Re-"Arming" [Weapon Creation]

[Miroku Riyota]

Riyota crept tentatively through the halls of the Journeyman order, trying to hold the large sack full of..."borrowed" materials in such a way that they would not rattle and give away his activities. For his plan and for the sake of his design he needed a forge, and there were none better than those contained in the hall of the Journeymen.

Hiding around a corner until he heard the coast was clear he slowly and quietly strode forwards, using various signs and other navigational aides to uncover where he could find an unoccupied forge. Room after room he heard the clangs of hammers against metal, the hiss of piping hot metal breaking the surface tension of water, and if he strained his ears hard enough, the clicking of a piece fitting into another, perfectly.

Eventually after a good few minutes of searching, checking and listening. He did discover a forge that wasn't currently in use. Checking the cost was clear he quickly entered in through the unlocked door and was greeted with a large, dark, stone room. The design gave off a cold feeling but a chill was the last thing one could feel in this room as the chakra infused fire of the forge gave off an incredible heat. The young Shinobi slowly removed his jacket, humbled to be in the presence of the unrelenting fires of such a mighty forge.

Moving over to the desk attached to the wall he emptied the sack of materials onto it. Various fine manipulation tools, certain non-standard materials and large chunks of unrefined iron lay in front of him. He couldn't wait to get started. First thing was first, it was finally time to replace his arm.

Pinning up the scrawled design in on the wall ahead of him so he could reference it as he worked, he strapped on a pair of large goggles he found in one of the cabinets in order to protect his eyes from shrapnel and sparks. Making his way over to the table, he grabbed two of the large iron chunks, nestled them in his arm and carried them over to the refinery.

A good while later Riyota had the base for his prosthetic. A limb of the exact same length as his real arm, forged of hardened well-smithed iron. If he did say so himself, but the arm needed articulation along with a few other bits and pieces. Thus it was time for him to get precise, moving back to the desk he brought out connectors, gears, fine tools and other assorted parts to allow the arm to function exactly the same as a regular arm. Removing the goggles he put adorned a magnifying monocle over his eyes in order to see what he was doing more easily.

[A Few Hours and a lot of choice words later...]

Precision had never exactly been Riyota's thing, but after much trial and error and a few injuries to the fingers he had finally secured all the right bits in all the correct places. He ran and re-ran all the necessary checks to make sure there was no delay between muscle instruction and digit response. He made sure as well that the thin but sturdy wires he had run along the inside were capable of transmitting chakra which, happily, they were.

That was the more complicated part, creating a broken limb. Yet with the skills he had acquired over the years Riyota had successfully done it. Now it would make the blade forging part far easier, after all...two hands were better than one. With that in mind, Riyota attached the new metal prosthetic and secured it into place. Testing the reflex movements, he was satisfied. It may not have been masterwork, but it was good enough for him.

That process completed, it was time to forge his new weapons. Ones that played to his strengths far more than his old greatsword did. Riyota removed the last two lumps of metal from the sack, huge and heavy, each of them was far one of his dual blades. Weapons that he would use to craft the perfect defence and counterattack his opponents.

The goggles reapplied and the metal piping hot and ready for smithing, Riyota set to work. Beads of sweat dripping down his body due to the heat and intensity of the forge, a place where he truly felt at home. A place where he could work and not be judged, where he could be proud of his creations. Provided nobody else looked at them too closely.

Blade one, the one that was going to fit into his prosthetic. The black metal with an eerie red colour that pulsated through it, an incredibly strong metal that provided the user with vitality. Reganium...

CLANG, CLANG, CLANG, CLANG, FWOOOOSH! The hammering of the fiery red metal, shaping it into a strong blade. The dunking of it into the cool water. The metal still looked strong, uncracked, sturdy. Just what the young shinobi wanted. He moved to the grindstone, and spent a good long while sharpening it to perfection, when he was finished he was left with a razor sharp, long, wide black blade. That still pulsated with the bloody red colour. Riyota spent a good long while tinkering with both it and the arm. A few hours later with a lot of backtracking, re-smelting and reforging and many more choice words. Riyota found a solution, he had fitted the blade within the arm. When he needed to use it, the hand on the prosthetic would split vertically and retract upwards near the shoulder. There shards of bone could be loaded into them to be slingshotted at the opponent at any given moment. It worked out well in complimenting his Kaguya bloodline, and it looked cool to boot.

The second blade underwent a similar process, the same long, shining black blade as its twin. However this one didn't require precise tinkering. The boy instead lowered his real arm towards it. A bone breaking it's way through the flesh of his underarm and and attaching itself to the weapon. Fusing steel and bone together as one. The weapon would share qualities of both. However if Riyota ever needed his skeletal weapon he knew he could wrap a layer of bone around the blade and use that, if he ever needed the blade. The bone would retract around it, allowing him to use the weapon now fused within his body, in a similar way to the skeletal sword.

The weapons, his grand masterpieces, and his new arm. They were all complete. Riyota's heart was racing, he felt he was returning from a slump of failure and patheticness. He hoped this would be the start of something grand.

He readied both weapons, one quickly firing out of his right prosthetic arm, the other swiftly breaking through the skin of his palm in a similar fashion. He held his arms into the air and gazed at the weapons. "I will name you...I will naaaame you...I will naaaaaaaame yooooou...Ah screw it I'll think of one later." He lowered his arms, defeated by the naming process.

He heard the sounds of many feet exiting the halls so he knew it was coming towards the evening. "Better head out before I have to explain to Sousuke what I was doing!" Sheathing both the weapons back inside his limbs he slunk out of the building. Making no attempt to cover his tracks.

[MFT]
[Created Mors Laminae]
[Accuracy + 2, Damage -10%]
[Dual Weapon, Recovery, Steady, Vanguard augments applied.]
[Marked for Branch Ability application]

 

[Takahashi Aki]

Perhaps to Riyota's surprise he would find Sousuke musing about with a helmet in his hands and a look of disappointment, or what seemed to be the look of disappointment. He was tinkering with wires and trying to feed them into the back neck portion of the helmet. "Explain what?"<i></i> He spoke as he looked up at the younger Suna nin, who was trying to leave. Sousuke may not be the Kazekage, but he was still the Steward, and a man of great insight. He would insert a green wire into the helmet and feed it accordingly. There was a small jolt, but nothing that made Sousuke flinch. He was then feeding in a red wire next. "People see things, but they don't observe. Most of your supplies were foreign, and the smell was off. Oh, and the cursing, that was something noticeable too."<i></i> Sousuke at this point would finally look up from working on the helmet. "Reganium isn't something cheap, nor is it the easiest to find. Vitanium on the other hand ... well thats even rarer yet. Most people think that fusing it with something else helps out, but it doesn't."<i></i> He looked back down to the helmet. "I'm glad you didn't barge into that area I had marked as off use. Don't like having to explain that ..."<i></i> He paused for a moment. Did Riyota know? Did he know about the Sovereign Academy? Sousuke would think he knew something. After all Riyota, supposedly, was Akkuma's attempt to put a new person on the throne. The notion of it was absurd. Anyways, the main point: there was a hole in Joruneyhall. It was being fixed.

Sousuke would put the helmet back on his head. Antlers of lightning would spark, crackle, and form up. The helmet looked a bit too large for his head, because it was too large for his head. He turned his head from side to side. "Alright. Show me what it does."<i></i> He spoke but pausing for a moment. "Show me what it does in the context of having it not hurt people or one's surroundings. One might always be mindful of their surroundings."<i></i> He asserted. What was around an individual always dictated what kind of situation they were going to be in, and what the stakes were when it came to battle.

 

[Miroku Riyota]

The sudden voice of the Kazekage behind him as Riyota slowly closed the door caused his heart to stop for a moment as he froze before slowly easing the door to full closure. This was possibly the last thing he wanted to happen. It wasn't so much that he was likely to be chewed out for...'borrowing' supplies, or that he would be reprimanded for using a journeyman forge and equipment when he himself was not a member of the order. It was instead that the man whom had addressed him was what many would consider to be a master blacksmith, and Riyota feared the inevitable critique of his work.

Lo and behold, the criticisms came forth. First his equipment, then some manner of his technique causing an odd smell, followed by his demeanour. The young shinobi scuffed the floor with his shoe and stared at his feet. Looking like a puppy that had just been told off for peeing on the expensive new carpet. Sousuke proceeded to comment on the rarity of the metal Riyota had used which caused the Shinobi to wonder just how long the now-Steward had been observing him.

"Well...yeah, I probably should've watched my language, but I didn't think anyone was listening...s-sorry." He hastily apologised to Sousuke. "A-and, yeah...If I could've gotten my hands on some Vitanium if I would've, I was reading a book on rare metals and there were so many rare ones that looked amazing! Vitanium, Endurium, Brutarium, Bledillium, Lacerium...lot's of 'Um'...s." The young man's eyes lit up as he listed all the precious metals he had studied. His passion clearly on display. Eventually though, he realised he was rambling and that Sousuke was waiting to actually see what he had made. "Right...s-sorry again, I'm...I'm wasting your time aren't I?" He chuckled nervously, having not talked to the man in quite some time he had no idea how to actually...talk to him.

Shutting himself up and checking the area around to make sure he wasn't going to hit anything or anyone. He slowly activated the prosthetic right arm, the hand separating and sliding upwards towards the shoulder and the red pulsating, black blade slowly sliding outwards in its place. Next, his left arm, the bone piercing the flesh of his forearm and moving into position, then releasing the blade from the skeletal prison, leaving Riyota standing with two long blades of equal measure coming out of both of his arms.

"Yeah...they're not great, I know..." Riyota stammered, a little bit ashamed and embarrassed to be showing off his work.

As for Sousuke's comment about the restricted area, on the outside it may've just seemed like he wasn't listening but truly he had heard what the man had said to him. It didn't matter though, the young man had very little knowledge on the sovereign despite their impact on Sand as a whole. Riyota tried to keep himself out of external affairs, in his mind there were people to handle those things and he wasn't one of the ones up to the task. Time would only tell how long he could keep that stance.

MFT

 

[Takahashi Aki]

The overly large helmeted Sousuke would look skyward for the most as Riyota named several metals. He made the connection that several of them had ended in the letter u and m. Yes, he was very right to do so. Sousuke would continue to stare upward as he was considering something not seen visibly. He would ultimately look down back to the boy. "Well done. You did indeed name a significant number of higher graded metals. None elemental, but most named were more defensive, and others are for blades that are aimed at well, to be quite crass about it - making our enemies into little ribbons. Most people know basic and elemental metals."<i></i> He would pull the helmet off and hold it in his heads. Riyota had stated he was wasting his time. To this Sousuke would shake his head no, but more importantly he gave the young man a rather hard stare of sorts, not that Sousuke was angry or disappointed, he was something but what it was? Well, it was difficult to tell. "Giving another a proper education in the basics is never a waste of time. That is what we do here. We educate others in the craft of metals."<i></i>

When Riyota activated his blades, Sousuke made a hold motion. He would walk around the boy. He was making note of the length of the blades, the frontage of the blade. He would take hold of the blade and look at it close up. His dark eyes focused intently. It might have been rather disturbing considering the focus he was giving to weaponry meant to end the lives of others. His flesh finger would press against the point and perhaps not surprisingly his finger tip did not bleed. He would then run his metallic finger across the blade. Some sparks flew about as he was doing this. "Good."<i></i> He simply spoke. Sousuke would return to stand before Riyota and he would hold his hands behind his back. "Better than most beginners, but there is indeed quite a bit of room to grow."<i></i> He spoke. His eyes narrowed as he looked at Riyota. "You never did quite become a formal member of the Order. I can tell because you're missing a hammer, which is quintessential in making your work have a ... higher quality to it."<i></i> Sousuke's tone of voice was neutral in all things. He awaited to hear what Riyota had to say next.

MFT 300+

 

[Miroku Riyota]

"I-uh...well I never applied for the Journeymen...I didn't think I was good enough to count myself as a member of the order." Riyota scuffed his foot against the floor again as he spoke in reply to his large-helmeted senior. A small blush would come across the young man's face and he appeared similar to the small nervous child he had grown from. "I don't think I'm ready yet, I mean these still need a lot of work...and I need to study more, I just struggle to wrap my head around those books. Y'know there's a lot of words and I just can't keep up sometimes." He explained, avoiding what was assumedly Sousuke's gaze.

"If you don't mind me pointing it out Sir, isn't your helmet a little big? O-or did your head grow since we last spoke?" Riyota stammered, he had never experienced Sousuke really being...angry, but he supposed it was never too late to see the wrathful side of the steel humanoid. "And oh, I did have a hammer! Thanks for reminding me!" Riyota quickly sped back into the forge and retrieved a nice looking, large metal hammer. Inscribed on the handle was. "IF FOUND PLEASE RETURN TO JITUUN" Whomever Jituun may be, he would probably be a bit peeved when he went to retrieve his new hammer and he instead found a note reading "Had to borrow this, thanks! - Miroku Akkuma."

Retracting the blades back where they belonged he idly fiddled with the hammer and looked towards Sousuke's mask with a neutral expression but with a dash more intensity in his gaze. "I saw ANBU conscripting ninja in the Palais the other day." Riyota spoke calmly but darkly. "Is the war really getting that bad?" The young man had indeed been paying attention. Maybe now marked the time he reached a toe off the fence.

 

[Takahashi Aki]

"The helmet is bigger because the suit of armour it belongs to is bigger."<i></i> He explained to Riyota. Sousuke shook his head. "A Journeyman is never truly a master of the craft, that is why the Order is named Journeyman. I consider myself well learned, but I do not think I have called myself a Master. Expert or Specialist is something else entirely different."<i></i> Sousuke explained to the Riyota. He took the helmet off and began to spin it about in his hands. Sousuke would give Riyota a hard look, "You sell yourself too far short, and like I said educating others is never a waste of time."<i></i> Sousuke motioned for Riyota to follow him. The two would stop outside his workshop. Sousuke with helmet in hand would approach his sitting armour which was headless, once he was close enough he would place the helmet back on. The image of the armour seemed much like some long forgotten king of old sitting on a throne. A timely design, and one that at times proved inspirational to his allies, and terrifying to his enemies.

Riyota would show him the forge and took the hammer he was using. "Jituun will be happy to know he'll find this at least here."<i></i> Sousuke spoke. He would shake his head. "Come Riyota. There is a hammer waiting here to be pulled by you. A hammer that has deemed you truly worthy and with it you will improve your designs. A hammer used by a smith that is not worthy-deemed is..."<i></i> Sousuke was not a man for superstition, but one person using another person's hammer was ill fated. No good would come from it. He would take Riyota deep into the Hall of Hammers to a large collection of hammers. These were the ones awaiting to be pulled, and put to good use. "Most hammers if the one for you, will make a connection. They will tell you a story, or a memory, or give you a purpose. You will know the hammer when you pull the right one."<i></i> Sousuke held his hands behind his back. He looked at the hammers. He reflected over the question he was asked. "Not necessarily conscription, but conscription if necessary. Alot of ill things happen down there and most of it needs to be fixed. This war, we're fighting in has been going on since before I was born. It's continued to escalate, we're now fully aware of it and something has to be done about it."<i></i>

 

[Miroku Riyota]

Riyota listened quietly to the older man as the latter finally put the finishing touches on his armour. The young shinobi pondered quietly as Sousuke informed him that he would be taking his own hammer. Riyota had not come prepared for this, he had expected to get in, forge his weapons and get out again, but now it seemed he was getting somewhat inducted and he wasn't sure he was ready. Still though, he silently followed Sousuke into the Hall.

Hundreds upon hundreds, potentially even thousands of hammers lay docked in various receptacles. Some looking ancient and long unused, other's looking as if they were fresh out of the forge. Riyota's eyes widened as he took in the grand majesty of the hall he now stood in. "It's amazing...it's...huge." He commented simply, pacing along the shelves, drifting his fingers over the handles of various hammers.

He was so caught up he almost didn't hear Sousuke's response, but hear it he did and he slowly turned himself around to meet the gaze of the older Shinobi. "So what do we deem as necessary?" He asked sternly. "If someone doesn't want to fight in this war does it then become necessary to conscript them? The lines are very blurred." He finished off the thought, shaking his head, a tinge of anger evident on his face.

Ignoring the conversation for the time being he returned to examining the nearby dormant hammers. Until a chilling yet familiar voice stopped him in his tracks. "I thought you had promised to kill me...It's sure been a while and yet...here I am unkilled by you. I would say old age will take me first but...that's not happening for various reasons."

Riyota's blood ran cold and his face immediately paled. Slowly he turned and there was his father, or rather a projection of his Father. Sousuke was nowhere to be seen. "So what's the hold up might I ask? Got another Father to kill? Am I not good enough?! Maybe I should come pay Sand another visit...maybe killing off someone you love will give you the motivation you need."

It was then that Riyota saw it, a Hammer that seemed to call out to him, it almost glowed within his vision and Riyota rapidly crawled himself over to it. Grasping the handle in his hand the vision of his father vanished and the room returned to normal. Panting and sweating, recovering from his fear the young Shinobi examined his newly acquired hammer. It looked refined and well made, except there was a layer of rust growing up the handle. When Riyota attempted to scratch it off it just regrew immediately. "I-I guess I've found my hammer." He said to no-one in particular. Despite the fact that Sousuke was allegedly still in the room.

 

[Takahashi Aki]

Sousuke quietly mulled over what Riyota had said in terms of conscription. "When you're pressed against a wall in a fight for survival against an enemy who will very clearly destroy you without mercy -- most will put aside everything and fight for survival. The Daimyo's war will not stop until every single one of us are dead. We are one of the last sovereign states left in Wind Country."<i></i> He answered dryly. "You might be surprised how often one's survival trumps a lot of people's principles. Martyrdom has its place, but only when you have an audience who actually pays attention."<i></i> A cold and chilling remark but one worth mentioning. Sousuke said nothing more on the matter, giving the young newly titled Journeyman to fully grasp what they were dealing with. He would say nothing but watch as he would pull the hammer. Sousuke never knew what the hammer would convey to the one who pulled it. He only knew that the hammer would impart something unto them for good or for ill. Sousuke would nod his head when as Riyota spoke, although it was unlikely that he was the intended recipient of it.

"Riyota, there is someone you care deeply for yes? A girl? A friend? A team mate?"<i></i> He would ask, Sousuke knew that Riyota was not a stupid boy. Children were smarter than adults most times, and some of them could see a pattern forming on the horizon quite quickly. He knew that Riyota's family situation was complicated. His mother was dead, he had literally seen her specter as they were dealing with a monster in the depths of the Red Light District. He knew the boy did not have a good relationship with his biological father. In the absence of both, it was ... not difficult to make sense of how he would align himself with the Miroku clan. Sousuke was not overly fond of them, but he had to make do with them at any rate. "This war that is coming is about protecting them. The Daimyo's son, who I have fought on a couple of occasions kidnapped some people I knew and did terrible things to them, because he enjoyed hurting people. It's that sort of thing we need to put a stop to. People in time, hopefully, will come to see it as such."<i></i>

 

[Miroku Riyota]

The young shinobi stood in silence, sweating and breathing heavily. Trying to shake off the heebie-jeebies he had received from his vision. "That's what he's been doing..." Riyota murmured to himself. "I understand now, that weasel. He's been using other's to help him destroy Sand..." Sousuke's voice interrupted his train of thought and brought Riyota back into reality. Swallowing and taking a breath Riyota nodded and answered. "Y-yes, there is someone I care about, someone I'd do anything to protect." He answered honestly, turning to face the former Kazekage.

"I understand what you mean now, I've been so focused on the obvious threats that...that I've ignored everything about the potential consequences of this war..." He admitted guiltily. "I tried to excuse myself, convinced myself I was incapable of fighting such odds, but it was all just excuses.
I can fight, and you've shown me that I should." He stood up straight finally, almost putting himself eye-level with Sousuke. "I just need to be pointed in the right direction." He spoke clearly and calmly.

"Th-though you mentioned protecting those we care about, I don't know if you see that as the most important thing, but I certainly do. There's one particular threat close to me that threatens someone I love. And I know it's something I cannot face alone. Maybe I'm a fool for trusting you with this but I'm asking for your support." Riyota paused for a long while.

"Miroku Akkuma poses the greatest threat to my life and the lives of those close to me, I fear he would stop at nothing to accomplish his own selfish goals. I'm garnering support to have him exiled, before he does something regrettable." The conversation had turned dark. Riyota had pledged himself as a soldier just a few moments before asking someone he didn't know particularly well to overthrow one of Suna's clan heads.

 

[Takahashi Aki]

The talk of direction made Sousuke think of Fuu/Michi. His gaze lowered to the ground. He didn't like the woman, but she certainly gave him a direction. This building as a whole was ... part of the direction? She had put him in. Sousuke's attacks on the Daimyo's slave caravans, again all because she had set him on this direction. It was a curious thing really. Did she know she had given him purpose and direction? "Sometimes even I need a direction to be pointed in."<i></i> Sousuke would state out loud, "It's not a bad thing... sometimes the vision of others is further than others."<i></i> He wrung his wrist as he spoke. Riyota spoke of next of a curious thing. He wanted Sousuke's support on a particular matter. He glanced curiously at the newly minted Journeyman as he was continuing to listen to him speak of a threat. To Sousuke's surprise it would seem that his long drawn out silence was infectious. It ended when he spoke of a name he knew well of.

Sousuke's expression seemed to sour slightly. "I know of who you speak and how he does indeed present a threat."<i></i> He stated first and foremost. "Akkuma is ... it's particularly complicated. He's married Kuro's older sister, which is something that still to this day blindsides me."<i></i> Sousuke was always confused by the marriage. Akkuma claimed that Seika was perfect for him. Why? Sousuke never could figure out the logistics of it. "You remember her, she dueled me once in the dojo. Remember how I was ill and sickly?"<i></i> He inquired. It had been a long time ago. It didn't help either that Akkuma had rose in power during the time Sousuke had high level anxiety of dealing with Mikaboshi either. It was exhausting and tiring, and for that Sousuke was happier not having to deal with that again. "Lord Katuso would perhaps be someone you should see. I know what you're doing."<i></i> Sousuke advised the young man.

 

[Miroku Riyota]

"Yes, I do remember. I tried to hide behind a pillar and watch but you still knew I was there." Riyota nodded. "And the last thing I'd want to do is hurt her. That's why this issue brings me such pain. No matter how it ends, I'm the loser." He sighed, idly rolling his new hammer around on his palm. "My issue now is that it won't take long for Akkuma to catch wind of this in some way or another, and I know he has allies to call upon. I need to make sure I do too." He paced back and forth, a look of deep concern and concentration evident in his expression. "Katsuo's the new Kazekage right? I'm not sure he has the time to deal with someone like me, but I'll act on your suggestion." The young shinobi nodded. Walking past the older man. "But Sousuke..." He paused, a few steps away. "You've just taught me that we can't afford neutrality when what we love is at stake, so, can I count you amongst my allies, or amongst Akkuma's?" He asked, not a whisper of a joke in his tone.

Once Sousuke had given his answer, or not, whatever the case may be. Riyota would look up to see a figure leaning against the wall just outside the Hall of Hammers. Dressed with a hood and a long cloak to conceal their identity. When they saw Riyota staring at them confusedly, they quickly bolted left. "Sousuke!" Riyota shouted back before taking off after the cloaked figure, fearing that this could be what untangles the entire spider's web...

 

[Takahashi Aki]

"There are no winners in war."<i></i> Sousuke asserted as he shrugged. Win a war and become a king of a wasteland. It was a very dark way of looking at the matter, but what could there be done? It was a sobering thought for most. When Riyota asked him if he was on his side, or Akkuma's side he would answer him, oddly, but it was an answer. "I am on the side of Sungakure. Last time I checked ... Akkuma holds no citizenship in this city-state. You on the other hand,"<i></i> He paused for a moment. "You do."<i></i> He knew sometime or later, Katuso was going to put Akkuma on trial, or beat the man up himself. He considered it again. Mikaboshi called Akkuma an idiot. Katuso did not like Akkuma either. It was coincidental, but ... maybe Katuso and Mikaboshi were more alike than they would like to be. Their natures were different yes, but ... who really knows? Maybe one rubbed off on the other.

Unfortunately Sousuke was not going to be given the time to ponder life's mysteries he was interrupted. Someone had been listening in on them. It was rude to be honest, and it couldn't be any more ... annoying considering they were wearing a cloak and hid their features. Sousuke was certain it was not an ANBU mainly because if they were doing spy work they would not be sloppy doing so. The spy in question had a bit of a lead on them, but Sousuke had foresight. He would calmly access the situation. He would look at his surroundings. Sousuke would begin to calculate and project the distance he needed. He would reach for a peice of sheet metal, form it into a shurkien and then hurl it. The shurkien bounced off a number of walls, then a number of pipes, then an anvil, then off of another anvil, then off of a moving hammer, then it would attempt to lodge itself deep into the calf of the fleeing person. Sousuke would march himself after the individual in question.

 

[Miroku Riyota]

Riyota would skid to a halt as a shuriken whizzed past his ear and come to a halt lodged somewhere in the thigh of the spy. The spy themselves tumbled to the floor like a sack of bricks, crying out in pain they attempted to crawl away from the two other men. Riyota did not attempt to pursue, seeing how the spy wasn't going anywhere soon, he waited for Sousuke to catch up. "Nice shot, I guess that's why you were the Kazekage." Riyota remarked, no longer worried about their conversation making its way out.

Riyota would walk over to the crying, crawling man and simply command "Stop!" He needed to find out information about this listener, but the last thing the young shinobi wanted to do was resort to torture, having been on the receiving end of such methods on a few occasions in the past. However, he certainly wasn't beyond threatening torture.

"That Shuriken is pretty lodged in there, sure would hurt to try and get it out...maybe it'd just be easier to amputate the leg...Oh, but I haven't brought any anaesthetic. Hmm, well, grit your teeth." He spoke calmly, slowly revealing the blade within his prosthetic as he spoke the last sentence. "W-w-w-w-WAIT!" The man screamed, trying to shuffle his way back from his interrogator. "I-I'm sorry...I'll tell you whatever you want...j-just please don't..." He wailed, tears streaming from his eyes.

ANBU trained, this man wasn't...

 

[Takahashi Aki]

Sousuke shook his head, "There's a bit more to it than that."<i></i> He remarked as Riyota had spoke that his foresight and ability to land the hit he did was one of the sole reasons he was Kazekage. Surely Riyota had known about most of Sousuke's projects and efforts in residential, commercial, financial, and a great number of others deep village wide construction efforts. Sousuke would hold his hands behind his back and make his way over. Riyota had announced stop but the person in question was much on the floor. Sousuke watched curiously as Riyota spoke to the man and spoke how the shurkien had lodged itself in there quite good. That was debatable.

It was almost laughable as Riyota spoke to the man, and claimed that the leg might have to be amputated. Sousuke knew otherwise, but well ... it was one way of getting the man in question to speak. Sousuke wondered in addition to the crying, if the man had soiled himself. The Steward sniffed the air and hoped that the man did not lose control of himself. Sousuke watched as the man backed away. He was still very much crying. "Your crying is going to make whatever answer we're trying to get from your insufferably difficult to hear."<i></i> Sousuke spoke. He rolled his eyes. Where do we begin? "You're not a Journeyman, or an inspiring one, you've been skulking around in a black cloak trying to find out information? You do realize who I am, more importantly there are more eyes on you than just merely mine and his."<i></i> Sousuke spoke sharply. His voice carried a metallic harshness to it as he spoke. He looked over to Riyota and then back to the wailing crying man on the floor. "What were you hoping to learn, and for who in particular?"<i></i> He inquired. The important question was the who, usually pending that answer most things would unfold. The annoying part would be if they said, if I tell you, they will kill me.

 

[Miroku Riyota]

Riyota stepped back and let Sousuke take over once he had caught up. It seemed the metallic man was trying to shatter the intruder's confidence by hurling insults and various other forms of degradation his way. Whilst entertaining, it likely proved redundant in the fact that their prisoner was already a sobbing mess. Riyota looked down on the weeping figure with disdain. "Just tell us why you were spying so we can all move on with our lives!" He barked at the man.

"O-ok...ok, I will...don't hurt me..." He snivelled, putting his hands in front of his face. "Yo-You'll protect me right? You won't let 'em kill me, right?!" He spluttered, crawling towards the captors, tears and snot running down his face. "Stop it, have a bit of dignity! Yes, we'll make sure you're protected, now, please." Riyota said to him, clear evidence in his face that he pitied the spy.

"Th-thank you...Thank you!" He bowed, trying to clear the amalgamation of snot and mucus from his face. "I was sent by your father, t-to keep tabs on you." He finally answered, causing Riyota to pale and ask "M-my Father?" The man nodded "Mr Kuromairu Nishiro, said he wanted to see how you're doing he...ah...agh....AGHHH!" His statement was cut short by a scream of pain transitioning to agony. He looked up at the pair as his face began to sear and steam and melt away. "Hel-HELP ME! HELP ME! YOU HAVE TO HEL-...help me..." He screamed, clawing at Riyota's leg as the young man stared in silent horror. The man started gagging and gurgling as he continued to melt away, incapable now of even screaming.

 

[Takahashi Aki]

Sousuke watched in horror as the man began to melt. Sousuke reached out and attempted to perform a system restoration of the man, melting he might be but Sousuke was using what limited medical knowledge he had. It was more than likely a trigger word was spoken that had caused the man to begin melting. Sousuke was applying a system restoration to push the man back into a state of wellness than he was in before the trigger word had been spoke which had started this whole fiasco to begin with. In addition to trying to get the man to shake off what he had been cursed or injected with Sousuke was using another medical technique being mystical hand to restore the man to what condition he could.

Riyota had froze up due to the traumatic experience he was witnessing right now being that a man was literally melting right before his very eyes. Sousuke did not expect Riyota to have the mental fortitude to handle this situation for two reasons the first being his age, and the second being his training. Riyota was not medically trained, or at least not that he knew of. Given Riyota's aquaintance with the Miroku clan he did not expect the boy to have any medical training at all. Akkuma was a destroyer of various sorts, he was not a preserver of any kind. "Come on. Stay with me. Do not suffer a complete and total cease function."<i></i> He spoke to the man as he was pouring his chakra into what medical means he could. Sousuke raise his hands and clasped the man's throat feeding him restorative chakra. Considering that he was gurgling and gagging it might have been a seal in his throat. That is what Sousuke considered as he continued the fight. Other parts of Sousuke's mind was working with the information that had been given to him being that it was Riyota's father that had sent the man here. Sousuke's mind played with the data and what he knew of Riyota's father. Father and son were very much different, and Riyota was far more active. His father was a man who did not operate in the open and had dealings outside of Sungakure.

 

[Miroku Riyota]

Despite Sousuke's valiant efforts. The man was already dead, his face bubbling and torn, the life had slipped away from him a mere few moments ago. Riyota blinked and slowly stepped back, turning away from the corpse. If one could even call it that anymore. "Is my father really that far gone that he'd do something like this..." Riyota's stunned state was not brought on merely by the man's gruesome demise, but more to the point that said demise had been brought on by Riyota's own father.

"He's getting braver..." He said to Sousuke. "I don't know what he's up to but clearly he's confident." He moved away from where he was standing and began pacing back and forth. "Something needs to be done before something bad happens, but I don't know where he is. I couldn't find him years ago and I doubt I could now, he's an expert at covering his tracks." Riyota muttered to himself, frustration becoming apparent on his face, his fists clenching tightly.

Eventually the young shinobi stopped pacing and began striding past Sousuke, moving to the exit. "Thank you for speaking with me Sir, but it seems I have two Father's to deal with currently. I won't trouble you further." He said to the other man as he made his way out.

[Topic left unless stopped]