Starring:
Date: August 25, 2012
Summary:
A small dent is put into the duo's plan as curiosity gets the best of Tsun.
"No Fate – It's a Trap!"
Unknown location
Instead of going to Konoha, Mushi took them to the far more festive and laid back town of Otafuku Gai. There were places to gamble, pleasure quarters, a hundred restaurants, a town that basically tempted all the sins of the shinobi. The only shinobi there were little more than thugs, hired to guard the more lucrative venues and throw out troublemakers. Though shinobi like Mushi and Tsun would be easily recognize, people didn't care any farther than their wallets. A paying customer was a paying customer, whether or not they could spit mud from their mouths.
As soon as Mushi arrived she paid for a spacious inn room. It certainly silenced any questions or concerns from the staff since Mushi paid for a full week up front in cash. And she immediately ordered food up to their room-grilled meat, veggies, rice balls, egg rolls, soup, sweets, and a bunch of other things all laid out on a low table. She's currently nibbling on these as she pores over a map she'd spread out, using a pen to mark various places on it throughout the Land of Fire. A line is between her brow, and she looks a tad worried.
As for Tsun, Mushi had given her enough money to buy most anything, particularly clothes. The town held everything from geisha costumes to peasant garb, for festivals or farming. However, in the hours they'd been there Mushi hardly moved from her sitting position. With all the festivities going on, she's just staring at the map, lost in thought.
Tsun had been a little bit less of a troublemaker, especially after Mushi mentioned she was going to give the Kiri teen some money to spend on herself. Free stuff? Totally awesome, so Tsun thanks Mushi by simply holding her tongue a few times. Tsun's gourd was abandoned in their room for, obvious reasons, though anyone who saw the duo coming in wouldn't necessarily forget anything so bizarre. So even without the gourd people were giving her odd looks, Tsun ignored the looks though, she was used to it due to being known as the jinchuuriki back in Kirigakure.
So on she went, on a shopping spree, playing games, etc. Until she used up every last bit of money. This would lead to Mushi eventually hearing the window open. If she were to look up to the window she'd note Tsun floating outside it. "Yo." A stale wave is given before bags on bags come floating through the window on small sheets of ice, Tsun obviously taking full advantage of the bountiful amount of chakra that a Jinchuuriki is blessed with.
"So I got a few things and, some things that might fit you. You need it." Tsun says that with a smile, she totally wasn't insulting you, she's smiling! Wait… she's smiling well, for the short time Mushi has known Tsun she'd probably be set to assume that the smile is fake. "What's going on here anyways, you look like you're having a hard time." Was the smile really fake? As Tsun continues to look quite pleasant and actually comes over to float at Mushi's shoulder in an attempt to help with whatever she was doing.
"Oh."
Mushi glances up and rolls her eyes when she sees Tsun levitating into the room. Can't she come through the front door like a normal person? No…no, she can't. Mushi doesn't bring it up though. If they were in a shinobi village being conspicuous would be a different matter and really, it's only a matter of time before someone catches up. If nothing else, Fuu might point some parties in their direction. That makes Mushi frown slightly. But then she sees the bags and her eyes widen.
"Oh that's okay. I have clothes…" Mushi says dismissively. And indeed she's always dressed cleanly every day. A button up shirt rolled up to her elbows. Jeans. Shinobi sandals. Someone traveling with her might notice slight variations in the near identical outfit every day: she's actually well stocked with the same clothes day in and day out. Any other garb has rarely seen the light of day. In fact, Mushi probably doesn't even have any.
She taps the map with a pencil, atop a small tower outside of Konoha. "This is where I tamed my bijuu, in the Fire Temple," she says. "I don't doubt the monks would help you discreetly, regardless of your village. They have a very good method for it. However, by now people are looking for you. It'd be problematic if we were scooped up by your people—or by Leaf nin." She taps Konoha. "Or we can risk everything, go in to Konoha, and contact Daisuke. See if he has a better way." Then she indicates another area. "There's a man who lives here, who is even better with seals than I am. Or…we can wait here. I've contacted my Center. I have a team of medics looking into ideas, they can get back to us if we stay put here. In other words, four options so far. I may come up with some more. Any sound good?"
Tsun glances at the three options, "Well sitting around is not something I want to do, especially if someone /is/ following us. Going into Konohagakure? You'd have to do that alone, me going in would most likely get me locked up for Konoha's own reasons… bargaining tool, for killing some of their people, stepping in with no word from the Mizukage etc. Of course they could also take me in as a reward. I'm sure Daisuke would help though. The third option seems best, monks are kinda push overs for helping anyone so that'd be the least trouble. In fact I think that'd be the place I'd have the /least/ chance of getting abducted." Tsun then looks to one of the ice discs carrying a bag, it shifts next to Mushi before evaporating and dropping the bag next to the woman.
Tsun apparently insisting that Mushi needed the clothes. "So! Monks seem to be the best bet. Unless they're jerkish monks, then well Daisuke. But, staying in place sounds awful." Mostly because Tsun was bored of this place already but uh, strategy was somewhere in there too!
"I should've probably tried this stuff on before buying it…" Tsun shrugs slightly and finally lets her feet hit the ground while all her bags float off into the bedroom. "Have you just been staring at that map this whole time?"
Mushi nods. "Daisuke-kun actually knows my secret as well," she says, "as do some other Konoha nin. None of them have reported it to the Hokage, so I know of a few people there I can trust. But I agree with the temple option—and I'd advise it. You won't have a party going to the Fire Temple, and you have to…work." She chuckles at that last word. "But their method is top notch. They have this room that manifests the bijuu's power, and you have to quite literally divide and conquer to take it over. After that, you become the dominant part of your relationship by far. And…it doesn't force you to be allies, to be nice, like what Fuu might have thought. That's just a fairly good method after you gain the upper hand."
She says, "They can tell you how it'll work with Shukaku. Some of them are smart as anything about that stuff. We just have to go discreetly to the Fire Temple, and quietly." She sighs and pushes aside the map, grabs a sweet bean bun, and takes a bite.
She chews thoughtfully and says, "Well, time for the elephant in the closet. You have that scroll from Fuu." She swallows her bun and sighs. "Part of me wants to take it and burn it to bits. But you have every right to read it. Now that we're apart from him I'll say it. Read that scroll if you want, or don't read it. If you want to follow it, and trust that bastard then I'll let you go. I just didn't want you to make any decisions on the spur of the moment. And don't run away. If you want to leave tell me to my face…then go. Otherwise, you're my wonderful apprentice, my first one. I'd be honored and happy to be your mentor and lifelong friend. No matter what you decide." She smirks. "I might even try on those clothes ya got for me, and that's saying something."
Tsun's expression goes a little bland when Mushi explains the monks' methods. "Yeeeeah, that sounds like a great time." Tsun grumbles and starts to pace back and forth, thinking the suggestions over again now that all that work was put out there. Looking rather thoughtful until Mushi points out something in the closet which in turn causes Tsun to pause and look at the closet for a moment. "Oh, yeah. That." Tsun rubs the back of her neck.
"You know, I was wondering about that. Why just toss out directions like that, can't I just go to people and tell them. Hey here's this guy's base." Tsun tilts her head to the side, "He is a criminal or something right?" The Kaguya then plops down across from Mushi, reaching into her jacket.
"Maybe it's some meeting point where he could look out in case I was followed by someone or something, seeing as he can just pop in and out of places like some sort of magical…. magical…" The girl looks confused for a second, "I had something really witty on the top of my tongue, what the hell. Now I just look like an idiot…" Rolling her eyes, Tsun seems to struggle with the scroll giving a few harsh tugs before pulling it out.
"Well let's see where his magical map leads to." She thumbs the edge trying to pry the oddly resilient scroll open.
"What the hell, it's like it doesn't want to be opened or some crap, dumbass pa- oh." Tsun clears her throat as the paper lifts. She tilts her head to the side as a part of it is revealed, the calligraphy not becoming any more clear as she continues to unroll it, "Sorta looks like one of those whaa-!"
Tsun's eyes go wide for a split second as she seems to pick up on something but, words turn to a scream and that scream is cut off within a millisecond. Tsun just gets sucked into the inky spiral in the center, her body appearing to momentarily defy physics as it warps itself being consumed completely by the scroll.
It the falls to the floor, void of anything on it. It is quite obvious these weren't simple directions but, whatever sort of calligraphy was actually placed on it, only Fuu knows.
Mushi leaps to her feet when Tsun screams. She knew it! And she's across the room in seconds, which is to say not quickly enough. She reaches it as the scroll is completely blank and Tsun is gone. "No," she whispers. "NOO!" All alone in the room now, she starts breathing too fast, staring in panic at the scroll. If only she had…what? What could she possibly do? She's no tracker!
Wait…no. He didn't kill her. He wants her alive. And even if it's to extract the bijuu from her, that'll take time. Mushi needs to find her. She knew this may happen. That Tsun would be kidnapped or harmed somehow. And yet…and yet… "You…Fuu. You're a dead man!" she shouts, and the burst of chakra unleashed from her explodes outwards. Dishes go flying in a storm of food, furniture gets upturned, and the walls are smashed as if by a hundred hammers. Mushi looks down at the scroll, and then wraps it up. She takes a minute to gather their stuff into scrolls and store it away before marching out of the room.
