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Ida The Lost
Ida The Lost
Citizen
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Confronting the Apex Predator [P] Empty Confronting the Apex Predator [P]

Sat Feb 09, 2019 9:36 pm
This had been a terrible decision. Ranking within the top three of worst ideas she had ever had. The heat of the desert was unbearable, and the farmland accustomed girl felt like her brain might melt out of her ears were it not for a cave she had found jabbed into the side of a sandy plateau. What had originally been a standpoint for her to try and catch her barring felt more like a hot plate after standing atop it for so long. Thankfully, a hole in the roof leads to a small series of tunnels, most of which ended in dead ends, but one of which when outside after the entrance had been cleared. More than likely, someone had used this as a retreat a long time ago, but there was no sign of it ever being inhabited. It was possible that these tunnels were cut over a long period of time in the sparse rain the desert got. In her books, Ida had read that rain in the desert sits heavy upon the sands, and can even bore holes. Still, the mapping of the tunnels seemed a little too convenient for it not to have some kind of human influence. Thankfully, it gave the traveler time out of the sun to consider their situation.

Up until then, she had been traveling with a makeshift pack that didn't carry much but food. A crude knife fashioned from grinding two rocks together and applying amatuer sharpening techniques made for something to gather kindling. It also cut fiber from trees and meat if need be, though was far from what one might call a masterwork tool. Her cloak and mash shielded her face and upper body from the sun, though the leathers had become stifling. Still, taking them off was just asking for trouble. Now able to set the pack down, she would gaze across the land from the cave entrance, finding anything that could possibly make a discernable landmark. Something that wouldn't be covered by sand in a storm. She had already learned her lesson on sandstorms after having to unbury herself from a mound of sand. This meant she could rove back to the borderlands and procure kindling for a flame at night that wouldn't be seen and even take time to prepare meals. This place was not worth fortification, however. This would certainly not make due for a permanent residence, as if she was right, and it was the rain, the tunnels would flood if she didn't make a hatch for the roof, and she didn't trust her carpentry skills that much. Besides, even in the shade of the tunnels, the air was so hot that just being alive made her whole body sweat. "People aren't supposed to live here." She murmured to nobody.

Interrupting these thoughts was a sudden and dramatic writhing from the tendrils that curled beneath the skin of Ida. Typically, Ida had come to rely on these accursed tendrils to find prey to stalk in the brush, useful for hunting out creatures that blended well with the environment by hungrily listening for that quickened pace of a scared, beating heart. So when Ida felt the sensations that matched that exact definition, she knew that, whatever the tendrils felt approaching, was on the predator side of the spectrum, and in a confrontation, there is always a prey. In this case, she was the prey, and whatever was coming over those dunes was the predator. Still, this fear was not something she hadn't felt before, necessarily. She had avoided plenty of beasts much larger than her in order to survive in the wilds. Instinct turned into reflex as Ida had to make a quick decision. Hiding in the cave would conceal her better, but whatever this is might be here for the cave. If she was found, she would be trapped, and certainly killed and eaten. If she hid outside, there was a greater chance of being found, and if she was found, it would mean running. And if whatever this was, was faster than her? There were no trees to run up and hide in unless she was fine looking more like a piece of swiss cheese than a person. 

A realization caught her attention as her head spun to look back into the cave, eyes pushing through the darkness to the very end of the cave where her pack set against a wall. Before the room was a split of two tunnels, and the hole opening to lead to the plateau above through a crevice. Animations played in her mind of how her plan could work. A dark shadow of a beast crossing the corridor to the room on the end, sniffing about at her sack of food. Whilst it was distracted, she could slip from one of the side tunnels and work her way through the door. Or, if she was found, up through the hole and crevice to the top of the rock. From there, she would have to figure things out as her mind decided this was the best course of action. She would lose her pack and her food, but her cloak, leathers, and knife were all on her person. She could rebuild, even if she lost it all, so long as she kept her life. 

Slipping quickly and quietly down the tunnel, she would slide into a side path, taking careful precaution to press themselves up against the concave walls of the tunnel. She had done her best to make herself smell like the wilds, and hoped that it was enough to throw off a powerful nose. She steadied her breathing, making it as minimal, and as slow as she could, body freezing against the wall. Even her mind blanked, allowing herself to believe she was becoming one with the surroundings. And the walls didn't think. Now all she could do was hope that whatever it was, was enticed by the smell of exotic fruits more so than that of a dirty, sweaty human.

WC - 1,006
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Shin
Citizen
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RIP Kenshin

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Confronting the Apex Predator [P] Empty Re: Confronting the Apex Predator [P]

Sun Feb 10, 2019 1:01 am
How long had they been running?

Days? Weeks? Longer? None of them knew for sure anymore, the unrelenting heat of the desert along with the minuscule amounts of food, water or rest that they had been afforded made the days seem to together. It was almost as if they were all trapped in some eternal nightmare with death being the only true escape, but none of them were willing to simply go quietly into the abyss… they were going to fight for their lives with everything they had. There had been eight of them in the beginning, when they had escaped from the creature that had been laying waste to what forces The Empire had left in Wind Country… but now only half that number remained. They had followed their orders and fled their outpost when it became clear that they were no match for the pale one, and by some miracle it seemed that they weren’t being pursued by whoever or whatever was destroying their forces. They had met up at the rendezvous point and waited for the others to arrive… but after three days of waiting only one other team had shown up. It dawned on them quickly that their escape hadn’t been a miracle… their hunter had simply been chasing down other prey.

Rather than heading towards the main base in Suna they moved towards the only remaining outpost, not because they actually wanted to face the beast that had so effortlessly demolished them only days prior, but because that was what their orders had been. The group of eight had arrived later on the third day, knowing that if the attacks on the other three outposts had been any indication they still had a few hours to regain some strength before the creature attacked. When they arrived they were horrified to find that the final outpost had been absolutely demolished, more than half of it seemingly erased by some massive and unknown attack, while the other half was cold ash and melted stone. It was clear to all of them that this was not the scene of a fresh attack, which meant that whatever was laying waste to their forces had changed its pattern of attack… and if the giant crater was any indication, may be stronger than initially suspected. This was extremely worrying news to all, as the initial estimation had been that it was already strong enough to potentially take Sunagakure itself if it actually had the gall to attack.

They knew that they needed to return to the village to warn those that remained, so they set off… but unknown to them, they were heading right for the very creature that they feared so much, as he too was heading for Sunagakure, just at a much slower pace. It had taken them most of the day to cross the harsh desert of Wind Country when moving at their top speeds, but they knew that they were getting close to Suna itself… only another hour or so at their current speed and they could finally rest. They had seen the light tracks heading towards the village for awhile now, but hadn't really paid much mind to them as travellers were still relatively common in Suna, even after The Empire had conquered it. It was only when they saw the familiar form of the tall, pale creature that had been haunting their dreams that they realised their folly, but worse than that… it seemed to have noticed them as well. When it turned to face them and its scarred face was split by a dark and deranged grin they knew beyond any shadow of a doubt that they had been correct… whatever this thing was, it was no human.

All of them knew that the beast was stronger, faster, and more powerful than the lot of them, especially when they took into account how exhausted they were after what seemed like a full days worth of sprinting in the heat of the desert with little water. Haruto, Itsuki and Sara had sacrificed themselves to the beast in an effort to buy the rest a little time to escape, but all of them knew that the three wouldn’t be able to last long against the fiend that so effortlessly slaughtered their outposts. It had taken the creature awhile to catch up to them again, much longer than they had expected it to take… but what truly haunted them was the dark and satisfied look on the scarred and blood-splattered face of the creature… and how it contrasted with the almost peaceful looks of the three severed heads that it was carrying

“They look peaceful don’t they… you would never be able to guess that they had died screaming.” the deep and almost unnaturally smooth voice of the ‘man’ in front of them would say, smirking rather smugly as it tossed the severed heads of their friends towards them. They could hardly believe how normal the hate filled creature before them sounded, especially given exactly what he was saying… it was almost as if he were simply talking with someone about the weather or asking how they were doing.

“I have heard tales of the strength of the Lord of Rot… I have heard of the ruthlessness and cunning of Maku as he led your village on their conquest…. And I have heard of the strength of The Empire of Kumogakure. I was curious about this strength, about how true these tales truly were, so I set about testing it.” the monster would begin, its cold silver eyes levelled on the group that stood warily in front of it

“I have watched your people… I have studied your people… and I have seen nothing but weakness, so I have slaughtered your people. Killing you would be no challenge, and while I don’t need to feel challenge to enjoy the thrill of ending your pathetic lives it wouldn’t be quite as fun. So, I am going to make a game out of this… so go ahead and run… I will give you until sundown before I start to give chase…” it would then say, not needing to inform them of what their fates would be if or when it managed to catch up to them. The remaining five knew that they had no choice but to play the twisted creatures game unless they wished to die right now… at least if they chose to partake in this sick game there was a chance that they could escape.

It had been days since then, and it was only hours ago that poor Hinata collapsed from sheer exhaustion… and none of the others were willing to slow themselves down by carrying her… so they left her for their hunter. The four that remained were disgusted at themselves for what they had done… but they wanted to survive, and while they were being hunted by a creature like they they couldn’t afford to be dragged down by those too weak to keep up. They had managed to find themselves a nice little shelter, likely home to some unlucky traveller that got lost if the bag filled with fruits that they were currently devouring was any indication. They knew that they couldn’t afford to rest for long, but the temptation of rest, shade and juicy fruit had been far too hard to resist… they only hoped that the sacrifice of Hinata brought them time.

“Yuuto… Why did this happen to us? Why does that thing want to kill us?” Akane, his tired and weary looking friend would ask, the black bags under her tired eyes clearly visible even in the darkness of the cave. Her voice was low and filled with a mixture of exhaustion and fear as she gazed at him, her eyes desperately searching for some answers from him

“You heard what it said Akane, it wanted to see how strong the forces of Kumo were… and when it determined that we were too weak it decided to kill us… that thing ain’t human I tell ya, probably sent by the gods to cleanse Kumo of Mortarion's rot.” Kazuto would interject, his fear and rage palpable as he glared towards the entrance of the cave.

“Please spare us the supernatural shit Kazuto… he’s obviously a man… just one that is much more powerful than grunts like us. He’s probably near the same level as Lord Mortarion and Maku… but unlike the two of them he seems to want to see Kumo burn.” The ever logical Ayumi would then say, all the while glaring at the superstitious fool. Her words seemed to trigger Kazuto’s rage, as he immediately turned to face her with a deep, guttural snarl.

“Enough… we can’t afford to fight amongst ourselves right now. It doesn’t matter who or what it is, all that matters is that it wants us dead…” Yuuto would then say harshly, glaring at both Ayumi and Kazuto for their bickering. Before anyone could say anything a deep and dark chuckle could be heard from the mouth of the save, and the four remaining shinobi would swear that if felt as if they had been dunked in a bath of ice water as they turned to face the figure standing between them and their only escape route.

“I have to give you credit… you’ve led me on quite the chase... but in the end it looks like it was all for nothing.” the creature would say, dark smirk splitting his pale and scarred face. He would lightly toss what he was carrying in his left hand to the four, earning a light scream from Akane as she realised that it was the head of Hinata… the friend that they had abandoned to save themselves.

“Please… just let us go, we haven’t done anything to you and I swear we will leave Kumo if you allow us to live… please, I don’t want to die.” Kazuto would beg, earning a glare from Ayumi and a shaky nod from Akane. Yuuto was eerily stoic as he stared at the figure who stood before them, and would only give a resigned sigh as he saw the twisted grin begin to spread further over the face of their hunter.

“You misunderstand why I am doing all of this” The Rag-doll would begin with a dark chuckle

“I am not doing this out of some vendetta against Kumogakure in general. I am not doing this because I want revenge against your pathetic village. I am doing this… because I can” he would announce, his twisted grin growing further as his mismatched eyes activated, the left glowing a dark and ominous red whilst the right glowed a deep blue.

“The weak will always be the victims. That is simply the way of the world. The strong do what they want, take what they want, and the weak suffer at their hands. That is their fate; it is inevitable…” he would say, glaring darkly at the group of four that stood before him.

“Only the strong survive, because only the strong deserve to.” He would then announce as he began to move towards the four, walking ever so slowly towards the weaklings of Kumogakure.

Before his might they were mere ants. They stood as four sheep before a wolf, four tasty morsels to a hungry predator, and it didn’t take much longer for the predator to pounce upon his prey.

But unlike a true predator, Kenshin did this not because he had to in order to survive… he did it because he wanted to… because he could

Because he was not a predator, nor was he human.

He was a monster.

WC: 1950
Ida The Lost
Ida The Lost
Citizen
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Confronting the Apex Predator [P] Empty Re: Confronting the Apex Predator [P]

Mon Feb 11, 2019 1:56 am
The months that had past changed a great many things for the youthful girl, most of them hard learned. Had you told her that she would ever regard the curse of writhing flesh that inhabited her body as a friend, she might scold you for teasing. And yet here she was, quietly thankful that the tendrils had once again performed an act in service to them both. Momo had become quite useful as a proxy alarm; a jittering excitement when it was something to eat, or a trembling quiver when it was something bigger and stronger. This time, however, was something curious. The three persons running into the cave certainly didn't seem all that dangerous. They had rushed straight down the hall, not paying any mind to look down either tunnel. If they had superior senses, they would have spotted her right away, but they hadn't even bothered. Still, they could simply be doing a quick search. But then wouldn't they check the halls closer to the door first in case anyone was ready to escape? Her questions were dispelled when she would hear the voices bounce down the corridor in a wave of trembling, exhausted voices. Lament. Then came a string of names she had never heard before. Kumo. Lord Mortarion. Maku. Should she know these people? Where they the local lords of the land? Of all these questions, the only certainty was that these people were scared out of their mind. Or at least a couple of them were. One might have had a bit of strength, but when that chuckle echoed down the corridor, whatever was left of it was gone. 

Hairs on the back of Ida's neck stood up, an ice sheet laid over her body starting at her head and running down the length of her spine. This is what Momo had warned her about. When one sees a beast- a monster- one might expect a hunched visage, hulking in muscle, a maw filled with the bones of man. A great maw that opened to spew forth the beasts from the underworld. Ida was quiet, but she felt her eyes scream as the humanoid figure passed in front of the light of the cave, casting a chilling silhouette down the length of the hall from the light pouring in the hole in the roof. Her breath caught in her through even after the figure passed her view. Whoever this person was, it admitted to having followed them for some time. Mentioned more names, but nothing Ida had ever read about in the very limited school library. Then, it admitted to doing something even worse. It was no wonder these people were running so fiercely from it. Feeling that it had settled into a small monologue for the now captured shinobi, Ida felt the feeling return to her legs as she silently peeled herself from the wall and moved along to the edge of the intersection of the tunnel.

Slowly, ever so slowly, she would peak around the edge until only a single eye caught the barest of glimpse of the situation down the hall. Nothing more than she absolutely had to. The final line of the grand realization was uttered, and Ida could feel her heart in her throat. Somehow, she could smell fire, and smoke. The distant, echoey sound of screaming the started as a dull buzz, growing louder as the silent moments of approach from the monster lapsed, turning into a shrill screech to match that of the savaged shinobi, who wore torn and rent in the hall at the end of the tunnel. Still, Ida didn't look away. As horrifying as the sight was, someone had to see. Someone had to witness the final, desperate moments of a people that had faced judgment and came up on the wrong end. A sickeningly wrong end. Still, there was little use in waiting for the blood to stop pumping, for surely a monster such as this has no need for the meager supplies those shinobi might have had. A soured thought in her mind that such a genius trap might have caught her a nice upgrade to equipment, but she was still alive. And she intended to keep it that way.

Turning, Ida would push from the wall to silently plot down the tunnel to the main entrance, any noise her steps might have made muffled by the groans and screams of the dying, the tearing of flesh and the snapping of bones. One final gift to a stranger. Once outside, Ida would push herself up to the nearest mound to double check what side of the rock was which, before her gaze turned in either direction. One way was back to the forest she had been prowling for months and the cold shade. But the opposite direction was the city of Sunagakure. The city she had decided to get a new beginning in. One where she could keep her identity to herself, and if the stories were true, make a living and then some if she worked hard. What was she going to do once she got there exactly? That was a problem for Future Ida. Without wasting any more time, the youth would begin to head in the direction she believes Sunagakure to be.

WC - 882

TWC - 1,888
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Shin
Citizen
Stat Page : Shin
RIP Kenshin

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Confronting the Apex Predator [P] Empty Re: Confronting the Apex Predator [P]

Mon Feb 11, 2019 3:48 am
Kenshin was more than aware that the shinobi of Kumogakure were not alone in that little hole of theirs, his Minds Eye having felt the minuscule chakra signature that was almost completely dwarfed by both his own and the shinobi of Kumogakure that were hiding from him. But until the rats of Kumo that had managed to escape his attacks were dead he wasn’t going to pay them any mind… this time there would be no escape for the prey that had managed to elude him for so long. Yes, he would admit that he wasn’t exactly trying all that hard to actually catch up to them, moving just fast enough that they could never truly escape from him but not so fast that he was always directly on their heels. No… he wanted to make this hunt last… he wanted them to feel completely and utterly helpless, he wanted the five rats that remained to know that there was no escape. And when he had managed to come upon the completely exhausted but not quite dead form of that woman, completely helpless and abandoned by those that she had once called friends and comrades, he knew that it was finally time for his hunt to come to its close. After-all, it would be no fun if they all simply collapsed and died of exhaustion before he could have his fun with them.

These four were nothing special to someone like him even on their best days, as shown by the fact that they had fled from him twice now, the first time after losing a battle in which they held the rather overwhelming numerical advantage. But now… when they had been running for him for over a week, barely being afforded enough time to eat, drink or sleep amidst their seemingly endless sprint? In their current state the four would barely have provided a challenge to him back when he was a Genin. And that was exactly why he had done this… unlike the four of them he didn’t need to eat, he didn’t need to drink, he didn’t even need to breathe. All the Rag-doll truly needed to thrive was sleep… and as anyone who knew his schedule in Hoshi could attest he was quite used to running on very little of that. He was the ultimate hunter, able to chase his prey tirelessly, never needing to stop to catch his breath, never feeling the need to conserve energy due to the weakness of the human bodies natural limitations… he could chase them to the ends of the earth if he so desired.

The half-blood Uzumaki took his time dismantling this little group, using the base chains of the Uzumaki bloodline against them rather than his improved variant as that would simply be overkill against such weak prey. The fact that his base chains were tipped with massive hooks rather than true blades or even tips made using them effectively even more of a challenge, but that was what made this fun. He had even limited himself further by only allowing himself to use two chains at any one time, as well as forgoing the use of any jutsu to enhance himself… but even these limitations didn’t make it a true challenge to him, and he wasn’t about to purposely hinder his performance in this fight just to make it difficult. The first to fall to him was one of the two females, not because she had been too slow or too tired to properly dodge, but because she failed to notice the threads of chakra that had attached themselves to her body throughout the fight. Because of these threads she was physically unable to dodge his chains when they whipped towards her, hitting her directly in the chest and shattering her rib-cage, the bones no doubt piercing her lungs if the blood that spewed from her mouth amidst her screams was any indication.

But that wasn’t the end of the female, oh no, she was a tough one and somehow managed to survive that attack, although that would have taken her out of the fight if it weren’t for Kenshin’s threads. Oh yes, he simply took control of her broken body and forced her to fight against her own comrades, her screams and cries of both pain and outrage were music to the ears of the Rag-doll. He truly enjoyed her pained cries and pleas for mercy, but in his opinion the music never got better than the blood curdling wail of despair that she release when he forced her to kill one of her comrades, one that had hesitated to strike at her and ended up paying the price. The remaining two learned from that mistake, and it was the other female that ended up breaking his plaything, wasting no time in severing one of her arms the moment she got close, earning little more than a scowl from Kenshin as he released his broken toy. Her freedom was short lived though, as mere moments after being released from the hunters control one of his hooked chains impaled her through the base of the skull and threw her limp and broken form at the female that broke his toy.

Said female managed to avoid the corpse of her comrade, but in her haste to dodge the corpse she allowed her eyes to leave the form of the monster, and it was that mistake that ended up costing her everything. She had missed him forming the Rat Seal and forcing his shadow to extend towards her, and only once it connected and control of her body was robbed from her would she realise her folly. Kenshin would force the woman to turn her blade on herself, her blade slicing directly into the left side of her abdomen as she mirrored the actions that he was making, but unlike her he held no blade. From there he would move his hands from left to right, the woman's screams growing louder as she mirrored his actions with blade in hand, the twisted creature forcing the screeching kunoichi to disembowel herself. Once the action was complete he would release his control over her and allow her collapse, knowing that he had forced her to cut deep enough to completely sever her descending aorta.

The final one left was, amusingly enough, huddled at the back of the cave, whimpering pathetically as he stared directly at Kenshin in terror and seemingly tried to meld himself with the rock behind him. It was then that Kenshin recognised him as the one that had begged for his life at the start of their encounter, and he would simply give a bloodthirsty grin as he stared back. He could feel the chakra signature of the one that had been watching his little show moving towards the entrance of the save, and decided that it was time to end this farce of a fight.

“You know I can sense you right?” he would call loudly, the whimpering man standing before him forgotten momentarily as he addressed the one hiding with his prey. In fact, so little did he care about the crying and whimpering of the pathetic fool before him that he would allow himself to look over his shoulder towards the one he was addressing

“Should you try to flee from me you will share the fate of these weaklings.” The Rag-doll would then announce as a deep and sickly aura began to rise from his pale form in a smoke-like fashion. As the aura appeared so to did an overwhelming amount of killing intent, more than likely making the form of the sneaky shinobi freeze in sheer terror as visions of their own death overtook them (192 stats to resist this purely cosmetic and CD based effect). After what would feel like an eternity to the girl, but a matter of seconds for Kenshin himself, the killing intent would vanish and he would release an amused chuckle.

With a somewhat disarming smile on the scar faced shinobi would make his way towards the form of the stealthy watcher, his chains long since dispelled and the near catatonic form of the only living shinobi left near the back of the cave.

“If I meant you harm you would have died alongside them. Now… who are you and why are you out here?” Kenshin would then say, trying to prove that he did indeed mean this stranger no harm… for now at least.

He needed to find out who they were before he did anything else.

WC: 1430

TWC: 3380
Ida The Lost
Ida The Lost
Citizen
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Mon Feb 11, 2019 5:10 am
The taste of freedom had been so sweet, teasing gently on the tip of her tongue through the mask. Still, that cold voice came through the darkness of the tunnel, wrapping itself around her ears despite any other noise that might have been coming. It was a miracle, truly, that she had been here. At least for the moment. Content to let the third of the trapped shinobi go unconscious in a sad display of fear. Even as Ida paused in her steps, she told herself that she was certainly not going to be like these sad fools. She probably had less to lose, but after running for so long, the fear had become a part of them. Ingrained in them like a curse, like black blood. And Ida knew that if she did not heed the words of the beast, it would not hesitate to make good on them. So instead, gathering together what she could, she put on a brave face and turned to meet the gaze of the man as he glanced over his shoulder, showing him that she did not intend to try and contest his claim just yet. Face covered by a bark mask, shaven to the whites, dyed by the rain and weather, then tanned by the heat. The mask had seen many days, etched over it a crude etching of a pair of eyes peeking out from beyond some roughly sketched trees. Her cloak wrapped over her head and shoulders broken up her human horizon, allowing her to blend well into night and shadow. But not well enough.

Golden eyes peered from beyond the mask, doing their best to hold back a defiant stare. He was right. He could kill her easily. But her mind couldn't detect whether this was just a sick game, or if this stranger actually had an interest in talking. Her feelings wavered as a sickening cloud filtered into the already shadowed darkness, giving it an inky, life-like look. As if something in the desert had crept in around them, threatening to consume anything that came close. The pillars of light that pierced the dark took the form of trees as Ida was dragged quickly into memory. Red eyes peeking from the darkness of the trees, blood running down her arm from a gash she had suffered, a crude knife gripped tightly in one hand. Rain dampened her hair as she faced the snarling, growling beast. Ever closer did it creep until she had little choice but to lash with that knife. She had to strike then, and it saved her then. But now, this beast approached, and it did not snarl nor bark nor bare it's fang, instead smiling a white smile. Momo lashed fiercely in panic, rippling across flashes of skin in a hurry. Still, golden eyes remained defiant in spite of herself. Her head leaned back slightly as the man approached nearing head and shoulders over her. Then it asked it's questioned, beckoning to her knowledge of who she was. But what could she say? Ida from Nowhere? Stranger from Outta-Town? What sort of answer was he looking for? Perhaps he wanted to know if she was also one of those guys behind him.

There was little need to be nervous in that regard. Still, the silence between them was beginning to grow as Ida struggled to find words she used so scarcely anymore. "Ida." She finally choked out, muffled behind the wooden mask, but still easily loud enough to hear in the cave. "My name is Ida." She replied. The next part of the question was just as difficult to answer. Sunagakure had been the destination, but that wasn't his question. The question was why. Why. And that was an even harder question than where. For a moment her face turned down slightly as she thought carefully how to word her answers. This thing, whatever it was, had the patience for the moment, and with any luck, she would be unimpressive enough to forget about. "My life ended not long ago." She started. It was the most honest way to give context to the more relevant part of the answer. "So I have come to find myself. W-Where ever that might be." He voice faltered. Her fear had plateaued, reaching an uncomfortable level that can be compared to somewhere between being scolded by one's parents unjustly, and being told you are being sent to prison for the rest of your miserable life. Momo, on the other hand, was not having this shit any longer.

Typically, there was a system in place to keep things in check. Momo would wait until there was exposure of skin to burst forth, allowing Ida to save herself some stitch fiber to put the holes back together. At this point, however, Momo didn't seem to care about deals. A ripping sound could be heard briefly as the tendril would push forward, though not much before Ida's own hand snatched it from the air, pulling the length back with a silent hiss of "Shit." For a brief moment, Ida held still, braced for some manner of retaliation, though if one did not come, she would unclench herself and puff a breath out in a shallow "Sorry." Correcting herself, she would have an awkward feeling of the display. Certainly, this thing had seen manage strange, horrific things, but that didn't stop her gaze from failing to meet it's once the tendril slithered back into her body from the newly made hole in her cloak, having shot from her shoulder. She had no words to offer as an explanation because she had none to give. A sinking feeling was beginning to form in her stomach. Even if the beast was unphased, this had been the opposite of unremarkable. A perfect score lost over a panic move. Shameful.

WC - 974
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Mon Feb 11, 2019 7:17 am
As silver met gold Kenshin could see the defiance held in her gaze, something that managed to both amuse and impress a great deal. Despite the fact that he quite literally towered over her, despite what she had just seen him do, despite the terror that she had just felt, despite everything he could see the fight left in her eyes… and he LIKED it. He could tell that she knew he could kill her in a heartbeat if he truly wished to, yet still she stood tall and refused to let fear rule her, refused to falter in the face of almost certain death… he found it to be quite impressive. As she introduced herself the Rag-doll made sure to commit both her name and chakra signature to memory, even if the latter was a mere droplet compared to his veritable ocean.

When she mentioned why she was in the area he felt a pang of familiarity with this lost child… how long had it been since he had been in the same position… a simple child lost in the darkness of the world, searching desperately for answers that he never did end up finding. He could hear the fear in the voice of the child as she spoke, although now he couldn’t tell if she was simply afraid of him or afraid of what the future would hold for her… or perhaps it was both. Hmm, it was strange for him to feel kinship with another, yet this child had managed to get him to feel it for her within moments of them actually meeting… and he didn’t like it one bit. Obviously he didn’t care for the child at this point, in fact he would likely take great pleasure from slowly breaking that defiance that he could see in her eyes before killing her.

But he could see in her the same potential that he saw in Amaterasu, and much like the other girl he could see a fair bit of himself in them… he would need to be careful about what he did in the future. He would not allow himself to grow close to them, as attachments like that were weaknesses that others could exploit… after-all, they were weaknesses that he exploited in others fairly often. He had done it against the Kumo shinobi earlier, when he had seen the hesitation in the fool that had failed to strike his little plaything when he had the opportunity. That single moment of hesitation had cost his enemy everything, and the half-blood refused to have the same weakness as so many others… not after the death of Akihana… something that had hurt him more than words could possibly express.

The sound of fabric ripping was not something that The Immortal had been expecting, neither was the familiar black thread that shot forth from the shoulder of the child, but as he prepared to strike the child down for her insolence… something rather unexpected happened. The hand of the young Tau had shot out and grabbed the thread before it could move more than a foot, something that rather confused the relatively young man. Her apology only further confused him, and that would be made obvious by the rather contemplating frown that he had on his face as he gazed at the child. Hmm, he could recall his own threads being quite unruly and hard to control back when he had been younger, but while his took some willpower to control they had never managed to truly act independently of his will. Sorethin, the only other Tau that he had met, seemed to have been in perfect control of his own threads… but then again he had been a fully grown man and obviously had at least 3 hearts during their initial meeting.

‘Perhaps this lack of control is natural in young Tau’ The Rag-doll would muse as his frown faded, his silver eyes watching her carefully for any hint of treachery… yet he found none.

If anything… what he could see from the child was shame. Although shame at what he wasn’t exactly sure.

“So you are an Earth Grudge Fear carrier are you… fret not young one, I understand better than most what you are going through.” He would say simply, an amused smirk forming on his face as looked down at the young teen that stood before him.

Sensing the will, and chakra, of Kenshin the Manipulated Fabric that he wore would shift, his overcoat seemingly fading away before both his and the girls eyes, leaving his upper body clad in a simple black, backless tank top. The point of this change would be clear to the child when she saw the exposed flesh of his arms… the snow white skin of the older male marred by innumerable pitch black stitches that seemed to be holding his body together… and in a way, they were. The albino knew that his body resembled a macabre jigsaw puzzle… it was part of the reason that he kept as much of it covered as he could… but unlike when he was younger and he covered his body out of shame he only continued to do so because he knew that it drew even more attention to him.

“The Earth Grudge Fear is both a blessing and a curse to its carriers… we can become the ultimate predators, but because of our natural superiority we are feared and hated by the sheep.” the half-blood would say as he gazed down at the younger and weaker teen, his silver eyes boring into her.

This was one that he wasn’t about to let fall through his fingers… she would be his

“I can teach you much about what you carry, teach you how to properly harness the great power deep within you. I am more than willing to guide you down the path you need to travel, to teach you what you need to learn in order to thrive in this accursed world.” He would then say, giving her an offer that he personally thought she would be unwise to refuse

It was likely that given time she would end up reaching this point on her own, provided of course that she figured out how to properly harness the great power that she innately possessed… just as he had. But at the same time, why travel down that long and dangerous road when you didn’t have to, why not travel with one who had already done so and thus knew of shortcuts and secret routes that you may miss.

But in the end it all depended on the young Tau.

About whether or not she would make a deal with the devil.

WC: 1121

TWC: 4501
Ida The Lost
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Tue Feb 12, 2019 2:17 am
Ida remained tense for a long minute, waiting for some manner of repercussion for the actions taken by Momo. A certainty in her mind that the actions of the cruse laiden body had finally lead to her demise. Still, she did not curse Momo, instead softly repeating the word that had caught her intention. "Tau." The blurp had been mostly for herself, but that would not dissuade the keen sense of the monster from hearing it as well. Her mind flashed back to when she had heard it last, the smell of hey filling her nostrils as she walked the field alongside her father, Shun, and another man she had never met before with a balding top and hair growing from his nose and ears. "It's called Tau," Ida recalled, having not been paying much attention to whatever it was the adults had been talking about, eyes fixed on the large animals that grazed in the field. Still, for just that brief moment, she remembers the name being spoken once more. Her mind focused once more on the predicament she had found herself, standing steadily with her hand nowhere near the makeshift blade she had. Not that it would have made much difference, but manners after all.

Eyes shifted back to the beast finally as he continued to speak, talking of knowing the plight she faced. Her heart skipped a beat, and for the moment, Ida wasn't sure what she should be looking at. Once she could discern the scars across the sickly skin, her eyes would focus on the many, many railways laid over it's back like an intricate map of the nations. An urge from deep inside of her gave her the impulse to reach out and touch at the scars to see if they were real. But her hand would remain where it was, glued to the side of her body like a carefully packed luggage due to be vacuum sealed. "Earth...Grudge...Fear." She said, the shake from her voice gone, echoing behind the mask and replaced by a resolve that said the thought of escape was certainly not on the menu anymore. She felt a tremble in her knees that she worked to stifle as he explained the nature of her curse she carried with her. A hand was lifted, sleeve rolled down to produce a path of skin that writhed with black tendrils. Her gaze then replaced itself back to the beast, shining with something new. A gleam in the light across the eye slits spoke of moistening of her eyes, her mind exploding with an internal cheer. A scream of delight as the urge to throw herself down onto her knees, throw her hands up and scream "I'm not a freak!" was incredible, but resisted all the same. Instead, she made a silent sound that could be considered a whimper, though it was brief, and replaced by a clearing of the throat, resolve replaced back in check.

Her mind cleared when he spoke again. This time it was something she had not respected. At worst, she had expected death. At best, it might give her a pat on the head and let her run along her way, perhaps even being generous enough to allow her to get her pack back and maybe a real knife if the shinobi had one. But this was something different. Her thoughts lingered on the shinobi as she leaned sideways to look at the gory mess that was left behind by his work. She was no fool. Everything that was wonderful had its price. Even understanding and acceptance. She knew, deep down, that if she accepted his offer, this site would become a constant. People would die before them on the way to whatever this beast had in store. Her mind flickered back once more to the bandits that raided her village. Is this how it happened to them, too? Was this her red-haired man, finding her downtrodden, intent on utilizing what she could offer? Truthfully, the answer didn't really matter, because the refusal of something like this was almost certain death. It would show she didn't have the will to get stronger. That she was weak, and complacent in that weakness. She would deserve death to turn down such an opportunity.

"Okay." She said quietly once more against her mask. Her mind raced as she traced it's words, putting them over and over in her mind, pushing and pulling them at different angles, like a machine that tested the structure of an idea. Thrive. It was the word she was stuck on. No live, not survive, it was thriving. A word picked carefully. The realization made her heartbeat, but this time with excitement. Even Momo seemed swayed by the sensation flowing over Ida. This beast could go where it pleased, did what it pleased. It did not scrape by in life, hunting its next meal. Now it offered to take it under its wretched wing. To show her how to become like him, and to ascend to the next step in life. Hell, maybe even skip a few steps. "Yes, okay." She answered more firmly, a nod of her head to punctuate the notion. "I-I don't have many skills, just enough to stay alive. But I am a capable hunter with Momo. Able to feed myself, at least." She said, though her tone said she wasn't completely relaxed just yet. A tentative trust. This could still be a ruse. A cruel ruse. "Will I have to corner and kill people, as you do?" She asked, wondering really if this attack had any sense to it at all, or if they were just warm bodies who crossed the wrong path that day.

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Tue Feb 12, 2019 11:59 am
Hmm, it seemed that this child knew not of the clan that she was descended from, at least if the small utterance of the clans name after he had mentioned it was any indication. This little detail was actually quite beneficial to him, as it told him that the likelihood of her actually knowing about the great power she possessed was low. She likely wasn’t even aware of how different her body truly was to that of most people, and that just made it more likely that she would accept his offer. When he revealed his own stitched and scarred form to the younger Tau his sharp ears would catch her silent and almost reverent whisper of the bloodlines name, followed by an almost strangled whimper. Oh yes, she truly had no clue what she was… she was his. He knew beyond any shadow of a doubt that she would accept what he was going to offer now, as it was rather obvious to him that he possessed answers to questions that she had been asking all her life. He wouldn’t even attempt to hide the dark grin that split his scarred face when she accepted his offer, as he knew that a Tau as young and malleable as her was a true treasure in a world like this… and now, that treasure was his.

His grin would turn somewhat proud as her resolve began to show in her voice, and he would simply give an understanding nod when she confirmed his initial beliefs and revealed that she possessed no formal training. He had no clue who this Momo she mentioned was, but based on what she was talking about and how her threads had seemingly acted of their own volition earlier he began to wonder whether that was what she had taken to calling her threads… or perhaps the threads in a natural Tau actually did possess some form of consciousness. It was definitely something that he would need to discuss with the child in the future, but not now… she wasn’t quite ready for such a line of questioning just yet. Maybe when she was older and actually understood the power that existed within her, but not now, while she didn’t have even the slightest inkling of how powerful she could become if she embraced her bloodline completely. When she asked whether she would have to do as he did and kill others he would give a dark yet amused grin, his silver eyes shining with mirth as he looked down at the child… not out of derision, but because he was naturally taller than her.

“If you wish to survive in this world then killing is something that you will have to get used to… but if you want to thrive then it is something that you must grow to enjoy.” The Rag-doll would announce simply, silver once again meeting gold as he gazed into the eyes of the child through her mask.

“Now come child, I have business in Sunagakure and you shall accompany me.” he would then say, turning and walking towards the exit of the cave.

As he did so he continued to focus on the chakra signature of the only remaining Kumogakure shinobi, the whimpering of the fool growing quieter the further The Rag-doll and his new charge got from him. When the two reached the mouth of the cave Kenshin would smirk darkly, giving a small grunt as he doubled over and his back began to convulse and bulge out from behind his long silver mane. He was only doing this because he wished to put on a bit of a show for the young Tau that had agreed to follow him, mainly because he wanted to show her that she hadn’t even begun to grasp the true power that her bloodline could grant her. As the twisted and deformed creature tore itself free of Kenshin’s body it would release a sound that could only be described as a demonic screech. It was five meters in overall size and it’s face was a beaked mask, small red runes seeming to ripple over the surface of the mask as seemed to stare into the cave. The body of the massive creature was pitch black, made out countless writhing threads that took the shape of a bird… but one that had been twisted and distorted until it barely resembled the original creature.

“This is one of the ultimate techniques of our shared bloodline.” the now chuckling Missing Nin would say, reaching behind his neck and grabbing his hair so that he could pull it to the side and reveal the four remaining masks stitched into his back.

“We grow stronger by assimilating the hearts of our enemies with our threads. Once they have been assimilated the hearts will beat within our chests as they had once done our enemies, and alongside a spare heart you will gain access to the primary element of the one you killed.” Kenshin would explain as he gazed at the form of his twisted beast, it’s ‘beak’ clicking open and forming an ominous orange sphere just in front of it.

“Eventually, when you gain enough power, you will be able to create a mask for these extra hearts, and with these masks you will gain access to this technique. The Masked Beast can use any techniques that you know, provided that the technique is of the hearts elemental nature of course.” he would then say, releasing a chuckle as a veritable wall of flames shot forth from the beasts mask and into the cave behind them, the horrified and tortured screams of the final Kumogakure shinobi quickly dying out as the flames of the beast consumed him.

“There are of course other benefits to this technique, but I will allow you to discover them for yourself once you learn it” The deranged man would say with a light chuckle, only stopping as his beast seemed to collide with his back and was reabsorbed into his body, its mask hidden with the other four by his long locks.

“We will be meeting with two others on the way to Suna, but do not fear, they will be no threat to you for the time being.” He would then say, giving the masked girl one final look before turning and heading in the direction of Sunagakure, confident that she would follow.

Soon Sunagakure would fall, but he planned on using the village to teach his new charges a lesson that they would never be able to forget. There the three of them were going to witness the true power that he had offered them, not the mere glimpses that they had been afforded up till now.

But more importantly… they would be taking their first steps down the path he wanted them on.

WC: 1142

[Exit]

TWC: 5643

5200 words towards mastery of Assimilating Aura, claiming (35% discount(25% max stat discount and a 10% coupon from last years Christmas event))

375 words towards Puppet Art: Ventriloquism, claiming (25% max stat discount)

68 words towards Earth Dragon (2700 words remaining)

Memorising the chakra signature of Ida
Ida The Lost
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Tue Feb 12, 2019 10:49 pm
The deed had been done. The contract had been sealed there, in the shade of the cave amidst the sandy desert. For better or worse, it would become the source of her learning, her master, as she read it from her books. It would teach, and she would listen. It was then that the beast would mention Sunagakure, and it's intention to go forth to the city. What a wonderful coincidence. Perhaps he, too, had plans to take part in the city, or if it was going to learn from a library, or seek a blessing for a journey. Most likely the latter. Either way, it would be a good opportunity to pick up a few things in the city that might be helpful for traveling. A tent, a real canteen, a real knife. A thought hit her for just a moment as she looked back into the cave once they had left. Her gaze was pulled back to the black-clad man to watch the horrific formation of the flesh puppet from it's back, a bird-like a creature with claws and a clacking beak. The sight of it made bile rise to the back of her throat, making her swallow and lift a hand to cover her mouth beneath her mask. Thankfully, she was able to keep her meager lunch down as she turned her attention to the masks, and it's explanation on something called a bloodline. A Technique? Like the same way, a farmer has a technique for planting crops? But what could this massive, horribly deformed creature do that was worth this kind of a transformation? 

Next came a veritable flood of information that had to do with her and Momo, talking about things like elements that only brought up question marks in her head. The heart part, she kind of knew. Momo liked to eat the hearts of their kills, but she never noticed gaining anything from it than sustenance. She had never experienced gaining something like a "primary element" from anything she had killed and eaten. Perhaps there was a certain beast that needed to be hunted in order to gain whatever these elements where. Perhaps when she gained her...meat...bird... she could give it a more elegant appearance. Something graceful and at least mildly pleasant to look at. As the meat bird began clacking its beak and forming a ball of energy at the end of its beak, Ida would look back down the cave, then back to the beak. Then cave, then beak again. "Wait." She asked softly, stepping forward and into the cave with a hurried step. Ida was not confident in what this ball of energy was going to do, but she was confident that if she was not quick, he would perhaps teach her the price of hesitation. Still, what she had in mind wouldn't take her long.

Making a quick pace to the end of the cave, Ida worked with the pace of a time limit. Dancing about the gore, she would pick up her pack that had what remained of her food; a measly two fruit. Still, no use in throwing away a good pack until she could get to Sunagakura and get a new one. Brushing the bits of a body off the bag, Ida would stand and turn to make her exit before noticing a wrapped bundle the size of a small human laying on the ground, a tuft of some kind of fur showing from the top. Brown, hair looking fur. Ida's curiosity got the best of her. If it wasn't worth anything, they wouldn't have carried it all the way to their tomb. Either way, it was hers now. Picking up the wrapped parcel, it was lighter than it appeared, almost like she was picking up hollow wood. As she went to make her way out, the orange ball had gotten quite big, easily capable of filling the entrance of the cave. A snag to her ankle would pull her attention, eyes spotting a hand gripped onto her ankle by the one remaining shinobi. "Please!" He cried. "Spare me!" Ida didn't even have to turn around to look back at the beast, her other foot coming up to kick at the man in the face, pushing him back with a grunt. 

"You chose this grave, stop crying." She responded. They could have been brave. They could have faced death with dignity. But instead, they chose to die a bleeding, whimpering mess. This could have been her fate. But it wasn't. "At least someone might find your body someday." She followed before making a quick exit from the cave. Of course, the cave was then filled with a fire that seared flesh from bone, the cry of the man dying to fade into smoke like the rest of his body, leaving behind a charred lump of mass as the beast continued to explain the Marked Beast. Gross. Though she could not deny it's power. Golden eyes sparkled as she watched the column of flame incinerate anything in its path. She felt her breath catch for a moment before she exhaled a long breath against the inside of her mask, looking back to it when the fire had finished it's work. It spoke more on the learning of the technique and growing in power, everything she nodded at once he concluded, falling into step behind it as it turned to take off into the desert in the same direction she had been considering earlier.

The beast would mention meeting others and having no need to fear them. Yet. Always with careful wording did she consider what it said. That might mean that these people, whoever they were, were not the most friendly sorts, but he would vouch for her, for the time being. But, he had no intention of holding her hand or protecting her. The strong didn't need protection. She would fiddle with the wrapping, getting a better idea of the tool she had acquired, unwrapping a painted face that looked like some sort of holiday monster. It almost looked sort of silly. Ida smiled quietly behind her mask as she ruffled the hair of the puppet. "I'll call you...Francis." She said quietly to herself, shifting the puppet to look this way and that, tilting her mask to follow, thankfully hiding the expression of amusement she was having over the new acquisition. Francis was slung over her shoulder, sandwiching the pack that had only a couple fruit left in it. "When we get to Sunagakure, I have a bit of coin I can use to get us some traveling equipment. Maybe a hat?" She asked, looking up to the beast. 

[Exit]

WC - 1,113
TWC - 4,927

Claims:
+24 Stats
Spending 3,900 WC on this basic bitch puppet.
Putting 1,027 WC towards Performance of a Hundred Puppets.
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Tue Feb 12, 2019 11:13 pm
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