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Tsuoiki Otobe

Tsuo gave a nod and a slight sigh of exasperation at their situation. "Yes." his voice was rather vexed and self important, but he didn't seem to so specifically be vexed with them. "My name is Tsuoiki Otobe, First Son of the Third House." he scoffed slightly "As that matters at the moment. You may address me as Tsuo." he said more to himself then to them. He adjusted his glasses officiously.



"Airi Anzan," she looked over to Tsuo. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Otobe-sama."

Tsuo, now that they were in the proper lighting, gave a narrowed look to the girl's eyes. "Those pupils of yours....Anzan, is it? That IS what you said?" The girl's eyes, no clearly visible in the light, reseembled those of a beast, a predator...almost cat like.

The girl seemed prepared for any sort of criticism. "Yes, Otobe-sama."

Tsuo seemed to roll his eyes. "Hmph...no wonder your useless... a girl from a traitor clan." he didn't really seem to mind giving his opinion. "Still, you at least seem competent enough from your effort opening the door and you ability to use the sign language. I do hope you approve my opinion of you wrong, Anzan."

Ai twitched slightly, but didn't let it get to her. The Otobe children tended to be like this. This one was actually surprisingly more civil then others. With the betrayal of all the other members of her clan in Oto, especially their elder, the legendary Azure Flame himself... the sennin who their clan too ksuch pride in.... now she was alone. Alone in a village that considered her the child of traitors... but...she would put up with it. She would show them she could be trusted, that she could be a shinobi of Oto!

"I will try, Otobe-sama."

Tsuo seemed annoyed with that title. "Will you stop. Tsuo will do." he adjusted his glasses again, looking to Makoto. "You mentioned earlier when you reported the situation that their was a ledge out back yes...? Do you believe that rope could be used to get up down it?" (it could) he then seemed to think. "Hmm...though I cannot hear from down here, and there's no telling if they've noted that we've gone or not...

"They will have." Tsuo looked at the Anzan girl, her catlike eyes on her otherwise normal human face blinking slightly. "They were checking on us at regular intervals. I was trying to detect the pattern and wait for a chance to find a hole in their pattern...I didn;t think to wait for them to sit down to a meal..."

Tsuo nodded, looking over to Makoto again. "I see...then it might be best to wait a while and allow them to think that we have escaped...they clearly don't use this door and as heavy as it is I don't think they will believe we did either... plus there's the fact that if they think we've escaped they may split up to look for us in the surrounding area...leaving the security here at this house lessened... or you two could stay down here while I engage them with the minor vibration...it should be enough to kill civilians as they seem to be from your conversation...the Shinobi in the group are not present..."

he folded his arms, sitting down in the small pantry, Airi doing the same. "What is your take on it...?" both of them seemed to want to hear his opinion. He had rescued them both after all, whether Tsuo was the leader or not.

Tsuo gave a nod at this. The other boy's reasoning was sound. He himself had been torn between the two choices...because indeed, there were two hard choices. It was an Otobe's duty to protect all those weaker than themselves under the banner of the Hidden sound. All those lesser. He himself didn't fully believe in the clan's usual modus operandi, but that at least he could understand. If the Otobe were going to claim to be the best...then they could damn well start by acting like it. as the First Son of the Third House he was not unakin to the son of a Duke in Oto's structure. If he couldn't take care of a few of his peers at the academy, then he didn't deserve any such a position. He adjusted his glasses once more. He was correct...they had said a fourth was on the way, thus reported to him by the more useful of his companions...Makoto, he would have to remember the name. He didn't bother remembering people's names unless they were important... but the boy had proven himself capable thus far, so he would qualify.

"I agree." Tsuo stated aloud at last. "We should settle in until night fall then...we shall hold the advantage then anyway with their reduced vision and my ability to sense my way about by sound..." he seemed to recall. "Anzan...your clan's abilities...the...Zenith arts are they not?"



"Correct Otob- Tsuo-sama." she corrected, her voice even and controlled. "Though I have not yet managed to master any of the higher arts..."

"Can you not see in low light with those....eyes of yours?"

She hesitated, but nodded.

"Good." he turned to Makoto. "You will be at a disadvantage, but we can serve as your eyes and ears if we work in conjecture. Literally." he noted with some sense of irony. He himself settled back against the wall, crossing his legs and preparing to wait. "We should give it some time before we make our move if we're going to wait then...best they think we've already long gone...then we can make our move. I suggest you get comfortable..." he closed his eyes...though one got the sense this made little difference to an Otobe, and one suspected he was just as aware as with them open...

Airi nodded in Tsuo's direction, before looking towards the other boy, Makoto, questionably. She hadn't really be able to read a reaction from him about learning of her heritage. She supposed, as she too settled back against the wall and began chewing on some of the dry meat, her teeth tearing through it just a BIT fiercer than a normal persons, that they would have plenty of time to get to know one another while they were down here...


((posts until night fall 5))

((Use this time to learn some things about your teammates skills and pasts if you like. Strike up conversation. At the end of the five posts, the time to check above will be at hand...))

Tsuoiki Otobe


Tsuo was still sitting with his eyes closed, the time ticking back as he heard Makoto's question. "Hn..." he said merely keeping his eyes shut. "That is not an unreasonable request. My abilities are what you would find par with an ordinary beginning Genin." he folded his arms with a slight annoyance. "However we Otobe are held to a higher standard before we are permitted to graduate...we must also master additional clan techniques...one of which I have yet to master." he gave the smallest of huffs. "Hmph...still..." he adjusted his glasses more matter-of-factually. "My abilities focus on chakra control and medical Ninjutsu. I am also forming a basis in minor genjutsu, meaning that I'm training my intellect over raw physical prowess." he once more seemed annoyed. "If anything, having to focus on mastering my clan Ninjutsu has been rather distracting from my goal." he still had his eyes closed, as though they were more for novelty and decoration than actually perceiving his environment. "I know all the basic academy jutsu, and Minor vibration. I can also fix broken bones and other such bleeding injuries if need be." he looked over towards the girl, the Anzan, expectantly, as though his own rendition was finished.



The girl seemed to patiently wait her turn, politely awaiting the moment when the Otobe was finished speaking. "Yes..." she said, still apparently trying to seem very calm and maintained. "I...focus mainly on evasionary tactics and long ranged combat at the moment... though I am more skilled with acrobatics and stealth, to a degree."

Tsuo seemed bemused at something. "Hn...you aren't going to mention your affinity for the wilds...?"

Airi seemed to look slightly reserved at this, but noted. "I...am not a stranger to the wilds."

Tsuo gave a small smirk. "Hn...I'd imagine not...and surely your beastial side will come in handy, yes?"

The girl seemed to twitch slightly, looking uncomfortable. "It...is not useful at all Otobe-sama." she said with the utmost certainty.

Tsuo gave a small half laugh, but didn't push the matter further. "Regardless." he didn't open his eyes but turned his head in Makoto's direction. "And what of you, Makoto." deigning to actually call the other boy by his name. "Given your side...I would imagine you as the sort who focuses on strength and adaptability....correct...?"

Tsuo merely gave a "humph". "Weakness is negligible when capitalized upon, just as strength is negligible when not used. You are the only one here who would likely be of any great help in a fight...I would be strong alone, you are correct, but as we are not, that leaves you." he finally opened his eyes. Again he seemed to be more using them for effect than anything, looking towards Makoto. "Being humble is only a good trait if it doesn't prevent you from performing at your highest...remember that, Makoto."


Airi Anzan


Airi was looking between the two uncomfortably, but finally deigned to speak up. "Makoto-san, you don't need to be so hard on yourself. I am skilled at evasion, but I don't know how well I would be in a fight...do not be so quick to assume that you are the weakest here...the least experienced perhaps, but all things are proven in time." she gave a nod. "Tell me," she inquired raising a brow. "The Hikari that they were talking about... I saw her face. At least, I assume I did."

"Oh?" Tsuo seemed impressed. "You mean the women you mentioned..." he narrowed his eyes. "The woman who was able to move without making a sound...you'd think she'd spent her life stalking the shadows..."

"I believe that they may have been taking about Flashing Hikari."

Tsuo looked slightly shocked for a moment, looking over at the girl with a measure of alarm. "What!? But...she's supposed to be dead! She died years ago..."

Airi bowed her head towards him, as though in apology. "I am sorry otobe-sama, I didn't mean to speak out of turn...it's merely. the mark on here face...the color of her hair...the name. And her skill level." she added the last bit more heavily.

Tsuo seemed to fall into a grave frown. "Hmm...an A-class Missing Nin...? We wouldn't stand a chance if we're anywhere near her...perhaps waiting was indeed the best choice..."

Tsuoiki Otobe

Tsuo listened to Makoto's with interest, his eyes seeming to be interested at this assessment they would be dead if he screamed. Yes...that would make them civilians. Bandits might even be too strong a word. They might merely be civilians rebels with trumped up senses of justice trying to "do what they believed to be right". With no thought as to the consequences of their actions. Polluting the lands Shinobi force when there was war on the horizon. Some people could be so blind to the future...it was why they needed a higher hand to guide them, to see the whole picture for them...these people were nothing more the difficult sheep. Upon being offered the pill though, he examined it closely.

"Hmm...this is a Red soldier Pill." he gave it back to the other boy. "It's fairly effective for healing injuries in dire situations. They're rather valuable, actually. If you hold on to that it could fetch a good prize of Ryo back in the village. I can heal most common injuries, but if you find yourself in a dire situation...it might be best to use that..."

Airi meanwhile seemed to start slightly at being addressed casually as...friend, and requested to so earnestly. "U-uh...yes... Of course. Makoto-san." she smiled at this, looking rather pleased. "I will help in anyway that I am able..." as soon as a slight tinge of pink, entered her cheeks though, she seemed to remember something and immediately bit into the dried meat once more, as though it might help stave something off, her eyes shifting back away from Makotos.

Tsuo gave a slight smirk at this. "Hn...be careful, Lung," he noted arms folded once more. "She's an Anzan...if she starts to like you she'll lose control and take you by force..."

The girl's eyes seemed to turn slightly more feral for a moment, but it may indeed have just been a trick of the candle light. "T-that is...not true Otobe-sama. We Anzan do not do that..."

"Oh?" Tsuo looked doubtful. "That's not what I heard." and he did hear quite alot.

Airi took another bite of the meat, as though sating her hunger was keeping something at bay within her. "It's true that we sometimes...lose control of our beastial nature...and sometimes in the past...that...sort've thing...has happened." she she loosened her scarf clearly embarrassed. "But..." she seemed to fall serene again. "But I am able to control my Bestial nature. It will not be an issue."

Tsuo gave a small, doubtful laugh, but let it go. They'd see.


Airi Anzan

Item:
Red Soldier Pill
Description: A red pill with a spicy taste. It heals HP over time. DO NOT MIX!
Effect: Stops bleeding. Heal 6% of your max HP per turn, 8% if resting. Last for 10 post.
Special: If it is in effect while you take another pill, you lose 2% Hp per turn until one of the two pills wears off. Healing HP ceases entirely. Resting prevents the damage from happening, but HP cannot be healed.
If all three are active at once, you die when one of them wears off.
Cost: 70 ryo

Tsuoiki Otobe

Tsuo gave a nod of his head at the boy's plan. "Very well. That is sound enough. Though this fourth member..." he frowned slightly pondering it over. "if they were brave enough to try kidnapping the scions of major clans..." he looked over at Airi. "You are the only remaining scion of the Anzan are you not?"

"Yes, Otobe-sama."

He nodded. "And I am, short of going after Lady Aeaka or the Lord Otokage himself, the highest young heir of the Otobe clan as well...if they are so bold, it will not be out of the question to suppose that they tried to abduct another clan scion..." he looked over at Makoto. "I'd imagine that you were the top civilian candidate, seeing as the other candidates, that Miyako girl, and...what was the odd transfers name....Arucard?" he shrugged. "Were away on that diplomatic envoy." he frowned slightly. The fact that students from the civilian class rather than the Otobe had not gone unnoticed amongst the clan. Though they suspect that Yuzuki had something to do with it, so no one complained. Even amongst his own family the man was nothing short of terrifying....

Still, the matter at hand. "So if they are going after the best they can get...then they'll likely be bringing another clan scion, Lung representing the best of the civilian sector to them."



"Hm." Airi seemed to consider this. "I think the mellow girl is a Maboroshi. They're an incredibly powerful clan."

"She was sent with the others." Tsuo noted.

Airi continued to think. "I'm not sure then...perhaps...those twins? Those of the Soma clan?"

Tsuo shook his head. "They're after students...and anway..." she shivered visibly, looking distrubed. "They'd have to be insane to go within 30 feet of those two..." if you thought the ANZAN had a habit of forcing themselves on people...the twin sisters of the Soma clan had the reputation for trying to do so with anything that would sit still for them... male, female, each other...He tried to make covering up his nose bleed as noble as possible. The point was that if THEY were here, this tight nit space would be the most awkward hours of his life. "Ahem," he went on. "But no."

Airi didn't really see what was off about the twin sisters. While they seemed to have no concept for personal space, and were VERY friendly, they didn't really seem like bad people. Just...very very, contrary to each other...in a very odd way that made her think she might be missing something... it was probably nothing. She shouldn't assume things about other people.

"Well then....I can't think who it might be..."

Tsuoiki Otobe


Tsuo nodded hinting at them to be quiet as he moved forward through the pantry, checking to make sure they were completely ready, before dousing his torch, total darkness returning to the scene. For a moment, nothing, the a crack of dim light splitting through the darkness as the distant light of the moon dancing through the kitchen above peaked inside. The heavy door was much easier to open now, Tsuo and Airi managing it themselves, as Tsuo himself immediately put his hand to the floor, closing his eyes while Airi peered about the kitchen. It was quiet... but Tsuo's head turned slightly a smirk crossing his face. He signaled. "Fools...it worked. They'd split up to go after us. Only one left here...but can't use minor vibration, other prisoner also here. Same room Makoto was kept, I believe." he slowly crept out of the door, making sure to keep it open. He noted to Makoto "They're down, probably tied up or unconscious, but minor vibration kill them if in any weak condition." he slowly folded his arms, sparing one to adjust his glasses as appeared to be his habit. "I think another out front...but it's a bit hard to tell..."



Airi was standing next to Makoto, kunai drawn as she looked to him instruction. "What we do? Rescue...? Run...?" she seemed more then willing to obey any orders given, her disposition towards such apparently greatly increased after being addressed as "friend."

*Roll a diplomacy check towards Tsuo if you want to run, leaving a "sheep" under his protection behind will not sit well with him.* *Roll other checks you feel are pertinent*

Makoto reaction
((The kitchen is dark, it does indeed appear as though the sun has set, but it's not too long into the night hours. Besides that, you can't tell much about the kitchen other than that someone seems to have gotten upset here since you last saw it. They must have been angered by your escape.

((Your attempt to sway Tsuo into running and leaving behind the fourth member will succeed provided a strategic reasoning.))

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