Starring:
Rockpath (emitter), Hiei, Rise
Date: August 8, 2015
Summary:
Hiei and Rise are sent to take care of a corrupt rich man.
Poster's note: foul language filtered in obvious places.
"Assassination: Builder of Beasts"
Land of Lightning
Such an interesting mission today! Kumogakure doesn't take these often, but this one is of the assassination realm. Today's target: a rich man! A /corrupt/ rich man, to be exact. He's using his lovely power-through-money to try and make bigger, tougher, /meaner/ bodyguards. Umm… inhuman ones, to boot. That's why some of the local police within this particular landholder's domain called upon Kumo, though! To deal with this suspect. Yotsuki Hiei, Raikage, and Shirokiri Rise, eternal genin, have been sent on this mission, interestingly enough. Like the mission wasn't interesting already… But here we are, just outside of the border of this rich man's territory. The sun is masked by clouds, and a chilly breeze blows over barren lands, thanks to it being winter.
Riding up on a black warhorse is a man dressed in expensive clothing. His short black hair is slicked back on his head and he sports a goatee around his mouth. He has green eyes and slightly tanned skin and speaks with the accent of someone who has traveled the world. Henged into the form of this merchant is none other than the Raikage himself, Yotsuki Hiei. Moving through this land in this disguise would not alert their target to the news that there might be shinobi in the area. Snake Eyes, the horse, would be the only give-away, and that's if someone knew Hiei well enough to know exactly what his horse looks like. He moves along at a relaxed gait, heading towards the boarder of the rich man's territory.
Grasping the man tightly with her face all but buried into his backside is a young woman dressed in a similiar fashion. Her long and luxurious black hair was braided for the sake of the ride finally stopped their dancing in the wind as he slowed, prompting her to peel her face away long enough to look at their surroundings. With but one or two exceptions, Rise chose to don a less easy to remove disguise for the sake of the mission, and wore a look of naive curiosity as she scanned the area. There was more to the look than that of course, but she hid it well.
Besides, who would wonder for long about the child of a merchant with an obvious amount of air between he ears.
Hohohoho! The shinobi were here earlier than expected. Two, like was said… They were seen leaving the village gates. The rich man's spy network was a little /too/ good this time around. However, the sad part is that when Hiei and Rise donned disguises and got lost among the crowd, said spies could no longer detect the targets. As such, two modified hounds were sent out… They sniffed and snuffled over various details, neither of them having the scent trail they need to find. So unless Hiei and Rise found the dogs suspicious enough to attack, they might just go by unannounced.
Said hounds were black creatures with dark chakra. Most folk, even without the ability to sense chakra, stayed far away from the two beasts. One could say they were part dog, part wolf, and part man with how they traveled. The closest in appearance with a name would perhaps be the mythical 'Lycan'.
Hiei spots the dogs and discreetly points them out to Rise. He continues to mingle in the crowd while attempting to avoid them. He could sense the dark chakra coming from them and knew that their cover would be blown if those dogs had a chance to actually track them down. In the meantime, he attempts to set eyes on the target and get as close to him as possible, all while still in his merchant disguise.
RP: Rise uses HENGE.
"Yuck! I can't believe people just let their dogs roam about." Rise says indignantly with her nose all scrunched up. "Otou-san~ How much longer is it going to be? Being around all these plebians is starting to ruin my good day." She adds huffily. If that isn't enough of a hint to move along faster, digging her nails a little into Hiei's side would hopefully spur the man on. Right? Either way, her eyes are back on the dog, but now there's just a tinge of something else. A certain curiosity bordering on mania…
Hiei would have no issue trying to find the Target. He is perched upon the ledge of a four-story building where all the shops are single-story and the houses don't extend past two. A large gong rings out, drawing the attention of the crowd of people around the small town. The man that is their target is dressed in a pink, billowy haori, and his clothes beneath are white with gold-colored trimmings.
"Loyal subjects!" he calls out in a flowery voice that can hardly be called sincere. "It is my deepest regret to inform you that it is time to collect taxes." A few of the village-folk mutter their discontent, but with the guard-hounds about…. Well, they weren't going to try. "As you all know, the taxes are steep. But I am willing to pardon you family from taxes for a FULL YEAR. Provided that you find two outsiders that are intent on scoping out this village. They plan to destroy /everyone's/ homes and lives, so we must strike first! Anyone suspect should be reported to my hounds IMMEDIATELY! That is all. You have three days to collect your money." Then he walks back into his house…
The crowds begin speaking amongst themselves. A few don't care if they live or die, as they had already resigned their pursuit of happiness. A few actually decided to side with the landholder, as they were probably fed a bit of money under the table… It was those that decide to do nothing that were Hiei and Rise's greatest assets, but eventually one corrupt individual was able to mark them out to the guard dogs… Of course.
COMBAT: Hiei attacks target 1 with LIGHTNING-STRIKE with a roll of: 65
[NPC System]: Village Leader roll(s) Speeching! vs. Hiei from 4 to 18 and get(s) a 8. - Rolled by: Shell
As the man comes out to make his speech. Hiei senses the perfect opportunity for an ambush. They know shinobi are here, but they don't know where. That works to their advantage. "I'm taking the shot." He asides to rise before he performs handseals as lightning begins to pool around his fingertips. He flings his fingers towards the man in the middle of his speech, sending a large bolt of lightning towards him.
Saying "I'm taking the shot." isn't much of a warning. And yet using reflexes honed from years of having to deal with similiar orders, Rise rolls off the horse. Her intention was to use the soon to be riled up crowd as cover to find a better angle for an attack, but she would settle for just being as far away from the main center of attention. At some point along the way stress leads to her skin reverting to its normal pigmentation, and her bang covered left-eye reverting to its red hue.
RP: Rise stops using HENGE.
COMBAT: Rise attacks target 1 with STEALTH-II with a roll of: 44
RPCOMBAT: Shell defends against with a PERCEPTION-II…38
The speech doesn't stop, even when Hiei zaps the man with lightning. He falls to the ground, dead, but there is something still going. A sort of recording. But Hiei /did/ just give his position away. Which is why one of the hounds starts going for the Raikage. It rears up on its hind legs, shifting in form until it looks like a shadow-version of Hiei. The beast even has a sword, which Hiei is largely known for (being the Raikage has its downfalls), and it swings it in an arcing slash at the Yotsuki's head.
Rise is able to use the crowds successfully, and the second hound has yet to find the Shirokiri…
COMBAT: Hiei defends against ARC-SLASH(39) attack from Shadow with a ACROBATIC-DODGE…39
COMBAT: Hiei defends against ARC-SLASH(46) attack from Shadow with a DANCING-FLOW…65
Hiei watches as the dog morphs into a shadow version of him. Of course the fact that he doesn't look like himself non withstanding. Hiei does however drop the henge, revealing his matte black battle armor with his swords sheathed at his waist. It covers every inch of him all the way up to the bottom part of his face. The upper part is visible, and his hair is tied back into a ponytail. However, his Kumo headband is missing. He backflips out of the way of the first attack and then seems to flow around the second one. He performs handseals and points at the ground as a bolt of crimson lightning strike his location, causing a blinding flash and a loud bang of thunder. Once it all clears though, Hiei is gone.
As soon as Rise an find a viable shadow to slip inside, the woman doesn't waste anytime. Most of her outer ware is grudgingly discarded and sealed up into the one scroll she had on hand. In mere moments, her usual clothing takes its place, minus the headband and jacket. She may yet still be recognized if spotted, but if nothing else, she would provide an alternate target from the Raikage.
Once secure in her new clothing, a true henge is adopted to appear as one of the villagers running about before she takes off running. High and low the woman searched for a means into the building, if not for their target attempting to sneak away.
RPCOMBAT: Rise defends against with a PERCEPTION-II…52
COMBAT: Shadow defends against TAISAN(50) attack from Shadow with a PECEPTION-III…42
The Shadow Hiei finds itself blinded by the light, and it whines unhappily as its eyes are screwed up. The thing's sense of smell is slightly different in this form, too, so all it can do is wait and look around for the Raikage. Hiei might notice that people aren't so panicked about the attack on their leader, but instead more panicked that someone attempted such and are looking for who did so.
Rise's disappearance meant that she could explore freely, for the most part, and she would notice that there are guards securely stationed at the house in such a way that only a ninja would be Able to think of entering. There were at least twenty guards, all of them wielding spears. And the leader was nowhere to be found. And considering the body up on the ledge wasn't being surrounded by guards, it's reasonable to assume that was a decoy.
COMBAT: Hiei focuses 3556 stamina to turn it into 5000 usable chakra!
Hiei was hiding nearby. If Rise was inside, then that means she had a better shot at getting the target. So he would provide a distraction for her. While she looked for the guy, he'd keep the guards busy outside. Rushing towards the shadow version of himself, Hiei slides to a stop while shooting a lightning infused fist forwards. "Looking for me?" He asks just before punching it while it's not paying much attention.
Their numbers meant little more than wasted time to the Shirokiri. Too much, in fact, making a frontal assualt a poor choice. Rise meant to hunt down Hiei and report her findings. Unfortunately, it literally did not sound as if he would be free to help her more directly. Or was he helping her already?
She had recompose herself as that shocking thought came to mind, then went a step further. Dispelling the henge once more, Rise expression took on a more tranquil appearance from entering a trance. What follows is a series of hand seals followed by the woman slipping forth. To the two closests guards she might appear as nothing worth noticing. Just dust caught on the odd breeze perhaps. If there are any more about, the woman made a point of stepping quickly, and with any luck, remain only within the line of sight of those caught by her genjutsu.
RP: Rise transforms into MEDITATIVE-TRANCE.
COMBAT: Rise attacks target 1 with TRIVIALITIES with a roll of: 45
COMBAT: Rise attacks target 1 with TRIVIALITIES with a roll of: 41
COMBAT: Rise attacks target 1 with STEALTH-II with a roll of: 48
COMBAT: Rise attacks target 2 with STEALTH-II with a roll of: 32
COMBAT: Rise attacks target 3 with STEALTH-II with a roll of: 37
[NPC System]: Guards roll(s) Perception vs. Rise from 20 to 40 and get(s) a 32. - Rolled by: Shadow
[NPC System]: Guards roll(s) Perception vs. Rise from 20 to 40 and get(s) a 23. - Rolled by: Shadow
[NPC System]: Guards roll(s) Perception vs. Rise from 20 to 40 and get(s) a 28. - Rolled by: Shadow
COMBAT: Shadow defends against SUDDEN-SHOCK(70) attack from Hiei with a THE-PINNACLE…81
The guards are not as skilled at perception as they should be! Rise is able to slip by with ease, which means that the creature that's intent on tailing her is busts wandering around town to find the non-existent Shirokiri. Hiei's Shadow senses Hiei just before the man comes over, and it avoids the Sudden Shock like that skill is the plague. Because it really is a nasty move! Then the creature seems to blur with speed as it performs the same attack against the Raikage.
COMBAT: Hiei defends against SUDDEN-SHOCK(78) attack from Shadow with a HYPER-SPEED-BLINK-DODGE…60
COMBAT: Hiei loses the roll and sustains 392 damage.
Hiei attempts to move at hyper speed to dodge the incoming attack, but the shadow moves just as fast as he does. It now occurs to the Raikage that he is essentially fighting himself. Which is…not good. He had trained himself to be a shinobi-killer. And if this thing had all of his skills and jutsu, then he was in some serious trouble. As the blow impacts him, he feels his muscles seize up and for the moment, he's unable to move.
Rise only risks one brief glance back the way she came before all of her focus went towards finding their target. The sooner he was removed from play, the faster she could return to Hiei's side and help put an end to whatever 'minor' obstacle was keeping him from kicking open the front door. Even once inside Rise doesn't let her guard down for a moment. She henges herself as one of the goofier looking guards from outside, and feigned patrolling the corridors during her search.
RP: Rise uses HENGE.
RPCOMBAT: Shell defends against with a PERCEPTION-II…36
The guards within the grounds simply nod to Rise, not realizing that she's not their own. They seem fairly alert, but not ready for ninja… That might be a good thing for Rise and Hiei. As for Hiei, he finally figured out why the beasts were something that terrified everyone: they could turn into their target and steal whatever jutsu is known. The Shadow Hiei growls, unable to actually use words, and it draws a blade from seemingly nowhere and blurs, cutting deep into Hiei's side with the sword.
COMBAT: Hiei HEROIC SURGES and releases himself from a stunned state!
COMBAT: Hiei defends against STEEL-CUTTING-SWORD(52) attack from Shadow with a BREVITY…47
COMBAT: Hiei loses the roll and sustains 2111 damage.
RP: Hiei transforms into LIGHTNING-RELEASE-ARMOR.
Hiei growls himself and as his aura explodes around his body, the added lightning chakra jumpstarts his system allowing him to break the stun. However, he is still too slow to get out of the way. The sword cuts him deep, blood flows freely from the deep wound. Unless something was done soon, he could very well die of blood loss. However, the Raikage might be down, but he's not out. He draws his own swords as lightning from his aura surges into the blades. He executes his most powerful technique as he swings both swords at once so fast that the movement alone causes a sonic boom.
A crude yet decent enough mental map was slowly begining to take shape. Rise made a point of checking passing doors and keeping an ear out whenever she could; but ultimately, if it came down to flagging down one of the lone guards for information then… so be it. It should be easy enough to convince them that she was new, and needed to talk to the boss about something important, right? If not however, a forceful escorting to a nearby empty room would be plan B…
RPCOMBAT: Rise defends against with a PERCEPTION-II…38
COMBAT: Shadow defends against THUNDER-SLASH(122) attack from Hiei with a THE-PINNACLE…66
COMBAT: Shadow loses the roll and sustains 1358 damage.
RPCOMBAT: Shell defends against with a PERCEPTION-II…52
Eventually, Rise's scent is going to give her away! The girl is finally detected by the monster-thingy, and the scent trail is pretty fresh, even if it's overlaid by the villagers. Without much heed for those around it, the beast attacks… The building itself?! It does several powerful kicks/punches to the building, eventually making a huge hole in the wall right where Rise is. With inhuman speed, it attempts to grab her and pummel her through yet another wall…
Hiei's Shadow tries to avoid the two swords, but a blink and they're already slicing through half of its body. The creature is pretty much dead thanks to that attack, and it ends up melting away until the original body of the beast lays before Hiei. Well, that's why you don't what the Raikage mad!
COMBAT: Shell attacks target 1 with POWER-PHYSICAL-III with a roll of: 52
COMBAT: Shell attacks target 1 with POWER-PHYSICAL-III with a roll of: 46
COMBAT: Shell attacks target 1 with POWER-PHYSICAL-III with a roll of: 41
Hiei growls and kicks the carcass of the creature before turning and simply vanishing. Moving at a speed that only he can do, he uses his senses to track down Rise. If one of those things were meant for him, then the other one is meant for her. He presses a hand to his wound, eventually he's got to slow down to stanch some of the bleeding. Removing bandages from his belt, he binds his wounds as best he can.
COMBAT: Hiei heals Hiei for 427 with FIRST AID.
COMBAT: Hiei heals Hiei for 398 with FIRST AID.
COMBAT: Hiei heals Hiei for 408 with FIRST AID.
RP: Rise stops using HENGE.
RP: Rise transforms into GATE-OF-HEALING.
COMBAT: Rise counters against a SKYSCRAPER(54) attack from Shell with a SPIRALING-LEAF-UPPERCUT…65
'Just a few more—'
The train of thought stops there as the building began to shake. Once… Twice… She didn't wait for a third time before breaking the henge, and bracing herself to act on the first impulse to come to mind. Upon seeing her likeness come crashing through the wall, there is but one brief instance of surprise lighting up features.
Then, a flash of fury so intense and absolute, Rise stepped forth to meet creature head on, slipping past its guard with the movement before leaping up into a spiraling uppercut to send it flying into the roof. No recognition is given to the extra feeling of power from two gates being instinctively forced open. The extra power is however checked enough so that didn't go flying to far too fast. She meant to leap above it, and drive it back down with a severe back flip kick to the cranium. (re)
COMBAT: Shell defends against SPIRALING-LEAF-UPPERCUT(65) attack from Rise with a STRIKE-CANCELLING…73
COMBAT: Shell defends against POWER-PHYSICAL-III(49) attack from Rise with a SUBTLE-DODGE…58
It's pretty obvious where Rise is fighting… There's a lot of big booms! The Shadow-Rise retaliates by striking downwards with a fist, stopping Rise from knocking it back before it ends up moving out of the way, barely avoiding the kick to its head. Then it moves in. While it is not able to open the gates, it can still somehow perform the intense moves that Rise can use while unlocking them, and it performs a powerful leaf strong whirlwind!
Also, Hiei might realize that a bunch of people are fleeing. One of them happens to be the target…
Now that he's taken a breather, Hiei is back in action. Noticing that a crowd of people are running away, he spots their target among them. Making a split decision, he decides to go for broke. Besides, if this guy was just another decoy, he was going to level the entire place. Because he was just that constructed off. Gripping his swords in both hands, he speeds towards the man, and once he reaches him, he strikes out in a three tiered combination, and if that doesn't do the job, he finishes his combo with a dual cross slash strike to cut him in two.
COMBAT: Hiei attacks target 1 with TRIPLE-SLASH with a roll of: 69
COMBAT: Hiei attacks target 1 with DUAL-BLADE with a roll of: 91
COMBAT: Rise counters against a LEAF-STRONG-WHIRLWIND(51) attack from Shell with a SKYSCRAPER…78
What once was just a flash roared with new life as each of Rise's moves met failure. She did not wait to analyze its next attack. The woman thought of nothing — felt nothing except hatred for the doppelganger. So, before the clone has even fully completed its turn, Rise is upon it, striking hard enough to shatter a spine as easily as a twig, crippling her copy long enough to get a hand about her throat. An inkling of pleasure can be seen in her facade as the creature is picked up and held aloft in her grasp, struggling to breath.
The kinder thing would've been to snap its neck and be done with it. Instead, Rise slammed it hard enough into the ground to create a crater beneath them. "NOW YOU SHOW UP!?!" She yelled after hopefully managing to straddle the downed creature. "WHO THE ARCHITECT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE!? HOW MANY TIMES DID I ASK YOU!?! HOW MANY TIMES DID I /BEG/ YOU TO TAKE THIS DISGUSTING BODY BACK!?! HUH?! ANSWER ME ASSEMBLEIT!!" She cries out, punctuating every point with a punch meant to drive her copy's face further and further into the ground.
COMBAT: Shell defends against SKYSCRAPER(78) attack from Rise with a DODGE-II…55
COMBAT: Shell loses the roll and sustains 1969 damage.
COMBAT: Shell defends against POWER-PHYSICAL-III(67) attack from Rise with a DODGE-II…56
COMBAT: Shell loses the roll and sustains 1395 damage.
Good thing this guy isn't a decoy. It's the real deal, and he ends up getting killed thanks to Hiei's accurate sword attacks. … And it's also, perhaps, lucky he was traveling alone to try and make himself look like a normal person. Sadly, he doesn't know what that is, which was his ultimate downfall.
The Shadow-Rise finds that its skill doesn't quite match Rise's, perhaps because a thief does not always know how to utilize the tools it takes. The shadow can only try to avoid the vicious grasp, only to be picked up by the Shirokiri and strangled. Its legs flail from under it to try and escape, but to no avail. It cannot even hope to actually answer. In part because it cannot speak, and the other part is that its face is being pummeled into oblivious. By the time Rise finishes punching it, the shadow is dead, its likeness of Rise bleeding away.
RP: Hiei reverts to his normal state.
Hiei takes a moment to check his wound, and then takes out more bandages to replace the ones he ripped open by moving so fast. Running over to Rise, he just stares for a moment as she pummels the shadow asking questions that nobody he knows knew the answer to. "Rise, I really don't need you to go nutters on me right now. We have to get out of here. The target is dead." His voice is slightly muffled due to the mask covering his lower face, but he attempts to take her by the arm. "Come on before the rest of the guards get here."
COMBAT: Hiei heals Hiei for 309 with FIRST AID.
COMBAT: Hiei heals Hiei for 354 with FIRST AID.
COMBAT: Hiei heals Hiei for 345 with FIRST AID.
On some level, Rise had to have known her answers would not be found in the copy. Still, she never stopped punching. Her likeness was ruined well before the beast began to revert to its true self. The result of years of pummeling things much harder than even the enhanced bones Shuuren imbued her with months ago. She could not stop under her own power, nor intended to until most of the flesh had been stripped from her hands. A very, very, very long process, to say the least…
Even after Hiei has managed to grab one arm, Rise gives the remains one last punch with her free hand before finally stopping all movement. Later, she would not recall how long she sat there silently, conflicted and sore. What is recalled is a soft-spoken request to seal up the body before they took of. Both then and during the journey, not once would she lift her head to look at Hiei unless ordered to do so.
Rise had no more the stomach to do so than she did the will to rid herself of the gore blanketing the front half of her form.
