Starring:
Date: August 4, 2012
Summary:
Embarking on their mission, Naru and Arisu managed to find the location of the kidnapped girl, eventually fearing her out of harms way to get the mission complete. However, it came at a great price. Instead the girl was freed and the two kunoichi was imprisoned within the estate instead, little does Arisu and the others know is that everything is going according to plan, and the strings are slowly being pulled for an even greater operation.
Poster's note: Profanity filtered in obvious places.
"Leaf Amongst the Rain - Rescued and Captured"
Land of Rain Estate
It was raining, yet again in the Land of Rain, but that wasn't a probably for the duo team that had been about for about a day now, after some light investigation they managed to come out with a lead, a lead that might actually lead them off into the head quarters of whatever they were dealing with to retrieve a girl from the clutches of evil men. The last hour of the day had quickly approached, and lead the duo at the distance of a massive manor, another local's residence who was quite affluent with riches and money, yet somehow they were involved in the kidnapping…
"This…appears to be the place…" Naru whispered quietly under her breath, pulling off her rain coat and brushing away for now, it was drizzling outside, and with so much land to cover she didn't want it to get in the way, she took a quick glance at Arisu, tilting her head to the side. “How are you feeling? The mission is basically to find the girl somewhere in this building but…" She pointed out, there were many guards in the area, and it was unknown to what they might face inside. “We have to be on our toes… or else we will be spotted…"
Arisu had foregone her mask with the intention to look as normal as possible in her rain jacket, and now she stared up at the manor in front of her with a small, but obvious frown. "I see… I do wonder about their motivations for kidnapping the girl." She looks away from the manor itself and at the guards, "…Shall we sneak in, or should we just knock and see what happens? We could make up a story on the spot if we had to after all… and then we'd already be inside, past all the guards outside."
She looks out of the corner of her eye at Naru, "If you'd rather just sneak in the traditional way however, I'm sure that I could help with that… genjutsu and all, I could try to keep them from spotting either of us, or distract them and make them think we're going another direction."
"We don't what it is we are dealing with yet… common crooks, deadly shinobi… Who knows… actually it might be a good idea…" She smirked for a moment and took Arisu by the hand, clutching it tightly and walking right along the main path, what were two girls doing outside in the middle of the night would be beyond them but they didn't did look anything out of the ordinary, " Lets sneak around and get caught," Naru had a feeling they would be able to have a little fun with this or get themselves in a very dire situation. "There is a farm in the land, how about we go pick whatever is there?" She asks curiously, letting go of Arisu's hand and leading the way, it was rhetorical but Arisu could stop her if need be…
Arisu raises a brow, letting her hand fall to her side as Naru turns to go. She quickly turns to catch up with her. "…Steal from them and have them bring us inside? I suppose we could do that." She follows close by Naru, "I was rather hoping to avoid conflict if possible, but clearly that is a silly idea… there will be conflict no matter what we do."
They soon find themselves in the fields and Arisu reaches down to grab a tomato from a vine. "Shall we just take as much as we can? I don't see why we can't eat a bit too… unless they've covered them in pesticide, in which case we might get sick if we eat them…"
As Arisu had suggested once they found themselves in the fields, Naru made sure she wasn't hidden and she quickly began to gather as much as she could, filling her arms with tomatoes and any other sort of interesting veggies she could find. She grinned and licked her lips, "Avoid conflict if possible~" Naru cooed playfully teasing Arisu as a few torches began to light up and move around in their direction.
"What the raindrop?!" A man shouted out from the shadows, he could hear the rummaging in the distance.
"Looks like we've already been spotted, let’s just make sure we keep picking…and I'm not sure about eating…" she goes on to speak, shrugging her shoulders for a moment as she continued to pick anyways, of course the groans and footsteps got louder, and more people with torches quickly began to whistle out, attempting to get everyone's attention.
"Scoundrels!" Another man shouts, pointing a finger at the two girls stealing from the tomato vine, they began to spring forward, blades drawn and circling them. “Drop the produce or you are both going to die here, hands in the air as well," one of them shouted, prompting Naru to quickly glance at Arisu.
" Ari-san… Run!" Naru exclaims while dropping off her produce, she bolted in the other direction, surprisingly very slow than how she normally would, she was quickly subdue, arm twisted and forced to the ground, letting out a squeal as her face was slammed into the dirt… After all she wanted to be caught…
Arisu blinked and started to run as well… unfortunately, she wasn't very fast by any means, and even at full speed she was quickly dropped to the ground in a similarly ungraceful manner, "Get your filthy hands off of me you dirty PEASANT!" She growls, only partially acting, "I do not want to be infected by whatever stinking diseases your skin is bound to be crawling with!"
They bought it, latching their arms around the girls as they caught them. “They are just defenseless little prey!" One of the men squealed with excitement, picking Naru up by the hair as she frowned and groaned in pain. “Get off of me! You are hurting me!" Naru raved and thrashed though wasn't able to get out of the taller, larger man's gripe, the same thing would be for Arisu, tightly clutching her by her arms and hair, " This one is feisty, maybe we should keep her!" though suddenly there is a cough, apparently a man that looked like the watch leader.
“Let’s take them in, we don't need a ruckus or eyes in this area tonight, and with that he pointed off to the manor. Pushing pulled and tug they were forcefully being taken towards the manor… All according the plan, Naru was being entirely non resistant to the situation, “My father will have your heads for this; you don't know who I am!" Naru shouted, of course it didn't matter much, she just stop lashing and moving, causing one of the men to smack her clear across the face. “Shut it already!"
Arisu eyed the man who had hit Naru, her eyes narrowing dangerously… she would have to remember to hurt him more than the others… She more or less stops struggling, though she spits at the suggestion that they keep her. "You could TRY" she sneers, "You may find that I am very unlikely to cooperate with it… and I may well try to escape." She was having an awful lot of trouble resisting the urge to drive all of them mad, but she managed regardless… she had to play the part of the feisty, albeit defenseless young woman… It would get them inside if nothing else.
After a bit of fighting, biting and scratching just like that they were at the foot of the Manor, not only that they were pushed forward in the massive hall way, slammed to the ground to keep them steady. “Hey boss-man! We got some beautiful thieves loitering on our land!" and soon enough a man steps down a marble staircase, obviously quite young, adorned in a midnight black hiyori, he was actually quite the charming man, short hair Carmel locks, well kept. He was obviously the master of the house; he tapped his foot, smirking slyly as he watched over the two. “Ah… Such presents today, these are the thieves?" He asked to clarify but of course Naru simply looked up at the man, her eyes were fierce, looking around checking out her surroundings, she could find nothing yet, but she did glance at Ari…she was ready…But she needed a lead to follow..
Arisu glowered at the young man for a moment… They were in… That was step one. But they weren't quite safe yet. But did that really matter? "And what exactly do you plan to do with us? You can't really keep us here can you?" She glances off to the side, taking note of the trap door… As soon as she figured out what to do, that would be her goal… For now though she ignores it and looks at something on the other side of the house, making a show of looking for something that she apparently couldn't find. "You may as well let us go now, or else you will be facing the wrath of BOTH of our families!"
With the set in order Naru carefully looked around, from side to side and eventually as Arisu's eyes drifted into the corner… "Tats it…" Naru whispered quietly to herself, a foot still on her back she knew just what it was they needed to do…" Ari-san…" Naru whispered quietly and finally began to bolt upwards, knocking the man behind her off his feet and rolling herself to a stand, now was the time to get rid of these guys and move off to the cellar door. “Guards! Get them!" The handsome man exclaims while quickly moving up the steps, within moments armies of guards began piling into the room, drawing blades and rushing them from all sides… "We need to get to that door!"
Arisu blinks, raising a bow as Naru got away, before her body was suddenly wreathed in foxfire, causing those holding her to pull back or else be burned. "Of course… I had seen that already." Her foxfire condensed into several floating spheres of blue green flame before shooting out in all directions at the attackers, "Go, I will be along shortly." she commands, moving at a brisk pace to the trap door, if the foxfire bombs end up working in her favor.
With such close proximity the fire bombs are set off, burning and exploding within the main room, surprisingly enough though not a single flame was lit but the result was just the same. Burning bodies of all kinds littered the ground, they had no idea what hit them but a few managed to get away, rushing at Arisu, throwing kunai and large axes, they seemed intent on beheading her. As Naru moved along towards the cellar door she opened it up from the outside, Naru for the most part was scot free, it was Arisu dealing with much of the flank, a hording group of angry men attacking her… (25) (27)
"Almost there"! Naru soon exclaims, though suddenly a wall of earth forms right in front of her, closing up the space between the cellar and herself. “Earth Barrier!" A voice called out, and finally a shinobi revealed him along the other edge of the room, forcing the men to back up just a little bit. " I see we have something to take care of…Give up now and I promise I won't kill you here…"
The axes and knives passed through Arisu as she moved, and continued on as she slowly faded from view, much like one might expect a ghost to do, while several ghostly copies began to form around the room, each floating down separate halls, one pointedly lashing out at the man who had hit Naru, creating an illusory show of strangling him with ghostly hands that came from the ground and walls. Another moved along with Naru, totally unharmed.
The shinobi who revealed herself caught Arisu's eye, "You do need to work on your negotiations… I will counter your offer. You will release the seven year old young heiress that you have taken into my care… And I will ensure that your spirit is not enslaved to my own upon your inevitable untimely demise at my hands…" Her eyes flashed an eerie yellow, "Failure to comply will result in me breaking you, slowly, and in a way most painful. Attempts to follow, or retake the girl, myself, or my associate here, will result in the same." She prepares for another attack, sure that it will be coming, and already prepared to fight back.
"You need to step aside or you will find yourself hurt…" Naru replied back as well, there was a slight grin on her face, trapped with a room, fighting a long side Arisu, it was a nice thing to occur and even more so considering the circumstances, it was the most passion Naru had witnessed from Arisu. "Very well then…Doton…. Whirling Mudfall No Jutsu!" Suddenly he opens his mouth, mud begins to flood passed his lips, whirling and moving about them until finally rocks gather into their whirling mess, smashing and pelting against anyone caught in the whirling mud, Naru felt the large rocks after rocks smash into her body, slamming her around like a rag doll until finally she began to sit up, bruised already she didn't seem focused on the shinobi, she was more interested on getting everything completed.
“We will move on regardless if you are here or not…Katon! Goukakyuu no Jutsu!" Naru exclaims, sending a burning ball of fire directly into the earth wall, knocking out a clean hole for the both of them, "Ari-san!" She calls out to her, waving her to come on in anyways, the hallways in the cellar were much narrower… and right now it seemed like the odds were still against them.
Arisu casts one more glare at the man before retreating through the wall with Naru, and heading down into the cellar before she can be followed. She frowns a little as she eyes the trap door above her, "I have nothing that will keep the door shut sufficiently… I can only buy us a bit of time." She pulls a kunai out from within her rain jacket, jamming the handle into a latch that would have normally allowed the trap door to open easily… As she had said, it was a temporary fix, and it kept them IN as much as it kept others out, but it would give them a head start before someone broke in, "Come on… Let's hurry."
"Hai… hopefully we can keep this closed for awhile…" Naru replied back, swiftly moving through the cellar, she actually began to stick back just a little bit just so Arisu could take the lead. The area they were going into was almost like a dungeon, jail cells though many of them empty, some of them with pets and various items, looks like without many prisoners it was being used for storage space. The room was silent, even the door which was lodged didn't budge, but in the distance whimpering could be heard, out in the corner of the dungeon. “I think that’s…" She hushed her breath briefly and stopped suddenly, right in front of the cell of a small blonde haired girl…who somehow looked very similiar to Arisu, she was well feed and didnt seem to have any injuries at first sight. “This is it…"
Arisu pushed past Naru after a moment, "Yukiko, are you alright?" She kneels in front of the cage, looking suitably concerned for the blonde girl's welfare. She looks at the lock on the cage with a frown, "…Naru-chan… can you melt the lock or something along those lines? Or would that take too long?" She glances over her shoulder, eyeing the dark haired kunoichi through the shadows, "My own fire is useless against this…"
"Yukiko…You know her?" Naru asks curiously, she carefully kept her eyes on the situation, blinking at Arisu briefly, though it doesn't seem to budge her too much, she watched as Arisu almost gave pleading eyes for a moment though finally she nods her head and begins to motion through a few hand seals though just like that the whole situation froze.
“Hold it!" A voice called out, a familiar voice at that, it was the same masked shinobi, appearing from the shadows while holding a knife to a man's throat…. Their client? "Step away from the cell or this man is going to die…" The shinobi threatened, causing Naru to freeze for just a moment, cracking her knuckles. "Descipicable…” She whispered in a harsh turn and finally turns to face the shinobi. “What is this…? You think this is going to change anything…?" Naru asks curiously she moved closer to Arisu…The situation had become very abstract.
Arisu stands for a moment and turns toward the Shinobi with their employer, "…What is your angle… Why do you care to have the girl, or him?" She gestured at the man in his arms, "What do YOU get out of the deal?" She raises a brow, "And why exactly should I care what you do to him? He's not my objective. He only called us here to get the girl, and the girl is right in front of us." Her eyes flash yellow again, as her body begins to burn with blue fire again. Her face had become cold and calculating. "Killing him will prevent us from being paid… But the girl's family will no doubt be very happy to have her returned. We may still get paid… And you will be dead, I will make very sure of that…" She clears her throat, "But! I am getting ahead of myself. Tell me, what is it you stand to gain from stopping us?"
Suddenly Arisu got more talkative, perhaps the most she had ever witness her counterpart speak this entire mission, she bit her tongue and just pulled back, the situation was tough… a life for a life, they could probably easily get out of her, but it was uncertain as to just how the situation would play if, she remained silent while the man behind the shinobi, a handsome man revealing himself, the same one from before.
"Money… Power, Nobility…" The main states plainly, nodding his head to this he began to approach the two Kunoichi, perhaps not even aware of how powerful they actually were. “However I didn't know stealing this one would offer us such a prime opportunity… He points at the man held at the throat, “Please help me! Please I will do anything!" He exclaims, though the rich nobleman simply grins. “This man holds the finances to this poor little girl’s family… We have the rest of the family hostage as well… You see there is a lot of money to be made here but…" He leaned in just a little bit, almost as if he was inspecting the girls before him.
“I have two beautiful, charming young ladies before me, who both seem to have a heart of gold, would you prefer that young child over there to be orphaned?"
"What is it that you want from us?" Naru suddenly asks, the only thing she states while awaiting what Arisu might have to say as well…
Arisu is silent, staring blankly at the man and the others, the fact that they had kidnapped more than just the girl and the man with the finances. She was glancing between the men, trying to work out exactly what the consequences of simply killing everyone in the room would be. Finally she spoke, taking a chance, "And if I kill him, you lose the finances. You seem to misunderstand my intentions, I do not have a heart of gold, and I simply have a job to do. I don't care who has to die for my job to be completed." She sighs a little, "You have also put yourself at great risk coming down here." She finally begins to step forward, "You have five seconds to tell me what you want, after which time, if I am not satisfied, or you have not given me a proper reason to do what you ask, I will kill you. You will not gain nobility, you will not gain money, and you will not gain power. You will have gained nothing in this foolish venture except for your own death, and then I will take you as my own." She raises a hand and to the enemies in front of her, several half-decayed ghosts would begin to rise from the ground, including the bloody screamers from the Haunted House she had gone through with Naru.
"A great risk? In my own home?" The man squealed almost in excitement his grin becoming wide and clear, his teeth gleaming as he looked over the both of them. “How about we settle this quite plainly, neither of them will die, we just want the two of you, save and sound for something we have in stored later…" Though suddenly the man began to grimace, spotting the ghosts starting to begin and rise from the ground, "What the drench is this..?" he spooked for a moment, however soon enough Naru reaches up to grab at Arisu's hand, clutching it tightly as a sign of assurance, " We will stay here if you allow the man and…Yukiko to leave this place unharmed, and don't touch the finally, we won't run away as long as they aren't harmed," Naru states, her voice was rather stern, and serious, the masked man began to loosen up just a little bit, while the noble took a few steps back, almost as if he was counting the eggs in his basket. “Hmmm…. I like this offer…"
Arisu glares back at Naru for a moment, though she turns back to face the others, "What exactly do you intend to use us for." She says simply, lowering her hand again, apparently directing the ghosts to retreat back into the ground, fading into a mist that soon dissipates.
"One of our…. special guests is coming in town for the next week, and he seems to have a great interests in beautiful women," the man states with a smirk, " You two will come "party" with us, while we keep this girls family under our blade, we will see how it goes from there," The man states, while the shinobi removes his blade from the clients throat, " Take the keys," he commands, tossing them to the man, who fumbles them but quickly moves forward to the jail cell. "I'm really sorry for this…we tried to stop them but the situation…" he sighed and just began to open up the jail cell, flying it open, Yukiko came sprinting out clutching to the man’s leg. "Thank you…thank you so much…" the girl thoughtfully spoke, of course she didn't realize her two saviors were next to be locked up… Yukiko looked up at Arisu, giving her an innocent charming smile before finally they were beckoned forth. “Get moving, you already know where to go…" The shinobi spoke and the noble man pointed off to the cage further down.
“I want them in our best cell; we can't afford them to become frail. Feed them, clean them, make sure they are ready for our event, I want guards down here at all times, their ninjutsu is limited but strong (or so they think…) he states and waves them off, The shinobi moved forward, pointing for the two to move on, while Naru kept her hand clutched tightly on Arisu, she began to pull her also, she was bothered and angered all at the same time, but still… it was just a front?
Arisu gives a very slight smile in return to Yukiko, but then turns back to their captors. She didn't say a word now, they had a week to figure out what to do, and their initial job was done… They just had to figure out how to deal with their captors and their 'Guest' without having them cut down Arisu's family in the process… "If I may make a request… Since our cooperation is guaranteed lest you harm the girl and her family, and you run little to no risk of us attempting to escape, I would like to have a shared room with my associate. A real room. You may keep your guards posted as you see fit, but I would appreciate privacy during my stay. As the gracious host who wishes to gain power and influence, it may behoove you to grant my request." she raises a brow.
"You hear that boss?" One of the guards speak out with a grin, the Shinobi was silent, masked and just watching, the Noble however simply grinned, and “You see this? This is a woman with class, oh yes my lady, you two, right this way," he points off back to the entrance. " No one will be harmed as long as you play along, this is business that’s all," he tone was quite enthused, satisfied with Arisu's tone, Naru blinked and just followed along though, keeping themselves close to one another. In time they were lead up a few flights of stairs, an fully fledged guard plus that same shinobi following them from behind, eventually they are lead to a massive guest room, bath and bed, even a nice little window sill from the outside, " This will be your room… Food and everything will be brought to you, you won't be leaving without any sort of escort, we have seals tags, everything you can think of to track where you go, if you leave this place unattended you know what will happen," The shinobi informs, his voice slightly chilling.
"Just stay in good shape, we need you both for this week…"
