Starring:
Akane, Ishino
Date: April 26, 2014
Summary:
On a mission to collect medical herbs Akane runs into trouble…
Poster's note: foul language filtered in obvious places.
"Put the Blood in Blood Marsh"
Blood Marshes — trees
Akane had come once more to the forest surrounding the Blood Marshes in search of rare herbs. She'd come armed and every few dozen paces she would send out a burst of medical chakra to see that she was alone. She went deeper into the trees than she had before, searching for one of the more rare red ferns that grew in the cool undergrowth of the forest. Once she located a small patch of it she stayed there, quietly collecting the herb while leaving enough for it to germinate and re grow. While she crouched to gather the fern, she wasn't moving and thus did not continue her chakra probe. Also, she'd left a note for Ishino so he knew where she was going.
Watched. The chakra pulse went out so far and was the first give away. A bunch of marks, animals from the look, would scatter with Akane's approach.
First mistake.
As Akane stopped to gather, she stopped pulsing. No more need to stay back, they would approach. Closer, silently, quietly preparing. She was something that was new. Different.
Delicious.
Stalling nearby, the shinobi licked his lips, studying Akane. There was no sound, no movement in the water, nothing to give him away.
Lost prey made for a hungry night, afterall.
Akane finished collecting that fern and sent out another pulse, shrugging as it did not return anything to her. She moved on, looking for other rare plants. She was here after all. She stopped once again to look at some muchrooms growing on a tree trunk and shaking her head. Wrong breed. She continued on, moving 5 or 20 feet in a go. She'd been warned about these woods but had not heeded the warnings…
She moved, he stilled. Watching. SHe didn't go that far. Now. Now the hunger spreads. The hunger consumes.. She would need to be consumed.. As she paused at the mushrooms, he'd make that move, shuriken, slightly dulled by lack of proper care, tinted a sickly dark brown, would come skimming out of the tree tops, they'd arch out, around and down, both sides at once coming in at Akane. A single knick would have devistating results.. and there were a dozen of them at least.
Akane had been taken entirely by suprise and though she registered the motion and tried to move out of the way both shuriken sliced into her flesh, one deflecting and embedding in the tree, the other lodging in her arm. She grit her teeth and reached to pull her sword That was when she felt the sting of poison in the wound and she swore, ripping it from her ar and throwing it to the ground. She drew her daggers with her other hand, and sent out a pulse of chakra to locate the attacker before she threw two daggers at his location, also poisoned but not as heavily as his shuriken.
The Rogue moved as soon as Akane was struck, the pulse catching him in transit. Slippery bugger, had her daggers hitting trees instead of flesh as he'd scramble away. Nothing moved when he did, the leaves didn't shiver, there were no clues as to where the rogue had gone.
"ha HA! Dinner has fangs. Dinner does. But Dinner is hurt. Dinner is. Dinner will slow. Dinner will fall. We will feast, feast we will!"
The taunting voice came from all around, whispering and shouting from tree and water as once more that shimmering hiss of shuriken cutting the air would be the only pre-warning Akane gets of the next strike coming in.
Akane was on alert as he moved and she heard her daggers strike tree. "Platelet…" She had a bad feeling that she was going to lose this one… And as much as Kyoujin wanted to fight to the end, Akane did not. Not this time. She threw two more daggers at the guy's approximate location and then.. turned on her heel and ran.
The Rogue moved again, once more blades striking wood instead of flesh. A mad, insane cackle would fill the air about her as she runs.
"Run Run Dinner Run! Work that poison, tender that flesh, run DInner Run so you can be well done!"
The taunting seemed to come more from in front of her, but still, none of the trees around them would shift or stir, giving nothing away. He was trying to herd her it seems. The poison's burn spreading further with every heartbeat as it did it's work. He'd suddenly show up in front of her, between two trees.
"Boo!"
Cackling, the Rogue would draw a katana to start stalking towards her.
Akane heard the words taunting her and recognised that she was being herded. The burn in her arm was spreading far too fast as well, she'd never make it out of the forest before it reached her heart. At least that's what she assumed the poison was heading for…. As he suddenly showed up in front of her she let out a bit of a yelp and tried to turn directions. Her foot caught, however, in the loose foilage and she went down in a slide as if she were sliding into Home Base. If she'd had a bit more mmomentum she'd have slid right under him. As it stood, she came to a rest right at his feet. She moved on instinct then, drawing two sticks from her hair and biting the sheaths off before she tried to drive them into the rogue's knee joints… If she could slow him down she might have enough time to get away….
The man laughed and moved away, his blade starting to swing for Akane's neck, to finish it.
"Game Over Dinner! Now I'ms gonna eat you!!"
In the background.. there was.. a ticking? Something that was foreign to that natural world. The Rogue stopped his swing, mid-strike, paling at that ticking.
"oh.. oh oh.. oh no ohnonononono.. Death walks! DEATH WALKS!" He'd turn and start to run, only to skid to a stop, facing against that old man in the tux outfit who was looking at him much akin to a stern father would. Ishino was suddenly there then, offering Akane a hand up with a soft sigh. "You leave a message. That's good. You come here.. that's really bad Koi.. this place is labeled as dangerou sfor a reason…"
Akane lifted her head defiantly. If she was going to die she'd do so with her head up. Then the sword aimed for her stopped half way through and the rogue looked spooked. She blinked as TK showed up. She looked up at Ishino when he offered her a hand. It was almost embarassing how relieved she felt seeing him there. Taking his hand with her good arm she allowed herself to be helped to her feet. But it was becomming apparent both to her and to anyone looking that she wasn't just cut. Her complexion was pale and she almost stumbled. "Sorry…" She looked over at the man that had attacked her — apparently for food.. — and then back at Ishino. "Poison.. some kind of poison was on the shuriken he hit me with…" Her hand went to her forehead as if in pain.
"Great.." Ishino glanced over at the Rogue who paniced and only didn't try charging TK as the henge fell away, the machine raising to it's full height. "You have an antidote for it?" The Rogue shinobi shook his head dumbly. TK suddenly lurched forward, that arm extending a bit past it's normal length. While the man screamed, TK picked him up by his skull, then closed it's fist, dropping the dead body to the marsh, before releasing the remains of his head. "Typical. I'm sorry Koi.. but I'm going to have to be a bit rough with you." There was no playing around in Ishino's look, he'd simply step into her and scooping her up, would launch himself back towards the village, TK, the ticking on high, leading the way. "That's a rather lethal poison they like to use out here. Only a third of them have the antidote.. it's simple to cure.. but the antidote is perishable, so I don't have any."
Akane blinked as the rogue was dispatched with quickly but brutally. She glanced away and up at Ishino as the man told her he'd have to be a bit rough. She just nodded as he scooped her up into his arms and started heading for the village. She leaned her head against his shoulder, concentrating on her breathing and heartbeat, trying to lower them both through sheer will. "Do whatever you have to. I trust you Koi." Inside her head Kyoujin was balking at the rescue but she didn't give Akane any real trouble as it was detrimental for both of them .
Ishino gives a small nod. TK slows down as they run while Ishino shifts akane in his arms. Carefully, the puppet (with a clean blade) would cut above where each shuriken had struck, once done, another fluid was added into the cut that the puppet made. This helped to reduce the burn, although it didn't stop the pain as it'd continue to spread. "A delaying agent only. It has to be done fairly quickly. You're lucky I was coming as expedited as I could.." Ishino would pull Akane close to him again, grimly making his way free of the marsh, barely, if ever touching the ground and any time he did, that water walking let him not get wet. Outside of the marshes, TK's ticking got a bit stronger, surrounding them with that elusive cloak of genjutsu, allowing them to pass unseen.
Akane winced just a bit as TK cut her arm above the poisoned marks and applied the delaying agent. She took a breath and let it out slowly, resting her head against Ishino's chest as he made sure they went unseen through the town. She did her best to keep from getting blood on him, but her skin was covered in sweat by then. Akane swore quietly. "I'm sorry.. I should have learned more about cures before… I.. I should have.. been prepared…" She seemed to be taking this harder than she normally would have, something had gotten under her skin this time and though she faced the poisoning and possibly her death with that same iron will as she showed before, she was upset about this.
"Koi.. I'm the one that prepares for everything.. This particular scenario isn't something that can be helped. That poison is that bad." He shook his head slightly, slowing from that speed to a walk, the genjutsu failing as he'd near the hospital door. "Don't beat yourself up on it.. Our next spar session is when I'll beat you up for it." He'd chuckle lightly, setting her on her feet finally, although staying close to support as TK, still in puppet mode, goes in to get a nurse, returning quickly with sevearl of them. They'd go to pull Akane away, seeking to put her into a wheelchair so they can bring her inside for treatment.
Akane nodded her understanding that no one could really be prepared for what had happened and managed a chuckle when he said he'd beat her up for it later. His being concerned had been what had gotten her upset. As she was set down and ushered to the wheelchair, a nurse politely asked Ishino if he wasnted to sty and woul ddirect him to a waiting area. A good hour later the same nurse reappeared and offere to lead Ihsino to Akane's room. In the room Akane looked sllightly better in complexion and her arm was bound tightly by bandages. Her expression was closer to the way she'd been when she first came to Kiri than her recent affect. She simply stared straight ahead into space and when the nurse paused at the door, Akane didn't seem to notice her at all.
Ishino pauses at the doorway behind the nurse, finally a small nod given to the nurse with a dismissive wave, the old man would quietly close the door on the two within. Ishino walked over to the bed, stopping next to it as he'd study her for a long moment before finally speaking. "Koi.. is everything alright?" His voice was careful, as was his look. She was obviously having some sort of issue.. but what?
Akane heard the door click closed and closed her eyes taking a breath and letting it out slowly then she sat up in bed and shifted her legs so Ishino could sit there if he liked. She didn;t really look at him until he was well within the 15 foot range, little under half of her previous range. She offered Ishino a smile that didn't reach her eyes then looked down as if she felt guilty for smiling at him. "I'll live. It's nothing to be concerned about.. I mean I knew it would happen I just didn't thik it would happen so soon…. I wonder how Meruin's experiment is comming along…"
Ishino settled where she offered him that seat, watching Akane for a long moment in silence. "It's plenty to be concerned about.. Koi.. when you are going blind and slowly losing that connection to reality." Ishino frowns and sighs softly, shaking his head. He'd lean forward to gently caress her cheek. "It's a high priority Koi. I've added my own resources to it to expidite the experiment.. I don't know where it is and I wasn't told that much.. other than assigning it to you.." Ishino shrugs then, watching her as he'd caress her cheek with that gloved hand. "But.. I am here for you Koi.."
Akane relaxed under his touch once more and she turned her head to press a kiss to Ishino's inner wrist, gloves or no. She blinked as he said that he'd added his resources toMeruin's experiment then smiled, this time it was a genuine smile. "I'm glad you're here. Idon't know that i could deal with everything on my own.. Well, that I could deal with it appropriately anyway. Apparently my eyes were damaged enough that the lightest traces of that poison in my blood made them worse." She finally reached up with her hand to cover his gloved one, taking courage from his soft touch. "I'm glad you're here…"
Ishino nods solemnly, sighing softly with a shake of his head. "The Blood Marsh is dangerous.. we held the exams there.. we put up a warning sign.. there is a very real reason why, Koi.." He'd pull his hand away long enough to remove that glove, smiling lightly as he'd take her hand in his own. "We'll make sure to get something for you Koi.. no more dark.. I'm afraid I can't promise to have it done before the dark.. but I can promise it will come and end it.."
Akane nodded slowly, eyes down as he pointed out that there were signs and warnings for a reason in the Blood Marshes. "I've never had trouble before, I just got lax.. I don't want you worrying about me. I'm sorry." But then he was telling her that even if she did go blind he would find a way to fix it and she looked up again. Her hand in his tightened and she moved forward to press a light kiss to his lips. "Thanks. I hope I can make it though.. I think i'll be pretty plasma useless blind." She made a face then and tried to make light of the situation. "I could still hand you tools…probably… maybe."
Ishino kisses her back gently, soothing as he'd give her own hand a gentle squeeze in answer. Chuckling lightly, he'd give a small nod. "Once you figured out what the marking system is.. certainly. All of them have a mark on it in roughly the same spot. So I can feel when I have the right one via the puppets." Grinning lightly, he'd shrug then. "Looking good requires some organization sometimes."
Akane blinked and shook her head when he explains about his tools having a mark. "Even if I don't use it blind I should learn your system then, it could come in handy. Oh well, I was like this before. I could only see 15 feet when you and I took out that rogue camp outside of Kirigakure." She chuckled at his last comment and leaned forward, resting her head against his shoulder, tiredly. "I don't care what they say.. I'm not going to sleep in this bed tonight."
Ishino reaches out and rubs Akane's back gently, contemplatively, he'd give a small nod. "I think I have to concur.. But I'm not going to leave you alone.. so it seems you will have to suffer sleeping in my bed.. and as I know what poison was used.. it'll only be sleep.. it's vicious and can cause issues even after curing." Chuckling softly, he'd shift again, TK outside carefully sealing the door before it'd go out to meet them. Ishino pulls out a pad and pen, disengaging from Akane but a moment to write down that note before he'd scoop her up, leaving the note on her pillow. Holding her close, eh'd smile gently then. "Ready to go home, Koi?"
Akane tilted her head, slightly suprised that Ishino went with her 'i'm not staying here' attitude. Though she couldn't help chuckling when he stated that she was going to sleep in his bed tht night and it would just be sleep. "I'm too tired to do anything but sleep." She grinned at him as he wrote a note and put the note on her pillow. She leaned aginst him once she was in his arms again, relaxing easily against his chest. It was nice to be taken care of now and then. "Yea. lets go home, Koi. I don't want to run into Taree-chan when I'm like this either."
Ishino nods and opening the window with some careful manipulation of those chakra threads, he'd step up to it's opening and hugging Akane closer, would launch outward. The genjutsu mask would slip about them, TK meeting up with them to help Ishino hide the couple while they'd make it back to the house. The eyes? Unfortunately that would have to wait for another time. But at least she was home and safe.
