【C U R S E D⦁B E G O T T E N⦁M A N I P U L A T O R】xxxxx◢ H e s r i k U r u k s a b r i l ◣xxxxx【M I Z U K A G E⦁S A G E⦁H A R V E S T E R 】
tab
[ C ]ocking his head the side the Kokorokage continued to watch the boy as he spoke, explaining the requirements that would be met for him to remain in what could only be defined as Hesrik's employ. That wasn't exactly a bad thing, either. Loyalty was well and good but loyalty could be tested, could be bought, which was partially the point. Trusting in loyalty was a waste of time, energy, and intellect. It would be better to ensure the boy saw him as useful, and this village the best place to establish a base of operations. From the legends, both myth and somewhat steeped in fact, Shadow was said to be a hermit by choice, holing up in discreet locations where his defenses and traps would lead to the deaths of hundreds who dared to follow. If those even bore an iota of truth it would prove to be in Hesrik's best interest to have him see this place as home. tab And so when the boy finished speaking the Kage turned his gaze back towards the Sero, watching the lights of the day burn through clouds above to bombard the canopy of the mighty creation. It was only after several moments of continued silents that he responded, giving the impression of deep consideration despite the decision being made the instant the requests were made. It could only serve to his benefit, for in negotiation silence was as much a tool of war as a sword or knife, after all. "As you would have it, Shadowseeker," he began, his raspy voice barely above a whisper, requiring Shadow to listen carefully as he continued. "It would behoove me to inform you, then, that the village you stand upon is not the true Kokorogakure. This is merely the presentation to the world, to distract from the truth. The true Kokorogakure lies below us, below the tower, in the heart of a monstrous pit. There are many ways to enter, which I will show you." tab Tapping upon his table for a moment in contemplation the older shinobi held up a finger as he reached for a drawer, hopefully to forestall any defensive maneuvers from the younger. Retrieving from within the drawer two bands that the boy was most likely going to recognize, though with different symbols, he slid these across to Shadow before sitting back, steepling his hands in front of his chest. Ignoring their bony appearances they did look well weathered, as someone might expect a farmer's to appear. "I have a job for you, however. Learn what you may, purchase as you need, but for us to make any headway in getting to the Sero we will need transport. The head of my scouts can provide you the details, but we have found a sort of water-walking lizard large enough to ride and, strangely enough, adept with chakra in the way they run. My Tamers and Beastmasters tell me they would make great mounts, and I would like for you to bring me one back. Alive, if you can. A matriarch, if at all possible." tab tab
▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ❝ With power, there is always a price. ❞
Techniques Used: ✤ ✤
Current Objectives: ✤
Items of Note: ✤
Quote:
Royal Taorito
[ e x p ] 8300 x|x [ r y o ] 0900 x|x [ c h a k r a ] 660 / 720 x|x [ s t a m i n a ] 180 / 180
[ m o o d ] Worried, but hopeful. x|x [ h e a l t h ] Full x|x [ i n j u r i e s ] Back and Wrist from where Shadow struck x|x [ c o n t r o l ] Restored
Posted: Thu Apr 25, 2019 7:46 pm
❝All these broken souls, they never make me whole. They don't...Thev don't know mv heart. Thev don't know mv heart.❞ ❝All these broken souls, they never make me whole. They don't...They don't know my heart. They don't know my heart.❞
【S I X T E E N⦁S I L E N T⦁G U A R D I A N】xxxxx◢ S h a d o w H ú n y i s t í r ◣xxxxx【C - R A N K⦁T I N K E R - T R A C K E R⦁U K Y O】
[x] So the public market was just a ruse to prevent the merchants and others visiting from seeing the true village. I didn't personally see a need for it, but the man seemed pretty paranoid in general; if he was behind the founding of this place, it was probably his decision to build it in such a way. Regardless, it didn't matter to me whether we were housed on the surface or in this pit village that he mentioned, so long a we were safe and had access to resources we needed to build up our strength before we tackled even greater goals. Though to be honest I wasn't even sure what those goals were. We--well, I--had an idea of what became of our once-home, so I wasn't entirely sure what the plan was from there. Maybe find what we needed to do to restore Kirigakure. But first, we had to find out what was happening there.
Oragor accepted my offer after a brief consideration, and we both fell into an awkward silence for a moment.
When he finally spoke again, it was to offer me a job. He wanted me to capture a large lizard that could walk on water, supposedly. Preferably an alpha of the species, which he specified as a female--using 'matriarch' made me think of like an ant colony, which didn't really help. The task didn't seem impossible, although the 'bringing it back alive' made it a bit more difficult. If it was big enough to ride it wasn't something I could just carry or drag back--most of my experience with capturing since waking was just on rabbits and other small animals. Though, I supposed I also wasn't required to bring back a live one. It would just help greatly. I personally felt that a Tamer would be better suited for the job, but I wasn't exactly ready to turn down the first request given to me. My guess that I was just the most readily available person to do it.
"Fine, I replied after a moment, maybe a bit too bluntly. But I was out of energy between the three months of travel and the encounter with this man, along with regaining my voice, even if only barely, and emotionally drained. What little emotion I could dredge up on a normal basis was spent in the moments of pure rage I'd experienced. Which still disturbed me because I saw red. I'd been blind and careless, and one wrong move could have cost me my life or the safety of the people around me. The shame and embarrassment I felt was just the icing on the cake. I needed to at least attempt to sleep and get some training done before I did anything else, now that I was in place that I could, hopefully, actually study instead of relying on instincts to get me by. "If there's nothing else, I'd like to use your academy--" making assumptions that there was actually a place like that, "and have a place to rest, and then I can start your task."
▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ❝ I'm scared to get close and I hate being alone. ❞
Stats: Power [3] || Agility [5] || Intelligence [5] || Chakra [3] • Physical| Strength: 0.0 x Speed: +0.5 • Ninjutsu| Strength: 0.0 x Speed: 0.0 • Genjutsu| Strength: +0.5 • Ninjutsu Cost: [-5] Chakra • Unnamed Attack Cost: [-5] Stamina
Techniques Used: ✤ [Prepared] Sumi Yusou no Jutsu [Ink Transport Technique] - C The user writes "transport" on a piece of paper with chakra-infused ink. The user then places it wherever they would like to transport to, be it a location or on a specific person, such as an opponent's back. By concentrating a small amount of Chakra, the can transport to the paper's location, for purposes such as to silently attack an opponent or to reveal to their comrades the enemies location.
✤
Current Objectives: ✤ None.
Items of Note: ✤
Lanfaer
[ e x p ] 8475 [+250] x|x [ r y o ] 0400 x|x [ c h a k r a ] 490 / 495 [+15]x|x [ s t a m i n a ] 360 / 360
[ m o o d ] drained x|x [ h e a l t h ] fine x|x [ i n j u r i e s ] none
Kokuei: I am not thrilled at how I am silence, but I accept it and remain still and silent, recalling what I had endured and seen so I could answer his questions as quickly and effectively as possible. I still needed to get my Materials and go back to my shop. Not much of a Puppet shop since I don't have any puppets ready right now. We get put down and Lord Bara asks his question. I open my mouth to start explaining only for Lord Baranara to stop me and tell us to wait here while he goes to deal with something. I start to stammer that I have places I need to be when the door locks from the outside. Well, thats not weird that a Lord room locks from the outside, but ok then. I hear Kagerou speak and contemplate what she says. "I agree we shouldn't anger the leadership, at least not more than Shadow already did, but I have things I need to do. I run a shop here, and I was intending to gather materials when this chaos broke out. It's good to see you by the way Kagerou. I hope you guys were ok after my...disappearance."
I pause and look around, noticing the trees and stuff. I continue as I get up and begin to search the space for a way out or at least some wood or similar material to work with. "I do hope I didn't cause too much trouble after that instance. I was transported to the land of the dead apparently, where I guess I spent far longer than it seemed. I was returned around here and managed to get my hands on a shop. A shop I need to get back to as soon as possible." I wring my hands together nervously for a moment before I finish gathering any material I found, and I find a place to sit and start working on a simple toy like puppet.
Posted: Thu Apr 25, 2019 10:03 pm
This... If one lived in the village, is it not more reason to not upset the authorities? Who would get arrested by the police, no matter how unjustly, and then have their first thought be that they need to return to storekeeping? That was just asking for a heavier fine and penalty.
Such thoughts were Kagerou, and remained as Kagerou's. The oppressive heat inclining her to be silent, and her intuition telling her that Kokuei was not to be persuaded. After all, from the get go, he had basically just said that he didn't care about the consequences.
Though, to her silent relief, Kokuei appeared to give up the idea of leaving quickly enough, and instead settling, despite the horrid humidity, to work on some woodcraft of his own.
The land of the dead, huh? On this topic, too, Kagerou remained silent despite her great interest in it. She had her reasons.
Able to simply bear with the heat, but unwilling to, Kagerou never stopped moving about and fanning herself. Her efforts turned up an underground passage in which she took interest in. It felt just as wet, but at least it was cool. At this point, anything, even clammy, was better than the sauna up here.
Encouraged by the refreshing draft that came from down below, Kagerou ventured to ask Kokuei, "If it's not locked, then we're allowed to go in, right?". A smile. A rhetorical question. Regardless of Kokuei's answer, Kagerou was soon to be gone, ducking down to traverse the ladder down.
Interesting mushrooms. Certain... decor. The first thing Kagerou inspected in this room were the tools set out upon the bamboo table.
On the table there consisted of calipers, tongs, serrated edges, pincers, scissors, scalpels, and a menagerie of other things one could attribute to torture. Yet...none of them had blood. If anything the faint traces of liquid on their ends bore shades of green and dried chlorophyll.
Inspection of the rack revealed it seemed to be stretching twine, and reed, the 'blood' colored substance would be sticky and later if inspected be discerned as jam. However, there was still no explanation in regards to the purpose of the manacles. If either inspected said manacles they would see their chains carried indentations in the wall of which they were attached to. If one of them was brave enough to pull one it would cause the room to shake as an exit would be made towards the middlemost staircase.
Posted: Fri Apr 26, 2019 1:48 pm
NecroPlant
HeadlessKoko
Kokuei: I sit there and carve this minute amount of wood, wishing there were more or that I had actually brought some of my tools with me so I could make a decent puppet, when I hear Kagerou say something. As I turn to answer I see her disappear down a hole. Intrigued, I tuck away the wood and the knife I'd been carving with in order to follow her down. I take in the room, and find myself drawn to the manacles and chains on the walls. "Why would Lord Baranara have these here? We have a jail and I'd imagine there are rooms like this..." my words trail off as I imagine another use for them that makes me shudder. Maybe THAT is why Lord B likes that Sundance guy so much....
I move examine the chains only to slip and find myself falling, with the manacles still in my hand, and with a shake and a loud noise a doorway reveals itself to us. I blink, look at Kagerou and ask "Should we explore?
In the middle of inspecting the various implements, and coming to the realizing that these weren't used on flesh and blood, Kagerou hears a snap. She turns to see Kokuei... having gotten ahead of himself. "Kokuei," she chides, smiling calmly, "Put that where it belongs. Don't get ahead of yourself. There's an order to things." Obviously, they should have explored the room thoroughly first before triggering the secret door, not trigger the secret door when they've only begun searching the room. When did such a prompt discovery happen? Only when the seekers in question were short on time. That's the only time such a thing was allowable.
"First of all," Kagerou's eyes were already back to inspecting the not-for-flesh tools, picking one up and taking it closer to the light of the mushroom, "Look closely at that wall and tell me what it is. I don't think it's blood." Angling the subject of her concentration under the light, Kagerou could see little green and fibrous materials clinging to the edges of the blade. The stains, also green, had dried in a way that felt off for blood. Since this was green, and didn't have the same appearance after drying as blood, Kagerou's wagered guess was that this was perhaps tools the banana man used for his plants. Putting them so far away, but in a room with manacles. Hm... After getting just a little bit creative, she could imagine that he was probably trying to splice plants together using the grafting method. Tools to prepare the incisions and whatnot. The manacles to hold up the grafted plants in the appropriate position.
Wiping the humidity off her neck, which didn't do much because her hands were just as wet from the humidity, Kagerou neatly placed the tools she had displaced, carefully arranging them just as they had appeared when she had first stepped into this underground room. If Kokuei was still in the room with Kagerou to follow the proper order of things with her, Kagerou would ask, "So what do you think, Kokuei? Is it blood?". As long as he had figured out that what seemed to be blood was instead something else, she probably didn't need to tell him much else.
NecroPlant
Arrow35
Posted: Mon Apr 29, 2019 8:12 pm
HeadlessKoko
NecroPlant
Kokuei: Kagerou comments that I apparently did things out of order by accidentally finding the secret door. Ok. Thats a thing then I suppose. Leaving the door open, I do as she asked and exam the wall. "Well, the red stuff is..." I pause to smell it and confirm, "Jam. It is Jam. and the rest of this stuff is just plant goo. Weird."
I move around the room a bit and then decide to write a note to Lord Baranara before I explore the new path. I write "Lord Baranara. Firstly, I am sorry. You left us alone, asking the we stay so you can question us about the fight in town. I do know Shadow, the one attacking Lord Oragor. However, I had not seen him for many months prior to this afternoon. I'm sorry to say I do not know why he would do such a thing. With that out of the way, I must apologize for what we have done. I run a shop which I need desperately to get back to, and between myself and Kagerou we accidentally discovered your secret room and by misfortune of my clumsyness discovered the secret passage. Now, as I must get to my shop, I am going to be leaving. If you need more or simply wish to talk, feel free to visit me at my shop, Kokuei's Wonderful World of Puppets. Your's in friendship, Kokuei of the Nara."
Once my note is done, I take it upstairs and leave it in a prominent location, before going back down to the doorway. "Kagerou, I'm going down the path now. Are you coming?" And regardless of the answer I start moving down the secret tunnel.
Follow? The guy who got kidnapped by a monster cow?
Eh...
Yeah, sure. Why not? Though, before that...
"Eh, you go ahead first," Kagerou called out to the already retreating back of the pineapple head, "I want to inspect the plants here a little more," and then continued to inspect the manacles she had moved on to after exhausting her options at the operating table. Appearances aside, she just wanted to make sure that perhaps they didn't miss something important because they thought they had found out the room's secret. From this room alone, she had begun to understand that the man in charge was not simply in charge as a muscled puppet figure.
Kagerou could no longer hear Kokuei's footsteps, even when she concentrated, when she quietly put down the mushroom she had taken to observing and quietly climbed back upstairs. Kokuei had climbed upstairs and brought back down nothing, so she could only assume he had left something in the room instead...
Since the note was intended to be seen, Kagerou didn't take very long to find it. She could only sigh at the contents. "Kokuei..." Sigh and smile at this silly little note. Would... the person who imprisoned them for interrogation let Kokuei slide with just this note? Kagerou... wasn't sure, but out of caution, she was inclined to believe no. Ah... Wasn't Kumogakure famed for their strict military discipline throughout the village? Was that characteristic not as all-encompassing as Kagerou once heard through the grapevine?
Kagerou set down the note and pondered for a little. She wanted to keep mum on as many details about Shadow as possible, but at the same time, she didn't want to step over Kokuei's good will. In other words, if Kokuei wanted to tell Baranara everything he knew, she wouldn't feel justified in stopping him. Doing as much of what she wanted as possible, how should she proceed?
She could aim to regroup with Shadow and leave asap, but turning into refugees on day one of their visit to perhaps the largest human gathering spot they've seen yet left a bad taste in her mouth. To maintain relationships, she would need to do something that would improve Shadow's reputation in this village... His... Already negative reputation.
With a hand sign and snap of her fingers, Kagerou set the note ablaze over the table, where they almost instantly turned into a soggy pile of ash courtesy of the insane humidity. Out in plain view. Nothing to hide. In its place, Kagerou wrote her own.
"Lord Baranara, regarding the person of interest, Kokuei knew him for only a couple days many months ago. As he is completely unrelated, I persuaded him that he would be perfectly allowed to leave early to tend to his puppet shop, Kokuei's Wonderful World of Puppets, which is in sore need of his attention. If you have any complaints about this ruling, please talk to me.
"On the other hand, I admit to travelling with Shadow for several months, knowing him for years before that, and entering Kokorogakure with him. If you see this note in time, you'll find me exploring the hidden passage found within your botanical lab dungeon. Otherwise, I cannot make any promises to my location despite my best efforts to make myself available for an audience with you to settle any misunderstandings.
"- Kagerou"
"Mmm..." Kagerou muttered aloud to herself, "Yeah, this way, he'll focus on finding me for sure," and finished the thought silently, "Well, Kokuei might get a slap on his wrist, but this shouldn't backfire so long as he doesn't say too much. I... think I can trust him on that?".
After (hopefully) making a difference in preparations from a simple excuse to an excuse that aimed for a certain consequence, Kagerou placed the note neatly in a conspicuous place and then descended, first into the strange dungeon lab room and then into the secret passageway Kokuei had entered so many minutes ago, footsteps padding quickly but softly.
NecroPlant
Arrow35
Posted: Sun May 05, 2019 7:12 pm
⦉Power gives freedom from control and the pen of destiny to the author.⦊ ❝Power begets freedom, and I shall be the freest of them all.❞
【C U R S E D⦁B E G O T T E N⦁M A N I P U L A T O R】xxxxx◢ H e s r i k U r u k s a b r i l ◣xxxxx【M I Z U K A G E⦁S A G E⦁H A R V E S T E R 】
tab
[ S ]traightening up once more into a proper sitting position the Kokorokage reached into a drawer once more and withdrew several sheets of paper along with a bottle of ink and a quill. Without hesitation he began to fill out data, writing rules and regulations that would define Shadow's place, and the place of those he designates, within the village. In short, Shadow would be able to select up to three people and have them count among his 'party' and get the same access he did. At the moment, that meant being able to learn any technique up to C - rank, as well as gain access to the village and all academy resources. Only places marked for Consul and up would be banned from his access. With a flourish he signed his name, Oragor, along with the symbol of his office before taking holding out his hand, chanting one short word, and causing his hand to burn red. A layer of flames rippled beneath his palm as he flash dried out the ink upon the paper, though it took only a few moments before it was dry completely. tab Sliding the sheet towards Shadow, rotating it for him to read it properly, the corpse of a man stared at the boy with his pale, dead eyes. "Do you have any further questions? This script will grant you access to where you need, and dictates where these entrances are. I would suggest that you use them to their best advantage. I am trust you, and I hope you will not betray my generosity or trust." tab tab tab tab
▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ❝ With power, there is always a price. ❞
Techniques Used: ✤ ✤
Current Objectives: ✤
Items of Note: ✤
Quote:
Royal Taorito
[ e x p ] 8300 x|x [ r y o ] 0900 x|x [ c h a k r a ] 660 / 720 x|x [ s t a m i n a ] 180 / 180
[ m o o d ] Worried, but hopeful. x|x [ h e a l t h ] Full x|x [ i n j u r i e s ] Back and Wrist from where Shadow struck x|x [ c o n t r o l ] Restored
❝All these broken souls, they never make me whole. They don't...Thev don't know mv heart. Thev don't know mv heart.❞ ❝All these broken souls, they never make me whole. They don't...They don't know my heart. They don't know my heart.❞
【S I X T E E N⦁S I L E N T⦁G U A R D I A N】xxxxx◢ S h a d o w H ú n y i s t í r ◣xxxxx【C - R A N K⦁T I N K E R - T R A C K E R⦁U K Y O】
[x] I honestly couldn't recall ever dealing with a written contract in the past. Normally, I was just told what to do and did it. Though, to be fair, I'd never had to ask permission to use facilities before. So maybe this was a normal process people went through. Or this village was just different and more formal. I didn't really care regardless. Once he handed me the papers and started speaking, I stood up to leave. As I did, I read over the contract to make sure nothing was amiss, and then turned my gaze back to him. "Don't give me a reason to," I replied bluntly and turned away, heading for the stairs I'd noticed early that lead down, tucking away the papers as I went.
[Exit office]
I had been taken to the very top of the tower, by the looks of it. Giving a wide view of the surrounding area. From there, I could see the chasm in which the 'actual' village lay, according to the papers I'd received. Supposedly, at the bottom of this were the remains of a massive beast, and around those bones was the academy. I'd have to visit there and try to relearn some of the techniques I'd forgotten from my old life.
I walked idly down the steps for some time, losing myself to the maelstrom of new memories I had until something stopped me. At first I wasn't sure what, but then I realized it was a familiar scent that had halted me. I almost didn't notice it underneath the overwhelming stench of banana--which made sense to find there if that man with the broken speech was a high-ranking authority in the town. But when your around a person as much as I had been the last three months, and with a sense of smell as potent as mine, I recognized Kagerou's scent among the others that had passed that way. And it was fresh.
I glanced back up the stairs in slight confusion. I hadn't passed anyone on the way down. No, I'd only just noticed it, so the trail must have diverted on the floor I'd just passed. I backtracked several steps until I reached the landing to a hallway. The corridor was somewhat dark, but I could make out two doors. Banana man and Kagerou had definitely gone that way, as well as a third and fourth scent I couldn't quite place. Older than that, Oragor had been this way as well at some point. I followed the scents to one of the doors which was, ironically enough, wedged closed with a stick of what looked like bamboo. Higher on the door a chain door guard 'locked' the room shut, though why it was on the outside rather than the inside was beyond me. It definitely seemed like someone was trying to keep something in rather than keeping people out.
I removed the stick as quietly as I could, and just as carefully slid the chain lock free. I opened the door just enough to squeeze through, and closed it, but not completely. Since the door opened toward the hallway, I stuck an arrow in one of the joints on the inside to stop it from being closed easily. At the very least, the door would have to be opened to remove it, and that would, ideally, give me enough time to react before I was locked in. Lastly, I brought the stick with me so a new item would be needed to prop the door shut.
The room was uncomfortably warm and humid, which explained why the scents were stronger within, the pungent smell of sweat mixing in with them. Strangely, the room was basically a greenhouse. Exotic plants filled much of the space, many of which I'd never seen before, and I could hear the calls and songs of birds as well. No sooner had I entered, though, that a crash resounded through the room, silencing and scattering the birds, followed by grinding. Hand on the hilt of my tanto, I ducked down, moving behind one of the large palms decorating the place. My ears stood straight as I listened for anything else, but was greeted by silence. If anything had been said, I must have missed it in my brief scramble to hide. Still, I started off carefully in the direction the crash had come from.
▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ❝ I'm scared to get close and I hate being alone. ❞
Stats: Power [3] || Agility [5] || Intelligence [5] || Chakra [3] • Physical| Strength: 0.0 x Speed: +0.5 • Ninjutsu| Strength: 0.0 x Speed: 0.0 • Genjutsu| Strength: +0.5 • Ninjutsu Cost: [-5] Chakra • Simple and Unnamed Attack Cost: [-5] Stamina
Techniques Used: ✤ [Prepared] Sumi Yusou no Jutsu [Ink Transport Technique] - C The user writes "transport" on a piece of paper with chakra-infused ink. The user then places it wherever they would like to transport to, be it a location or on a specific person, such as an opponent's back. By concentrating a small amount of Chakra, the can transport to the paper's location, for purposes such as to silently attack an opponent or to reveal to their comrades the enemies location.
✤
Current Objectives: ✤ None.
Items of Note: ✤
Lanfaer
HeadlessKoko
Arrow35
[ e x p ] 8475 x|x [ r y o ] 0400 x|x [ c h a k r a ] 495 / 495 x|x [ s t a m i n a ] 360 / 360
[ m o o d ] neutral x|x [ h e a l t h ] fine x|x [ i n j u r i e s ] none
Let's put some order into this timeline, shall we? Rewinding back and back, Kagerou's footsteps padded softly in reverse up the stairs and ladder, the new letter she wrote was wiped clean, the old letter she burned to ash reformed and was set back in its place, Kagerou climbed back down the ladder, and now she has returned to standing in front of the observation table, chiding Kokuei.
At this point, Shadow was in the room, though quite near the entrance and very out of sight. Kokuei got to go back up into the room, hastily scribble his letter, and then climb back down the dungeons without being seen or interrupted. Shortly thereafter, he went down the dungeons. Kagerou continued her half-act of further investigating the dungeon/lab. Shadow had only now started to move out of his hiding place.
Between Kokuei's hurried steps and Shadow's careful ones, Kokuei naturally descended the steps far enough down for Kagerou to make her move before Shadow had quite found the trapdoor. Between Kagerou's leisurely pace and Shadow's wary ones, they were quite in sync. His ears would, perhaps, pick up the sounds of someone, Kagerou, ascending the ladder of the trapdoor just moments before he would peer down into it.
Creak, creak, creak, or whatever sound it was ladders made.
Then, assuming Shadow was too careful to peek down and see the familiar head of green bobbing her way on up, out would pop the familiar face of green hair and lively red eyes. "Oh," the words, "What are you doing here?" were written everywhere on that smile, but still, the calm won. Kagerou rested her chin atop the floor, the rest of her body still on the ladder, as she considered her next words. Shadow couldn't talk, so she had gotten into the habit of figuring things out by just looking at him or phrasing anything she wanted into yes/no questions.
He clearly wasn't hurt, nor out of breath. No matter how shoddy this village's system was, he would be hard pressed to sneak all the way up to this floor without looking like he had... well... snuck all the way up to this floor. She didn't rule out that, maybe, he had come all this way to save her and Kokuei. She knew that, despite his appearance, he had that bad habit of not being able to see people he cared for in trouble. However, somehow, she didn't think that was the reason why because, again, sneaking in seemed unlikely.
Even less likely was Shadow striking a deal to get out of trouble, though. That... Was such a thing even possible for Shadow? So he snuck in? But no, there was really nowhere to hide. Well, aside from the secret passage she had come from. Perhaps there were more... Except to find them on the first visit? So then he needed to have spoken with someone? But Shadow? Speaking? Even when he had the ability, he did so little of it. So then he had come up alone. Except, that didn't seem feasible. Neither was Shadow talking his way out of trouble, though. Sneaking? Talking? Sneaking? Talking?
This resulted in a very rare not-smile for Kagerou. She went from smiling, to staring quizzically, to frowning in serious thought, to finally, her head lying sideways on the ground as she looked up at Shadow with a blank stare, completely lost. Mentally flipping a coin, she straightened her head and asked, "Did you actually manage to sneak past the guards to get to us?".
❝All these broken souls, they never make me whole. They don't...Thev don't know mv heart. Thev don't know mv heart.❞ ❝All these broken souls, they never make me whole. They don't...They don't know my heart. They don't know my heart.❞
【S I X T E E N⦁S I L E N T⦁G U A R D I A N】xxxxx◢ S h a d o w H ú n y i s t í r ◣xxxxx【C - R A N K⦁T I N K E R - T R A C K E R⦁U K Y O】
[x] It was difficult to tell where exactly the crash a moment ago had come from, but after a sweep of the room, the only thing out of place was a trap door in the floor. The banana man's scent was older near it, but Kagerou and the other scent I only vaguely recognized were much stronger. Maybe opening the door had caused the sound, and they'd escaped through it.
But as I approached the hole, about to look down, soft footsteps met my ears from below, accompanied by the small sounds that accompanied someone's efforts in climbing. Kagerou's green hair made an appearance first, followed by the familiar red eyes as her head poked over the lip and she spotted me. She looked unharmed and pleasantly surprised that I was there, though I was sure my expression gave away my confusion as my thoughts reflected hers.
A heartbeat later, her smile vanished, and she seemed to seriously contemplate how I'd ended up there before she gave up and spoke again, asking if I'd snuck in. I shook my head, turning an ear toward the way I'd come in case someone opened the door. I opened my mouth to answer her, but hesitated. It was weird, suddenly speaking, after we'd managed to establish a decent method of communication when I couldn't speak. As much as it would cause a lot less stress for her if I could actually respond to her questions, it felt like it undid something we'd spend months perfecting. And the way I'd spoken almost easily after all this time to Oragor felt like it might be a slap in the face to Kagerou. Even though I knew she wouldn't take it that way.
Right?
No, don't lock up now. Use words. Make this easier for everyone. I closed my gaping mouth briefly, and swallowed, then tried again. "No," I said softly. "I spoke with the village leader." I held up a finger quickly to hold her off from getting excited, and my gaze grew dark. "I... got some of my missing memory back. Not all of it, but... enough to make some assumptions." I shook my head again, but this time to brush away my thoughts and, maybe, stop her from asking questions. "We're free to use the town's facilities as we need, and we'll be given a place to sleep."
▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ❝ I'm scared to get close and I hate being alone. ❞
Stats: Power [3] || Agility [5] || Intelligence [5] || Chakra [3] • Physical| Strength: 0.0 x Speed: +0.5 • Ninjutsu| Strength: 0.0 x Speed: 0.0 • Genjutsu| Strength: +0.5 • Ninjutsu Cost: [-5] Chakra • Simple and Unnamed Attack Cost: [-5] Stamina
Techniques Used: ✤ [Prepared] Sumi Yusou no Jutsu [Ink Transport Technique] - C The user writes "transport" on a piece of paper with chakra-infused ink. The user then places it wherever they would like to transport to, be it a location or on a specific person, such as an opponent's back. By concentrating a small amount of Chakra, the can transport to the paper's location, for purposes such as to silently attack an opponent or to reveal to their comrades the enemies location.
✤
Current Objectives: ✤ None.
Items of Note: ✤
HeadlessKoko
Arrow35
[ e x p ] 8475 x|x [ r y o ] 0400 x|x [ c h a k r a ] 495 / 495 x|x [ s t a m i n a ] 360 / 360
[ m o o d ] neutral x|x [ h e a l t h ] fine x|x [ i n j u r i e s ] none
As per Shadow's unspoken requests, Kagerou remained silent all the way throughout. Sure, her eyes bulged in surprise and her head jerked upright at hearing Shadow's voice. A string of smiles flashed through: elated surprise, quizzical confusion, thoughtful probing. Oh yeah, her hands inched over the edge of the sill, tapping in anticipation. To slap? Pinch? Hug? Well, Kagerou wasn't sure of that herself, and to be honest, Shadow requesting for more time probably saved him from having to become the victim of any of those options because Kagerou calmed down such physical urges by the time Shadow finished speaking.
She had a more important question to ask.
Why was Hesrik his first and not her D: ?! Wait... Was this perhaps the first signs of a blooming friendship *w* ?!
Why did the village leader not only trigger his speech but also his memories?
Her previous train of thought regarding the unlikelihood of Shadow handling most diplomatic situations reasonably well played into this opinion. She didn't see him as the type to break under pressure and speak or else be detained by the law. Therefore, if the situation couldn't be the only catalyst, then there had to be another factor, and the only other factor Kagerou was aware of were location and the individual facing Shadow.
It could be either. If it was location, Kagerou could guess the reason. If it was the individual, then she was lost, so to gather more information, she asked about the latter, hoping that Shadow would fall for the bluff. With a smile, because as Shadow expected, she didn't really hold Shadow saying his first words to someone else against him, Kagerou inquired, "The village leader is someone important to you?". Her eyes were the dead giveaway that she wasn't as relaxed as her smile seemed to suggest. They stared intently at Shadow's face, hoping to catch the smallest signal. How could she not be on guard in this aspect? His mutism aside, Shadow had always been the reticent type in her memories of him, both directly and of the village gossip. She had caught that darkened gaze, and maybe it could have been because he was angry at her for hiding what she knew of his past from him but it could alternatively have been because of this past Shadow had with the village leader. Whatever other questions and comments Kagerou had to make, such as the feasibility of Shadow sleeping and reuniting with Kokuei, those could wait for the time being.
❝All these broken souls, they never make me whole. They don't...Thev don't know mv heart. Thev don't know mv heart.❞ ❝All these broken souls, they never make me whole. They don't...They don't know my heart. They don't know my heart.❞
【S I X T E E N⦁S I L E N T⦁G U A R D I A N】xxxxx◢ S h a d o w H ú n y i s t í r ◣xxxxx【C - R A N K⦁T I N K E R - T R A C K E R⦁U K Y O】
[x] Kagerou's reaction was about what I'd expected, and her twitching hands wanted to express her excitement as much as her smile did, but holding her off prevented anything from happening, and the initial elation died down. I could tell the gears were turning in her head as she tried to piece together what she knew of me to what had caused the change. And then she asked if Oragor bore any significance to me. In a different setting, in a different circumstance, I might have told her what had happened, but I was still trying to sort that out for myself. Later, maybe, once we'd had a chance to relax.
After a moment I took a step back and finally removed my hand from the hilt of my blade. "No," I replied, and said nothing more on the subject. I looked back the way I'd come. "We're free to leave, so we should." As in leave the tower and this room I felt I was trespassing in, not the town. The sickly-looking village leader trusted my word so easily I knew he must have some knowledge of who I was and, in exchange, where my loyalties lie. He knew I wouldn't do anything to harm the town. But I didn't want to risk the fragile allegiance by snooping in places I wasn't supposed to be. Not yet anyway.
I turned my eyes back to Kagerou. "What are you doing down there, anyway?" I could guess why she was in the tower, to an extent. It was no coincidence she'd been taken in after I'd blatantly attacked their leader and then vanished. Knowing her--and the fact I'd seen Kokuei during the fight--she probably offered to explain what had happened and had been brought for questioning. Regardless of whether that questioning had happened, the banana man had left and she was left there. Though why in a room and not in a guarded cell or something was beyond me.
▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ❝ I'm scared to get close and I hate being alone. ❞
Stats: Power [3] || Agility [5] || Intelligence [5] || Chakra [3] • Physical| Strength: 0.0 x Speed: +0.5 • Ninjutsu| Strength: 0.0 x Speed: 0.0 • Genjutsu| Strength: +0.5 • Ninjutsu Cost: [-5] Chakra • Simple and Unnamed Attack Cost: [-5] Stamina
Techniques Used: ✤ [Prepared] Sumi Yusou no Jutsu [Ink Transport Technique] - C The user writes "transport" on a piece of paper with chakra-infused ink. The user then places it wherever they would like to transport to, be it a location or on a specific person, such as an opponent's back. By concentrating a small amount of Chakra, the can transport to the paper's location, for purposes such as to silently attack an opponent or to reveal to their comrades the enemies location.
✤
Current Objectives: ✤ None.
Items of Note: ✤
HeadlessKoko
Arrow35
[ e x p ] 8475 x|x [ r y o ] 0400 x|x [ c h a k r a ] 495 / 495 x|x [ s t a m i n a ] 360 / 360
[ m o o d ] neutral x|x [ h e a l t h ] fine x|x [ i n j u r i e s ] none
