Starring:
Date: May 9th, 2010
Summary:
A vacation to the Land of Waves! Rinako's dream! But things quickly turn from fun in the sun to deadly serious for Sunagakure's Team 01.
"Scars - Arresting Development"
Land of Waves
After about two days on the ocean on a leisure ship, Team 01 has arrived in the Land of Waves. The western side of the island does not look quite as war-torn as the rest of the country must, but there are still signs that this is not a land at peace. Kumogakure ninja roam about, though they aren't as battle-weary or battle-ready as one might imagine. The sun is shining, the water is cool, and this is being used as a sort of 'recovery zone' for those who have been in combat for too long, or who were too wounded to fight anymore and could not be transported back to the Land of Lightning yet.
Ruri stands on the beach in a black one piece swimsuit with cut-outs in the sides and stomach. Flesh Scroll tattoos are on her arms and another one right between her breasts, but they are in fewer number than usual. No need to stock up on them when they're on vacation, right? In one hand is a bag full of stuff. Clothes, ninja gear, beach towel, etc. In the other hand are some papers. Pamphlets for the hotel, map of the area, etc. "…Barbed wire lining the docks. Not quite scenic." She starts examining the map to see how to get to where they're headed. Some nearby Kumogakure ninja stare at the team, half-suspicious, half-intrigued. Apparently women (or A woman at least) in swimsuits arriving to the only civilian dock that's open in a country at war is not common at this time. A cold ocean wind blows through the area, tossing the scent of salt water around liberally. "Okay, we're staying at the Clam & Pearl Hotel. Should be one of these buildings near the beach here. Let's try not to annoy the Cloud Ninja. Just offer your I.D. and travel papers if they ask. Arguing with them will just make it take longer and maybe get us locked up. Everyone got it?" She turns to look behind her at the others.
"Why're you looking at /me/? Would /I/ argue and get us locked up in a strange, foreign country?"
Banking on the bet that no one has the cajones to call her shenanigans out into the open, Rinako reaches up, plucking the pair of almost-oversized sungalsses off of her eyes, perching them instead up on her forehead. Rather than the usual restraining ponytail, she let it fall naturally, using the glasses as a sort of makeshift headband. As if just to prove that she was the polar opposite of the younger Rurohashi sibling, her bathing suit was bleached-bone white, and a conservative two-piece, with a pair of strapless sandles keeping her feet safe from the rough surface of the docks.
"I wonder if we're the only guests here. I mean, I can't imagine there's too many vacationers trolling about with the war going on and all."
With a last, forlorn look at the ship, as if she were bidding a loved one farewell for the last time, the elder of the twins turns her back on it, and looks over the outside of the resort hotel. For the past few days, complaining had actually ceased, and Rinako had been floating on a cloud of bubbly happiness, what with being surrounded by more water than she'd ever seen in her entire life put together! But now they were leaving her most beloved ocean behind and returning to dry land. Though she tried to hide it, the gloom surrounding the dark-haired kunoichi was almost palpable.
Kara is dressed in a couple pieces of white string. They have wider portions to them to cover up the really good bits, but there's stilly plenty to look at. Technically this means she is decent. More practically it means that she is >this far way< from being nude. She also has a bag full of stuff with her, and what appears to be a large scroll held under her right arm. "…Wait, you mean there might not be tons of guys hanging around the beach? Well, what am I doing dressed like >this< then!? Tch! All that lead-up only to be left in the cold!" And compared to the desert, it really is pretty cold. Shivering a bit in the chilly sea wind, Kara skips up behind Rinako and presses against her back, resting her chin on the elder twin's shoulder. "What's the matter, Rinako-chan? You don't look too happy either. Were you looking forward to showing off too? Or…" She gasps and leaps back, with a bounce. "Did you contract ninjaitis!? It's a very common and completely horrible condition that makes people wish they didn't have to go back to ninjaing when their vacations are over!" She turns to Shemri. "Shemri-san! Tell Rinako-chan to lighten up! We still have like… A week to relax before we have to go back! And then we get to go back on the ship when it returns to the Land of Fire!"
With her typical Sunagakuran atypicalness, Shemri managed to be in the dark regarding the condition of the country they're visiting until they were on their way there. o.o; Learning that the Land of Waves was under military contest made Shemri even more glad that she and Fukanzen had decided against springing for extra tickets to bring him and Megumi along. Fukanzen would've been a comfort, but Megumi-chan probably would've ignited a new offensive front against Sunagakure. -.-; That is, if Rinako didn't beat her to it. e.e "This is a fact," Shemri replies frankly to Rinako. "I can already picture you sneaking out at night to go swimming and getting picked up by a patrol enforcing the curfew." :P
Shemri managed to find a red two-piece swimsuit that covers her like a pair of shorts and a sports bra. She's also wearing a whispy green sun-dress over it at the moment. Ironic, how she has to go to a land with /less/ sun in order to wear a sun-dress. Shemri glances at Kara's antics. "Ah. Aha. It is not often that someone asks /me/ to get someone to lighten up. Anyway, Kara-san, you are better off not having many men about if you are going to dress like that. The sort of prey you catch depends on the sort of bait you use." *sagenod*
Ruri just stares at Rinako. She stares HARD. Then she looks away, and says, "Okay, the checkpoint is over here." She pays no attention to Kara's complaints, or the conversation of bait, or ninjaitis. She does give Kara and Rinako a few short glances, though. Because, you know, they look nice. She has other things on her mind. One they get through the guard station on the docks, and get eyed-up by lots of males (even Shemri gets her fair share! She's not old yet after all!) and frowned at by lots of women, they are on the path to the hotel! It seems to be in pretty good condition, given the fights that have been waged in this country. Maybe cement isn't quite standard yet, but the path isn't dirt or rocks either. Stone tiles make up the road they travel, each one engraved with the image of a tidal wave.
When they arrive at the hotel, Ruri checks them in at the front desk. And receives some bad news. "We're sorry, but we have had to cancel your reservations." "What." is Ruri's response. "The… 'Liberation' forces from Kumogakure require our rooms." "But I already paid in advance and everything!" "I'm sorry." "Not as sorry as you're gonna' be if you don't give us our ing rooms, you thin-dicked !" "Erk! Let go of my tie! GUARDS, HELP!"
To make a long story short, Team 01 has nowhere to stay right this second. So, standing around outside the hotel, Ruri is explaining some things in hushed tones. "Okay, it's time to let you in on the real reason for our coming to the Land of Waves. Part of it was for Nee-chan's birthday, true, but we are also supposed to be conducting a couple missions while we're here. We're gathering information, of course, but there's also a couple criminals who are trying to enlist in Kumogakure's forces to escape Sunagakure's justice. We're to try to find them and capture them. I want to wrap this up quick so that we can spend the rest of our time here relaxing. But that doesn't mean we can be sloppy either. Any questions?"
"Showing it off? I'll rip out the first pair of eyes that I catch looking where they don't belong!" After stumbling a step from Kara's impromptu glomp-attack, the elder twin glances first one way, then the other, as if searching for a pair of eyes to rip out, before shrugging her shoulders helplessly. "Go back? Go back!? UGH! To all that /sand/!? I /hate/ sand! I'm thinking of just going AWOL. Tch… curfews are stupid."
As they make their way towards the hotel, the dark-haired kunoichi spends a few moments giving the Deadly Threatening Glare at any of the men who spend a bit too much of their attention on any member of their group. She manages to look morose when she isn't scowling at people, giving the occasional forlorn look over her shoulder at the surf gradually getting farther away. And then they're in the building, with Ruri stepping up to assault the consierge.
The elder sister allows her sibling to do her thing, the expression on her face almost that of… smug pride.
In the end, though, after her attempt to suggest that the group camp out on the beach is likely shot down in flames, she's forced to put her game face on, hiking her bag up a little higher over her shoulder. "Even this far away from home we can't escape work. So do we need to bring these dopes in one whole, recognizable piece, or can I rearrange a few parts of their anatomies? Because talking shop is making me cranky."
Kara puffs out her cheeks in annoyance at Shemri. "Hey, anything is better than nothing, you know! I'm not looking for a lengthy romance or a husband or anything! I just want some attention…" She looks down at the pier beneath her sandalled feet morosely. Then her head comes up and she's all ^_^ as she adds on, "And maybe some hot sex!" Hopefully she didn't say that last part too loudly. She makes sure to let her hips sway from side to side as she walks through the docks area, enjoying being looked at for once, instead of avoided. They get to the hotel and have… No rooms!? "Lame," is Kara's assessment. She considers trying to charm the desk guy into giving them rooms anyway, but common-sense prevails, and she just follows Ruri back outside.
"Aww… A mission? Well, it doesn't look like I'm going to get much fun around here anyway. Might as well spend my time doing something productive. Or something." Sigh. "So what do these dudes look like? Do we know if they have any special skills or anything, or are they just chumps?" Kara leans against the exterior of the hotel and looks around to make sure they aren't being listened in on.
Shemri gives Kara a sharp look. "Hoi, behave yourself or I shall march you away with your arms twisted behind your back, and do not believe I can't!" >P It's rough being the most mature person in the group when you're also the lowest-ranking. >.< Well, at least Ruri-san won't cause any troub—oh wait, she beat her sister to the nearly-getting-us-arrested thing. Whaddaya know.
On the news that they have work to do here, Shemri raises her eyebrows. Yet another reason to be glad they didn't bring Megumi-chan. "Ah. Aha. This shall be most delicate. Any sort of fighting will be pounced upon by the Kumo ninja."
Ruri says, "One is just a bandit who killed a Sunagakure Jounin's daughter. Apparently he and his buddies attacked her caravan. They took everything of value." Pause. "Women included. But the Jounin's daughter apparently refused to let herself be… Well… Raped, and took out this jerk's eye with a torch. He stabbed her to death in retaliation. So now he's on the run, cause he knows if we get ahold of him, he's in deep doo-doo. If he puts up a fight, we're allowed to do whatever we have to to take him down. The Jounin whose daughter he killed was Oshido-san. The one who I was disguised as when we snuck into the Administration Dome, and who then showed up to support our claims when things went to hell. Needless to say, I plan to bring this guy in, dead or alive. We owe Oshido-san that much at least."
Ruri then says, "The second guy is, unfortunately, ninja-trained. We'll probably need Kara's help to find him. Pharaoh has that Chakra-sensor, right? We'll use that to find any appreciable amount of Chakra other than ourselves. Shiikaa can sniff out the first guy. The ninja is named Ranken and I don't know what his story is, or why we want him. I just know he's either a strong Genin or an average Chuunin. If he has special skills, I wasn't told about them. The real issue here, as Shemri-san said, is that we can't just start blowing stuff up. If at all possible we need to locate and identify our targets, and then either alert the Kumogakure ninja that they are wanted criminals, or catch them in a subtle manner and deliver them to the Sunagakure embassy. As long as they're neutralized we don't need to worry about if they're brought back to Sunagakure for trial or not. So we might want to enlist the aid of the local forces."
"Easy, Kar," Rinako jabs a finger at the older girl's ribs. "Don't make me hose you off. But… how are we supposed to capture a guy if there's not going to be any figh… ting… Oh hell no, this better not be what I think it is."
After listening to the description of the pair of criminals, Rinako removes her sunglasses to rake a hand back through her hair, perching the shaded spectacles back on her nose over her eyes again. With a hefty sigh, she does her best to mask her displeasure. "I'm sooooooo pissed. We were sent here on a seduction mission! Ugh, I bet the men of Sunagakure never have to do crap like this! Well…"
"If the one guy's a rapist, the head on his shoulders isn't the one calling the shots. He'd probably trip all over himself at the first sight of flesh. Unless we're splitting up for this, I'd suggest dangling Kara as his bait, since, ya know, she's dressed for the occasion and all."
Kara would have rolled her eyes at Shemri and told her that what she does is none of the older woman's business, had she cared enough to do so. She >is< behaving. And she's plenty old enough to decide this sort of thing on her own, without some lady trying to enforce morality on her. But they're dealing with the mission now, so she stops worrying about that. "Wow, what a jerk. Yeah, let's take down this murderer and would-be rapist for Oshido-san! Pharaoh-kun can totally find the other one too. Do we know in general where to start lookin—…." she stops talking abruptly at Rinako's words.
"What!? A >seduction mission<!?! Is this seriously part of being a kunoichi? Really?" She mutters and gives Rinako the evil eye when she's volunteered as 'bait'. "The things I do for my Village, I'll tell you what. I don't actually have to… You know… Sleep with him, do I? I was looking for some fun, but not like this, and not with a total scumsucker! I just have to lure him somewhere and then the rest of you will knock him out and tie him up, right? Please say yes?"
Shemri's eyes narrow. So, their target is that sort of scum…this could /almost/ be enjoyable. >/ When Rinako and Kara start talking about unsavory methods, Shemri takes a step back. "O-oi! Why should there be any need for that sort of thing? We do not need to get any information out of him or anything, just take him down!" Shemri turns to Ruri. "If informing the Kumogakure ninja of our intentions is an option, I am in favor of doing so. It will make our mission far easier and less risky. Why attempt to fight in the dark if we may do so in the open without consequences?"
Ruri blinks at her twin. "…What? No. It's not a seduc — " but Kara has already been set off. "No, it's—Stop! At least one of them is supposed to be staying at the hotel behind us. If we catch one then we get his room, and then we don't have to sleep outside. I figured we'd just find these goombas and then henge into room service and gain access that way, or henge into 'fellow ninja' or something and convince 'em to go somewhere we could ambush 'em. But I guess we can go the 'seduction' route if we have to. I seriously wonder about you sometimes, though, Nee-chan. Why did your mind go immediately to 'let's seduce them' when you heard 'no open fighting'?"
She shakes her head. "If Kara's willing to try it, then that solves at least one of our issues. And Shemri-san, the main issue is… Well, if either of these criminals has signed up with Kumogakure already, we'll get slaughtered for attacking 'official Kumogakure personnel' if we try anything violent. Further, the agreement signed when one joins a Hidden Village's forces usually absolves the individual of crimes against other nations — in the eyes of that particular Village at least. That's why people who were previously criminals during the Clan Wars can be fighting alongside other ninja in the present. Because, to one Clan or another, there is always going to be a person or group who should be executed for their 'crimes'. The contract erases past crimes so that they aren't killing people left and right for their actions before the Villages had formed. So if we tell Kumogakure, and they're already signed up… We can't do anything at all. Mission failed."
And right then, a guy with a red beard and shaved head, in a vest and shorts and boots with half his face all red and purple and bumpy like fire was applied to it comes walking out of the hotel. He looks around, but doesn't immediately see the four kunoichi, because they're on his blind-side. His left eye is seemingly burned blind. When he DOES spot the swimsuit-clad women, he takes a moment to gawk, before ambling in Team 01's general direction with a smile on his face.
"…Well, that was easy." Ruri mutters before turning her back and talking quickly and quietly to everyone. "I don't see a hitai-ite, but he may not have one yet, or just be a footsoldier-type. Let's try to get him off the street and somewhere we can determine his allegiance. Do whatever it takes, and don't let him get away." Then Ruri turns to face the melted-face guy, and smiles brightly at him. It makes her face hurt, due to the muscles not being ones she uses very often.
"GOD YES! We're kunoichi, not prostitutes! There's some lines not even duty could push me over." Shuddering at the mere thought of having to /be/ with a murdering, likely sexist, rapist, the elder Rurohashi sibling does her best to fight away the nausea. After a moment, she cocks an eyebrow at the oldest woman in the group, then at her younger sister. "Hey, if you two know of an easier way to get a guy to go somewhere secluded and alone with you, I'm aaaaaaaaall ears. You're the one who said we should do this without drawing much attention."
Once her sibling points out the rather grotesque individual making his way towards them, Rinako can only suppress the violent shake of revulsion that tries to course down her spine. Instead, she leans an elbow on Ruri's shoulder, cocking a leg as the other is placed on her hip. With her other elbow, she surreptitiously nudges Kara towards the male. She's been volunteered, after all! Even if it was against her will.
"No wonder this guy had to resort to rape," Rinako murmurs out the side of her mouth. She'd just pray he was into the curvy type more than… well, /her/.
Kara is glad to hear from everyone that she doesn't have to do that sort of thing after all. "Oh, good." But then the guy whose face was burned by the now-dead Jounin's daughter appears. Crap. "So get him off the street, right? Okay, everyone, let's strike up a conversation with him and — " then she finds herself being nudged with an elbow. " — What? No! You jerk!" But then the guy is too close to complain further. She smiles as invitingly as she can despite the mix of nausea and anger inside of her, and cocks her hips to the side. "Hey, there. My >friends<," she indicates the other three women, "and I are looking for some fun. You wouldn't happen to want to come have lunch with us, would you?" she asks as she interlaces her fingers and lets her hands hang at about waist-height, so that her arms push her breasts together.
It seems all her practice at flirting (and failing at it) is finally going to see a use for the forces of good! She just hopes she doesn't do >too< well. Cause… Seriously. Gross alert!
Shemri gives a twisted frown. Bleh, stupid politics making things all complicated! >.< She's /almost/ inclined to vote that they risk the possibility of being denied cooperation by the Kumo forces, but…for the first guy at least, Shemri can't stand the thought of him escaping justice. >/ For the second guy, well, who knows.
And then, unexpectedly, it's go time! o.O; Oh shoot, Shemri's never been that good with this subtlety and disinformation stuff. c.c; When Kara initiates contact, Shemri does her best to follow her lead. "Ah. Aha. This one looks as though he has some great stories to tell," she remarks, a little too loudly for casual conversation.
Ruri darts her eyes to the side at Rinako. They were supposed to do this together! Oh well. Maintaining her smile — ow that hurts — Ruri giggles girlishly and—
*ELSEWHERE*
"Enma-sama!" an oni calls out as he runs up to the Lord of the Dead. Lord Enma is busily applying a red stamp to papers. "Go to hell, sure." Stamp. "Go to heaven, fine." Stamp. "Come back to life, why not." Stamp. Then he looks up at the agitated ogre. "What is it?" The oni says, "Enma-sama, the oni supervising the underworld are complaining of frostbite!" "What?" "Frostbite, sir!" "…." Enma gets up from his chair and walks over to a window. He throws open the blinds. A bunch of pigs are running around in the sky. "Well, damn."
*BACK TO THE SCENE*
—Ruri flutters her eyelashes a bit, as she tries to appear shy, and yet interested in the felon. It comes off surprisingly well, despite Ruri's inexperience with this sort of thing. "Um, I spotted a restaurant over there!" she points down the street. "We can eat there. That is… If you're interested…?"
The man pauses for a moment, considering the situation. A dark-skinned chick with huge boobs and not much covering them, a pair of twins, and a MILF. He carefully formulates his response. " YES! I, Garand, will knock you all up!" He seems to have missed the part about lunch. Ruri's cheek twitches as she tries to keep smiling. She giggles again, for lack of better ideas. "Well, I know a shortcut! Follow me!" She then puts an arm around her sister's waist and tries to lead the way, with Rinako by her side, towards an alleyway next to the hotel. That should suffice.
When protested by the older kunoichi, Rinako only sends Kara an all-too-sweet smile of 'friendship', with a few underlying currents of 'nyah, nyah'. That same smile is soon turned on Shemri, though without the teasing underlying message, and with raised eyebrows at her attempt at, well, she supposed it might be flirting where the older woman came from. Poor girl had probably been married so long she'd forgotten how!
She can't stop it, though, the enormous snort of disbelief that shoots out of her at the man's crude, disgusting, and totally demeaning statement, anymore than she can stop her entire body giving a little jerk as if she'd just been slapped in the face. She was damned sure that anyone /that/ stupid wouldn't have been taken in by the shinobi of Kumogakure, anyway! Hell, it was all she could do not to make him swallow his teeth right effing there.
"That just sounds great, I'd like to eat… /something/." She eyes the disgusting, half-blind male as she says this. Of course, she was eyeballing him simply out of wondering which part of him she'd like to rip apart first, but he didn't need to know that, as her arm goes around her sibling's shoulder and she walks in time with the younger twin towards the mouth of the alley.
"C'mon, Kar, bring your new friend."
Kara grabs the guy and drags him into the alleyway. She doesn't really bother to respond to him except to laugh at his proclamation.
If Shemri were better versed in this espionage stuff, she'd be wondering right now if they weren't being double-played. As it is, she can only think that there will indeed be plenty of knocking going on in a minute, but it won't be this brain-damaged goon dishing it out. Shemri glances down at her cat as they head into the alley. "Shiikaa, keep an eye out for anyone coming." Handy that their mark believes there's reason for privacy. Not that he probably cares much.
