Starring:
Itami, Keiji, Konsatsu, Maikeru, Mika
Date: December 29, 2011
Summary:
With Konsatsu travelling around Sunagakure he happens upon Itami, Keiji, Maikeru and Mika just as they sit down for lunch. Feeling there was no better time, Konsatsu decided to take this opportunity and take Itami out. However, he hadn't realized just how skilled his opponent was.
"Lesson one: Never leave your guard open!"
Tsuukai Restaurant: table for four in the outside picnic area.
There was no apparent reason for him to be out in this part of Suna and yet he couldn't help but find himself being drawn toward this location the closer he got. So as he came across another street and made his way down the road, he peered from under his hood with his black eyes and took in the area. Instantly Konsatsu saw it, his brother Keiji and that…woman sitting at a restaurant, perhaps with others. He wasn't noticed, at least he didn't think he was and now would be the perfect time. The perfect time to slit that womans throat. Slowly he would approach from behind with a slow pace to prevent himself from being heard. He didn't care if others saw him, it would immortalize his name if he was able to complete the task. An arm would go behind his cloak, grasping onto his clans weapon, but he didn't withdraw it yet. He didn't want there to be screams…but if she wasn't quick enough to respond, her blood would spill this afternoon.
"Oh dear, well, I suppose that will have to wait until next time. No, I'm not treating any of you still, so you order your own food," she pointed out to each of them. "I think I'd like to get something simple…" She gestures for the waiter to come along and points out what she'd like to order on her menu. Once done, she also includes refreshment like water and a nice strong tea to give everyone a bit of a kick for the coming evening.
"Alright, anyone else wanting to order something?" She asks to the table, seeming not to notice that Konsatsu is about to do her in.
Indeed, his student/… Well what does he call her?… Her appetite would make this place go bankrupt. It appears Itami has given him complete responsibility of Mika. "So, does this mean the cat stays with me?" Maikeru teases slightly before looking to the waitress and pointing to a random meal on the menu. "What about you?" he asks as he looks to Mika.
Mika does turn her head a little bit. "You know I don't like being called a pet. And no, you're not putting a collar on me.", she growls a little bit. The woman hmphs, and then looks at the menu. "….Ummm, one of everything, and 2 of any seafood items you have.", she says. The woman blinks as the waitress just gives this look at her. "…I almost put a hotel out of business with destruction and my eating. Besides, I lost 30 pounds the other night cause of him.", she says to the waitress, pointing at Maikeru. There's a slight blush there when she says it….
Keiji had already declined food. He looks at the waitress and then figures he might be here a while. "Just a bowl of beef ramen." He then glances over to see Konsatsu. The look in his eyes slightly bothers Keiji. Though he is unsure what he is planning, he recognizes malice. He dismisses the thought based on the fact either way if Konsatsu did something, he die. Any assassin knew that much.
Konsatsu would continue forward toward the other four, his pace never quickening and his focus never deterring from his one true target. The woman. The surprising thing was as he slowly breached the gap no one questioned his approach. Sure, he could feel the look his brother gave him. The look of him trying something so ridiculous is a sure fired way to get himself killed, but he didn't care, because in a few more steps his claw would feel the warmth of her neck as it penetrated deeply.
Itami lofted a brow, "You seem to be blushing a great deal, lately. Are you ill?" She asked of Mika. "Maybe you've picked up some sort of fever being exposed to the desert for so long," she offered. "Perhaps the tea I've ordered will help you with what you're feeling. I think the training should be postponed until you're doing better."
"No collars, huh?" Maikeru asks with a faint smirk, apparently having an idea sparked in his head. Of course, the mention of him making her lose thirty pounds turns that smirk into a sly grin. "You're not doing a very good job of assuring Itami that nothing is going on." One of his hands forms a quick seal under the table, and suddenly a red glow shows around Mika's neck, producing a beautiful silver necklace with a blood red gem as its centerpiece. "Does that count as a collar?" He is being a bit of an ass about it, but he's curious how long Itami will act oblivious. Of course, Mika might view it as sweet, or she might lunge for his throat.
Mika takes a moment, and shakes her head a bit. "I-I'm perfectly fine. Just a bit nervious about the Tournament coming up. Would you like to see the Village of the Moon, Miss Itami?", she asks. The woman coughs a few times. "I will be taking Maikeru with me there.", she says. Then the necklace appears around her neck, and she blinks a few times. She closes her eyes. "I'm going to deal with you later, Crin.", she tells Maikeru…
Keiji noticed that the look did not change in Konsatsu's eyes. He then turns back towards the table. There was no shock when the necklace appeared. Keiji was not overly interested in what Maikeru was announcing. He was still pondering Konsatsu's move.
The time to strike was here and so far with little to stop him from doing so, Konsatsu slid up behind the woman and withdrew his weapon from under his cloak. It was small and crescent shaped, but fit his hand perfectly. It was almost unrecognizable as to what it actually was, while he held it at his side for the briefest of seconds thinking over this decision. Were he to become the greatest assassin, he had to continually challenge himself. Sure starting at the top wasn't the greatest idea, but it had the chance of excelling him faster then starting with weaklings. That is, if he survived this encounter. A deep swallow would be taken before quickly raising his hand and attempting to fit the blade around the womans neck. "You left your guard open."
Itami tilted her head in curiosity, though it set her up to be able to defend successfully against the silent assault against her. "What are you all trying to tell me? That's a beautiful necklace by the way. And I don't believe you're fine. You can't possibly be nervous about the tournament when you just came from fighting in a war," she pointed out. "So, you needn't try to hide anything. It will only make me more curious and in worst case, suspicious…" Her voice trails off as the blade is settled around her neck.
Her hands had been propped up on the table, resting in an idle manner in the form of a seal to cause the earth to jet from beneath Konsatsu's feet to send him to the ground. She shifted her head to avoid the retreating blade caused by the slip, though it managed to shear the ends of her hair as she did so. Naturally, she rubbed her neck after experiencing that before looking back toward the boy with a cold stare in her eyes.
She rose from her seat and retaliated with a strike against his chest, hopefully to hold him in place.
Maikeru grins slightly at Mika as she says she'll 'deal with him later'. With a simple wave of his hand, the necklace disappears. He ponders shaping an even more meaningful piece of jewelry to see how thoroughly it would embarrass her. He'll spare her that one for now, though. "Knowing the consequences of losing the tournament," he says as he looks over to Itami. "Would you not be just as nervous?" His only reaction to the ongoing 'fight' is a faint smirk.
Mika yawns a little bit, and waits for food. Its soon apparant that she's now napping, waiting for the food. Chances are, as soon as she gets done eating, she'll be sleeping, as she hides her face from Itami!
Keiji hears the words. His brother really was that stupid. He just shakes his head as the boy falls. Though he was not the most skilled assassin in the world, he knew a valueable lesson his brother was about to learn. That is if Itami did not kill him. He glanced towards her then at his brother. This moment would perhaps shape the rest of his life. It may even determine if his goals were even possible anymore. The eyes fall on Konsatsu. He had placed his own personal feelings above duty.
Everything seemed to slow down the moment he finished speaking, the world around him coming to a stand still as he was about to experience one of the greatest pleasures life had to offer. Then, in an instance, the outcome he had imagined shattered into pieces as he began to tumble over from the ground being 'pulled out from underneath him.' This was enough to cause him to fall backwards, landing with an oof and enough force to knock his hood off his head. Konsatsu's eyes were wide as he quickly realized what was happening. She knew. The woman knew all along he was approaching, but still gave him the chance at taking her life. Why? The time for questions were going to wait when he saw the look in her eyes as she came down upon him with a powerful punch. Instinctively he brought up the weapon to block the blow, however the force behind it was too great and did little to soften the impact as it pushed into his chest causing the boy to jerk up while his breath escaped him. Now, his eyes were wide while he began to gasp and struggle in response to try and regain it.
Itami draws a kunai out from a pouch and holds it to Konsatsu's neck. "…I'm not saying I wouldn't be nervous. It just seems odd that she would be considering she performed in a war just fine. Granted, she was affected by it after having come home, but I don't remember seeing nervousness present," she explained the whole time while looking at the Shippodoku, not once letting up on her stare. She eventually sighed and retracted the kunai back from his neck saying, "You left your guard open."
Remaining kneeled on the ground, she placed the kunai away while waiting for him to recover from being stricken. "I'm just thinking, considering how confident she appears to be in her abilities, these exams shouldn't be difficult for her at all. She's demonstrated that she has the skill."
Of course, while everyone is distracted with the Konsatsu attempt, Mika is napping a bit. Then a elderly man moves right behind her, and stands roughly a foot away from Mika. His very baggy clothing hangs off his body, much like his skin does. He lifts one arm up, and points four fingers in a karate chop pose, at Mika's back. Mika's head shoots up, and she jumps onto the table, and scrambles away, just as 4 talons stab through the chair she was in. The man with those talons, his arm fills up his sleeve, and ends in what appears…to be a Mole's claw. Mika rolls up to her feet, and looks around before spotting the man. "Liu? What are you doing here?", she asks.
Liu, the elderly man just offers a small smile. "You eat too much.", he declares. "And I smell…2 half scorpions, a half dragon, and the Jigoku who was banished from this world I thought?", the man says. He watches her. "Hime, we must speak, and it will not wait until after the meal. You will come with me, or you'll be dragged through the tunnels.", Liu declares. Anyone who looks in the elderly man's eyes will see quickly that his eyes are a milky white, meaning he's blind. "I must say that I believe you should have gone to Kiri, and learned to be vicious rather then wait to be attacked.", he declares. Liu approaches her, while Mika gulps…
As the old man approaches, Maikeru looks over to him warily. It seems Itami's accusations are ignored for now. When he seems hostile for a moment, the Rogue Jounin narrows his eyes but waits. "How the Hell do you know about Jigoku?" Maikeru asks as he stands up from the table, his voice still calm but firm. "I am a Rogue Jounin from Kirigakure, far more dangerous than anyone you will find still residing there. Where do you plan to take my student?"
Keiji is slightly relieved as Itami lets Konsatsu live. It made life easier. He then glances towards the new arrival. This day was getting wierder and wierder. He chuckles lightly as Maikeru chooses the word 'student' as he is talking to the man. He was unsure who the man was or how exactly a scorpion smelled. Either way, he did not care at the moment. He stands up and leaves some coins on the table. As he leave he looks towards Konsatsu. "You and I are going to have a talk later." With that he walks out.
In his current state, Konsatsu wasn't able to respond properly to a knife being held up to his own throat. Sure there was panic, fear and just a hint of regret in his eyes to the actions he made, but it wasn't until he was able to catch his breath and began breathing normally again that he froze in place before slowly lying back on the ground. A soft chuckle would be heard that was followed by a smile after the woman repeated what he had said to her. "I took on a jounin council member and lived to talk about." When the kunai was finally removed was when he brought his hands up to rest under his head. "Today was a good day." Despite how it seems Keiji will scold him later, he glances up at the woman. "As your rival, I promise, you'll get yours and our positions will be reversed some day."
The waiter came out with all the orders, drinks included. It seemed they were a bit behind on service as the day was busy today. Although, perhaps that was a good thing as Mika jumped up from her seat and ran across the table to avoid the elderly man that'd come up behind her. Itami looked at the man as he identified her as a half dragon. Though that wasn't as troublesome as the Jigoku. She winced and looked at all who were present, but settled on Maikeru when he responded to the one known as Liu.
"I think that's also a question that I should be asking. Where do you plan to take Mika? I can't allow her to willingly be carted away without any information beforehand. She is within my protection and is a citizen of this village, also under the tutelage of this one," she points to Maikeru. Her attention returns to Konsatsu when he chuckled and smiled, seemingly enjoying what had happened to him. Itami didn't give any indication of whether or not she was amused. "Well, you keep trying and maybe I might be the one on the ground," she offered to him with a smirk before offering her hand to help him up from the ground.
The Elderly man shrinks his arm back down to that skeleton frame. He moves over, and snatches up one of the chicken legs that Mika ordered. He eats the leg viciously. He turns his head towards Itami. Those Milk white eyes seem to be trying to pierce through the woman. "This Village is not her only home. And she has reponsibilities to her home village, with the upcoming Tournament. Thus you claim of protection is not valid. Confrontational Mole Fist, Liu. First Retainer of Clan Uesugi.", the elderly man comments, and then he turns towards Maikeru. "Do you believe that you are the only one with knowledge of the demon? And I can smell her on you. Who do you think taught her to trust her nose after her mother killed by a rival clan?", the man says.
Mika squeaks a little bit. "Ummm, he's kinda…well, yeah. You heard what he said. He's the one who wrote that note in the sand the other day. Probably was demanding that I return to the village then.", she says.
"HUSH Child. Your elders and superiours are talking.", Liu chides. He takes a moment to sniff the air, and stands there. "She's still too timid for the Tournament. The Damage restriction seals are to be removed after the youngins fight. She's at the level where they allow true battles to be fought."
Maikeru's eyes narrow on the old man as he talks, obviously not happy with her being ripped away already for the tournament. "It's been over twenty years since he was sealed in my arm. His soul was banished. His power is yet mine," he replies, his voice much firmer now than most here would be used to hearing it. "You are right. Had she come to Kirigakure first, she would have been my student long before, and her progress would likely far exceed what is now. However, I have been making up for lost time and took her from babysteps to running speed in her training. If you know of Jigoku, you know what I can do. If she is to be taken away, it will be after the mission I have assigned her to. Her completion of her tasks will be a much better judge of whether she is ready for the tournament. After that, I will accompany you both to the Land of the Moon." Memories of the chaos Jigoku brought through his homeland flash through his mind. To have started off mortal, Jigoku quickly became one of the most terrifying creatures to ever exist. He was unkillable by normal means, which is why he is where he is today…
"I won't give up, that's not something you have to worry about..or maybe you should?" Konsatsu chuckled lightly once again, letting it slowly trail off as the hand was offered. He didn't trust the woman, that was apparent. This gesture could have been a set up for another punch to his chest. Which he would just as soon avoid then take another one of those. However, the hand was still there and didn't seem to be going anywhere. He gave the woman a wary look that went between the hand and her for a few glances before reaching out and grasping it. "This doesn't change anything."
Itami rose up and inhaled deeply before sighing the breath back out and addressing Liu. "I am well aware that Mika has another home aside from Sunagakure. My claim to protaction /is/ valid. As long as she is a citizen of Sunagakure and is in this village, she is under /my/ jurisidiction and thus /my/ protection," she stated with authority. "I meant you no disrespect in my claim, but because she's here, I have a right to know where she will be going." This was the mess she was hoping to avoid with dual citizenship. She doesn't like being tied up with all these claims to authority and village laws, etc, etc. Such is the life of a council member.
Her focus returns to the situation at hand and she lifts a hand to her head. "This is all becoming a mess. I think I need to know some things from you both before you leave. This is not a request, but a demand. She's now tied to three people, each of which claim some authority over her and a mess I was hoping to avoid." She lowered her hand and continued. "I see this lunch will have to wait." She gestures to the waiters to box the meals up and send the bill to the admin dome. She'd cover it all as she didn't feel like taking everyone off focus from the conversation. "These are matters that should not be conducted in public. All of you should come to administration with me where we can handle this in a more professional manner."
To Konsatsu, she allowed her council mask to drop to speak to him after she'd helped him up from the ground. Dividing her attention was growing more difficult as time went on. "I don't want you to give up and I'm glad you're willing to take risks. We'll see how things go once you've improved. I look forward to this demonstration again."
Mika mutters a little bit. "Ummm, sorry?", she says meekly to Itami. Liu gives a very definite hmph in Mika's direction. "Authority, Child. You represent the Land of Moon, as well as Clan Uesugi. Speak as such. Disrespectful little whelp.", Liu comments. Mika jumps a little bit.
Liu sniffs in Itami's direction. Must be how he manges to know where she is. "If a Suitor defeats her in combat, then most of this mess this little child has cause will have been cleaned up. And I'm aware he was banished, but was he banished only to be replaced by another whose quietly more dangerious? You can not say that it is not tempting to strike me down just for knowing of the Jigoku. Or that you havn't had urges to use the power for personal reasons. Justice is a very…thin veil. What is justice to one, is violence to another. I shall await a decision while napping. I will know when the manner is finished, and appear once more to return the Hime to her home for her duties.", Liu says. Both his arms grown into huge mole arms, and he buries himself underground.
Mika shifty eyes. "Well, I think I'm going to let my teacher handle this…I'm just going to go…umm, you know, nap in the sun for a little bit?", she says, trying to step back innocently…..
Glancing between Mika, Liu, and Itami as they speaks, Maikeru seems to get a bit more serious. This guy's senses are that good? He knows that Maikeru has surpassed Jigoku? "Then I'm sure you know of the shinobi I crushed on the day he killed Aika, the day I left for the Land of Water. I never found out what land he was from. It had to be one that knew of Jigoku. He wanted my power…" Could that shinobi have been from the Land of the Moon? Anything is possible. Without another word, he turns to walk out of the village toward the Administration Dome.
Konsatsu rose to his feet with his help from the woman and once stable, he stepped back some to give himself distance from her. He then took the time to dust himself off, followed by tucking his weapon back behind his cloak and attaching it to his belt. Afterwards, he glanced back at Itami, steering at her with his deep black eyes. "If I didn't know any better. It almost sounds like you're rooting for me." An eyebrow would be raised at the thought, but he'd quickly shake his head of the thoughts. "Well, seeing as how you are currently being needed else where. I should probably be off…Keiji does want to 'talk' to me after all." With that he gave a few glances at the other two from with not knowing their names shall remember them as Jigoku and Whelp. Then headed off the direction his brother went.
