Starring:
Date: July 3rd, 2010
Summary:
N/A
"Maia vs. Gin"
Amegakure
The Hidden Village of Rain is a small, but heavily industrialized village. Thick smoke plumes mixes with the smog in the area, making it almost difficult to breath. No wonder the Amegakure ninja wear breathing masks, it isn't just to breath underwater at all…
Still, several kilometers south of that the village is a lone nin of Kumogakure. She's dressed in her usual ninja uniform, but all that is hidden under the black cloak that she has wrapped around herself. There's no visible marking that shows she's a nin of Kumogakure, and she just meanders, taking things at an easy pace as she walks on the dirt road.
She wanders through a series of rice paddies, looking out towards the villagers with a warm smile. She gives each passing farmer and friendly wave as she goes through before she gets close enough to see the smog and rain clouds of Amegakure.
"I hope Shin has an answer for me.." she mutters softly to herself. Ever since the formal alliance with Kumogakure and Amegakure has been settled, there's still a lot of kinks to work out. The Rain want things, the Cloud wants things… it's so complicated being a diplomat at times.
Leaning against a tree nearby a lone person is watching the road intently. Or rather, morethen likely simply staring off into the distance. With the recent battles between Kirigakure and Kumogakure, Gin had decided to make a preemptive maneuver by scouting out the road leading into Amegakure. Currently disguised as a peasant from the Land of Rain, the Kiri nin has completely abandoned his normal look- forehead protector included -in favor of something a little less… obvious.
The silver-blonde hair atop his head is covered by a large straw hate with the leather chord holding it tight to his head beneath his chin. The rest of the outfit consists of a black Haori over a grey Kimono and black Hakama pants. His feet are stuffed in Tabi socks, the only thing that would truly identify the young boy as a Ninja. Weapons are concealed in various places on his body, including attached to his arms since the lad was swimming in that Haori he wore.
As Maia approaches he toes the ground. There is a wide grin present on his face and he is currently staring at a single spot on the road. As she'd get closer it would become apparent that this person wasn't all that they seemed, though maybe not? Afterall, it was often that people would just be posted along the road wouldn't it. Especially pickets in a time of war like this.
With the various farmers working on the rice paddies, Maia would have absolutely no reason to be weary during her travels. This was allied land afterall, and should the need really arise, she knew how to signal her allies. Still, she suddenly stops when there's a slight rumbling to be heard. It wasn't something dangerous though, it was just her stomach. She hadn't eaten much for the day and a half trip it took to get this far.
So, what does the young kunoichi do? She stops and heads towards a tall oak tree off towards the side of the road. It provided a nice bit of shade on this sunny day and she set down her cloak, using it as a picnic basket of sorts. And there's her Kumogakure forehead protector, polished and gleaming brightly wrapped around her bicep. She relaxed as she looks into her little bag and pulled out a few rice balls, taking it easy for now…
Gin smiles as the Kunoichi settles near a tree that he happens to be standing near. A hand moves up toward his face and he looks down at a small piece of paper. "Oh ho…" The boys words can barely be heard as he slips the paper back into his coat and continues to look back down at the ground, this time with his hands in his pocket and one foot up on the bark of the tree. It is a moment or two before he speaks again.
"You wouldn't happen to be Yamayuki Maia would you?" He asks simply, the words of the fourteen-year-old containing no hint of malice or sarcasm, just a general question as he barely inclines his head to the side in order to get a better view of his target despite the tree and the massiveness of the straw hat he was wearing.
The villagers shouldn't exactly know of her name. She didn't think the news was all that public yet considering details were still being worked out. The fact that the boy knew her name put her on edge. She blinks for a few moments as the pupils of her jade green eyes start to dilate and they start to form spirals as she activated her bloodline limit. Was this a trap? Who knew? Especially considering what has happened before, she scanned the area to see if there was anyone hidden amongst the rocks, trees and even rice paddies themselves.
"That would be me, yes." she admitted ruefully. There was no point in hiding who she was. She had faced enough Kiri nin to have a thick file on her. At least, that's what she thought anyway. "And you are?" she asks with furrowed brows.
The boy kicks off of the tree and turns to start slowly approaching the young Kunoichi in a way that would be very non-threatening. He smiles the whole way, and nods his head lightly. "I am Rokushou Kira of the Rain Village." He states plainly, his words still having the same non-chalant way of speaking. Noting the spirals in the girls eyes the boy chuckles lightly, "Don't worry. I've made sure that these roads are clear of enemies. Please follow me once your lunch is finished however, we have much to discuss…" He makes it a point to look around at the farmers and then back to Maia, "Without the attention of the commoners who are here…"
As if indicating that he was in no rush what-so-ever the 'Rain Ninja' reclines against the tree and flips his hat back a little bit to reveal his face. Fox-like features and a wide grin would be present on slightly pale flesh, though if someone wears a hat all the time its unlikely that the sun would ever touch their features.
Call the girl a skeptic. She was trusting, but she didn't even fully trust the Amegakure nin yet. She scrunches her nose as she just looked towards the boys as she hrmms for a few moments. "No. I don't have much to discuss with you. I am here to speak with two people." she said firmly and resolutely. "I speak with the voice of the Raikage and her authority. You speak for no one but yourself."
The Ninja shrugs at her statement and brings up a hand to yawn lightly. Heh ad been informed she would be like this, quite boring. He shrugs lightly, "I speak for a large contingency within the village that would wish to speak with you before you meet with our leader…" There seems to be a small hint of sarcasm on his voice at the mention of 'Leader', probably someone who has a bit of disdain for the man who runs Amegakure?
He sighs then and shakes his head, "No no… this is just not as much fun as they made it out to be…" He finnaly states as he shakes his head lightly, then he looks at the Kunoichi and the smile turns into a line. "I've been sent here to stop you from walking head-on into a trap, Yamayuki-dono, since there is some trouble at the village…" A nod, "If you would please come with me, there is someone who wants you to deliver a message back to the Raikage, and he wants to meet with you in person…"
"…"
Maia's already met with the leader. This wouldn't be the first time, and the village itself was rather supportive the first time she came. A coy grin curls onto her lips as she hrmms for a few moments as she looks towards the young boy and takes a deep breath.
"A trap, you say?"
She reached up to rub her chin for a few moments. Sometimes, you can counter traps by trapping them in your own trap. She hrmmed for a few moments before she opened her mouth, but nothing came out. At least for a few moments.
"All right, let's go then." she says with a soft sigh.
Gin smiles, his hat lowering lightly and a shadow passing over his features before he nods toward the woods. "Follow me then…" He states, completely oblivious for the moment that he was in a Genjutsu Link and she had forced her chakra- successfully -into his senses. If she had mind reading abilities, it would be a blank slate at the moment and he really wouldn't be feeling anything really out of the ordinary for a messenger. Just slight paranoia.
Walking backward into the forest he makes sure to keep his eye on her, and pause at the entrance to wait for the Yamayuki to pass by him and for them to walk side by side. "Please if you will…" He states plainly, waiting for her to walk into the copse of trees with him side-by-side if at all possible.
There's a healthy bit of skepticism as she shakes her head. She notices the group of trees side by side and she stops, several yards away from the surrounding trees. Her arms cross over her chest as she looks towards the young boy before letting out an amused chuckle escape from her lips.
"You've got to be kidding me." she says with a bit of a facepalm. She placed her hands together in the form of a seal as the blue flames of chakra would cover her body as she focused herself, getting ready for anything. "Got a lot to learn about setting up traps, you know." Maia continues. "There's no way I'm going in there."
Gin blinks, "What the hell are you talking about?" He says simply, nearly falling over in confusion as she starts to rant and rave. And then he punches one of the trees. "This isn't a trap its a natural occurence… quit screwing around." And then he turns his back on his opponent and starts walking further into the grove, making it clear that the two tree's weren't trapped by moving between them with relative ease. "Some people are just too paranoid…" He states plainly, his eyes narrowing lightly and turning to peer over his shoulder.
If he lost track of her, it wouldn't be too difficult to find the girl again. After all, there was only one real way to get into Amegakure without causing much alarm… and he was certain he had good enough tracking skills to find her again. Well, that and he was a very fast Ninja for a boy his age. Waiting to see if she'd follow, Gin takes a few more steps deeper into the copse of trees and waits just within eye-sight distance of the girl.
"You're an idiot. And a really bad actor."
Maia said firmly and resolutely. She scrunched her nose once more and just headed in the opposite direction. There was no way she was going into a copse of trees. She preferred the wide open spaces and if she was going to get into smoething, it would be on her terms, with her at the advantage.
With that said, she gives him a dismissive wave and just meanders back towards the main dirt path. It looked though as if she had her back towards him. It was an opening…
Gin shrugged, the 'Rain Ninja' seemingly giving up on the whole thing for the moemnt. "Whatever lady… guess you don't want Amegakure being on the Raikage's side then huh?" A shrug as he leans against a tree, waiting to see if she'd respond to his own sarcastic remarks. In the meantime the boy seems completely at ease as his own chakra's start to gather up and move around. "You need to relax…" He says as he looks down at his fingers and seems to yawn again.
Appearing completely relaxed and at ease on the outside meant there was an intense focus on the inside. Staring at his opponent, he waited to see if she would come to him at all. If not, well, he'd take care of that at some point very soon. He could fight well without the terrain advantage and if she prefered wide-open spaces well, his speed would level the playing field very quickly.
"Your own ignorance of the procedures as to what occured when the alliance was finally ratified on both ends shows that you're either a complete idiot, in which case, you're of no real consequence, or you aren't from Amegakure. I'm going with the latter." Maia says cooly and calmly. She shrugged her shoulders as she continued to just move towards the wide open fields once more. "Gluck trying to trap and idiot from Kumogakure. I'd give you some recommendations, but I'm not in the mood." she shrugged as she continued to walk off at a relaxed pace.
As Gin starts speaking, there's a soft chuckle of amusement escaping from her lips as she hrmmed for a few moments. "Probably." It is said that her own intellect is on par with a jounin. If it wasn't for her piddly skills in taijutsu, she probably would've been promoted by now. Still, she can't be that good considering the metal ball bearing hits its mark. THere's a little flail of her arms as the mark strikes, but poof. There's a cloud of white smoke. It was only a clone. Which means, the real Maia still had to be somewhere.
"You know, you gave yourself away. I was going to give you the benefit of the doubt." And the real one is not too far away. It seems the one with attitude was switched out with a clone earlier as she lets out an impish giggle escape fromnher lips. "I would've felt bad for treating an ally that way, but I couldn't be too sure. But thanks for confirming my suspicions, so yes, you will talk, but it will be under /MY/ terms." she says firmly and resolutely.
With that, she sits down in the grass and starts to sing. It's a bittersweet melody, one calling to the days of the past. Happy moments, stuff like that. Happy childhood memories, first loves and anything else happy. As she had already established a link, the song would continue and soon, the rice paddies would disappear. Gin would start finding himself in the past as the genjutsu took it's effect.
As the Genjutsu takes effect, Gin finds himself staring at his mother. Well, someone who resembles a young woman who represents someone who he can believe is his mother. He shakes his head, and then finds himself standing in a very blank room. "Hmph." He says plainly, "Someone who doesn't feel remorse won't fall for such illusions…" He states rather plainly as a Kunai is drawn from his sleeve and jammed into his leg.
Blood drips from the wound as he pulls the weapon out and then opens his eyes to find himself back in reality. "You're a Genjutsu and Ninjutsu specialist." He states rather plainly, "This should be enjoyable…" The grin he wears seems to grow as he cuts the leather strap holding the hat tight to his head and then turns around, staring at his opponent.
He practically disappears from view as he uses his speed, attempting to use the open grounds to circle his opponent and come skidding to a halt nearby- tossing a senbon at her throat before he starts running in the opposite direction. The grin is still there, and his silver-blonde hair moves violently in the wind as he runs.
Running another circle he tosses another senbon with the same hand, reserving that bloody Kunai he used earlier to stab himself and break her Genjutsu hold on him for something else. It was clear what his speciality was… well, for the moment anyway.
Again, there's another bit of propaganda to use against the Kirigakure nin. Maia files that little bit of information in her head as she lets out a soft chuckle of amusement as she watches him stab himself in the leg to break free.
"Oh. I'm neither really. I'm a singer. Just a humble singer." she says with a sage nod as she shrugs her shoulders. Still, as she sees the senbon heading towards her, she tries to dodge, putting upa distraction with a clone, but alas, she's not fast enough. The senbon hits her in the shoulder instead of the throat before she dives in the ground.
Being in a prone position, she's definitely dead meat. The second hits true, before there's a poof of white smoke once again to reveal that it was just another clone. She chuckles as she's now further away. She was definitely a long range fighter and she just watched. She had never fought this one before, so for now, she would be at the defensive looking for any weaknesses or any missteps.
Fidning that he had forced her into a more mobile state and into his own range of expertise he grins, and then spins the Kunai around his finger while he watches her own movements very carefully. The blood runs from his wound would seem to be a slight annoyance to anyone else, but he is clearly ignoring it as he focuses intently on Maia. The fox-faced Chuunin laughs lightly. "Are you trying to gauge my motions?" He asks politely, a little too politely as he tilts his head to the side.
Standing still he straightens slightly and then slips the Kunai back into his sleeve while he claps his hands together and rolls his shoulders lightly. "Well, I'm assuming if your as intelligent as you claim to be then you know where I am from. And since I do not wish any knowledge of my techniques falling into enemy hands I will refrain from continuing…" He had gotten his point accross with that first Senbon, she was not untouchable. "I'm simply letting you know. You've gotten our attention… we will not allow this Alliance to exist." He smiles, dropping the title with ease. "I do hope you have a nice day… Rokushou Kira will be missed by his family, but I needed him dead in order to take his name, you'll find the body behind that boulder over there." He points over his shoulder toward a rock in the middle of the field.
And then as quickly as it began he stuffs his hands back in his pockets and starts to back away. "Keep the Senbon as a reminder that you bleed like the rest of us." A shadow crosses his features as he takes several more steps back, "I suggest you be on your way." Then he turns his back on his opponent similar to how she did it to him originally and begins walking toward the fields. This action would bring him quite close to the Farmers. He still hadn't revealed his allegiance quite yet, but he was interested to see how the Kumo nin would spin this…
Maia was definitely nonplussed. Someone else had died, and it was to try to lure her into a trap. Her caution had won the day, but there was blood spilled. She purses her lips a little as she continues to just glare towards him, her eyes showing a fiery intensity that it hadn't before. She was mad. She was annoyed. She was upset.
"I knew that already. Your men keep on asking me for dates and trying to steal kisses." she said firmly and resolutely. There was a mocking laugh afterwards. Considering Nori and Renji had done that already, she just waited as she looked back towards the boy. "And the Ghost of your Death Hand has already admitted that much. But still, I am flattered by your interest, it means that you know I am a threat to you and your village. Too bad I can't say the same of you." she quips as a smarmy grin curls onto her lips.
Still, she puts together a bird seal and momentarily closes her eyes to find out the veracity of his statement. There's a frown as there was a dead body behind the rock and she started heading his way. "He will receive a proper burial. A young life snuffed out too soon from the brutality of the Mist." she said with a soft sigh. And with that, she too turned her back on her opponent to pick up the body.
