T
The Dapper Mog
Guest
Original poster
Rapid footsteps echoed down the long corridor. The wooden floor creaking underneath the weight of the dark quick moving form. A young woman turned the corner, stopping abruptly as three men stood on the far end of the hall. Her face was covered with a half mask, her hair tied back in a long tail. The young woman's eyes narrowed at them as they slowly moved in, each drawing a blade. They had been waiting for her, and now they were attempting to block her escape. Someone had warned them of her arrival. Was it the client? It couldn't have been anyone else, the village certainly wouldn't betray her, after all, they'd be throwing away the five-tails.
One of the men suddenly rushed forward, his blade lunged forward, aimed directly at her. The blade only cut air, the target having dropped into a crouch. She immediately noted that the strike hadn't been aimed at a vital point. In fact, it would have only been a fairly minor wound. That meant one of two things; one, he wanted a drawn out fight, or two, they intended to capture her. Either way, these punks didn't have a chance of stopping her.
"Fool."
A hand shot forward, striking the side of his knee, dropping him down onto his knee. She rose up quickly, driving the back of her hand into his jaw, launching him backwards away from her. With a groan he hit the floor. The girl moved swiftly, following through with the motion to continue moving forward, quickly closing the distance with the other two. They immediately noticed her coming towards them, readying their blades for a counterstrike. She made a quick handseal, causing the air around her to quickly heat up. The two men felt the sudden increase in temperature, the wave of humid air hitting them as though an intense flame has just erupted in front of them.
For the slightest moment, they recoiled, moving backwards in response to the heat. In that instant, her hands rose, blades seemingly appearing from thin air, her hands gripping them as they lunged forward, piercing the two men's chests. They exhaled a cough of blood as they were driven into the floor. Both grasped at her wrists, choking on their last breaths as she twisted the blades. With a quiet grunt, she rose and withdrew the blades, flicking them away from her to throw the blood off the blades. A quick glance at the first man showed he was still conscious, but she wasn't concerned about him.
With that, she moved forward, dashing down the hall until she stopped at a pair of elaborate double doors. Taking a deep breath, she pushed them open, revealing a large and rather ornate room. Standing within the boundaries of the room were several armed men, and a single tall man behind them, sitting in a lavish throne encrusted with jewels.
"Ah, I see you're finally here. I never would have believed it when I was informed that the one they would send after me was going to be the five-tails host, Aoko Harumi. The adopted daughter of the present Raikage. Welcome. I hear you're quite the young beauty, how about you remove that mask and just come quietly. Isn't some pleasantries with me far more preferable than a slow torturous death?"
Aoko slowly pulled the mask down, revealing her rather emotionless face. Light glinted off her piercing from the various torches in the room. Aside from a modicum of disgust crossing her face, she seemed blank and calm. She stood upright, her fingers twirling the blades around as she contemplated the present situation. There were a dozen men surrounding him, six on either side of him. Each was no doubt a trained bodyguard, and Kazuya Rikuo, her target, was believed to have been being held and tortured. Was the client even actually a relative of his? Doubtful. It was infuriating that her mission had been a farce, and was only an elaborate trap of some kind. Set by someone, no doubt it was in fact the man whom had contracted the village for the job. Probably trying to abduct some shinobi for some nefarious purpose.
The young woman scoffed, letting her blades hover over her open palms, rising until they were up to her shoulders. She was undoubtedly disgusted by his offer, and the fact of the matter was, her target was wanted dead, and thus, she couldn't allow him to leave this building alive.
"I think I'll pass. I'm not really into men that threaten or try to kill me."
"A shame. Very well. Gentlemen, I believe it is time to take Lady Aoko here down to our dungeon. Make it fast, and try not to scratch her body up too much. It'd be a shame to waste it."
The men moved forward, surrounding her, watching her closely as she scowled. His words sickened her, but focusing on that would only make this fight more difficult. Her blades unfolded, revealing themselves as ornate bladed fans. They began to spin rapidly making a high pitched sound, not painful, but beyond noticeable. The men didn't seem fond of the sound, and appeared hesitant to attack her. She couldn't blame them, really. Unfortunately, they chose the wrong employer. It was time to get this done.
Aoko rapidly made a series of handseals, inhaling sharply. Simultaneously, the air around her continued heating up rapidly again, the steam escaping her body was invisible and odorless, aside from the heat being given off, it'd be very difficult to detect. Noticing she was acting, the men moved in, intent on halting her progress on the jutsu, only to hit the intense heat of her steam. Although, it would only burn them mildly at this level, it was enough to slow them down. The young woman dropped slightly, exhaling as a great torrent of water spewed from her mouth, quickly flooding the room. A few of them were wise enough to jump back and brace themselves, most however weren't prepared, and were swept off their feet.
Aoko continued creating the water, quickly flooding the room until there was about ten feet of water, leaving just about as much room above her. It was indeed a large room, and thus, not an ideal place for her enemies to be. It wouldn't take long for the men to drown, not being shinobi and this untrained in chakra control they couldn't move freely atop the water. While it wouldn't stop them from swimming to the surface, in the water, they were as good as helpless. Especially when dealing with a shinobi like Aoko. The water was already incredibly hot, but continued to grow warmer as her chakra funneled into her, and the steam escaped her body. Soon, it would begin to boil, and the men caught within the water would die. Rikuo, her target, stood across from her, clearly angry with this turn of events. He glanced down at the water, noticing the beginning signs of the bubbling from the heat. He could already feel it through his shoes. The men were beginning to panic hurriedly swimming to the surface. Each of them broke the surface, their skin red with burns already forming. Only another minute until they were dead. They cried out to their employer, but he simply ignored them.
Rikuo performed a short string of handseals, preparing to launch a jutsu. However, before he could complete them, Aoko made a simple gesture with her fingers, raising her index and middle fingers upward. Suddenly, her fans, still spinning rapidly shot out of the water, moving toward her from behind him. He heard the sound, turning to react too late, the blades slicing through his body at diagonal angles. The fans moved quickly through him like a hot knife through butter, making their way back to Aoko, who caught them easily, folding them neatly back into their closed dagger-like form. The man cried out as he fell forward, catching himself as he put his hands to his wounds. The cuts were not fatal, but they were severe.
"Aaagh! Damn you!"
He cried out to her in rage, charging at her as he drew his blade. Aoko was a little surprised he could still use his arms effectively enough to use a weapon. With a quick horizontal swipe, he attacked her, only to be caught by her blade, parrying his strike as she twirled around him gracefully. Aoko wrapped her arm around his neck, pulling him back as she gripped him in a vice-like headlock. He struggled, but couldn't overpower her, dropping his blade into the water. Her fans dispersed in a cloud of smoke, and she tightened her grip on him while pressing her fingertips into his shoulder, digging them in painfully like talons. Rikuo cried out, the room falling silent aside from his anguish as his subordinates all slowly expired.
"Now that I have your undivided attention, you can tell me why you've concocted this ridiculous scheme. Why did you have someone plant this mission? What is your purpose for attempting to capture me? Especially with such a feeble group of subordinates?"
Rikuo managed a laugh, coughing briefly through the pain before responding.
"Me? No, I'm just subordinate myself, in charge of this one den. My boss has places like this all over. As for our plans, well, you'll just have to go fu- aaaah!"
His words were interrupted by a cry of pain when she dug her fingers in harder, beginning to draw blood. Aoko wasn't particularly fond of vulgarity or rude words. Still, she thought that this whole thing was only some smart of a much larger plan was unnerving. He also hadn't said what exactly their plans were.
"That only answers a small part of it. Now, tell me what your plans are. What are these locations used for, and why bother using shinobi from the great nations for it? Tell me, or your fate will be far worse than theirs."
Rikuo groaned in pain, smiling as he answered.
"Okay, but you won't like it. We capture people of all types, all backgrounds, walks of life, what have you. More often than not, we sell our captives as servants, slaves, concubines, or even special punching bags. Sometimes, our clients specifically want shinobi, sometimes from particular villages. You understand how some groups don't particularly get along, and want to take their anger or their frustrations out on others, right? We provide services like that for a fee. And in order to acquire those "products" we sometimes have to get a little help from the villages. The missions are like bait, you see."
Aoko's teeth were gritting throughout his answers. They were monsters, capturing people and enslaving them for horrible purposes. This creep was only the start of it too. No doubt they have been gathering victims from all over.
"Tell me, you slime, tell me where the other locations are. Where is your boss located? How many of you disgusting creatures are out there?"
Rikuo again laughed through the pain shaking his head.
"Don't waste your breath. I'll never tell you a thing, you crazy bitch."
Aoko's fingers dug in suddenly, breaking the skin entirely as the digits punctured his shoulder. He cried out, his eyes beginning to close as he began to lose consciousness.
"Maybe not, but we have people who can pry the information from you. You're coming back with me."
When he went to protest, she tightened her grip around his throat, choking him until he passed out.
With her "assignment" completed, she took the unconscious man from the building, and binding him. She stopped and tended to the bodies of the two men that had been sent with her. They were members of the ANBU, tasked with guarding her. Even now, she was rarely allowed to leave the village without an escort. It pained her to know that if it hadn't been for her, they wouldn't have been killed. They died protecting her from the initial assault when they had just arrived. There were dozens, and they attacked out of nowhere. Their traps on the outside were what got them killed. If only she hadn't been so distracted, she would have noticed it before tripping it. They saved her and got her moving, but were unable to escape themselves. With a heavy heart, she buried them, leaving markers so they could be recovered. Unfortunately, she alone wouldn't be able to carry them and the prisoner.
After burying them, she left, beginning to make her way back to the village. It wasn't a terribly long journey, and to avoid having to deal with him, she simply would knock him out each time he awoke. It didn't take but a couple days for her to arrive. She informed her superiors of what she discovered, and handed the prisoner over. She debriefed with the Raikage, giving him a full report.
"Aoko, you've had a long journey, and I know it was troubling for you. But, what happened wasn't your fault. This burden of guilt you carry is unnecessary, and it will only slow you down. Go, you need to rest. You've earned a reprieve. Don't worry. We will look into this."
Aoko nodded briefly to the Raikage, bowing respectfully.
"Yes, you're right. Thank you, Father."
Of course , she couldn't stop feeling she was to blame. Maybe some rest would do her great. A nice stress free soak would help, no doubt. With a heavy sigh, she made her way home. Aoko disrobed, slipping slowly into her bath. A soft sigh of contentment escaped her lips, steam escaping her body to heat the water. Having her own personal hot spring was the best. She simply enjoyed the soak, losing track of time and almost managing to fall asleep. The silence was perfect, and the combination of the warmth of the water and the cool air was heavenly on her body. She was so lost in her own little world, that she didn't hear the sliding door open until a voice began speaking?
"Aoko? I just wanted to check-"
The familiar voice of the Raikage rang in her ears. Oddly, it didn't sound like it was through the door. Which meant…Aoko's face turned bright red as she plunged into the water, her priorly uncovered upper chest now hidden as she cried out.
"What are you doing, you idiot?! You can't just barge in on a woman while she's bathing, Dad! How is it even possible to be this embarrassing?!"
A barrage of bottles and bath soaps were hurled at the man, shoving him back out the door before he hurriedly closed it.
"I'm sorry! thought you were dressed! I just wanted to check on you!
He called out in response, just as embarrassed as she was. Well, maybe not quite as much, but, he did feel bad.
"You've got to start knocking at the least! For crying out loud, just talk to me later! Go away!"
Aoko groaned angrily as she slid underneath the water up to her jaw, the water now bubbling, the steam her body released intensified. The deep blush remained, and she found herself wondering if it were even possible to become more embarrassed than she already was...
One of the men suddenly rushed forward, his blade lunged forward, aimed directly at her. The blade only cut air, the target having dropped into a crouch. She immediately noted that the strike hadn't been aimed at a vital point. In fact, it would have only been a fairly minor wound. That meant one of two things; one, he wanted a drawn out fight, or two, they intended to capture her. Either way, these punks didn't have a chance of stopping her.
"Fool."
A hand shot forward, striking the side of his knee, dropping him down onto his knee. She rose up quickly, driving the back of her hand into his jaw, launching him backwards away from her. With a groan he hit the floor. The girl moved swiftly, following through with the motion to continue moving forward, quickly closing the distance with the other two. They immediately noticed her coming towards them, readying their blades for a counterstrike. She made a quick handseal, causing the air around her to quickly heat up. The two men felt the sudden increase in temperature, the wave of humid air hitting them as though an intense flame has just erupted in front of them.
For the slightest moment, they recoiled, moving backwards in response to the heat. In that instant, her hands rose, blades seemingly appearing from thin air, her hands gripping them as they lunged forward, piercing the two men's chests. They exhaled a cough of blood as they were driven into the floor. Both grasped at her wrists, choking on their last breaths as she twisted the blades. With a quiet grunt, she rose and withdrew the blades, flicking them away from her to throw the blood off the blades. A quick glance at the first man showed he was still conscious, but she wasn't concerned about him.
With that, she moved forward, dashing down the hall until she stopped at a pair of elaborate double doors. Taking a deep breath, she pushed them open, revealing a large and rather ornate room. Standing within the boundaries of the room were several armed men, and a single tall man behind them, sitting in a lavish throne encrusted with jewels.
"Ah, I see you're finally here. I never would have believed it when I was informed that the one they would send after me was going to be the five-tails host, Aoko Harumi. The adopted daughter of the present Raikage. Welcome. I hear you're quite the young beauty, how about you remove that mask and just come quietly. Isn't some pleasantries with me far more preferable than a slow torturous death?"
Aoko slowly pulled the mask down, revealing her rather emotionless face. Light glinted off her piercing from the various torches in the room. Aside from a modicum of disgust crossing her face, she seemed blank and calm. She stood upright, her fingers twirling the blades around as she contemplated the present situation. There were a dozen men surrounding him, six on either side of him. Each was no doubt a trained bodyguard, and Kazuya Rikuo, her target, was believed to have been being held and tortured. Was the client even actually a relative of his? Doubtful. It was infuriating that her mission had been a farce, and was only an elaborate trap of some kind. Set by someone, no doubt it was in fact the man whom had contracted the village for the job. Probably trying to abduct some shinobi for some nefarious purpose.
The young woman scoffed, letting her blades hover over her open palms, rising until they were up to her shoulders. She was undoubtedly disgusted by his offer, and the fact of the matter was, her target was wanted dead, and thus, she couldn't allow him to leave this building alive.
"I think I'll pass. I'm not really into men that threaten or try to kill me."
"A shame. Very well. Gentlemen, I believe it is time to take Lady Aoko here down to our dungeon. Make it fast, and try not to scratch her body up too much. It'd be a shame to waste it."
The men moved forward, surrounding her, watching her closely as she scowled. His words sickened her, but focusing on that would only make this fight more difficult. Her blades unfolded, revealing themselves as ornate bladed fans. They began to spin rapidly making a high pitched sound, not painful, but beyond noticeable. The men didn't seem fond of the sound, and appeared hesitant to attack her. She couldn't blame them, really. Unfortunately, they chose the wrong employer. It was time to get this done.
Aoko rapidly made a series of handseals, inhaling sharply. Simultaneously, the air around her continued heating up rapidly again, the steam escaping her body was invisible and odorless, aside from the heat being given off, it'd be very difficult to detect. Noticing she was acting, the men moved in, intent on halting her progress on the jutsu, only to hit the intense heat of her steam. Although, it would only burn them mildly at this level, it was enough to slow them down. The young woman dropped slightly, exhaling as a great torrent of water spewed from her mouth, quickly flooding the room. A few of them were wise enough to jump back and brace themselves, most however weren't prepared, and were swept off their feet.
Aoko continued creating the water, quickly flooding the room until there was about ten feet of water, leaving just about as much room above her. It was indeed a large room, and thus, not an ideal place for her enemies to be. It wouldn't take long for the men to drown, not being shinobi and this untrained in chakra control they couldn't move freely atop the water. While it wouldn't stop them from swimming to the surface, in the water, they were as good as helpless. Especially when dealing with a shinobi like Aoko. The water was already incredibly hot, but continued to grow warmer as her chakra funneled into her, and the steam escaped her body. Soon, it would begin to boil, and the men caught within the water would die. Rikuo, her target, stood across from her, clearly angry with this turn of events. He glanced down at the water, noticing the beginning signs of the bubbling from the heat. He could already feel it through his shoes. The men were beginning to panic hurriedly swimming to the surface. Each of them broke the surface, their skin red with burns already forming. Only another minute until they were dead. They cried out to their employer, but he simply ignored them.
Rikuo performed a short string of handseals, preparing to launch a jutsu. However, before he could complete them, Aoko made a simple gesture with her fingers, raising her index and middle fingers upward. Suddenly, her fans, still spinning rapidly shot out of the water, moving toward her from behind him. He heard the sound, turning to react too late, the blades slicing through his body at diagonal angles. The fans moved quickly through him like a hot knife through butter, making their way back to Aoko, who caught them easily, folding them neatly back into their closed dagger-like form. The man cried out as he fell forward, catching himself as he put his hands to his wounds. The cuts were not fatal, but they were severe.
"Aaagh! Damn you!"
He cried out to her in rage, charging at her as he drew his blade. Aoko was a little surprised he could still use his arms effectively enough to use a weapon. With a quick horizontal swipe, he attacked her, only to be caught by her blade, parrying his strike as she twirled around him gracefully. Aoko wrapped her arm around his neck, pulling him back as she gripped him in a vice-like headlock. He struggled, but couldn't overpower her, dropping his blade into the water. Her fans dispersed in a cloud of smoke, and she tightened her grip on him while pressing her fingertips into his shoulder, digging them in painfully like talons. Rikuo cried out, the room falling silent aside from his anguish as his subordinates all slowly expired.
"Now that I have your undivided attention, you can tell me why you've concocted this ridiculous scheme. Why did you have someone plant this mission? What is your purpose for attempting to capture me? Especially with such a feeble group of subordinates?"
Rikuo managed a laugh, coughing briefly through the pain before responding.
"Me? No, I'm just subordinate myself, in charge of this one den. My boss has places like this all over. As for our plans, well, you'll just have to go fu- aaaah!"
His words were interrupted by a cry of pain when she dug her fingers in harder, beginning to draw blood. Aoko wasn't particularly fond of vulgarity or rude words. Still, she thought that this whole thing was only some smart of a much larger plan was unnerving. He also hadn't said what exactly their plans were.
"That only answers a small part of it. Now, tell me what your plans are. What are these locations used for, and why bother using shinobi from the great nations for it? Tell me, or your fate will be far worse than theirs."
Rikuo groaned in pain, smiling as he answered.
"Okay, but you won't like it. We capture people of all types, all backgrounds, walks of life, what have you. More often than not, we sell our captives as servants, slaves, concubines, or even special punching bags. Sometimes, our clients specifically want shinobi, sometimes from particular villages. You understand how some groups don't particularly get along, and want to take their anger or their frustrations out on others, right? We provide services like that for a fee. And in order to acquire those "products" we sometimes have to get a little help from the villages. The missions are like bait, you see."
Aoko's teeth were gritting throughout his answers. They were monsters, capturing people and enslaving them for horrible purposes. This creep was only the start of it too. No doubt they have been gathering victims from all over.
"Tell me, you slime, tell me where the other locations are. Where is your boss located? How many of you disgusting creatures are out there?"
Rikuo again laughed through the pain shaking his head.
"Don't waste your breath. I'll never tell you a thing, you crazy bitch."
Aoko's fingers dug in suddenly, breaking the skin entirely as the digits punctured his shoulder. He cried out, his eyes beginning to close as he began to lose consciousness.
"Maybe not, but we have people who can pry the information from you. You're coming back with me."
When he went to protest, she tightened her grip around his throat, choking him until he passed out.
With her "assignment" completed, she took the unconscious man from the building, and binding him. She stopped and tended to the bodies of the two men that had been sent with her. They were members of the ANBU, tasked with guarding her. Even now, she was rarely allowed to leave the village without an escort. It pained her to know that if it hadn't been for her, they wouldn't have been killed. They died protecting her from the initial assault when they had just arrived. There were dozens, and they attacked out of nowhere. Their traps on the outside were what got them killed. If only she hadn't been so distracted, she would have noticed it before tripping it. They saved her and got her moving, but were unable to escape themselves. With a heavy heart, she buried them, leaving markers so they could be recovered. Unfortunately, she alone wouldn't be able to carry them and the prisoner.
After burying them, she left, beginning to make her way back to the village. It wasn't a terribly long journey, and to avoid having to deal with him, she simply would knock him out each time he awoke. It didn't take but a couple days for her to arrive. She informed her superiors of what she discovered, and handed the prisoner over. She debriefed with the Raikage, giving him a full report.
"Aoko, you've had a long journey, and I know it was troubling for you. But, what happened wasn't your fault. This burden of guilt you carry is unnecessary, and it will only slow you down. Go, you need to rest. You've earned a reprieve. Don't worry. We will look into this."
Aoko nodded briefly to the Raikage, bowing respectfully.
"Yes, you're right. Thank you, Father."
Of course , she couldn't stop feeling she was to blame. Maybe some rest would do her great. A nice stress free soak would help, no doubt. With a heavy sigh, she made her way home. Aoko disrobed, slipping slowly into her bath. A soft sigh of contentment escaped her lips, steam escaping her body to heat the water. Having her own personal hot spring was the best. She simply enjoyed the soak, losing track of time and almost managing to fall asleep. The silence was perfect, and the combination of the warmth of the water and the cool air was heavenly on her body. She was so lost in her own little world, that she didn't hear the sliding door open until a voice began speaking?
"Aoko? I just wanted to check-"
The familiar voice of the Raikage rang in her ears. Oddly, it didn't sound like it was through the door. Which meant…Aoko's face turned bright red as she plunged into the water, her priorly uncovered upper chest now hidden as she cried out.
"What are you doing, you idiot?! You can't just barge in on a woman while she's bathing, Dad! How is it even possible to be this embarrassing?!"
A barrage of bottles and bath soaps were hurled at the man, shoving him back out the door before he hurriedly closed it.
"I'm sorry! thought you were dressed! I just wanted to check on you!
He called out in response, just as embarrassed as she was. Well, maybe not quite as much, but, he did feel bad.
"You've got to start knocking at the least! For crying out loud, just talk to me later! Go away!"
Aoko groaned angrily as she slid underneath the water up to her jaw, the water now bubbling, the steam her body released intensified. The deep blush remained, and she found herself wondering if it were even possible to become more embarrassed than she already was...
