Starring:
Date: April 23, 2014
Summary:
Zashinists attacked a village mercilessly leaving behind all manner of corpses with the exception of those that were able to escape. Unable to return to their village and bury their dead, the survivors petitioned Sunagakure for aid in getting rid of the problem. Of course, the problem was not the Zashinists themselves, but bandits that moved in and used the desolate village as their base of activities. With no regard for the dead or villagers, they needed to be removed and have no trace of them left behind.
Poster's note: foul language filtered in obvious places.
"Prey for the Dead"
Village outside of Dead Sands
Villages were dotted all across the land of wind, but few were established near the Dead Sands. Almost no one would try and set up shop here, but yet, there was a village in this place and unfortunately so. It had just been victimized by an attack and left desolate. Only a few souls were left here and they weren't natives to this small plot. After seeing what took place here in this village, the bandits took up shop and decided to make the place their new base of operations. The scene was grisly enough. Bodies and mutilated parts all over the place, dry rotting in the desert marked with symbols they couldn't care less about. The scene was just what they needed to keep people out and themselves in as they used this place for their activities.
Survivors of the massacre petitioned Sunagakure for help. They needed to be rid of these bandits so that they could provide due respect to the dead who were slaughtered. Some have even requested revenge against those that performed the attack against them, but that's something for another time. For now, they need help and that help is now a short distance away from their target. "I doubt we'll need to do much. These bandits shouldn't be here and we should give them a reason not to. They disrespect the dead and the people who lived here prior to them taking up residence in this place. I don't approve of their actions and rank them in the same line as the attack that took place here. These people lack compassion. We must show them what that truly looks like," Itami states. "When we come in contact with a bandit, we show no mercy. Understood?"
Walking afer Itami, Chitose looks over at Itami and then looks forward as they approach, "These are just bandits who thought they'd be safe in here?" She hmms and tilts her head, "That's…dumb." She then shakes her head, "And how do they stand the smell?" She frowns, "I'll simply kill them just for the fact that they are too gross to live. Secondary for them just being terrible human filth." She shakes her head and looks over at the village, "I'm ready when you are."
Ayumu follows his other two companions dutifully, but his mind is as far away from the present as it can be. It has been for quite some time, though he's managed to feign otherwise well enough whenever necessary. "It is an acquired taste." Such as now. Albeit, the statement is belated, and perhaps nonsensical to the others as a result. With a weary shake of the head, Ayumu finally manages to shelve the ever growing number of concerns on his mind and turns his attention towards Itami's general direction, awaiting orders patiently.
"An acquired taste, right," Itami remarked to Ayumu. "We're drawing close. It's…this is something that is difficult to stomach," she states as she looks at the bodies and the condition they're in. Even her own clan would find this horrible to see. She sighed and shook her head. "We're moving in." She gestured for them to move forward and enter the village.
The village itself was largely intact. The only ones affected were the people unfortunate enough to be caught by the practitioners of this terrible belief.
All was quiet so far. The place, despite being a base, was still desolate. The bandits didn't appear to be anywhere in sight for now. "We should keep our eyes and ears focused and any sensory abilities that we may have that can detect someone…"
The bandits were well hidden. In fact, they were more than hidden. They were trying to blend in, perhaps taking things a step too far. Some of them had picked up the pices of body left around and decorated themselves with them to appear more threatening. Anything would work, from the hand of an infant to the heart of an elder. They kept to places that were stained dark from blood and observed the shinobi, waiting for their opportunity to attack and take them out.
A look around as they enter and Chitose looks over at the various sights. She seems to steel herself a little and shakes her head. She growls softly under her breath and those sensitive to chakra can feel an almost bestial surge in Chitose's. Her inner demon a little more than riled at these sights. She glances this way and that bu doesn't see anything as she stands there. She finally stops after a few steps to squat down and grab up the doll of a small girl who is laying nearby, having been inexplicably torn to shreds. She looks over at Itami and then grinds her teeth a little, not saying a word but an odd flicker of visible chakra moves over her eyes.
Ayumu lofted a brow in confusion, then makes a silent 'o' with his mouth and nod in understanding. Having seen and dealt with worse in his short life, neither the smell or visual data effect the Iga all too much. It also helped that he was blind and could adjust his sensors as easily as one could adjust a dial on a brand new tv. That being said, picking apart the dead from the living was child's play so long as the Iga could stay focused on the mission at hand. "Follow the line, and what shall be divined, is thou source of ire, gift wrapped or spoiling for a breaking in." He states, riling up Chitose further with his nonsense, but quick to clarify by pointing towards the tendrils of hairs crawling along the ground at his feet after having unraveled themselves to freedom.
While their master calmly strode one way, the rest followed the dictation of the sensory organs; bothin within and without. The would seek out as many as they could and either scare the bandits out of hiding or drag them out before binding them to nearby structures. As for some of the others, well, once a decent cluster of three was found, Ayumu dispatches with well placed fling of some very sharp rocks he happened to have in his pockets.
"I understand," Itami states to Chitose. "We will get them and they won't be able to get away with this. We'll make them pay for their disrespect to this place and further, do something about the ones who did this." Speaking of getting people, it seems Ayumu was already on the move in attacking the bandits that were present. There was clear activity as some began to jump away as the hair traps came closing in on them. Groups were gathered together while some bandits suffered attacks from sharp rocks. They'd be alright, but one got off clean and was beginning to launch his attack. "Our attack failed. We need to stop these guys before they get further into our hideout!" The uninjured one spoke. He withdrew a pair of butterfly swords and launched an attack against the shinobi while the rest fled to go see to their boss. He unleashed a combo against them, intending to give them all clean cuts across their body with the intent of coming back for a second round.
"They will die horribly." Chitose states even as one rushes after her. The man probably salts his proverbial pants as Chitose simply sidesteps and the attack and even as she does chakra begins to form over her body, flickering over he form as her eyes go white and her arms elongate. Tails of pure chakra pour out of her lower back as she transforms and she slips past him. She is lining someting up, something perhaps absolutely terrifying for him and his cohorts that are trying to escape. She has him and 2 more lined up as her arm stretches out to grab for the wall of a building as she attempts to sail towared it, her arm and her tails grabbing for the villains as he passes before she intends to slam them all into the wall before she sails past that wall then will whip herself back through that wall, slamming through it and into those men, possibly killing them.
Absently, Ayumu's bid a few of his sensory organs to follow the runners while the rest of team handled clean-up. The scent of watanabe blood on the air threatens to overpower his focus for a brief moment; especially considering the man's momentary close proximity to the Iga before his blade met a hand of hair. The urge becomes that much easier to temper with Chitose invoking her beast. For the briefest of instance, the Iga considers attempting to contain her… but he sees sense quickly enough and made certain to simply get out of her way. In the process, he nearly forgets about his prior captures and the possibility of getting dragged along by a stray tendril.
A simple pull her, the manipulation of a few bindings into razor wire, and finally a slit throats here and there settles the issues quickly enough. And all without the Iga having to put himself in direct harm. Yet.
Itami knew Chitose was upset, but that grew to more as she took form and began to attack the bandits against her. None of them can say they have ever been this close to a jinchu and the thought of going up against one was causing them to question this fight. The defenders continue onward, though as they weren't sure if they could stand to face their boss. Granted, with a jinchu around, why would that matter? When the arms came out, it was only by sheer luck that they managed to get by, though the exception is the butterfly bandit who intentionally blocked the attack to come back around to attack once more. Although, he thinks his bets are better placed against Ayumu and Itami as he isn't certain he wants to face that beast for a second time.
Those that were under Ayumu's control all had their necks sliced. Though now that they were free, they tried to use what remaining energy they had to launch an attack against him before they bled out. The bandits stumbled forward, grabbing anything that they could within their vicinity to attack. Chairs, broken bottles and kitchen knives to name a few. They all attack at once against him to try and use their numbers to overwhelm him.
In the meantime, Itami assists by going after the bandits before her, namely the butterfly in the hopes of giving him a run for his money. She strikes out against him by withdrawing her own blade and going up against him sword to sword with a few quick slashes against him.
Unable to grab her opponents, Chitose simply comes to as top near the wall rather than whipping past it, staring as she watches the attackers, one of which comes foolishly for her and misses completely as she simply moves her head aside and then growls as he sends a tail to grab another wall and once more she is whipping across the field to try to pull her opponents with her and smash them through the wall before smashing back through them herself.
Ayumu seems to dance with the wounded bandits, using a combination of instinct, predictions, and that infamous forest trailing from head down to thighs. It is an intricate dance in which he swept beneath blows, met bottles with hair nets (which he later regreted), a side-step to and almost fro (thanks to a dastardly clipping by a tin pan), and then finally, concluding it all with bow as the last bandit struck him upside the head with a kitchen sink. Although the force of the blow is enough to get him bowing deeper, the Iga did not cave under the pressure.
No, he merely rose up again, brushing aside all but the choice pieces. Then ignoring the blood trailing down his forehead, grinned brightly… and proceeded to make them dance as well, crippling legs and loding chunks of the sink into his foes open necks. At some point he mixes some honest to good shuriken into the batch, though those were directed mainly at foes that no normal seeing man could spot unassisted. (i.e Itami's and Chi's foes… or what may be left of them anyways..)
And if — IF by some glorious miracle the manage to escape harm, they still would have to contend with hell rising from the ground as hands made out of hair grabbing their necks and forcing them together.
Right now it's all out attacks back and forth between bandits and shinobi, but the victor is now starting to show in the dust being kicked up here. Most of it by Chitose, but the point still stands. The kitchen bandits are losing their will to fight and with so much blood loss, they're unable to keep themselves together as they begin to stumble about and collapse to the ground. They won't be fighting much more. The others facing off against Itami and Chitose are faring no better. Two have been snatched up by the jinchu and dragged across the ground only to be slammed across the village and into a wall. Needless to say, they won't be talking anymore; they don't have heads. There was one left who by another lucky streak evaded the attack and the first thing he does is begin running off to safety, preferrably towards his boss where he's hiding. He isn't about to sit here and fight this monster anymore. He voids his bowels, if only because he was so excited that he managed to get away…and was equally terrified at the same time.
Itami was still fighting against the butterfly bandit, but he was having second thoughts himself after seeing what Chitose did to the others. "Don't run away and leave me here!" He called out to the one fleeing. He knows he's not strong enough to face a bijuu, of all things. "It appears we have these guys on the run, but…considering the circumstances…" Itami mumbled the last part. "Ayumu, follow up! We have to get the remainder of the bandits!"
The sword fighter sheathes his swords and begins running himself to clear the area. The boss of the bandits was busying himself with what spoils he could find in this village which weren't much. Just various gold and gems or trinkets left behind by the dead and surviving families. Scavengers.
Watching the last man start running off, a soft growl issues forth from the now standing straight up Jinchuuriki. The creature breathes in before releasing a cloud of ink around itself, that fills the area where it was before it fades and falls to the ground, the bijuu no where to be seen as it slips off into various hiding spots to follow the last escapee quietly toward the boss of this bunch, its glowing white eyes focusing upon the runner and his brown backed pants.
"Hm?… Ah, right. On my way." Ayumu states emptily as he turned to follow suit. Whatever broken bits of kitchen items and bone embedded in the Iga's hair is shaken off as it shrinks back to normal. He dares not give the command to rebraid it due to all the blood, both new and old, caught on returning strands. Shaving it off later would be consider… but for now, butterfly swordsman guy was making good his escape. Whereas Chitose chose to create a viel, Ayumu would use what was naturally available in the godforsaken town to pursue the swordsman until the time was ripe to take him down. As a matter of caution, the Iga invoked the hidden nature of his bloodlimit to gain an edge over any potential ambushers and the like.
The trio continue to give chase to the bandits up until the cloud of ink was spewed out by Chitose. The bandits were caught up in it and couldn't see through it well enough. Itami, not taking any risks, decides to take to the roof tops to keep clear of the cloud. To her knowledge it isn't good to breathe in. She doesn't bother with trying to see the bandits themselves as they're drawing nearer to their destination.
The commotion didn't go unnoticed by the bandit leader and his surrounding cronies, but he wasn't certain of how much of it was really dangerous. When he exited the building he'd gathered his plunder in, he saw nothing but a black cloud beginning to spread across the village while listening to the yelling of the bandits within.
But forget them, what the heck produced that thing? Even if he's not a shinobi, he can still feel presence of something big. "I think we should…get out of here…" He mutters aloud. "Gather what you can. We're not staying around here. Whatever is in there is coming this way. Quickly!" He shouted to the surrounding bandits. They each gathered what they could on them and began to head out of the village in the direction of the dead sands.
Itami, spotting the movement of the bandits points them out to Ayumu saying, "We need to stop them before they leave here. Chitose can handle these two." She picked up the pace and gripped her blade closer, intending to cut them all down once she drew close enough to them to attack.
Frankly, what happens inside that cloud of ink is no good for the two men in there. There's screams and the sound of horrible blasts…the poor boss will have even more reason to run when one of his men comes running out, his face melting off from some kind of black acid. A moment later, a tentacle of pure chakr whips out into him and yanks him back inside even as he screams out. The two men, when the ink settles, will be half melted and broken.
"Lovely."
Even as he spoke over twenty different combinations are cycled through thoroughly before he relunctantly goes along with the oddest of them all. He forms a familiar series of hand seals and creates the maximum amount of clones he can carry. "Out for a stroll now are we Ayumu? Why, I wouldn't have thought such a straight-laced fellow like yourself could manage such! Especially on such a fine day at that." The only one out of the bunch of clones with eyes wide open and cheeky enough to smile at a time like this.
Ayumu however does it deem it comment with an answer. It was troublesome enough regressing even further than he already did. He merely snaps his fingers, commanding two of them to jump into the air. What happens next is a bit of a comedy act. The aerial trio form a chain of bodies in which the 'Ryoji' clone swings about. Once the built up the precalculated momentum required, they each let go, only to end either balanced precariously at on a buildings edge or sliding for a few feet along the ground, cutting off the main escape routes of the bandits.
"Pray tell your story, and face death in the manner you see fit." All three say in unison while the Ryoji clone played catch-up with Itami.
"So just how much was this o' so lowly one missed?" It asks in passing.
The escaping bandits tried to get out of the village while they had the chance. Stragglers witnessed what happened to their fellows coming out of the cloud of ink to which they responded with by turning pale with terror. They attempted to go faster, but how much more faster could they truly run? Not much as Itami began to catch up with them and using her blade, she chained together a series of strikes in the blink of an eye, cutting them all down with strokes of the blade coming across their bodies.
They collapse to the ground and their spoils with them. "Ayumu, get the last ones…including the boss!" She called out.
Once the command reaches their ears, they answer swiftly with much violence. Compared to their maker the clones were kindier in their methods of dispathcing the peons of the bandit gang. Those they struck down would live so long as proper medical aid was provided. However, their days would remain numbered regardless. If Chi or Itami did not get to them first, they would more than likely wind up as the punching bags of the survivors of the massacre.
As for Ayumu, his attention stayed on the boss. A man he presented himself before after a powerful leap was made to cut off the man's immediate escape route. "None of your ilk heeded, but the question I'll give again to you. Tell me your story and your death will be remembered… and swift. Fail to do so and you will face the same horror that those caught in that ink cloud over yonder there. Choose wisely." He says evenly, though the anger he felt left his right arm trembling at his side.
Regardless of the answer, unless the bandit leader had more fight in him than his men, Ayumu would do him the kindness of removing any doubt in anyone's mind that the man had a heart.
The bandits were all cut down save for the leader who was left to deal with Ayumu. He skid to a stop and looked behind him, then to the side, then back to the front. There was nowhere in particular he could escape. He was trapped. "I…I don't have a story. I don't need to tell anything to you! Get out of my way. That thing is still coming!" He pointed out Chitose and began to make a break towards Ayumu in an effort to push past him and leave the village for good. He needed to get to the dead sands and get lost for good with what loot he had left to bear.
'Then let it be recorded as thus' Ayumu thought as he lofted up a hand and pressed it lightly against the man's chest before he can break past. He's always aimed for everywhere else with the technique he had in mind but the spot his hand temporarily rested against. The bandit leader would soon understand just way. The aorta, vena cavas, veins, and finally arteries were all put through a blender of chakra that was the banshee strike version two. Within seconds, they are stressed beyond any hope of remaining connected by even the tiniest of threads.
Ayumu had in one simple move just disconnected the man's heart from the rest of his body. If the act alone does not kill him instantly, the man would suffer terribly before the life leaves his eyes. This, Ayumu would watch as he set the man at rest on the ground before making good on his personal promise of destroying what remains of the man's heart.
Itami flicked her blade to clear it up the blood that had built up on it. She didn't bother looking at the boss die. Instead, she another focus in mind. "These bodies need to be cleared out of here. The bandits, that is. They will be taken up and dumped in a pit to be feasted upon by scavengers, much like they were doing to these people. They will not receive honor for taking advantage of these people." She sheathed her blade. "I'll try and gather the innocent limbs from the bodies and have them available for their families to bury. Our work is done here…"
