covered face and robe? He looked strangely classy while very grotesque at the same time. Strange. Of course to some he would just look plainly like a zombie about to snack on your brains, but in a way he looked a bit more elegant. Of course that may have just been due to how he held himself. He walked rather relaxed for just killing people, hell even some Shinobi would show up to dispose of him but he still seemed relaxed. Whether this was from ignorance or arrogance, or perhaps neither of the two, Ryuuichi wouldn't know.

Next though, things seemed to be getting out of hand. Dude literally just tore open somebodies clothes and began digging out his heart.. what was it that had to do with hearts? There was something out there that collected hearts wasn't there? Maybe they were connected? But at this point it didn't matter. Most, of not all sane Genin would have fled right there. This adversary reeked of death. He basically screamed "Im gonna kill you in two seconds.". However Ryuuichi wasn't phased by this. He had to stay strong and show no weakness. Any sign of weakness will be exploited. Though this was still.. unordinary. Hopefully Kaji had a plan to deal with this. If not, Ryuuichi couldn't blame him. One didn't see this everyday.

 

[Okada Kaji]

The two shinobi could only watch on as the monstrous humanoid dug around in the victim’s thoracic cavity. He was precisely severing the heart’s arteries, veins, and atrium with his beetles, who ate with endless hunger. The monster’s hand to forearm were the same shade of red as his coat when he pulled out the beating human heart. By the time he held the heart at chest height, his own chest split wide-open. His witnesses were fortunate enough to be on his backside and avoided seeing the horror as countless, thin, serpentine tendrils converged onto the stolen organ and ingested it. The thing let out an approving sigh that sounded heavy and crude, yet human at its core.

“Screw this, you have to leave” Kaji had a sudden change of mind, and began shifting his eyes from Ryuuichi to the nearest exit, and back to Ryuuichi. “I have never seen this before, and I’ve seen everything” he admitted grimly. “I’m sorry son, but there’s nothing we can do for these victims. At best, we might have a hope of stopping this thing if I can contain him here... somehow.” As Kaji whispered with Ryuuichi, the monster on the mail floor wasn’t quite finished with his harvest of hearts. It slowly made it’s way around, examining each victim as it may have had a preference on which hearts it consumed.

“I have three doses of an antidote that cures most poisons; with any luck, I might last long enough to keep the heart ripper at bay. Once you are out I will have to seal myself inside with it or risk it reaching the point of all the heart consumption… assuming it even has one.” Wasting no time, Kaji revealed a small corked plastic vial and drank the green serum it contained. The bitterness of it made his lips scrunch wryly. “Now be about yourself and alert the guards for us. Go!” With a harsh shove, Kaji made Ryuuchi go about his way towards the exit, even into the monster’s view as the push would expose the youth.

The revenant turned about in a whipping motion so fast that blood sprayed in a streak. “Witnessessss” The monster hissed loudly as Ryuuichi and then Kaji appeared. Swarming beetles shot outward from their master, creating a red mist of micro vermin buzzing towards the shinobi. But before the scourge could reach Ryuuichi, a purging burst of emeraldine flames illuminated the room. But once Ryuuichi freed himself from the Atrium, the green glow would disappear behind a smooth black-light barrier known as the black blockade.

- Kaji has left the thread unless stopped.
- This plotline is on hiatus, to be continued after the Journey to Kumogakure.​

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[Uchiha Arata]

It seemed Kaji as well figured out how dangerous this guy was, and made a plan. The plan was simply for him to run and get help while he held the intruder at bay. Of course that could only lead to his death, but what other options did they have? There wasn't much else the either of them could do so Ryuuichi simply nodded with a look of determination.

When he was pushed and didn't hesitate, Ryuuichi sprinted out of the place, not even worrying about the attack as he had a ONE track mind for the moment. Run and find help. That was it. However the attack couldn't reach him due to a Jutsu Kaji used, which was unfamiliar to Ryuuichi. That didn't matter though. The important thing was he made it out alive. Next he went around and told all the guards he could about the situation and directed them towards Kaji.

Ryuuichi didn't return though. He wouldn't be any help and if anything would only be in the way. He could only hope and pray the guards could help Kaji.

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