Starring:
Date: February 12, 2011
Summary:
Datura and Amuro have finally decided that it is time to end the reign of Takahiro Shuichi, the Daimyo of the Land of Grass, and his family. Datura enlists the aid of her unique allies for the task! (WARNING: Rated M for death and mature subject matter.)
"Broken Memories Pt. 3 - Cruel Intentions"
Daimyo's Palace, Land of Grass
The sun had set long ago, and the castle was now lit only by candle and paper lanterns. Guards patrolled the halls and walls at regular intervals, heightened security with the large presence of foreign shinobi only just now leaving the Land of Grass. The other various castle servants, nobility, and functionaries had settled in for the night, except for the odd cleaning staff who washed the walls or dusted the surfaces during the dead of night when they wouldn't be a bother to the 'more important' people who might happen upon them. And, of course, the night-time kitchen staff, who were responsible for kitchen cleanliness and breakfast for the off-going and on-coming samurai guards.
Two women also traipsed about the halls, one of whom was giggling so hard she occasionally stumbled, which caused her to burst out even more into high-pitched squeals of laughter. The few guards who saw the pair, a red-head and a blonde, on this route would give them odd glances. They didn't recognize the red-haired woman, but if she was with the Lady Ryoko, she must be allowed to be here, as the latter had unrestricted access to any part of the palace, including the vault, provided she returned any jewelry she chose to borrow. Though none of the guards could remember seeing the normaly-somber teenaged diva in quite so superfluous a mood.
Datura had done whatever begging, pleading, and bribing had been required to get the new Spider Queen Nefura to agree to this little jaunt into the human world. Of course, she probably only had to tell her that there was a man she was forced to be with whom she hated and who took great liberties with her body. And now the pair were making their way through the halls, on the route with the shortest distance between Ryoko's chambers and the Daimyo's and with the fewest guards. A particularly long stretch, right before a bend in the hallway that would lead to just outside the Lord of Grass's private rooms is where they currently found themselves.
"Oh, I'm so excited! I can't believe it's actually happening that I get to get rid of this windbag!" The giddy blonde-haired young woman was holding onto the older, shape-shifted creature's hand with both of her own, a bright, wide smile on her face, the kind the statuesque beauty Lady Ryoko normally never wore. She was restrained, she was demure, polite and prim. Tonight, Datura was too overcome with anticipation to bother with her disguise. None of these guards would remember her presence anyway.
"Can you control it to make sure he's paralyzed, but still feels excruciating pain as he passes on? I do want him to suffer greatly, if at all possible." The wicked blonde squeezes her shapeshifted friends hand hard for a human, but likely not even the strength of the merest flick of a leg for an enormous arachnid. She had gone over the plan extensively with her companion several times, of course: Pretend to be a visiting courtesan, enter the Daimyo's room with Datura, bite him once they'd gotten him to his private chambers, and they would then return to the blonde's chambers to wait out the results. Of course, Nefura unfortunately had to be gone by morning, but the disguised Yamanaka had assured her that they could do some catching up on lost time before the sun rose.
Nefura was more than happy to accomodate Datura's request. The blonde is the closest friend she has, human or otherwise. She did not quite comprehend the concept of 'rape'. In her world, any male that would dare to try to mate with a female without permission would be killed and possibly eaten without a second-thought. Even attempting to get permission can be hazardous to one's health. One wrong step during the mating dance and… That's it.
The closest thing to forced mating that Nefura is familiar with is 'non-consentual physical contact', which applies to such things as trespassing on another's web or hunting grounds, or even just physically attacking someone. And from what Datura has described, as well as the clear loathing Datura has for Shuichi and the suffering the teenager has gone through because of this man, Nefura has decided to classify 'rape' under the rather expansive category of 'physical attacks'.
Someone has attacked Datura. On two different levels this upsets Nefura. On one hand, Datura is precious to Nefura. She, in a way, feels as though she >owns< Datura. Not as property but as an esteemed citizen within the >New Spider Kingdom< — >Nefura's< Spider Kingdom, to be specific. Datura is an extension of Nefura, in a way, and thus an attack upon Datura is an attack upon Nefura. And attacks are not tolerated.
On a different, less self-focused level, Nefura is upset because Datura matters to her as a person. As an individual, a friend, a teacher, and more, Datura is intrinsic to Nefura's life and has shaped the young queen's world view. For the sake not only of the new Spider Kingdom, but also of Datura herself, Nefura has agreed to come and to put a stop to all of… 'This'. The red-haired woman has ensured her eyes look like normal human eyes — though rather beautiful green ones that seem to have multiple layers to the jade coloration, rather than being a solid hue. She has her huge mane of fire-red hair tied into a high ponytail that streams down her back. She is wearing a red tubetop that barely contains her burgeoning breasts, a red sarong about her hips, and sandals with leather straps criss-crossing her ankles and shins, up to her knees. She looks a bit like a foreign belly-dancer, though her skin is not >quite< dark enough to be a Land of Wind native.
But over all this, she has a modest, maroon robe that is left not-quite closed all the way in front. In this way, she does not distract the guards or anyone else overly with her garb, and yet retains the allure that she intended to by dressing this way. She is dressed more for Datura's benefit than because she cares what Shuichi or anyone else thinks. She pretends to be mirthful as well. In some ways, she is glad to see Datura in such a good mood. The news of Shuichi had been delivered in a way that made clear Datura's pain. But now, here she was, giggling and squeezing Nefura's hand, and enjoying the queen's company. The red-head smiles. Her naturally (or as naturalas being shape-shifted into an alien form can be) ruby-red, glossy lips open for a moment, before Nefura glances around to make sure no one will overhear. She can tell where the echoes of speech are going fairly easily. She speaks a bit quietly when she decides it's safe.
"I am not my mother," she says simply. Turning to look at Datura as they keep walking, Nefura clarifies, "I have neither the experience nor the inclination to specialize my ability to generate venom. I have focused far more on the ability to create life, to nourish my young, and to ensure as many as possible survive to adulthood. I am a life-giver, not a destroyer or corruptor." She sighs, as all traces of humor fade from her. "My apologies, Dat-cha—Err… 'Lady Ryoko'," she corrects herself with a fleeting smirk. "But if I envenom him, I cannot say how long he will live, or if he will suffer more than usual. However…" She turns and takes Datura's hands in her own. Shorter woman looks up at taller.
Older woman looks up at younger. "…Because of my focus on life, I have unlocked certain other abilities. I do not know if Queen Jurougumo can use them as well or not, but I am confident that I can give him a suitably painful death. And perhaps it will even inspire new life in the process!" Nefura smiles broadly. A human is a human. She likes humans. But she knows not all humans are good. And the human known as Takahiro Shuichi is not good at all. And that means he has to die.
How could the blonde-haired kunoichi not be in a good mood when it meant her time prentending to be the quiet, subservient pleasure-vessel for a man she detested so thoroughly was at an end!? She wasn't sure her red-haired companion understood completely, but some things apparently didn't translate across the species barrier, and Nefura was willing to do what Datura needed. The teen laughs again, one of her hands leaving the red-haired shapeshifter's to drape leisurely at the back of her neck, the kunoichi's winning smile beaming at her.
"There is a certain beauty in corruption and unmaking. And there is one bite I would so love for you to learn from your mother." What bite was that? She doesn't say for now, but it can likely be guessed easily enough, since Nefura is even more aware of her mother's abilities than Datura herself is. As they near the corner, the blonde's voice shrinks to a whisper, leaning closer to her arachnid companion, shoulder-to-shoulder. "I need him dead in a manner that a human could accomplish, more or less. Poison is the easiest way to do this, isn't it? But maybe you would tell me the extraordinary idea you've had in my ear? I just might like it!"
The baby-steps required by 'Lady Ryoko's' tight and restricted kimono eventually bring them to the corner. Rounding it, they find themselves facing a hallway several dozen feet across, ending at a deadend. And yet there was a singular pair of double-doors leading into the Daimyo's quarters here, the only way in or out, other than windows six or seven stories above the ground. A pair of guards immediately notice the two women, and, though neither of them move to stop them, they are watched intently. The man closest to them speaks, while the woman on the far side watches Nefura with suspicion.
"Lady Ryoko. Is Takahiro-sama expecting you?"
"No, Yuiro-kun, he isn't. I am bringing him somethiiiiiiing…" Datura's hand slips around the red-haired spider's waist, the other coming up to trace her fingers along the upper hem of her robe. "Special. This is Nefura-chan. She is one of my new dancers."
Nefura smiles again at Datura's eagerness. She's like a little girl! Then again, Nefura is pretty young by a Fukaizan spider's standards as well. She turns to keep walking at the leisurely pace that Datura is setting with her tiny steps. Leaning over, Nefura breathes in Datura's ear. "It's been said amongst humans that the reason women have babies is because men cannot handle the pain. I have had eight broods already. That is a >lot< of children. What do you think it would feel like if every one of those births was experienced simultaneously by an individual from the gender >least capable of tolerating such<?"
Nefura then giggles hysterically, apparently having wanted to reveal this idea for hours or days. "I'm going to—I'm going to poison him alright!" she whispers between gigglefits. "I'm going to poison him with my >milk< and he's going to >die of exhaustion<!" Then she laughs outright for a moment, as though the topic were something light and family-oriented. Finally, she settles down as the guards come into sight, though it takes a moment to get her spasms under control. When they approach, she is all smiles. She leans against 'Lady Ryoko' when a hand goes around her waist and turns her head to kiss Datura's cheek suggestively, while keeping her green eyes on the male guard.
The male guard, 'Yuiro-kun', does a very good job of keeping his demeanor, a dedicated warrior to the end. His face flushes a bit, but he offers nothing other than a curt nod to the pair of women, even as Nefura turns to lay her lips upon the young woman's cheek. The female guard, a woman Datura didn't recognize, lifts an eyebrow, but clearly the male was in charge of who was admitted or not. And Lady Ryoko was never to be refused admittance. Neither of them stop the two women from approaching the double-doors.
Stealthily, smiling slyly at Nefura and with a mind full of nefarious, reprehensible thoughts, Datura pushes open the left-most door wide enough to admit the two of them, as if she were trying to sneak up on the Daimyo with her 'surprise'. It wasn't behaviour that seemed out of the ordinary, yet both of these guards would likely be required to seppuku in the morning. The blonde leads the way in, leading the red-head into the room by the hand, and then shutting the door behind them.
No sooner is this done than the blonde leans slightly against the closed portal, closing her eyes and letting out a little shiver, a thin, macabre smile on her face, eyes closed. When she opens them, she takes both of Nefura's hands, breathing a little irregular from excitement. "It will be the most delicious way of watching him die," she whispers. She leans forward, touching her lips to the disguised spider's only briefly before turning to call to the empty room.
"Shuichi? My love, are you here?"
The room was lavish and simplistic at the same time. Two doors lead off deeper in the Daimyo's apartments, but the room they were in had minimal furniture, a small, low table between the two doors upon which stood two candles, a few simple wall-hangings, rich carpet underfoot. Though everything was minimalistic, it was made of only the best materials. From within the inner chambers comes a deep male voice.
"Ryoko-chan? Yes, come in! I thought you had taken ill tonight? Have you recovered?" 'Lady Ryoko' beckons Nefura towards the right-hand door.
Nefura giggles as she is bayed to enter the room. She kisses Datura back, even if the contact is far too brief for the spider's liking. Humans are so soft and nice to touch! When they seperate, Nefura does as directed and moves to stand in front of the right-hand door. She also makes sure her robe hangs only loosely from her otherwise-bare shoulders. She has learned some theatrics from Datura, and the 'big reveal' is one of those. She imagines she knows what Datura is going to do… And so she is going to be ready when the moment comes.
She reaches up with one hand and kneads her chest firmly to stimulate her body. This is not so much for enjoyment — though there >is< that — as to ensure there is milk ready to flow. She introduces subtle toxins and hormones into the milk as well. Chemicals that make spider-humans happy and healthy, but act as hallucinogens or worse in humans. The red-haired queen shivers and tilts her head back, closing her eyes briefly at the sensations. Then she lowers her hand and waits…
"Oh, yes, dear Shuichi. And I have quite the surprise for you, as well…"
Takahiro Shuichi, Daimyo of the Land of Grass, lay dying. His eyes looked frantically between the two women as his body bucked and strained against the silk drapes that were used to keep his arms tied to the bedposts, strong enough to hold even a grown man, yet soft enough not to leave marks in the skin. A gag prevented him from screaming during the past several hours of torment. His skin glistened with sweat, pouring into his eyes so that he had to blink furiously. His breath was hyperventilated, in and out deeply through his nose, between each groaning pant. Another muted scream tears through the room from him as his stomach muscles bunch and contract. The sound would never reach the ears of the guards as muffled as it was, across three rooms, and even if it did, would likely be interpreted as the noises of a very different activity. The nobleman's entire body was shaking, wracked with an unending, unceasing pain that could never be accustomed to.
Datura wondered if he was aware of what was happening, if he was even now thinking of her cruel betrayal, cursing her, hurt by the woman he thought was the love of his life, and now brutally tortured as his 'lover' watched, delighted, and smiled. Or was he simply in too much pain to comprehend anything else. She supposed it was a mixture of both. Her sibling railed in her head, decrying the act, begging for her to finish him quickly. She shuts her out. 'Not this time, Riku. This time we do it my way.' Her sister's voice was beginning to hold increasing sway in her actions, but Datura's hatred ran too deep for this man.
Finally, the man's heart gives out. His entire body contracts powerfully, a pitiful, fleeting moan escaping him, tendons in his arms, shoulders, and chest standing out against his skin. His eyes roll back into his head, and his body goes limp. Lord Takahiro Shuichi is dead, killed by the unending torment of thousands of births going through his body at once, the poison having literally worked his body to death.
The blonde-haired kunoichi yawns lazily, rubbing her sleep-heavy eyes as she uncoils herself from the head of the bed and Nefura, mere feet away from her 'beloved's' body. She leans down, picking up her finely-made kimono and begins to slip into it, covering herself once more, her blue eyes taking in the sight of the dead man. She closes them briefly, sucking in a deep, ragged breath to cool herself and calm her nerves.
"That was…" She toussles her loose mass of hair and shoots the disguised spider a small, winning smile, the smile that helped to make her a diva. "One of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. I think I will adore you forever for this. But for now I need you to cover yourself. Another male shall be arriving shortly."
Even as Datura bends down and begins to untie the dead man's wrists, she touches a mark high on her upper thigh, almost on her hip, sending her thoughts out as she activates the seal. «It is done. It's time for your part now.»
Nefura wakes up in a good mood. She was mostly sleeping because it was what Datura was doing than because she was tired. Though producing all those chemicals had >sort of< been draining in a way. But nothing that eating that delicious corpse nearby won't fix—Oh, but Datura just woke up. Darn. Pretending she had no plans to consume Shuichi's dead body, Nefura smiles bright, sits up quickly and perkily, and tilts her head. "You mean you did not adore me before, Dat-chan?" she teases. Then the queen slips out of bed and goes to find her robe. The other clothing is superfluous and disposable. What does a spider masquerading as a human need clothes for anyway? But human world, human rules, and all that. Bending over to retrieve her red robe from the floor, Nefura calls back to Datura as she stretches sensually. "Who is this that is coming? A guard? Do I need to 'feed' him my toxins too? Or will a normal bite suffice?" Then she just turns her upper body upside-down, and looks at Datura from between her legs, while remaining standing. Her thick red hair piles on the floor beneath her head. She certainly is flexible! And has excellent balance! But that is to be expected, one might suppose.
Tilting her head, Nefura finally straightens up from her impromptu stretching session and re-garbs herself. Mere moments later, frigid wind that should not exist outside of the ninth circle of Hell itself gusts through the room for a few seconds, frosting over the windows, dimming flame-based lights, rustling papers that in turn start to become rigid rather than flexible, and so forth. It only lasts a few seconds. But it's enough cold to fill million, million years of ice ages. Shuichi's corpse halts decaying almost completely for a little while. At the end of the three seconds of absurdly low temperatures, a sound like 'wooOOOOOMMMMMmmmm…' can be heard. It's deep and hollow, like air moving across the lip of the universe's largest bottle.
And then Amuro's voice calls from the room beyond the bedroom, "I have already begun." Nefura had turned towards the source of the cold as soon as it began, structures appearing out of nowhere underneath her flesh, signifying the arachnid physiology just under the surface. She leapt backwards some thirty feet rather easily, to land at the foot of the bed. When the cold stops, and the weird nose goes away, and Amuro's voice is heard, she rises from her crouch but does not appear to be ready to relax. "Who isth thith, Dat-chan?" Nefura lisps a bit as her mouth rearranges itself for biting. "He wath not there a moment ago. When he appeared… I felt thomething dangerouth." Mandibles start to protrude from the sides of Nefura's face, moving closer together. Six additional eyes have appeared on her forehead, and none of these eyes look remotely human.
Heavy footfalls come slowly, methodically… And then Amuro comes into view in the right-hand doorway. He looks from Datura to Nefura. Nefura has forgotten to close her robe all the way, and when she realizes this, she wonders for a moment whether to bother. She has already revealed she is not quite human… Eventually she decides she can pass this off as one of those human things… 'Bloodline Limits'. She allows her features and physiology to revert to human and closes her robe all the way. She has yet to say anything since Amuro appeared.
Amuro turns his eyeless gaze back on Datura. "You two need not have bothered. I am nearing my one-hundred and twenty-fifth birthday. It is nothing I have not seen before." Then he raises his right hand and aims his palm. The kanji on it changes to 'Obtain'. A corner piece in the metal frame of a painting on the wall unscrews itself and flies to Amuro's hand. He catches it and then turns it over to look at it. "…But >this< is new. Very interesting poison was used on Shuichi." He holds up the metal knob and explains, "Mune wanted medical data on Shuichi retrieved so she knows how to ensure all forensic investigations show the same thing. So this device recorded his vitals and body chemistry last night."
After removing both the hand-bindings and the gag, Datura shoots the transformed spider a smile at the tease, then goes about collecting all traces of their clothing. …Save one. She tosses down a small slip of purple cloth that looks as if it were torn from another garment, leaving it on the floor near the bed. "No, Nef-chan. No more kil-"
But the sudden introduction of sub-freezing temperatures interrupts the woman's speech, causing her to fold her arms over her self, hugging the small pile of clothes to her chest and wishing suddenly that her robe was much thicker. It ends before she can begin to wish for something much more warm to spontaneously combust, or suggest that Nefura carry her the hell out of here, for a moment afraid they had missed a shinobi bodyguard. And then it ends, with the blonde kunoichi motioning with one hand towards Nefura, her palm downward in a calming motion.
"No, it's okay. I called him here. He's going to help me pull something off. I suspect that human politics are much different than they are in your court." The former Konoha kunoichi, the clothes still hugged to her chest with one arm, steps forward on bare feet towards Amuro, yet looking over her shoulder to the red-haired spider and holding out her hand for her to take, as if preparing to leave. She stops short, however, just before the overly-tall leader of the Tao-Shih. She frowns at him with narrow-eyed suspicion.
"My body should not have been something you have seen before. Look, I'm thinking of the names and faces whose memories need to be changed tonight. You will find them all in this wing of the palace. The ones between these rooms and mine need to not remember me and Nef-chan coming here. The ones between here and Takahiro Nagamu's room need to not remember me and Nef-chan, but do remember Nagamu heading for these rooms. Copy them from me, and then…" The blonde manages to awkwardly, despite full hands, finagle a small vial with a popped cap with only trace amounts of the substance that had killed Shuichi in it, having been filled, and then subsequently dumped out. "Hide this in Nagamu's room. I'm going to take Nef back to my room and get her out of the palace." A sigh. "It's going to be a loooooong day tomorrow."
Apparently she just realized how much time she'd have to spend in 'mourning'.
Amuro just nods and lets out a brief hmm! of acknowledgement. Then he steps forward and places his large right hand on Datura's head. It's practically big enough to just cover her head completely were he to close his hand shut… And she may be reminded of when an arm from this same man nearly killed her. Of course, it was possessed at the time, but even so… It seems to take just a second, and then Amuro is done. He lets go and Nefura relaxes a bit. She has seen that this man could have harmed Datura and chose not to. She is not clear on what he was doing just now, but the fact he is an ally is something at least.
Amuro then says, "Most of them are already being rounded up. I had the captain of the guards divulge to me the patrols and assigned stations of all the guards that were active yesterday, as well as their schedules. But some of these did not make it on the rosters. That will be rectified immediately." Then he turns around, after accepting the vial, and begins to walk out without a word of farewell.
Perhaps his mind is simply on other matters.
