Starring:
Reina, Jirou
Date: April 24, 2014
Summary:
Reina discovers that Jirou was a missing nin with a bounty on his head. She goes to take his head and claim the reward.
"A Wanderer’s End"
Land of Water countryside
Much as he has before, Jirou had that temple as a point of camp while they dealt with Fuuma. His brother out on business, he was within having an evening meal. It was still daylight out, but the gathering dusk had already shadowed much of that temple. A small fire pit was within roasting some bird as he ate casually. Jirou was alert enough.. he had his own clone out watching and ready for anyone whom might come for him.
Some twist of fate had brought Jirou and Reina together, as well as his brother. It was weeks since their first meeting, and in that span Reina had time to look into his background. It was surprisingly easy. After all, a missing nin with a sizeable bounty on his head was public information. That at first saddened Reina. She didn't want actively missing nin to join her team.
And the next feeling was excitement. She'd capture Jirou to get that reward money. She'd been watching them for some time, and now she approached him. He was well separated from his brother, alone at the temple. Reina comes strolling towards him. She doesn't even try to hide, and why would he fear her? "Jirou-san," she says cordially. "I hoped I'd find you here."
The clone warned Jirou she was coming. "Yo! She's coming!" He glanced up at the call from the clone, which would poof once it's alert was complete. Shifting slightly where he sat, he'd muse and finally grab a bottle to see if it still had wine in it. "Yeah well, it's one of those places that I tend to be at. Safer than inside Fuuma, at least here if they're gonna rob ya, you can see it coming." Jirou glances at Reina then with a raised brow. "So what's up?"
Reina smirks. "Sometimes though it's hard to recognize danger, when it's just on your doorstep." She'd pause. And then without warning she'd make a hand seal that filled the air with fear and sent out a blinding flash. If Jirou was blinded, he'd have a difficult time dodging the next attack which fills the air with an inferno of fire and wind, seemingly flaming from thin air to surround Jirou.
Reina smiles apologetically. "It's too bad," she says ruefully. "If you'd joined Hakumei, I wouldn't have gone after you even though you're a missing nin with a bounty on your head. Sorry, but I'm going to take you in, Jirou-san."
Jirou moved as soon as the first hand seal happen, the clone set up being a fake.. but it was enough to distract the thrust of that attack by Reina to let him move. He'd skid off to the side, the burn hotter than expected so it'd melt through his clone and get to him then. He ducked his head low, gritting his teeth as it's sear him lightly. That cold would snap out, chakra flaring to life as he'd get to his feet slowly. "I can't believe you. So much for a thing called honor.."
Reina claps once as Jirou manages to avoid the worst of the damage. She's gathering chakra as she speaks. She smiles to him. "Well done, you almost dodged," she says. She actually sounds slightly impressed. "It's funny though that a missing nin is talking to me about honor. An ironic world we live in, ehh?" She doesn't seem in the least bit remorseful. In fact, she's smiling. Not with confidence, but with apprehension, excitement. She says, "But enough of that. Let us fight."
"You didn't even bother to find out why I'm a missing nin, did you?" Jirou shakes his head, a hand sign made as the area around Reina would suddenly feel like gravity doubled.. then doubled again, making everything very hard to move. "They want to kill us because we have their bloodline from parents who found love. We escaped them, so they set up everyone on us." That feeling of heaviness would increase, forcing Reina to take a knee as Jirou would bring his hand up to his mouth and with a hard exhale, shoot a water bullet at her, mid body. "You need to cool down."
Reina feels the paralyzing force of the genjutsu creeping up on her, and she's frozen when the water bullet nails her. "Ouch. Well, I am not after you because you're a bad person," she says, "or a…misunderstood one. Heh." She's flicking through one seal after another, and this time the fire would appear from behind Jirou to engulf him from all sides. Then from above an intense column of air would blast down from above to pin him in place. "Nice pun by the way," she adds, with a smirk.
Jirou would once more attempt that clone to avoid the strike, the ice melting down at the intense heat. Gritting his teeth, he'd drop to a knee while pinned down by the wind. "Heh.. Always.. knew I could.. make you wet.." Shaking his head, he'd dip his head, frowning as he'd look around. How to get out of this.. He had to get away..
Reina is alert and wary, but when Jirou makes a joke in the midst of the battle she grins. And then she laughs. "C'mon…just surrender," she says. "I'll take you in alive. I'll even take you to a countryside official, instead of Kiri." The Daimyou was bad, but some shinobi had turned torture into an art in the hidden village itself. He wouldn't have a pleasant homecoming if he went to Kiri. This is all done in a second, before she takes in a deep breath, and then blows out a roaring mass of fire to badly burn him while he was trapped.
Jirou cries out in pain as he's burnt alive. Finally breaking free of the wind, he'd roll to put it out. Hissing at the sharp scent of burnt flesh fills the air, he'd glare at Reina. "You don't understand, do you? They won't want me alive. They want me dead. My brother and I both. We're a smirch on their honor and as soon as you take us anywhere.. we're dead." He'd surge to his feet, rushing her with a sudden duplicate, then a triplicate to start trying to pummel Reina back. "I'd rather die on my feet than deal with their babbling executioner."
Reina doesn't look surprised at Jirou's response. In Konoha he might have found some grace, impossible as it seemed. But in any of the other villages, and Kiri most of all, death in the middle of battle was not the worst that could happen. When the ice clones rush towards her, Reina uses her chakra-fueled dodges to leap back. She's hit by the first, but manages to get out of reach from the second. He's a formidable opponent. Then she's going through seals rapidly to fill the air with a storm of wind and fire.
Tumbled back by the assault of the scorching wind, it and the cutting blades of air were enough to do him in. He didn't even yell in pain.. Maybe a brief look of relief.. then nothing. There was no movement to him and the clones about him would melt and fade away quickly.
Reina looks down at Jirou's body, and a triumphant smile curls her lips. She won and she's getting a great deal of reward money for it. But then, she feels a slight pang. She had wanted him to join her group just awhile ago. Reina says aloud, "I won't make your brother hear about your death from some gossiping fishmonger. Or never find out at all." And so she'd leave the signs of battle there—and carve into the fabric of his cloak the kanji for death. Then without any further ceremony, she'd store Jirou's body in a scroll and make her way to the nearest Water outpost.
