Still thinking [Dual Contract Search]

[Hoshiko Gin]

Not long after exiting the village gates, Hoshiko Gin noticed a pair of footsteps appear in front of her in the snow; she stopped, and curiously so did they. How peculiar, she thought, as she found herself following the bodiless prints.

"Who goes there....?" The ANBU whispered, only answered by the whistling wind and an increased pace. A light shower of snow fell now, but weather around these parts could be unpredictable and very inhospitable. The more ground she covered now, the better.

A spiraling flurry of white played in front of her, concealing the path she followed. In the distance she could scarcely recognize the towering peaks of the Monumentum Deo as she trudged forward. What a shame she hadn't the foresight to rent a mount before reaching this far; her body ached and she had lost track of the time of day.

'I just need to make it to some cover from this wind'

Up ahead at the base of the mountain, dim shades of orange and yellow illuminated the grays and whites of the landscape. She rounded the curved slope and found a small depression, just large enough to shield one small adult from the harsh winds; in that instant things went dark. A figure sat with its body curled inward and barely covered with talon tattered clothing; it's face was eyeless and blood stained.

Gin fell weakly to the ground to expel the contents of her stomach, but was only left breathless and disheveled. Her eyes moved up from her hands to the now empty space; as she looked, dumbfounded.

'It resembled his likeness to a...'

She fell back against the cold stone and moved her hand warily to her forehead. A light fever had set in, an unusual occurrence for someone who was rarely sick. "Raiden, help me.." The woman grumbled, pulling the hood over her eyes that looked down inanely to the ground , unable to filter the image out.

[WC: 326]

 

[Tagiushi Moro]

Annually, (at bare minimum) the Scions of Raiden consequently known as Santaru made a holy pilgrimage to the Monastery deep in the heart of the Monumentum Deo. It was with great disdain and even greater chagrin that scruffy ANBU operative Tagiushi Moro brushed his fingernails through his itch-prone facial hair, (to call it a beard would be far too great a compliment) and set out. He would be starting from a point fairly close to the village in comparison from whence he came, Kelmura, but the path was flat here and made a gentle gradient between a few great peaks on its way to the main thoroughfare of the Monastery.

The trek itself would take several days, there and back, and Moro had prepared accordingly. The clean mountain air was a welcome change of pace from the urban sprawl that made up the greater area of the Lightning Country peninsula, the two major cities nestled there having recently gone through major industrial spurts. Even as a young boy Moro had walked the 'pilgrim's trails', his father and mother went to the Monastery several times per year, but mercifully forced the children to go with them only on their anniversary. The slope quickly became a much harsher angle as he walked, and the weather changed from a nearly cloudless spring sky, to biting, acrid winds within hours. He wormed his way between the crags, even losing visible sight of the path more than once, but knowing the general direction by rote, the snarling, twisting strips of cloth whipping in the winds high up on the peaks severed as a general way-finder for those experienced with the trail.

As the day's light crept away below the jagged teeth of the range, (the ANBU was still left with a good hour or so of sunlight, the mountain chain itself was far higher than the actual curvature of the earth,) Moro serendipitously stumbled upon a rare semi-dry patch of ground. There was no chance of him passing up such an ideal campsite. He rounded the corner of a boulder, fur-lined glove sliding against the ice as he ducked out of the wind's fangs. An unfamiliar avian caw startled him, anything smaller than the large hawks or even larger Thunderbirds native to the Deo were nearly unheard of this deep into the range. His head snapped to the side, trying to locate the direction of the call. He crept deeper out of the squall's reach just in time to see someone lose their lunch. Hand on his dagger, he crouched at their side, keeping a safe enough distance in case this was simply some weak bandit's ploy. "Oy there. You alright?"

"Raiden, help me.."</B><i></i> came the lilting reply of a voice all too familiar.

<B>"Gin? What in the world are you doing out here?" Her eyes rolled in her skull, she didn't appear to have heard him. "Its alright now, you're safe." Sweetheart He bit back the thought, closing the remaining distance between them and gently rolling her onto her back. She was drenched in a cold sweat, and her forehead felt hot. He immediately went about the process of wrapping her in several warm skins and boiling a pot of water.

Moro was completely dumbfounded as to what Gin of all people was doing out here, the most alarming aspect being that she was in such a state. To Moro, the thought that she had simply become delirious while traveling the range was probability zero. It crossed his mind more than once to make sure she was settled and recovering, and leave before she awoke, but he ultimately decided against it. Moro had no clue how she would react when she came around, and certainly not with him at her side. He reached out countless times to wipe beaded, wet strands of hair from her face, but pulled his hand back each time, until the urge to actually contact her skin became too great, and with a finger, he brushed a few errant blond strands out of her mouth, resting his hand lightly against the side of her face, absorbing her warmth and the feel of her skin (albeit clammy) with a nostalgic grin.

[wc: 691]

 

[Hoshiko Gin]

In what she could only categorize as a “divine intervention”, a shadow was cast on her hunched body. A flash of steel came into view and unafraid of what was to come next, she let the hand lift her face; her body fell limp and powerless as she was almost entirely unconscious to the reality around her. With remarkable timing like an angel fallen from the neckbeard heavens, a voice spoke to her. The warmth that followed was like none other, penetrating every cell and every fiber. Her shaking paused momentarily, welcoming the added warmth and her eyes slowly closed.

The image of a great bird grimacing down at her materialized, with black abysmal eyes and the wingspan twice her height, she watched as it craned its head to the side and back. Gin moved to look beyond it and horror fell upon her; the same lifeless form came into view. She shook violently and fell into sobs, running to sit at the person’s feet. Her legs buckled underneath her as she plummeted towards them. Deep fleshy wounds were visible, and an obvious gash near the abdomen indicated a cruel end. Disembowelment. The stench was putrid while the sight wasn’t too picturesque either, and the familiar uprush from within her gut presented itself, but she swallowed it back this time to look deep into the face of the malevolent fowl’s victim. Just as she reached out her hand to touch his face, her eardrums rattled as the piercing cry radiated across the scene again.

She woke joltingly with the unpleasant taste of stomach excretions lingering in her mouth, her head spun as she opened her eyes. Her hand clung to something solid underneath her; the rise and fall of someone’s chest startled her, as she realized that she was wearing more clothes now that she had been when she first arrived (how many women could honestly say that in a case such as this?). With a subtle head turn she could tell exactly who it was, and in a quick and desperate move, she placed both hands on the sides of his face and analyzed every inch of it. Her hand fell to her heart and her body relaxed as it became clear, it was all in her head. Another thought wormed its way in, ’He looked… nearly content do I dare say?’

There wasn’t much she remembered of that night, but she felt a great sense of shame. Her eyes closed and she let out a faint huff; this had been a shot to her ego. The stubborn and prideful part of her urged for her to resent the fact he had helped her; she was capable of taking care of herself. But she knew better than that. She hadn’t been in the right state of mind all of yesterday. There was no indication why but, it was apparent that how things had ended was for the better.

”Some ANBU I turned out to be..” She mumbled, thinking of what she should next say.

”I’m sorry to have bothered you like that.” Gin began finally, ”But thank you, I know I haven’t always been the kindest to you..”

A smile crept up on her knowing that he was alright, and she nodded. ”I’m glad you are well..” What an odd thing to tell someone who had just cared for you all night through. ’I truly do not know what I would have done, had it been true..’

[WC: 578]

 

[Shinrya Kitsune]

Congratulations~ You've discovered... YOUKAI! Do you accept the challenge?​

 

[Hoshiko Gin]

Uummmmmmmmmmm. . . . How about, definitely!

 

[Tagiushi Moro]

Absolutely!

 

[Tagiushi Moro]

[ooc: Kitsune if it's okay with you we're just gonna continue the RP until you mod. If what we write now interferes with what you had planned in any way, please feel free to pretend like it never happened and we'll start from when the contract was found.]

The girl underneath him started awake some hours later after he had nodded off himself at her side. Her grey orbs seeking his own, she grabbed his face with both of her hands and scowered the contours of his mug with a purpose, almost as if she was searching for something, relief palpable on her features when she seemed unable to locate whatever it was she sought.

Her abatement subsided almost as quickly as it came. Her breath escaped her in a white puff of fury, clearly exasperated at her current circumstances.

”Some ANBU I turned out to be..”

"Better than most, and as an added plus, you're alive." He grinned at her unabashedly. He still made no move away from her, but then again, he didn't want to.

”I’m sorry to have bothered you like that. But thank you, I know I haven’t always been the kindest to you..”

He looked away from her then. She'd always been kind, more than kind, and caring, and sweet. Only the day Makoro died stuck out in his mind. Gin smiled at him then, and in a flash it was shoved to the back of his mind.

”I’m glad you are well..”

"I'M glad YOU'RE well." He shot back. "What are you doing out here anyway? How did..." He made vague motions with his hands, gesturing wildly all around him, "THIS...happen?" Moro handed her his canteen and settled back in, looking at Gin intently.

 

[Hoshiko Gin]

"Better than most, and as an added plus, you're alive. "

'You're just trying to make me feel better about it..' Gin thought, drawing her knees into her body and looking at them. It was easy to critique and compare herself to her two other female squad mates, even the young trainee, wouldn't have found themselves deep in this much shit. And had by some slim chance they had, she didn't even want to conjure up the image of the eye-patched ANBU in her place, of course it was hard not to. 

All that aside, she found herself smiling again. Even as cutting as his words were, there was a reason behind it. Graciously taking the canteen, she took a swig and swashed it around in her mouth, before sending a thin stream of water some off into the corner of their hole-in-the-wall shelter. 

"I had initially planned on taking a short trip to the hillsides where my parents and I would go a lot when I was younger... But you know how things end up with me... I got sidetracked. " Her eyes looked up into his intently. "Not long after leaving the village, I saw something and..  I followed it on a gut feeling. The further up the mountain I got, the more vivid the images I saw and I.."

'Seeing you like that was probably the scariest thing I've ever come across..' 

"Between you and me Moro-kun, it would have been nice to have come back home with the... Validation of knowing I could make it all the way up to the top by myself."

Her eyes lit up as she realized this was the most they had talked in years; she had missed the comforts of a person to be honest and real with. "For you, its no great feat, right? You must be going to Raiden's Temple."

 

[Shinrya Kitsune]

As the two ninja sat there, talking about life and stuff in general, the wind got worse, whipping up a minor storm around the two as two figures appeared in the distance, heading towards them. As they got closer, Moro and Gin might’ve been able to hear them arguing. No! I want the girl. came the voice of what sounded like a woman You can have the guy. Besides, isn’t that yer preference, ya lowlife? she added, poking fun of the other person who responded in turn Oh be quiet, will you? They don’t need to know that! It seemed the voice was male, but had an effeminate tone underlying the words. Besides, what about you, Gikon Shiho? You’re the same!

They got closer, and it was enough to begin seeing their body shapes. The woman was almost the very same size and shape as Hoshiko Gin, except more… Curvy and with much longer hair. While the guy was almost a perfect carbon copy of Tagiushi Moro. He appeard to be slightly more muscular in build than Moro, and had longer hair too. As they got closer, Gin and Moro should be figuring out that something wasn’t quite normal with the two heading straight towards them. What about me?! You just stick to your own business Tamoshi Girou, and keep your face outta mine.

Finally, the two people had reached Gin and Moro, and that’s when their appearance should come fully into focus. They were more or less mirror images of Gin and Moro. A curvier Gin with longer hair and black sclera, and yellow irises, and a black pupil right in the center, named Gikon Shiho. And a bulkier Moro with longer hair, also with black sclera, and red irises and a black pupil in the center, named Tamosho Girou. Even their names were anagrams of their own, which they might pick up on, or they might not.

Greetings mortals! Bow down to your Mistress, and kiss my boots. declared the woman in a serious tone, brandishing her weapon of choice which was a long whip. The male merely shook his head and sighed loudly Really? You’re going through that again? he said, completely undermining the seriousness of her appearance, making her fall over and then yell at him Stop undermining me, maggot! she exclaimed and lifted her leg up over his head, before letting it come down, bringing the big brute to his knees. Know your place, bitch… she said and snarled, before turning to Gin and pointing I’ve decided that you’re going to be mine for the night. You’ll provide excellent heat. And other services. she said, with the last three words whispered so only Gin would hear it.

In the meanwhile, this dork will be taking care of you Shiho said and gestured to Girou who had just stood up, and brushed the dirt off of his knees. Well. That sounds like a pleasant evening. A hot bath, a good meal, perhaps something of a more… Delightful nature he said and struck a pose with a red rose in his hand, as if he had been from a shoujo manga. The weird thing was… He didn’t have any roses with him when he showed up. So where the heck did he keep it?!

 

[Hoshiko Gin]

“Moro….?” The woman gave him a light shake as things fell silent, and finally with an exasperated sigh she gave up and moved to add some distance between them, while also shoving the furs he had kindly placed over her the night before back to him . “Anyways thank you, and don’t worry, it won’t happen again.” She mumbled with her face red in embarrassment and disappointment; there was nothing more to this than one ANBU helping another. No more and no less. To think any more than that could have come of it was.. the ideal but not necessarily the reality of the situation.

Because of her sulking, Gin heard the pair’s bickering before she even noticed their shapes in the distance. By this time they were much closer and characteristics more noticeable than before; there was an unsettling likeness to herself and Moro. “Are you seeing this too?” She hissed.

“Greetings mortals! Bow down to your Mistress, and kiss my boots.” Mistress? Kiss my boots, really? She reserved the urge to spit on the very boots at (who she would now dub) anti-gin’s feet, and instead stood to place her hands nonchalantly on her hips. It was unclear what the dynamic of Girou and Shiho really was, but it was obvious they were a hyper-sexualized and inferior copy of the two ANBU; perhaps former lovers? She looked over to Girou and the thought occurred to her; this could be the closest thing to being with the ‘real deal’ she would ever be offered. It became painfully obvious, however, that the two demons had different plans in store for the two.

“And other services..” Gin stood frozen at the thought of doing those sorts of things with essentially a clone of herself. It was unnatural; this was taking the pleasure in ‘self-pleasure’ far beyond what it is ever supposed to be.

”A hot bath, a good meal, perhaps something of a more… Delightful nature.” She smirked at this bitterly; Girou’s best bet to charm the gruff ANBU was probably slap on an eye-patch and shimmy into a mini-skirt. That and perhaps grow some breasts, raise his voice a couple octaves and scream “Moro-niiiiii-chan” a million, bazillion times.

That aside, one last time, her eyes rested with uncertainty on Moro; she wanted to know he was thinking along the lines she was before continuing further. With her answer given, whatever it may be, she looked at Shiho and bit the corner of her lip.

Despite the aversion to the idea, curiosity eased her into at least seeing where this all went. She approached Shiho and reached out to touch the length of her black hair, twirling it around her index finger. "What are you..?" Gin questioned, moving in further to whisper in the strangers ear. "And what did you have in mind?"

She took a couple steps back and shifted her weight onto one leg, pushing the loose strands of hair around her face behind her ear. "Well?" Giggling, she took a couple steps back and faltered as her head pounded; but she recovered quite easily, switching to the task at hand. If she had to feign this all for the sake of finding out their motives, she would do it. But.. only to a certain extent.

 

[Tagiushi Moro]

Gin called his name, but he held up a hand to silence her, hearing a voice, and then two tumbling between the winds. Rolling his eyes at Gin's promise, the disparity in direction of the gale made it impossible to hear anything until the pair was almost on top of them. Gin scooted away from him, simultaneously shoving the furs back to him, which was just as well. If they were lucky he could conceal his presence from the intruders, banking not only on the fact that they weren't aware that he and Gin were there, but weren't inherently hostile in the first place.

It was only as the pair rounded the corner that Moro hissed and shot to his feet, stepping between the odd pair and Gin before adding between gritted teeth; "Yeah."

'Mortals'? The mirrored appearance, demanding the two ANBU to be their playthings, After his most recent run in only one thing came to Moro's mind: demons. They were messing with the wrong Raiden-forsaken humans. Moro was about to draw his sword and tell them so, when out of the corner of his eye, Gin sashayed forward and began twirling the dominatrix's hair around her own finger!

You little minx! I didn't think you had it in you. I'll follow your lead for once. Resorting to violence wasn't particularly at the top of his "to do" list while on a holy pilgrimage, and he hadn't earned the title Negotiator among the ANBU for being hot headed. All in all, a hot bath and a good meal sounded right up his alley! Prominent among his thoughts were Gin's safety, and also the fact she really could use getting out of the cold and some solid calories. The way her face lit up when she spied his more muscular...counterpart wasn't lost on him either. Not that he could keep his eyes off of Ditto Gin's...charms, for lack of a better term.

Girou's hungry gaze and magically-summoned rose were so thinly veiled attempts at concealing his actual motives, that not even a braindead shounen main-character like him could fail to grasp the demon's intentions. He looked at Gin then, who seemingly only had eyes for Shiho, and wondered if she knew what they had gotten themselves into.

However, and regardless, the two of them were Kumogakure ANBU, and Kumogakure ANBU don't half-ass anything. With no confirmation from Gin that this was really some sort of scheme she'd hatched, he really had very little choice.

With a blush and a coy, even awkward glance in a pointedly altogether different direction, Moro cleared his throat. "Well, we're all travelers here, right? I think we could all stand to get out of the cold and get something warm in our bellies. Anything more than that is going to take a shitload of alcohol," and all of my dignity. He added the thought begrudgingly.

Moro knew that regardless of what the demon war veterans preached, not all demons were evil, or even malicious. The duality of demons were no different than the duality of human beings. He wouldn't let his guard down, but at the same time was old enough to know that these kinds of circumstances don't crop up often. Looking at Gin and Shiho, together especially, for some inexplicable reason lit a fire inside him that would be better left up to the imagination of the reader. Out here, alone, just the four of them...maybe Girou had the right of things. At the very least, tonight certainly could prove to be interesting, and at the very worst, simply would never be spoken of again; Taking into account the demons didn't mean to simply murder them once they were trapped, then feast on and rape their corpses, in no particular order.

It was this thought that crossed his mind as he nodded and said, "Ladies first. You two might not be human, but I'm no barbarian. The name's Moro, by the way." Offering his hand to the overly muscled and long haired version of himself first, before taking Shiho's hand in his own and planting his lips on the back of her palm, if she would let him. Giving the pair of newcomers his infamous, sleezy-charmer sidelong grin.

 

[Shinrya Kitsune]

As Gin twirled Shiho’s hair, the demoness grinned, showing off her sharp teeth Oh you’ll see. she said and crossed her arms under her breasts, pushing them up a tad. But it’s quite simple really, you scratch my back, and I’ll scratch yours. Wakarimasuka? she said while looking directly at Gin’s eyes, the grin still on her lips as she watched the woman closely for any and all reactions. Of course, being a demon she’d be able to pick up on Gin’s intentions right off the bat, and she knew that Gin was just playing along for now, and she didn’t really care. Once she got started, Gin would likely ask for more~

As for Girou, well, he took the more casual approach. In any case. We’d better get somewhere warmer. It’s freezing out here, and I’d prefer my toes didn’t get frostbite. Limb regeneration is such a hassle. he said and shook his head. Then, when Moro suggested getting out of the cold Exactly. Besides. You two might even end up enjoying yourselves. Not all demons are bad. Some of us just have very particular desires, and we act on them. Often. He said the last bit after a slight pause, then smirked.

If they all wanted to get to safety, there was a small house just down the hill from where they were, one that wasn’t there before the demons showed up. And that’s because the demons brought it with them. Gin and Moro would just have to trust the demons not to eat them alive. As Moro introduced himself, Giro merely replied with his own name.Girou. While Shiho didn’t hear Moro because she was occupied with trying to plan out how she’d best be able to get under Gin’s proverbial armor and into her pants.

We’ve got a small building just down the hill. There should be ample room in it for all four of us. Girou said and led the group down there. Apparently, small didn’t translate very well from demonese to Japanese, because the building was huge. It was so big, there could be a hundred demons waiting inside, none of them would be able to tell from the outside. Shiho strode ahead, and entered before the rest as the spoiled princess she was with Girou entering last. When inside, they’d see the building looked rather… Condemned. Almost as if a family of weirdos and monsters had lived there.. In any case, Shiho and Girou led the two ANBU to the dining room, where a lavish meal awaited them. Of course, it was more of a dining hall, but due to them only being four, they used a smaller table, so they’d be able to converse. Shiho would be sitting next to Moro, so she could look right at Gin, and Girou would be sitting next to Gin because there wasn’t any other spots left.

 

[Hoshiko Gin]

Oh you'll see. Replied the seductress while pushing her cleavage into better view, something she was sure Moro was contemplating. But it’s quite simple really, you scratch my back, and I’ll scratch yours. Wakarimasuka? Truthfully, she wasn't exactly sure what would come of all of this, but by this time it was too late to turn back now; like they had ever had a choice in the first place. What trouble had she gotten them into now?

"I cannot say I do. . . However I am sure I will find out soon enough, ne? Gin cooed with a coy half-smile, devoting her attention fully to Shiho. Unlike humans, who were generally open books, these demons had an edge over the two ANBU; their true intentions could be easily hidden. It could be that they were looking for a good time and nothing more than that or.. 'I suppose we truly will see soon enough. . .' Thought the woman, who broke away from her gaze at Shiho to pay closer attention to Moro and Girou. Her suspicions eased at the prospects of finding a warm place to stay and food for her belly; not to mention, she would like to wash away the smell of vomitus and sweat from the night before.

By this time, Moro had already introduced himself and went so far as to go in for a kiss from Shiho. Even if it was just on the hand and they were on the same side, Gin couldn't just let him get away with this. She moved closer into Shiho and by what was purely an accident, nudged Moro away some before he could get a good feel of demon-flesh. "How rude of me. My name is Gin." She introduced herself in a flat manner to the two traveling demons. Seemingly, Shiho had been resilient of what had been going on for the most part, and eyed the kunoichi ravenously; to her own satisfaction, at least they were making movements to a warm place to stay.

They walked down the gentle sloped mountain pass, Girou ahead with the two ANBU caught in the middle. She stayed close at Moro's heels as they all walked in silence. You would think since they were demons, they would have more to say. Their sense of size was greatly warped in comparison to what she would consider small. This could indeed be a trap. Her hand brushed lightly against the back of Moro's for just one brief moment; if this were a trap and they were to be tortured, killed, and then raped, she would be with her childhood friend. AND if they were to die, this was a helluva way to die. 'Nobody will know. . . Nobody will know. . .' A chorus of voices whispered in her ear, bringing shivers up and down her spine. 'Have some fun. . . No one will know. . .'

In the group walked, Shiho first, with Gin following. It was a desolate place, traces of spiders and other tiny critters were noticeable all around. The lighting was dimmed, which in most situations she had heard, was supposed to add a certain romantic atmosphere to a space; not the necessarily well executed if that were the goal here. Probably in its day, it had been a beautiful mansion. But now... well was this really even real? She looked in all corners of the space as they walked, looking for means of escape if things for some reason went badly. They came to a large dining hall, but strangely, there was only a small table in its center.

Gin was made to sit across from Shiho and next to Girou, while Moro was made to do the opposite. She gazed forward to her lookalike and smirked. "So where do we begin? I do believe some drinks are in order."

 

[Shinrya Kitsune]

As per the new rules, i deem this search null and void.