Tea party [Open]

[Ryu Hime]

Not long ago there was a big event in the village of Tea in which a grand tournament was held. Members representing each village and some without a village came to the tournament to fight. It truth Hakuren hoped that his clan lead would have won but the winner of Akujin it was still something to celebrate. Sand won the tournament and the big hero has finally returned home along with the rest of competitors. In honor of Sand winning the Tea Tournament, Hakuren was holding a tea party at his local establishment, Nekoya. Hakuren would be serving various cakes, cookies and of course teas. All of this would be free of charge from 3pm to 5pm, tea time. Hakuren could very well end up in the red with this little stunt, but hopefully the food would be good enough that customers would gladly later.

The theme of the party was alice in wonderland. Today within the Nekoya was an individual that looked like a young woman. She was dressed in blue and white and listens to the music as she sips her tea. The girl looked like an alice and would serve as the hostess for the evening and entertain the guests as well as she can. Even the food and drink were wonderland base. The cakes and cookies were black or red in color and shaped in diamond, clubs, hearts and spades. Hakuren himself was dressed like the mad hatter while the serves were either white rabbits or march hares. The music that was play was a live performance. Two girls completely identical playing the violin; Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum if she had to guess. Considering how near the shinobi village this place is, she would guess it was some sort of clone jutsu.

 

[Takahashi Aki]

Sousuke was at the Hall of Hammers when he received a call from Nobu. The Steward was working on a giant suit of armour with antlers. Sousuke had pulled apart the wiring, and was working on fusing it when he received the call from his ever loyal noble, Lord Akimichi Nobu.

"Lord Sousuke. I hope I'm not troubling you."<i></i>

"Not overly. No. Just working on some re-wiring my armour. In the event I need to bring out something bigger."<i></i>

There was a slight grunt. "My apologies. I am troubling you then."<i></i> He would pause for a moment.

"No, please go on."<i></i>

"Hakuren is hosting a tea party of sorts. A themed one. I think we should attend it."<i></i> There was a pause.

"You want to go. You're concerned it is in the Grand Palais. You're concerned what others might think."<i></i>

"....Sometimes... I would rather not give my ex-wife an advantage."<i></i>

"The best idea would be to go in uniform. That way then people think it's an official mission ending, or something to that sort."<i></i>

"Capital idea."<i></i>

"Actually ... I do have a mission there in four hours. I'm trying on the verge of figuring out a prime suspect for a triple homicide in the sewers."<i></i>

"Wait... what?"<i></i>

***

Sousuke would be seen wearing a mesh grey metallic suit, and Nobu would be with him wearing brown heavy leathers. The two had in fact completed a mission. Before entering Nobu had washed himself and Sousuke off with a water jutsu so as the smell would be completely gone, along with the blood stains. The mission was a success, and while Nobu didn't mind doing work, he did not want to bring discomfort or ill will to the restaurant. Nobu loved Hakuren's work, even if he only sampled it once. That being said, the impression left was monumental. Truly a treat. The giant of a man's eyes sparkled as he stepped into the place and was absolutely delighted. Nobu knew he was going to be in for a treat. "Sousuke, this is a Wonderland themed event. Oh my. I once threw a birthday party for my daughter when she was seven. You were there, remember the entertainers, and the music? Oh. Oh. Look over there. It's Twiddle Dee and Twiddle Dum!"<i></i> Nobu clapped his hands together. He seemed almost giddy. Sousuke would give Nobu a bored look, which was quite normal coming from the machine in the flesh of a man.

Sousuke would bow his head slightly. He would press his index finger against the middle of his forehead. "That was a fun party. I guess. I was seven and six months old at the time too. It was quite overwhelming for me at the time, considering it was the first time I had went to a themed birthday party. It was something."<i></i> Sousuke would look over to the hostess. "A table for two people, when you're ready of course."<i></i>

 

[Ryu Hime]

The hostess was based on the main character of the story the party was themed to. Just by looking at her one would see a child dressed in white and blue. Despite the girl being well in her teenage years she still had a childish aura about her. The way she sat it the chair was far less than proper and she seem to not to care in the slightest. Her hair were long flowing locks of brown with a blue butterfly decorating her brow. Her green eyes sparkle like emeralds as the two approach her. She stops sipping her tea and welcomes them warmly, "Welcome to the tea party. I do hope you enjoy this event as we celebrate our Suna's victory in Tea." As quickly as it came the happy expression leaves her and is quickly replaced with an apologetic expression. "I'm terribly sorry but it seems my white rabbit assisting me is running late."

The white rabbit was one of the more common waitresses. The one assigned to aid little Alice was to seat people a normal tables. These tables are mostly occupied by average citizens unaware of how to use chakra and wary of shinobi magic. However there were many places to dine that were not as easily seen unless you were actually looking. When the two of them came in they would have seen many large tables with assortment of food and teas with music provided. Everything seems perfectly normal, but behind the scenes something truly maddening was going on. "If I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense. Nothing would be what it is, because everything would be what it isn't." Alice then picks up a plate which had a small red velvet cake in the shape of a heart. Taking a fork she eagerly grabs a bite. Ignoring the whole talking with your mouth full she continues, "If you wish for something less than normal we can seat you now."

Should they agree she would place her fork and plate back on the table and clap her hands twice. Then seemingly out of thin air a woman would appear before them. How she appears was interesting as space from were she came from seemed to have rippled like she was coming out of a pool of water. The first thing to come into view was a toothy grin and from there her face and body would then come into being. Most would find this quite astonishing, but to a trained eye the trick was simple. The woman was always there but she used an anbu jutsu to blend into the background. It was an active camo jutsu and she used it quite well to simulate a character in the story.

With her signature smile the woman introduces herself, "Greetings, my name is Cheshire." From the girls attire she was clearly a waitress with her outfit being no less attractive than the bunny-girls walking around. Her dressed did stand out from the rest while most of the girls of the floor wore various shade of whites and reds, Cheshire had a black and purple motif goes down her body from head to toe. Cheshire was a cat unlike the others and had more than just the simple ears and tail. She also had paws and eyes like that of a cat and it was not so easy to tell whether they were real or fake like the other servers.

However the most unusual thing about her was not the way she appeared or even the way she looks, but the way she sits before them now. In her current position she looks to be sitting down, but there was no table, chair or anything. Not a single part of her body had any contact with the ground, directly or indirectly. She was just floating in the air like an ice cube in a glass of water. Perhaps they would learn her trick with time, but for now it was a mystery. As she moves to grab something from her pocket, the bells around her neck rings softly.

She pulls out two glass vials, one for each of them, which some strange liquid inside that had the color and consistency of cough syrup. "For you." Each container had a tag on it that said, 'Drink Me'. Now if the two of them knew there literature, they might have an idea of what would happen next. Of coarse what would happen would not be a direct parallel, but close enough. However it was not too late to back out now and wait for the rabbit. Alice has had many people already unwilling to see how far the rabbit hole goes.

 

[Takahashi Aki]

There was a small twitch of sorts in the expression of Sousuke. It was difficult to catch. Yes. Sungakure did win at Tea, but there were other concerns rising from that as well. There were many mysteries coming out of the 'wood works' so to speak. The Soverign were there. There were shinobi from Sound, which were an enigma. Sousuke had been challenged psionically by Ichi. That was something he was not going to forget any time soon. The premiere Sovereign agent was someone not to be underestimated by any means. Sousuke stew for a moment in his memories of Ichi and the battle that had occured. He would quickly enough snap out of it when the hostess spoke of a white rabbit. Sousuke would look from side to side, "White rabbit?"<i></i> He would question out loud. Unlike Nobu who was smiling broadly, Sousuke did not get this reference. Sousuke would tap his fingers together. "Is this supposed to be a ... literal or metaphorical thing?"<i></i> He would ask Nobu.

"Literal."<i></i> Nobu would answer. He was smiling broadly. Sousuke said nothing, but continued to glance about. The machine of a man was a quick study. He was picking up alot more than the normal individual would. For a slightly moment it was overwhelming. He phased for a moment, and then blinked three times. He would seem almost frazzled. None of this made sense to him. Nobu would rest his hand on the Steward's shoulder. "Try not to over think it. Just enough the ride."<i></i> That was something easier said than done for Sousuke. "Oh Alice, we would very much like for something less than normal."<i></i> Nobu would answer, and then at that moment a new player was introduced into the narrative that was unweaving.

Sousuke would watch as a very differently dressed woman would emerge. He would give the individual in question a look over. For a moment he considered that the woman in question was an agent for Akkuma and the Miroku clan. It was concerning because of her smile. It was very wide, and very sharp. Sousuke turns his head slightly. He was trying to figure out what she was sitting on. Sousuke would look to Nobu. "Cheshire."<i></i> He repeats. A curious name, for a curious entity. Nobu on the other hand continues to grin. This was unfolding rather nicely for the noble, but for Sousuke? Sousuke had simply no idea as to what was going on. The two were offered a drink. Sousuke looks at it curiously while Nobu toasts and clicks the vial with Sousuke and drinks it. Sousuke too, follows suit. "Alright."<i></i>

 

[Ryu Hime]

Her eyes would roll around as she lets out an exasperated sigh at how confused the one member was. It wasn't like Nekoya did not advertise the fact the it was wonderland themed event. If it wasn't for Nobu she would have wondered if they were just some regulars that came it out of habit and somehow didn't know about the event. She points a fork at Nobu, "let me guess, it was your idea to come here. Try to keep your friend up to speed for it's going to be a interesting ride." It was then at this point Cheshire made her appearance and once again the one guy looks puzzled, while the other was all smiles. She new this was going to be quite the tea party for the two of them.

The glass vials were tinted red thus making it hard to figure out exactly what was inside them. It was clearly not water or any normal drink for it did not shake or swirl easily. The stuff was think and even they pour the vials contents into their mouths it would seem to travel at its own pace. The two of them would met themselves with a sweetness rich, pure and possibly familiar. Three are quite a few people that have never it there life taste the precious nectar that is honey, but considering there status it is likely they came across in at least once in their life. The honey was imbued with a jutsu that most would consider to be extremely simple, but is far more complex than one might think.

Mud clone is a basic earth jutsu that is often taught in the academy due to it low chakra cost. The jutsu itself uses four hand seals: Ram, Monkey, Horse, Ram. This thus makes it easy to cast it quickly. Hakuren has studied the basics of jutsu quite a bit both through books and experience. Let's say you mess up with a certain seal, for instance have your thumbs stick straight up for the horse, what would happen. The jutsu would fail and won't function properly. Yes, that is obvious. The question Hakuren went to find is how would such mistakes make the jutsu function incorrectly. In short jutsu is just an advance form of auto suggestion and self-hypnosis. We use mantra for jutsu because it is efficient way to achieve that reshaping of the human subconscious. Then it is our minds not the mantra that manipulates the principles governing reality.

The mud clone that was imbued into the honey was a special mess up. The clone was identical to the ones they are clones of in all aspects but one. These clones were only a couple of inches tall. Shortly after being created a mouse would poke out from the tablecloth. It stood like that of a human and gestures at the clones to come to her. "Quickly come here before you end up being stepped on." It would be hard to say whether this was someone's contract summon or simply a Yamanaka possessing a mouse.

 

[Takahashi Aki]

Nobu smiled at Alice. "It was."<i></i> The man ran his finger along his mustache. He straightened his mustache. He looked pleased with himself. Was he going to keep Sousuke up with things? Probably. Did he have to? Not really. It would have been very amusing to watch his liege lord figure this out. Assuredly Sousuke might suffer from a mental breakdown in public, which might not be good for him in the slightest. Nobu downed the contents of the vial. He knew the taste of honey, but did he let on that it was honey? No. Sousuke would give the large man a strange look, Nobu would say nothing. "Delightful."<i></i> He would state.

Indeed the ride was starting, and both men saw the mouse. It was a talking mouse. Sousuke would say nothing but point at the mouse. He would begin to make theories as to what exactly was going on. The Steward quite rationally that it was a summoning contract given that it was talking to them, and second it was acting very much like a human. Sousuke would look over to Nobu, then the mouse, then back to the Nobu, and then back to the mouse. The Steward would say nothing but he would merely jog over to the mouse. Nobu too would walk over to the mouse. "This mouse is making human gestures at us."<i></i> He would state out loud. Mostly for himself.

"Yes Lord Sousuke. That mouse is indeed making human gestures, but more importantly. We should get to the mouse quickly before we are being stepped on."<i></i> The large man too would take to a jog to get over to the mouse. Nobu would be checking his surroundings to make sure he was not being stepped on. Curiously Sousuke on the other hand, did not take heed to this and made a mad dash towards the mouse. Both men would await for the next series of events to unfold themselves.

 

[Ryu Hime]

Alice was right about Nobu and it seems he would be the literary one. However the question is how vast is his knowledge in such stories? How much did he truly read and could he really keep himself from getting lost in this storybook themed cafe? Hakuren was an avid reader in his youth and could always be seen holding a book. Both he and his twin sister are bookworms: He reads mostly non-fiction as he enjoys learning fun facts. His sister is the opposite as she loves works of fiction. She enjoys getting lost into a story and imagining herself as a main character. Kokuren was quite a big help in designing the stage. Quite a few times they would have a debate on how likely such stories could happen in real life and to that end they would actively act out scenes.

Hakuren never read ‘Alice in wonderland’ or ‘Through the Looking glass’ but he did have some knowledge of characters and scenes. He could say the same for many fantasy stories. One thing that Hakuren found intriguing was how stories warp as words are passed from lips of one to the ears of another. In the years that have gone by many stories has been twisted and bent, hammered like heated metal within the forges of the halls of the journeyman. So many stories that ended in sweet revenge now drops the curtain and ends the play before the start of the final act. They have been reshaped to fit with the times.

With the two clone being seated to their respective seats, Cheshire would seat the remaining originals. “Please follow me.” The feline waitress floats of towards the to twins playing the instruments. She hovers before a mirror the was on the wall and places a hand on the edge of it. “Right this way.” She pulls the mirror like a door and low and behold there was a doorway behind it. “Please step right in.” It would seem this would be as far as the cat would go. Standing outside they would see a dark room with a flickering light. Cheshire’s grin almost seems more amused than usual. She wonder if the Noble would recognize this scene, but she is not going to follow to find out.

As the two of them walk into the room they would see the bar are of the restaurant. Hakuren seems to have walled it off for this event. The bar counter was complete engulfed in flames and in the fire was a beautiful woman dancing in metal shoes. The iron footwear was a burning red and yet she continues to dance for them. Cheshire would then close the mirror behind them and it would seem that the mirror had a reflective surface on both sides. Was this supposed to be the other side of the looking glass? Or is it something else entirely?
_______________________________________

The miniature clones created from the vials before also meant a somewhat strange sight as they followed the dormouse under the table Alice was sitting next to. Alice was the only one sitting at the table and her chair faced to the side and thus this area would not be disturbed by people's feet and legs. Going under the table cloth was like entering a vast forest in the middle of autumn as an ocean of naked trees lay before them. If it was not for the mouse being the same size as them, they might have forgotten the they were only a couple of inches tall. The trees were quite well made as they look impressively lifelike from looking at it from this prospective.

The trees were wooden and hand craved with such real looking features that one would have to wonder if the artist shrunk himself to get the finer details. The biggest giveaway that the trees were not real is that they were glued to the floor. However it was not the trees, but the leaves as well that was similar to real life. The leaves were made of paper that were dried out such that they would crunch like leaves. Likely lemon juice was used to give them these shades of oranges and browns.

The table cloth was a light blue and the bottom of the table was painted the same color. A small light was stuck to the bottom of the table to represent the sun. “Follow this trail and you will find a girl picking flowers. She will take you to where you need to go.” The rodent would wait for them to walk the trail before setting out the next location she needed to be at.

 

[Takahashi Aki]

Did Nobu infact read the story that this was an adaptation of? Parts of it. Some parts of it were more memorable than others. Nobu had been a young boy of eight when he had read the book. Here he was now a much older man. Luckily Nobu had his wits about him for the most part. The Sungakure noble was not prone to fits of PTSD due to his experiences. Nobu would follow the Cheshire cat motioning for Sousuke to come. Sousuke stared hesitantly at the mirror waiting to see if there was a reflection of himself that was going to appear, or if it was going to be a reflection of someone else. He was expectant of Kyouzou the Mirror to be staring back at him. He was always conscientious of mirrors. His old enemy could reform and would indeed return. For the time being he was locked up in the Takahashi residence in a shattered mirror which was presented as an art piece. He looked to Nobu and he was expectant of an answer. For a little while it seemed like he was going to wait it out but he wasn't going to get an answer, which in some manner was slightly disappointing. He did raise an eyebrow as the mirror was opened like a door. Sousuke would look around the door frame before entering. Nobu would look at the Cheshire Cat and he would give her a smug look of sorts. "This should prove entertaining."<i></i> He spoke as he entered.

Sousuke's face made an odd expression at what he saw. The bar counter was on flames, and a dancing woman. One could think that it was concern on his face. He looked to Nobu and then points to the shoes. "Metal. Shoes. She is wearing metal shoes. She is dancing in metal shoes."<i></i> He would state out loud. Mostly for himself. This was an absurdity in the extreme. Their surroundings only added to it with the reflective surface. Sousuke would grow attentive of this as well. He would look at the surface, and then back to the woman, and then back to the surface. "Madam."<i></i> Sousuke would call out. "Dancing in the flames is perhaps one of the most unhealthy things to do ... perhaps you should stop?"<i></i> Nobu all the while would remain where he was and he was simply smiling.

***

Sousuke and Nobu of a smaller stature were elsewhere it would seem. Sousuke would look about at this new setting which was quite green, and very full of trees. Sousuke would poke at one of these trees with his metallic hand. "Fascinating."<i></i> He mused out loud. "I wonder if this if this ecosystem is fully self sustaining."<i></i> He spoke. Nobu sighed at the remark. The Lord Steward always looked for an answer that was science based. Instantly, Sousuke would make other observations and indeed notice the glue on the floor which kept the trees up. The Steward would pick up some of the leafs. He would crush them with his fingers. "This is quite an attraction. Alot of work went into this."<i></i> He mused out loud once again. He would take a handful of leafs and approach Nobu.

The mouse would instruct them to go find a girl picking flowers. Nobu smiled and motioned to the path that he and Sousuke were to walk. Sousuke would walk along this path looking at the surroundings as they passed. "There's a detail in here that is comparable to a Journeyman."<i></i> Sousuke would admit as he continued to walk along the path. "I do have to wonder how Hakuren would pull this off."<i></i> Sousuke's mechanical eye would glow a low white for a moment as he would look for their next social engagement, a girl picking flowers.

 

[Toraono Michino]

The underworld was full of a lot of miscreants, terrible ideas, and organizations that barely manage to slip under the notice of the Sunagakure government. When someone challenges that openly they bring a lot of heat on themselves. Only a handful of men are allowed to walk these streets without anyone thinking even three times to bother them; two of them were in Hakuren’s restaurant. A handful of other important people, both top side and bottom, were celebrating at what was becoming something of a half-way point for the village citizens.

The pieces were in place, all someone needed to do was dare make a move.

A young man named Tokoro with high ambitions and the funds of an ill-gotten will had begun to rise up through the underworld after the betrayal and fall of the Assassin King. He stood at five feet, seven inches, moderate build, and basic military background. He kept a shaved head to show off the full body art that was the giant tattoo of a battle between angels and demons. Like most days he was wearing a muscle-shirt tucked into cotton pants, tucked into combat boots.
He was one of the dangerous Genin that couldn’t cut the shinobi life for whatever reason and took to hiding in the underground from his government…and like most of these men and women eventually they found themselves doing seedy work. After finding out that he had grandfather that wasn’t aware of his existence he used his shinobi training to manipulate the old man into fixing his will so that the youth would have his assets. Two weeks following death via a tragic fall down his mansion’s stairs, the grandson had a fortune and a small army poised to throw his hat into the preverbal ring for the next Underworld King. For Tokoro, the first step to accomplishing this, was to destroy the restaurant that was serving as a conduit to connect the village completely for the first time in years. The second was attacking the Steward directly and surviving. He didn’t need to kill or even wound Sousuke, all he needed was to pick a fight, leave a message, and get out alive and free. It was something no other ‘mob lord’ had done and the young man needed an edge to get into the game.

He sat in his mansion, far from where his soldiers were positioned, in the office where his grandfather once ran his business affairs. The room was large, at least a few hundred cubic meters, and he sat behind the large oak desk in a chair designed for the utmost comfort. Like some cliche mob boss he was resting his elbows on the desk with his hands clasped together in a classic ‘evil thinking villain’ style. Six guards, three on each side of the room, stood in attention waiting for any order. Tokoro thought it was ridiculous that he, someone with barely the strength of a Genin, was commanding the six men in this room whom were all of at least Jounin level strength. They were all deserters like him who hid deep in the Underground but didn’t have the fortune of a good windfall. A man’s voice on a speaker broke the calm silence of the last tense twenty minutes assuring Tokoro that everything was in place and they were ready to proceed with the attack. His hand reached out to touch the button that would open back up the line so he could give the go ahead when a cross-bow bolt violently drove itself threw it and pinned him to the desk.

The man, for a moment, could only just look at the bolt and the blood slowly pooling under his palm. He looked up at the soldiers on ether side of the room and saw them already moving towards his aid. One by one they were all taken down by cross-bolts so fast it was hard to tell where they were coming from. Right as he inhaled to scream for help from any of the other personnel in the house a metal hand clasped hard over his face from behind. The face of a well aged old man slowly drew down to level with Tokoro’s eyes as his muffled screams became even louder upon recognizing the man capable of ending his room of Jounin in a quiet two seconds.
Uzumoreru Toushin’s golden eyes stared deep into his soul. Tokoro knew already that it was already over. There would no speeches, no acts of grandeur. Uzu was a cold, cold man capable of unspeakable things. The sharp cold steel suddenly burning into his groin caused a cry as his body began to tremble. Blood flooded the chair he sat once the blade was removed and the young man felt his conscious quickly fading, but couldn’t be happier to know that he was at least one of the assassin’s quick targets.

Ten minutes later Toushin was wiping his knife of the blood splattered on it from the men that were poised to attack Hakuren’s eatery. He was dressed in something of a suit despite his current profession for the night and yet not a drop of crimson life water touched him. The suit did well to hide his new mechanical arm but that was not the reason he wore it. Tonight was a night of celebration for a victory in Suna vs the World and the ex-king wasn’t about to allow wonton destruction on so wonderful a night. Also, though he wasn’t much of a regular, Uzu had come to love this restaurant’s ability to allow him to feel drunk. At his age he couldn’t afford to enjoy the little highs he did in his youth and continue his true calling. Hakuren was something of a god-send for the older man. Adjusting his jacket so that his knife blended into the seams of his clothing the old killer went to go enjoy a hot meal and, hopefully, a fine drink to allow him a moment to relax before returning to what was home these days; his daughter’s apartment.

[Entering with NPC - Uzumoreru Toushin]

 

[Ryu Hime]

Spoiler

The woman that dances in the fire was beautiful to behold despite her age seemingly turning her hair white as snow. Her skin was flawless from head to toe with not a single wrinkle in sight. Her cloth apart from the shoes were lavish and decadent like that of one of noble birth. One might find it strange how her fancy attire did not set a flame. As the former kage expresses his concern, she opens her eyes and looks at him. Her eyes glimmer like rubies in the flickering light of the fire. Her smooth red lips curl in a gentle smile and she caresses Sousuke’s face. Her hand was warm to the touch, but the contact was not for long. She then Continues to dance without ever saying a word.

“Do not worry. She is an Abysmal Harbinger of my creation if you must know.” Another feminine form would direct their attention. She stood there the whole time but the dancing lady surely was the focus to most people’s eyes. Should what she says be true, she would be quite skilled in molding her creation. “Though in this story she represents my evil stepmother.” The girl that addresses them was younger than either of them; she was a flower just beginning to bloom. Dressed in whites and blues similar to Alice she comes before them. Grabbing the ends of her dress and dipping her legs, she does a curtsy. “Welcome to my story zone.” This should make it apparent that they were not in wonderland anymore, but in another story entirely. The question is now, which fairy tale did they stumble into. “Would you like some snacks?” The girl held a serving tray with various treats with all of them having apples as the key ingredient.

_____________________

Spoiler

As they would walk down the path before them they would soon come to an immense clearing. Within the clearing was a field of flowers of all colors of the rainbow in various shades. The flowers were made of tissue paper and folded using the art of origami. It was impressive how someone could fold something as small as this so intricately On the far side of the field was a small figure in a red hooded cloak. The person was low to the ground and back facing them, so it was hard to tell if it was human or another animal like the one that escorted them. With her hood covering her head she looks like a little red hill. The only thing that suggested human was an arm reaching out to pick a flower and her placing it into the basket next to her.

Similar to their none clone counterparts, they would realize that they are no longer in the world of Wonderland. This was a different story entirely and unlike the story zone the original pair found themselves in, this one is more recognizable. If either of them read any fictional literature in their life, it is highly likely they would recognize this story. The Little Red Riding Hood before them has yet to notice them as she seems to be busy in her own little world.. So naturally the question is how would they go about getting her attention.

______________________

Spoiler

As the elderly man approaches the restaurant he would see some sort of event going on outside. There were several people dressed in quite unusual attire. Three big beefy muscle bound men wore all white. On their chests were hearts with each of them having a amount of hearts being displayed. The pattern made them resemble playing cards. #5 and #6 was forcing a young blonde gentleman in a kneeling position. #4 stood not far off holding an executioner's axe. In front of the man was a woman dressed in red and black. Her blonde hair flows elegantly down her back. She possessed and eye patch with a heart on it and in her left hand was a scepter.

#5 humbly address the woman, “Your majesty, this knave was found stealing food. What shall we do with him?” The woman looks down at the man now pleading for his life and she smiles. “Off with his head.” With that decree the axe comes down and chops off his head in a single stroke. As the head round among the sands, the body falls lifeless. The complete absence of blood was quite noticeable. It was not fooling anyone and was apparent that was for show, but what was the point. Was it to show the theme of today’s celebration or a warning to those will ill-intent.

OOC: First two are Sousuke and third is Tama's. These are the days I miss tabs. I wonder if they'll find a way to bring them back

 

[Takahashi Aki]

Answers were provided quickly enough by a younger girl. Sousuke accepts the notion that the creation of the dancing woman was a creation jutsu. It was a bit uncanny that it looked so very human. Some people were very adept at the use of flame jutsus, but Sousuke for some time had supposed that this was more a civilian approach. Hakuren was a ninja yes, but it was an unknown who was under his employ. Sousuke would raise his index finger and press it against his forehead. "So a fire animation is the representative of your evil step mother. That is to say that this representation is not your mother by birth. She is the woman your father married after the death of your mother, or in fact your father divorced your mother, and then married this woman."<i></i> He stated. In this particular case this was a fairytale, usually people did not get divorced. "Being in our present setting, I would most likely say that you original mother had passed away, and your father remarried."<i></i> Sousuke would assert. Yes. Fairytales. Different rules to logic applied here. When his face was caressed, he seemed slightly uncomfortable. His colour for a slight moment changed to a pale pink for a moment.

Sousuke would make a bow in return to the curtsey. He would stand up straight and ponder about having a snack. This was a restaurant after all. Given today's special it seemed like they were going to be getting an adventure as well. Sousuke would look at one of the treats and take hold of it. He looked at the rest of them before eating it. Most of the treats were apple based. He took a strudel in fact. It was almost perfect in shape as it was indeed a rectangle, or it was meant to be. He would then eat said treat before looking to Nobu. The larger noble would look at the treats and then to the girl. "Tell me, do we call you Snow White or Margarete?"<i></i> The Noble noticed the trend of the apple snacks, and Nobu was a man who knew his stories for the most part. He knew that some fairy tales were based on real events, which were then turned into fantastic tales.

***

Nobu continued his walk through the forest with Sousuke. The two would come to a clearing. Sousuke would get down on his knees and he would look at the grass in the clearing. "This is rather different. So much effort, and then here we are out in a field. Even the grass is done blade, by blade."<i></i> He would rise up. He would look over to Nobu who took a deep breath. He would hold out his arms and seemingly take well to this open field. Both Sousuke and Nobu were strangers to this as both of them were cave dwellers, or desert surface men. It was like being in a foreign country really. Granted Sousuke helped to build the Ranger's biodomes, but this was certainly nothing quite like that. Like with the other situation playing out, Nobu too knew this story. Nobu would look for a wolf. He would reach into his attire and produced a golden knuckle ring.

Sousuke on the other hand had no idea of what this was. He approached the girl dressed in red. "Good afternoon. Tell me... where are we? And who are you? From your attire and from our setting, I might think that you are a ranger."<i></i> He would assert. He would look for Nobu who was in the distance. He was looking here and there. For what he was looking for? Sousuke had no idea. Nobu would smile as he approached the two.

 

[Toraono Michino]

As the assassin moved towards the building his golden eyes noticed a few things. The event setting seemed a little more mind bending and flare than the old man enjoyed, but couldn’t help but find appreciation in the art style. He stopped to watch the spectacle of execution with sheer neutrality until the ax started to swing down. Even then Uzu only stepped back a couple of paces, out of the ‘splash zone’, but looked pleasantly surprised when the man’s head came off without the gore. Toushin had seen/been the cause of enough death tonight. With a casual move in his step the old killer carefully approached the queen in red before making a grandiose formal bow to the lady.

“Might I be allowed entrance, m’lady?” he asked the young woman with his well practiced tones. He finished the sentence with an inviting, but sharp look. Rarely was he to come across any human of any age that didn’t at once flinch and look away, even if for a second at the old assassin’s intense eyes. His daughter was the only one he had know so far to return that fierce look.
Of course, she was also the one person he had the hardest time keeping eye contact with, which probably didn’t help. The layers upon layers of lies he had built around her life to keep her safe were all starting to come undone since her fierce intelligence surfaced in the last decade or so. It would probably only be a matter of time before he would need to reveal the dangers behind the cursed blood she was so blessed with.

Though Toushin continued his face until he was invited in, his private mind was full of worries and woes. It was an unfortunate curse that came with age, he found, and escaping it became harder and harder. He hoped tonight he could find something to distract his mind away, even if just for a couple of hours.

 

[Ryu Hime]

Sousuke, Nobu and pretty much anyone that has met the adult that is Hakuren thinks that he is all about food and cooking. To tell the truth that might be his fault due to the fact that every time he meets a new person he proudly proclaims himself a chef-nin. Even with people that he met plenty of times are normally spent with him desperately trying to prove that his dream of chef-nin can be a possibility. However people that remember him from a child might know better. Cooking was something his father taught him and he made it into a profession. It was a job; one that he quite enjoys, but still a job never or less. Every man has hobbies and Hakuren has shown to have quite some talent with his. He use to should off his hobby quite a bit when his was young but not it has almost became a secret talent.

In his pre-teen years, back when he was a mere academy student, he was quite the bookworm. One would always find Hakuren off by himself, perhaps with his sister, nose deep in a book. Not the type of books Sousuke and Nobu were currently experiencing now. No that was of his sister’s tastes. Hakuren would eagerly read textbook and other such learned materials on all sort of subjects like anatomy for example. However, after finding his mother’s book he has started to become quite the tinkerer. He rarely buys poisons, tools, traps or weapons and instead he creates his own. His one teacher would likely remember the time he took the chakra induction paper and with a couple of other ingredients made it into a smoke bomb. The instructor was both annoyed and impressed.

The leaves, the grass, the flowers and even the trees within the forest below the table were created by Hakuren. He was always good with his hand and skilled with a knife, which did help in the kitchen. As Sousuke can see, when it came to Hakuren’s hobby, he seems to have an almost obsession in making something as real as possible, but nothing was more impressive was the weapon in front of him. The main characters standing before both Sousukes and the main villain that stood before Toushin were dolls created by Hakuren. The creation jutsu however was provided by his name sake, which agreed to help out. The former kage knows all too well how skilled the blind yamanaka was at molding her jutsu.

Snow White, Little Red Riding Hood and the Queen of Hearts were of similar design. As much of a stab to Hakuren’s perfectionism, he was forced to sacrifice certain traits due to Red’s extremely small size. The both of them do have quite a lot in common. They had a skeletal bone structure carved out of wood with Ninja musculature covered in a synthetic skin. Within the chest cavity are two balloons that expand and contract with every breath. That as far as the similarities go, but most puppet makers would not even go that far. To most puppet makers, the idea of making a doll be able to breath is pointless. However Hakuren was more of an artist than craftsman, which is why he never bothered to join the journeymen. Hakuren was always fashion over function in his creation; even his food was more about the taste than the nutrition.

Snow White and the Queen of Hearts had even more modification that were purely for aesthetics. Both puppets actually had a circulatory system with tubes running throughout the body pumping blood around. The blood was animal blood and in their chests was a small heating units that keeps the blood warm. With the heated liquid flowing through them they would have a natural body temperature that Red would lack. Snow White and the Queen of Hearts had real human hair while Red’s was just thread. Within Snow White head were small balloons filled with salt water connected to eye droppers, so that she could even cry if the scene calls for it. Queen of Hearts was a character too cold to ever cry. Again Hakuren’s dolls were more like art and if one is damage it would be difficult or impossible to fix. The Knave of Hearts being a prime example of beyond fixing.

The ones controlling the puppets were quite skilled as their movement was fluid and realistic. The people Hakuren hired to control a portion of his staff was quite and expert in the art of puppetry. One would not even know who is real and who is a doll except for one little detail: an insignia on the wrist right above the palm. The marking looks like some sort of flower tattoo and it was applied onto them like a tattoo. Every puppet in the restaurant had identical symbols on their bodies. Being that Hakuren was not a journeyman and does not often sale his creations, it is unlikely Sousuke would recognize the mark.
___________________________
Snow white just kind of stood there looking at Sousuke unsure how to go about responding to his words. He seem to be computing all the information given to him aloud. She almost had to wonder if themed parties like this was to much for him to handle, if he tended to over-analyze things like this. Snow White stops staring at the former kage to glance over to Nobu. Walking towards him, she uses a hand to hide her mouth from Sousuke and whispers “Is he always like this? Is he going to be alright?” As she asks Nobu this Sousuke may feel the effects of the apple strudel. Each apple dessert was imbued with the Lethargy genjutsu. This jutsu is not enough to force them to sleep, but enough to impair their focus with a hint of drowsiness.

“Snow White is correct!” She says excitedly. “I also I would like to add that these threats were even made from my stepmother’s apples.” Though that would likely mean nothing to Sousuke since he is unaware that it was an apple that put Snow White to sleep. Nobu on the other had might quickly be concerned, though Snow White does quickly change subjects. “You don’t know how often people guess Cinderella when they find out about the evil stepmother.”
___________________________

Nobu would detect no movement around him apart for himself, his companion and the girl. There was no wolf from the story, because he was in the wrong scene for that. In the story it was the wolf that suggested to Red that she could pick these lovely flowers for her grandmother. In other words the wolf had already left to grandma’s house. However Red’s controller really hopes that Nobu does not decide to immediately pummel someone as soon as they got to the 'grandmother's house.' Especially consider things will be different than he expects. “First can you tell your friend to not prepare for battle. He is making me nervous.” Red had to think for a moment as she wasn’t sure how this outfit says ‘ranger’. Standing up and brushing herself off she begins to answer Sousuke’s questions. “I am Little Red Riding Hood, but you can call me Red. This is my story zone. I'm currently on my way to Grandma's house. Would you two care to join me?”
____________________________
Water Surface Walking Practice: This training method is used to gain better chakra control. To do this, the user has to be emitting a constant stream of chakra from the bottom of the their feet and using the repellent force to walk across the water's surface. Down the street it seems some woman in a bunny suit adapted this technique to be used on land. She focused repelling chakra from her feet to increase her stride. Doing this she leaps through the air at an incredible pace and onlookers quickly get out of the way.

The bunny girl looks again at her pocket watch and cries, “I’m late, I’m late for a very important date. No time so say hello, goodbye. I’m late I’m late I’m late.” Unfortunately for Toushin, she was in a collision course straight for him. If he did not get out of the way, the back of his head would end up sandwich between her two ‘pillows’ before toppling over from her impact. Of coarse if he did get out of the way she will simply ram into the next person, which would be the queen.

[OOC: first section is everyone, the next two are for Sousuke and the last one is for Tama]

 

[Takahashi Aki]

Nobu would smile at Snow White. He would pat his hands together. He would nod his head. "The Lord Steward is a futurist. He is not a man who is into fantasy. To be honest ... I think this is the first full on immersive experience he's ever had with such a thing."<i></i> Nobu wasn't sure if this was even science fiction, that Sousuke would be okay with this. He would point out all of the flaws and he would argue with the rules of the world. Sousuke was a man built on seeing flaws, and then trying to fix those flaws. "He will be fine, just give some time. He's more used to ... solving budget problems, and or dealing with mass murdering psychopaths."<i></i> Nobu would fold his arms. He would look over to the apple goods. He wondered if there was going to be poison involved. He would then look at Snow White and then Sousuke who was eating the pastry. "I'm sure your stepmother is a ... complicated person. Maybe even slightly jealous?"<i></i> Nobu would inquire. He would continue the conversation which was taking a different path now. He would smile at the remark. He would pinch his moustache, "My dear, if you were Cinderella, you would be covering in soot and cinders. A very dark meaning for Cinderella, but one that oftentimes people forget. That and ... I've yet to see animal companions, but most women in your setting seem to have ... but that of course depends upon the version. Sometimes they're here and sometimes they are not."<i></i>

Sousuke's mind due to the apple treat was beginning to slow down. All the hyper analysis effects were starting to disappear from his line of sight. Sousuke still observed to be moving quickly, but now the measures of virtually everything in his line of sight was disappearing. Sousuke for several minutes was dashing around the setting. It seemed like panic had overtaken him. He would return to both Snow White and Nobu. "There is a glitch in the data. A flaw."<i></i> He would state first and foremost. "I do not have the immediate data for our surroundings like the height and width of things ... which usually I know at will."<i></i> He would state.

Nobu would look to Snow White. He would placed his hand on the back of his neck. He looked to the treats, then back to Snow White, then back to Sousuke, and then finally back to Snow White. He wuld let out a large sigh. "Let's keep going Madam. You have a destination, and we should see you to it."<i></i> He would suggest.

***

Nobu would over hear what was being said. "There are ruffians. We should expect them."<i></i> He announced. He would tone down his battle readiness. The giant would make his way towards the two. He would not be looking over his shoulder. He would be approach the two with a big smile on his face. "Now then Red. We're going to visit your grandmother? Please show us the way. We would be delighted to join you."<i></i>

Sousuke would give the woman an odd stare. Her name was Red. Her name was a colour. That was a thing people named their kids. Kuro was a colour. The colour was black, but some people would argue that black was not a colour, that it was a shade really. The Steward accepted that this girl was named Red. "Story zone."<i></i> He repeated. "If this is a narrative, then we must be in the beginning phase of it. We will then proceed to the middle, and then a climax, and then a dénouement."<i></i> He would rule out loud. He would make a motion for her to continue the story. Sousuke wondered what was to be gained from this story. Was there a moral lesson? Was there a scientific lesson? Most unlikely. "Tell me Red, how often do you visit your grandmother? Is it a daily thing, a weekly thing, a monthly thing?"<i></i> Sousuke would inquire as they made their way.

 

[Toraono Michino]

Toushin awaited his reply completely unaware of the Red Queen’s makings, though after standing there for a few seconds the killer of humans began to recognize that she may not be normal. It wasn’t the pitiless voice in the execution of the bloodless man or how harsh her eyes seemed that bothered him, since those were of his own personality…no it was something different. Something he couldn’t quite put his finger on.

Then out of nowhere, he felt the back of his neck suddenly nestled in warmth. Rarely would the assassin ever let his guard down, but in the presence of the restaurant he had just did free security for the older man made the mistake of thinking he needed to relax a little. His body stiffened and he began to turn his neck and body when both the female’s weight and the realization of where he was came crashing against his body and mind respectively. Toushin managed to turn his head enough to understand that what surrounded either side of his head, and the warmth, were caused by large breasts.
Now in his youth this wouldn’t had phased him in the least bit. Toushin had grown up with something of a infamous love for the things a true assassin shirked - recreational activities, sex, or crutches of any kind. He had sowed his wild oats and very possibly had more children than just Chiyo, but in his years away from Suna the old assassin had calmed himself. He was more akin to an older gentleman with a mysterious past. The sight of young flesh and what kind of flesh nestled his head threw him off far more than watching a bloodless man being decapitated.

Toushin took two steps towards the Queen after the crash in an attempt to regain some composure but felt the previous activities of tonight catch up with his old muscles. His legs buckled and he fell under the weight of the girl who had landed on him.

 

[Ryu Hime]

Meanwhile in a upstairs room three puppeteer were talking with each other as they dealt with multiple puppets within the room below. One was a red headed boy still in the early stages of puberty, another was an albino woman well into her adulthood and the last was a elderly man whose bald head was as smooth as a babies bottom. Each one was exceptionally skilled in the art of puppetry: being able to control vast numbers and making them fluidly like a real person. “I must say, these are the most realistic looking puppets I have every puppeteered in my life.”

“And that is saying something.” Joke the boys to the old man’s comment. He was trying to make a joke about the elders age, but either it flew over the man’s head or he just didn’t care because the boy got do reaction. “Yeah I swear it is like walking through a crypt in the storage room. Some many lifeless bodies. Perhaps we should take a customer there and give them a good scare.”

And huge grin appears on face of the old man and he laughs, “Hey Yuki, your sister finally arrived.” Yuki did not even had to ask why he had such a hungry look. The old man’’s expression then changes into a whince. “And she just ran into a custom.” However he was not sure if he felt sorry for him or envied him.

The white haired girl places her face in the palm of her hand. “Yeah that sound like her alright. Scatterbrained as ever.” Yuki did not particular like her sister. Unlike herself that was always on time and trustworthy, her sister was always late, clumsy and forgetful. However despite all of this her younger sister was still every man’s favorite for one reason.

The red head overhearing the conversation gave his two cents. “Hey I heard she has some real knockers” He held his hands in front of his chest as if to fondle some imaginary breasts. He was quite curious if the rumors was true. He had some doubts due to current company.

“Oh yeah she have some melons alright. Unlike miss washboard overhe…” The old man was cut off mid sentence as Yuki proceeds to choke him. Luckily he could manage to maintain control of his puppets, unlike Yuki’s

“No time for that you two, we are nearing the... what the hell?” Yuki release her victim and quickly re-establishes control over her puppets.
________________________
Unbeknownst to Nobu The controller to Snow White was celebrating. Some many times has she met people that had no idea what was going on in the scene. It was nice to have someone that was not like a lost sheep for once. She had hoped that more people like him would come, but she is starting to wonder if anyone bothers to read such fiction anymore or perhaps the more literate persons stay away for this district. “Not to mention the lack of glass slippers.” Now that she looks at herself she does notice she was a little sooty. I was likely due to her constantly being around this fire the entire time. She hopes this stuff comes out because she would like to ask if she could keep this doll.

Suddenly without warning her body goes lifeless and she begins to collapse. Her eyes close and her arms and legs go limp. The tray from her hand falls from her hands and hits the ground with a gong. The pastries roll across the floor and yet the woman in the flames continues her dance. If one of them did not catch her she would be sprawled on the floor.

It seems like we were going backwards in this story. That where at the end and now they were in the middle. This was not something planned, but the control rolled with it. The would only be one way to wake up Snow White from her slumber, but the question is which one would be willing to give her a kiss. Her lips were smooth and warm to the touch like any normal person. Suddenly all the memories of their mud clones would come into their mind as the jutsu comes to an end.
____________________

“Mother says that Darkness lurks here.” It was indeed a little dim here compared to real sun light and most of the trees were dark to an almost ebony hue. “Yes moma and papa is sending my to grandma’s to learn the art of the trapper.” Nobu would likely question this as that was not in any version he has likely heard. Red would then guides them to what appears to be a road of cobblestone. This path weaving through the trees like a stream. Trees as white as snow grew along the path with a particular sweet scent surrounding them.

Walking down the cobblestone path the former Kage begins to ramble. “A narrative yes, but one created by combining two similar tales together. One spun from the imagination of the mind and one remembered from personal experiences. Both fact and fiction make up this world.” Someone within Suna has lived a life similar to this story and perhaps they could figure out who. “Grandma visits often, but this is the first that I visit her.” The story of red riding hood can be pretty dark, but the memories of the person were darker yet. Hakuren knew some of this tale due to the one in question being so close to him, but there are somethings she refuse to tell him.

Suddenly the was a rumbling sound like rolling thunder. The sound got loud and even the very ground beneath their feet begins to shake like an earthquake. “This isn’t part of the…” Her voice stops mind sentence as Red sees it; a large object rolling into the area. The thing was as big as a mountain compared to them and it crushed everything in its path. “RUN!” However the object in question was moving too fast to outrun and will overcome them.
___________________

Not even Toushin was strong enough to stop the bunny girl’s forward momentum, but it did give the Queen time to get out of the way. After colliding with Toushin the girl then proceeded to barrel roll through the open doorway, under a table and crashes into a chair. In was quite the spectacle and some people found it rather amusing like it was some sort of comedy routine.

Two of the muscular men dressed as playing cards pick up Toushin of the ground and sat him on his feet. He would then be guided inside the building. Within was a theme party and theme for today was alice in wonderland. It was not just the staff that was Wonderland themed but the food and drink too. The cakes and cookies were black or red in color and shaped in diamond, clubs, hearts and spades. The hostess was based on the main character of the story the party was themed to. Just by looking at her one would see a child dressed in white and blue. Despite the girl being well in her teenage years she still had a childish aura about her. She stops sipping her tea and welcomes Toushin warmly, "Welcome to the tea party. I do hope you enjoy this event as we celebrate our Suna's victory in Tea." As quickly as it came the happy expression leaves her and is quickly replaced with an apologetic expression. "I'm terribly sorry but it seems my white rabbit is out of commission.”

 

[Takahashi Aki]

Nobu would give Snow White a look, and he would tap his nose. "Spoilers my dear."<i></i> He would state. Sousuke would look at Nobu and then back to the woman. He would rub his own nose, as he did not comprehend that Nobu was making a gesture to suggest he knew far more than he did. Upon seeing this Nobu would fake a sneeze and he would rub his nose and look back to Snow White. He offered her a smile. Clearly Sousuke did not have childhood stories read to him, if anything he was given quantum mechanics or physics to understand. What was that saying? All work and no play makes someone someone a dull boy. Sousuke was a dull boy, unless thrown into something greater than he was, which honestly did happen. Sousuke was one of the few individuals to travel into the eye of the Diamond Maelstrom. Nobu always felt that Sousuke could have had a very good story or fable written about that and how he and Lord Katuso had heroically jumped into the Maelstrom and did battle with a terrible fiend. In truth Sousuke always remained quiet about it. Nobu never could get an answer as to why it was the case. Maybe Sousuke was just a little too humble?

Without a moment's notice the girl fell over. Nobu and Sousuke bought caught her. Nobu would look over to Sousuke. The concept of telling him that True Love's kiss would save the day would be "There should be a medical facility we can take her to. I could probably get her to Omni Prime quickly enough."<i></i> Nobu shook his head. He would make motions to kiss the woman in question. He was making kissy faces, which Sousuke blinked several times at. Nobu would then point to Sousuke's lips and then to the woman's lips. He would again make a kissy face. "Isn't that what we call taking advantage of someone? That's not ... in good taste."<i></i> Sousuke would answer again. After several more kissy faces, and assurances this was how people were healed in old storytelling (which Sousuke thought was dumb), he did indeed kiss the sleeping woman.

At least Sousuke didn't make for a boring kisser. He knew what to do. Nobu had seen him kiss Yume all those years back on his birthday.

***

Sousuke would be stunned for a moment as the memories of the mud clone came to him. He looked slightly mortified for a moment. Alright. Kissing a woman, and now he was here? Wait. He had been here this entire time with a girl named Red. Nobu would be left smiling at what had happened, but that smile would quickly disappear as they were being cashed by a ... giant? It was quite massive. This was not part of the normal narrative. The noble would simply break off into a sprint grabbing Red by the wrist and flinging her onto his back. Nobu was large and capable of carrying quite a few people.

Sousuke on the other hand was bolting too. He held out his hand to try and blast the giant object, but he couldn't do so. No plasma beam was coming out. Quickly enough he put two and two together and simply bolted. Being tiny was very much a pain. Sousuke winced slightly as he was watching the world around him being destroyed. Well, not entirely but part of it was? All the detail, all the work, it was indeed being undone and quickly at that.

 

[Toraono Michino]

Down tumbled poor, poor Uzu. Though he hit the ground rather hard his body reflexively tensed at the right time to, ‘bounce him’, when he hit. His hands were already under him ready to spring back up when he felt a certain click in his back followed by a sharp pain spreading throughout his nervous system. In all honesty, when he felt the hands under his arms, all he wanted to do was scream bloody rage and kill everyone right then and there, but he couldn’t; because being old was killing him.

Honestly the old assassin probably wouldn’t have near the problems he was having were it not for the invisible seal that Ryuu Tama had placed on him decades ago. Toushin was a man who was born ‘without a chakra coil,’ though the strange truth turned out he was actually born with a really rare birth defect. Due to the harsh way he had grown up all in the name of training to become the deadliest assassin, his coil never fully matured with the rest of his body causing his ability to control any form of jutsu impossible. Then, one day, he had an insane idea. By meditating for an entire day the, then young, assassin pooled a small bit of his black blood into his stomach and began to mold chakra around it until it was a small ball hovering just above his stomach acid. As the weeks would go, Toushin would channel as much chakra as he could muster with his stunted coil every day and store it into the ball until the day came when he finally had to do battle with an a high level shinobi.
Then he dropped the ball and digested it.
The outcome was incredibly deadly. Trained by his clan to have a physical body that could match a Chuunin’s ability without the single use of chakra made him a foe to be reckoned with, but with chakra he was easily on par with the elites of that time. The only downside to this was the backlash of having so much energy running through his ragged coil often meant he was going to need at least a few days of downtime.

His downfall came at the hands of a whore. Literally. Though now he had a beautiful, and terrifyingly powerful, daughter from the relationship, Uzu always regretted the decision to leave Suna how he did. At the time he was desperate youth who had survived the entire annihilation of his clan, with a newborn child in his arms, just looking to change his life. Ryuu Tama offered him that life, but only on the trade that the powers that made Uzu so dangerous were sealed away so that he couldn’t come back as a threat to Sunagakure. At the time, the assassin never thought he’d ever be living here again. Now he was face down in the streets, paralyzed by pain that was once laughable.

As the guards lifted him to his feet the sour expression was already affixed to his well trimmed features. Being brought before the proverbial Alice, he could only really reply with,
“Yeah, good to see we won that…,” though the hand on his back and slight bent shape told of the man’s injuries as he glared in the direction of the White Rabbit.
“Don’t suppose you have an open table during this event? Preferably somewhere…a little more, quiet.”

 

[Ryu Hime]

The older gentleman asks for a simple request of a quiet place and upon hearing such a plea a voice would emanate from behind him. “That sounds lovely.” Should he look at the person that spoke, he would see what appears to be a teenage girl in a red dress. Akazukin looks exceptionally young for her age; It is believed that this is due to the influence of the demon’s corruption. Her right eye is a scarlet red which is a little strange, but within her left eye was a clock. The clock in her left eye even told the correct time. This is an extremely rare doujutsu called the Tokeigan or clock eye. As much as she is aware, she is the only human to possess such a strange doujutsu. “I think I might join you.” Noticing Akazukin for the first time Alice drops her tea cup and it shatters across the floor.

The hands in the Tokeigan spin backwards and then the shattered remain spontaneously comes back together and floats back into Alice's hands. Looking at the cup one could not even tell that it ever fell apart. “M-madam Akazukin. We were not expecting you.”</COLOR><i></i> Akazukin merely narrows her gaze and Alice quickly goes to action. she would place her teacup back on the table and clap her hands twice. Then seemingly out of thin air a woman would appear before them. How she appears was interesting as space from were she came from seemed to have rippled like she was coming out of a pool of water. The first thing to come into view was a toothy grin and from there her face and body would then come into being. Most would find this quite astonishing, but to a trained eye the trick was simple. The woman was always there but she used an anbu jutsu to blend into the background. It was an active camo jutsu and she used it quite well to simulate a character in the story. “Chesshire will...”<i></i>

Akazukin’s eye going haywire once again and the feline waitress was place back into active camo as quickly as it was dropped. “No, I’ll seat myself thank you.” She then walks off only to stop a moment later to beckon The man to follow. “Come, come.” She was heading towards a wall with a full length mirror. Akazukin then steps through the mirror like it was liquid, but if Uzu tried to do the same he will find out just how solid it is.

Meanwhile with With Sousuke, Nobu and Snow white. When Snow White did this act she really thought the noble Nobu would save the day, but no he leaves it up to his sidekick to save the damsel. While Snow White finds his humility in giving this honor to Sousuke respectable, she really wished he did it himself rather than yield the responsibility to another. Luckily because Snow White is a puppet she can easily hide her announce as Sousuke suggests reasonable courses of action. After several minutes of Nobu trying to goad the former kage into kissing the girl, Snow White was losing patients. At last she gives up right about the time Sousuke was about to plant her a good one. She blocks his lips with her hand <COLOR color="#0000FF">“Nope, too late now.” Her eyes open and her body comes back to life. “The mood has been thoroughly killed.” She wanted to say the mood was completely slaughtered, but she did want to berate him too much. She then places a hand to her ear like she was getting a message from a small radio receiver. Something then walks through the mirror which seems to startle Snow White, “M-m-mistress.”

 

[Takahashi Aki]

Nobu was a cautious individual ever since his divorce .Nobu was fully aware of where he was. He was in a place in town that was home to a very terrible thing called 'Scandal'. That was why he was dressed in his work clothes. He full heartedly supported Hakuren in his endeavors, but Nobu had his reputation to maintain. The Noble was on the rather nasty side of a divorce. Luckily Sousuke was helping him with it. His former wife the Lady Haku Tomoko was going to take him for everything, but Sousuke had unveiled something rather damaging to her case: being that she had been unfaith to him and had multiple lovers. It hurt the noble quite a bit, as he had adored his wife, but sometimes there were hard truths. At the present time his wife was going to be paying all the legal bills, and Nobu did not want to give her any ammunition to use against him. That was one of the reasons why Nobu was not going to be the hero here was that he wanted Sousuke to experience something.

It looked like it was going to occur, that his man was going to be the hero, but alas it did not. The woman woke up and pushed Sousuke back. Nobu would mentally sigh. No fairy tale ending for Sousuke. Typical, but not unexpected. The Lord Steward was used to these sorts of things and would continue to be so. Nobu knew of the tragedy of Yume and Okibi. The first relationship Sousuke had put to an end because Shouki was far too dangerous and was an intellect. It would not take long for that Monster to find out who else had a deep and meaningful relationship with Sousuke, only to exploit it and have the worst occur. The other case was Sousuke's first ward who had left Sungakure altogether. Sousuke did not speak of it, but Nobu knew that it lingered deep within the bust mind of the Steward. Nobu did not ever wish to have Sousuke's uncanny ability to recollect at will. Some things needs to remain in the past, or forgotten altogether.

Sousuke stood up and simply exchanged glances with Nobu. "I suppose that puts an end to that."<i></i> He simply stated. There was nothing else to be done really. The woman got up and was in the middle of taking a call. "I suppose the idea was that chemically the saliva was meant to save the individual in peril."<i></i> He would clap his hands together. He frowned somewhat at the notion. "Isn't this very ... non-progressive towards the independence and gender quality? Suggesting that one party needs the other to be saved, instead of being dependent on one's self?"<i></i> Sousuke inquired.

"Sometimes, my boy Sousuke, sometimes one has to allow a good story to occur. We cannot put the rabbit back into the hat to fix the surroundings."<i></i> Nobu answered. He held his hands behind his back. Sousuke did the same as the two awaited what next was going to occur. "I suspect the story will continue in one way or another. We the participators must allow it to unfold accordingly... or if this is the end? Then that's fine too."<i></i>

MFT: 540