Starring:
Date: May 11, 2016
Summary:
Kurome goes to pursue a hint on some bandits alone. What she finds isn’t quite what she expected, but is it an answer to her goals?
"So Says the Cards - Part 1"
Neutral Land, East of the Land of Fire
Kurome had gone off on a solo mission. It was a pretty simple one that really didn't need many people at her level of skill. If she had a team, she'd have brought them. But she doesn't… So she's out here on her own. On the way to the goal, which is an abandoned hideout that needs a bit of recon, she decided to stop at this town on the way. Said town might know some things about what she was after, you know! It was pretty far from the Hidden Leaf - actually it was considered neural territory where she was. So she was just a bit cautious and decided against wearing her hitai-ate.
Kurome could feel the dd town was watching her even without the Hitai-ate. There were children running around obliviously but some of the adults watched her closely. Perhaps they were just curious… One child peeked at her, and for a moment, Kurome thought she saw the girl with Kurome's own mangekyou in her eyes. Then the girl took off running before Kurome could confirm if it was her imagination or not. The black haired red eyed girl ducked into a tent along the market….
Kurome wondered if the sense of unease would pass, but it seemed to hold. The woman paused and offered a small smile at the child. Or she would have, but the eyes caught her off-guard. That wasn't often seen… She knew that Mangekyou were somehow all unique, much like a fingerprint, and her eyes weren't out of her head >.>;; The woman blinks as the girl ran off, and the Clan Head followed after, ducking into the tent if it seemed like no one minded her entering.
Once inside te tent, Kurome would find her eyes had to adjusttothe dimly lit tent. It was barren except for a small table which stood inthe center with a deep red cloth on it. She just got inside to spot the girl with supposedly mangekyou eyes run to stand beside an exact twin, though both of the girls' eyes were completely white, no pupil, no byakugan, no iris.. just blind and white. They peered up at her silently before they spoke in perfect harmony. "You have come to seek, Yet not will find, what you thought you had."
Then they reached out and each took half a deck of cards Kurome had not noticed, shuffling them as if one being, then setting them on the table again. AThe first girl pointed. and the second spoke. "Deal into three stacks, Mistress."
Kurome feels a bit of a chill go down her spine when she sees the two girls, both sets of eyes not at all normal. If she didn't know the Byakugan, she might have thought they had such at first. Their words shook her from her train of thought, and she commented, "I don't know what you mean." She did as they requested all the same, splitting the deck into three apparently equal sized stacks.
the first child turned over a card with a drawn picture of two people mostly naked and in an intimate embrace. One girl smiled and the other looked sad. "You have left a lover behind this day." Said the first.
The second girl turned over a card from the middle stack. On it was a picture ofa woman apparently caged by swords, though some could easily kill her if th drawing was correct. Both girls frowned and the second spoke as if in explanation. "Danger is before you."
Togethr they reached out and lifted th third card, a shinogami clearly emblazoned on it's face… But the shinigami's eyes were sharingan. The children set it down almost reverently.
"Fate is changeable."
"But be aware."
"You're heart's desires,"
"Are your greatest snare."
Kurome watches the two girls read her fortune, wondering in the back of her mind why they were doing this. She had a bad feeling in the pits of her stomach, and she sort of stared at the eyes of the Shinigami. Yep, she is pretty sure she felt the temperature drop a few degrees there. Also, it's measured in Celsius… Ahem. "I see…" she manages to say, hoping her voice sounded as calm as she wished she felt right then. "Thank you for the warning…"
The twins watched Kurome with those strange eyes for a long silent moment, no really reacting, until one looked at the other and whispered. The second blinked then nodded slowly before pulling a random card from the deck. There was a wheel on this card, "Your Fate isn't sealed. Bcause no one's is." She put the card into Kurome's hand and backedup a pace. "Everyone has the Wheel of Fortune." The power to change the future, embodied in a card.
Then an adult woman entered the tent, carrying some groceries. She paused and looked at Kurome curiously. Her eyes were perfectly normal, though. "May I help you?"
"…" Kurome didn't really have an answer for that, but she took the card and inclined her head to the twins. Of course, then someone came in, and she whirled about, startled and eyes unfocused for that brief second. Then she calmed down upon seeing a fairly normal person. "Ah, gomen… I was just … curious what was inside here, and I wanted to check on something." She glanced back behind her as if to indicate the twins. …
The twins …who were nowhere to be seen. And the cards were gone all but the three from Kurome's reading. The wman blinked a few times then looked a the cards and then to Kurome. "Oh… oh dear. Did I leave my cards out again..? Forgive me for startling you." She smiled and set the bag down befre offering Kurome an apple from the bag. "I can see you are not from around ere. So perhaps I can help you with your goals. Sometimes people end up in my tent without meaning to."
Pfft. Kurome had that feeling they weren't there… >.< Good thing she didn't mention them. Otherwise she'd seem crazy. Kurome just slipped the card into a pocket and took the apple, offering a small smile. "Ah, I do apologize for intruding, though. You… are free to help, I suppose. I'm sure there's a reason for me being here…" You know. Those twins. Except they weren't here for her to blame.
The woman smiled knowingly as Kurome bit into that apple. "Of course. Everything has a reason." She then turned and put some more apples and fruits into a bowl on anoher table and asked politely. "So, you came here looking for something. Perhaps if you tell me what I can direct you properly miss…?"
"I thought I saw … a child with interesting eyes," Kurome said, wondering if that would bring up anything interesting to talk about. "And I thought she ran over here. Umm… Oh, my name is Kurome. May I ask your own?"
"Kurome. A lovely name." She smiled again. "My name is Willow." She sat down and poured them both some tea but continued speking, not drinking the tea. "Few people come through here. But I do not have children. Perhaps it was a vision you saw. The spring a the center of town can have that effect on sme people."
"Thank you. Willow is a nice name too," she offers. If a little odd… Kurome decided to just leave her tea since it was probably hot. "Really? Huh… Well, maybe it was just a vision. The spring here is very interesting if it makes people see things…" She waves a hand over the top of her tea to check its temperature.
"Indeed. No one knows why bu then, the forces the shinobi call Chakra are mysterious in their wild form. If there is anything I can help you with I would be glad to. Though the older generation is … quite rotective of this place. Best to let them be. Why did you end up here?" She sipped the tea finally, tilting her head faintly but politely.
"I heard there was something in these parts. A bit further than here, really. Something about an old hideout spot. I was hoping… That maybe it would have some signs of my parents' killer. Maybe. And some of his other doings." Kurome wonders if she admitted to too much.
Willow frowned and she sat up a bit straighter. "I see. My condolences onyour parents. I think I know where you speak of, though. But, the only connections I know that place has is to the gangs of Fuuma Alley. I can show you o it if you like. There are alot of traps in the forest from hunters." She sipped her tea again and glanced toward the opening of the tent as if checking the weather.
Kurome frowns a bit and shakes her head. "Well, I suppose it was a dead end. I wouldn't mind going to look at it still, but…" She sighs. Not quite what she was looking for… "Thank you for your help, Willow-san. I appreciate it."
Willow stood up and picked up a small satchel which she slung over her shoulder. "Perhaps I can pick my herbs today instead of tomorrow. It is near there. Come." She would smile and motion politely toward the tent's entrance, indicating Kurome was welcome to follow. Nothing seemed strange, Willow did not seem to be lying. She seemed the very model of a helpful person
