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May 26, 2023 22:14:20 GMT -6
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((OOC: This is a post of mine from roughly 2 years ago on alternate naruto based site, I came across it quite recently after reformatting my hard drive and realized that it is currently the longest post I have written thus far at roughly 6740 words, and I wanted to share it with the site.))
The clouds had gathered in force this day, they consumed the sky and devoured the sunlight. A strong wind blew through the mountains, gradually losing its power as it made its way to the shinobi village hidden among the rocky peaks. Despite the dreary weather though the roads and back alleys were riddled with people going this way and that to perform their daily tasks. If one looked hard enough amongst the throng of people they may have been able to discern the impassive figure of a relatively young jounin as he traveled through the crowded streets on his way to the legation.
However, due to the path this particular jounin had chosen to traverse, arriving at the legation would mean passing directly through the merchants quarter. Any form of detour would only delay the dull youth further and he was already running late.
Keiji grumbled silently as he once again altered his balance and leaned to the right, shifting his position in order to avoid being run over by an out of control wagon which was heavily laden with cabbages. Not sparing a glance for the unfortunate vendor who was vainly trying to chase down his goods the Kyoujouran held his head high and maintained a cold expression in an effort to deter any peddlers from speaking to him. However he still had to deal with the noise produced by those who declared their wares to the entire village.
"Fresh salmon! Straight from the docks! Only-"
"Herbs and Spices! The finest ginger from the fire country! They must sell today!"
"Would the lady like a necklace? A pretty necklace for a pretty lady"*
"Kunai! Shurikan! Body armor! A ninja can never be too prepared! Come quickly for the special sale!"
For the most part the rookie jounin ignored the hustle and bustle of those around; he disliked having to rush to do things, preferring instead to move at his own pace. Wrapping his large coat tighter around his solid form he was careful to avoid eye contact with any of the peddlers; he already been told enough times how a certain pair of gloves or a new ring would fit him perfectly.
Moving out of the general crowd and into an alcove along the wall Keiji leaned back and watched everyone go about their daily lives. His attention was caught by one man in particular who seemed to be slightly more stressed than those around. He shoved his way through the crowd, seemingly uncaring of those around them. ’Why must people always rush? To and fro they go like ants always moving but ‘never seeing' absentmindedly he took out his pack of cards and began shuffling them out of habit. ’If they only allowed themselves a chance to pause they would realize that things are never as bad as they seem.'
Regretfully though Keiji could not afford to spend all of his time simply observing the comings and goings of others; his presence had been requested at the legation for some reason and he could only assume that the council had some sort of mission lined up for him. ‘It'll either be laughably easy or completely suicidal' Keiji decided; recently it seemed as though the jounin had done something to offend the council as they had been giving him a constant flow of tasks to accomplish. So far these had involved escorting a brat of a princess to her sister’s wedding in another country, retrieving a stolen document from a greedy feudal lord in rice country and interrogating an insane prisoner in the cavern of one thousand deaths. Each of these missions had either been a) annoying, b) insanely suicidal or c) confusing. It was almost getting to the point where Keiji was tempted to turn down the councils requests, however he wouldn't do that for two reasons; firstly he was too damn stubborn to let the council think they had beaten him, and secondly, he really needed the money.
Silently berating the rising cost of his rent the jounin let out a sigh as he left the shelter of his alcove and once more descended into the chaotic streets of the merchants quarter on his way to the legation.
--
The legation was a fairly new building having only recently been carved out of the bedrock right before the most recent Raikage had abandoned the village. Despite its relatively short lifespan though the grandeur of the building was nearly on par with that of the Raikage Tower, situated high above the residential buildings the journey to the legation required one to climb a veritable mountain of sharply cut stairs. Once you had ascended to the entrance you were greeted by a vast array of ivory pillars which almost seemed to stand guard over the building in a manner akin to a spiritual army.
Proceeding past the snow white towers and through the ornately carved gargantuan doors that marked the legations entrance any new visitor would assume they had walked into a lavishly decorated museum; adorning both sides of the great hall were a series of alcoves which stacked upon themselves five times to reach the ceiling. Although many of the alcoves were devoid of decoration most of the bottom layer had already been filled with statues dedicated to Clouds finest tools, for many of the ambitious nin attempting to rise through the ranks the empty alcoves above held a hidden sense of promise, for only the finest were ever guaranteed a place within the legation.
As Keiji made his way through the great hall he spared a moment to glance at the many realistic sculptures. Each likeness was carved from the same pure white stone as the pillars outside and the eyes of each figure stared down at you silently from above. ‘It's almost as if they're watching you, waiting for a mistake' the thought leapt unbidden to jounins mind but he quickly dismissed it; they were mere effigy’s of rock with no real point or purpose. Still though, the thought had caused a stirring in Keiji's memory as he recalled a rumor that someone had recently seen the statues moving as though they were living flesh instead of the soulless stones that they were. ‘More likely the nin on duty had a little too much drink' the Kyoujouran thought dryly as he approached what he had termed the "assignment room" which was the heart of the militaristic building.
It was within the assignment room that various nin of all levels could view and make requests for missions. In the past the Raikage had been given the task of assigning nin to each individual mission, however with a growing number of mission requests and the absence of a Raikage the council had seen fit to implement the new "bulletin board" style of assignment which listed all available missions along with ranks and requirements.
If a shinobi wished to be assigned a certain mission they would sign their name to the scroll giving details of the mission and then wait to be notified for acceptance. Alternatively, if it was a solo mission or the last slot was filled the nin could simply tear down the scroll and take it to an administrator to get it approved.
That was the normal way of getting assigned a mission, however in special/dire circumstances the client could request for their mission to be given higher priority. In the case of a high priority mission a member of the council would step in and asses how hazardous the mission was before assigning a group to complete it.
Because there was only a limited number of council members, who seemed to have better things to do then assign missions, the price charged for this speedy service was fairly high and resulted in a low number of high priority missions, every now and again though you spotted nins heading to the room behind the administrators desk to be debriefed about the mission they had been selected to complete. It was this room that Keiji was heading towards now.
Two minutes later, after managing to convince the current administrator that he did indeed have a debriefing with a member of the council Keiji was behind the desk and heading down a bland gray hall that would have fit in perfectly at a either a hospital or a cheap hotel. A moment later he reached the end of the hallway and stepped into the room beyond.
"You are late"[/color]
The harsh and accusing tone would have been somewhat intimidating if it had come from a 6'5 militaristic figure with a grizzly beard and perhaps an eye patch, however in this case the speaker had the appearance of a 90 something year old granny with fresh liver spots dancing under her accusing yet dying eyes. For some reason the Kyoujouran found the old woman's glare almost comical.
Closing his eyes for a moment the jounin, with difficulty, managed to refrain from smirking and kept his face carefully blank. Casting his gaze around the room he was somewhat surprised to find that, aside from the aging mummy, he was the only occupant in the room. The slight frown that tugged at his features was the only sign of his confusion.
"Well? Don't you have anything to say for yourself?"[/color] the old granny demanded impatiently.
Shrugging his shoulders Keiji kept his face completely neutral as he gave a reply, "Well to start with traffic was murder; you wouldn’t believe how many carts were out on the street right now. Then there was this black cat that just wouldn't leave-"
"If you cannot give a reasonable answer do not waste my time with your nonsense we have precious little time as it is."[/color] So saying the woman reached a skeletal hand into the depths of her imperial blue robe and withdrew a tightly bond scroll which was promptly slammed down on the table in front of her.
"At the moment there are two warring factions along the border of our country and that of Rice country-"[/color]
"Shouldn't we wait for the rest of the group?" Keiji questioned with a raised eyebrow.
"You were the only one summoned"[/color] was the impatient response. "Now as I was saying-"[/color]
"You mean this is a solo mission?" The disbelief in the Kyoujourans tone was evident and not completely unfounded; solo missions with a high priority were rarely accepted because the council was given precious little time to evaluate all factors relevant to a mission and could therefore not guarantee that they weren't sending a ninja on a suicide run.
The granny made a noise that almost sounded like a growl to the jounins ears, "Do not make me waste the little breath I have left you impudent whelp, yes this is a solo mission and we have a very tight schedule to keep so listen carefully."[/color] She took a breath before continuing, "As I said there are two warring factions along our borders, for the past twenty years their little feud has been stuck in a stalemate, recently though the Rice country faction has managed to gain the upper hand by abducting some VIP. In response to this the faction in our lands has requested our aid. You will be required to leave the village tonight-"[/color]
"Hold up a second, what exactly do you mean by "requested our aid"? Is this an assassination, rescue, escort or what?"�
"We have not received all the details at this time, your contact will be able to fill you in more fully when you arrive at your destination."[/color]
"Exactly how much is the client paying here?" although a somewhat selfish question it was a reasonable one, since the Kyoujourans payment was a percentage of the overall amount paid to the village.
"Very little"[/color] the aged woman muttered, "Unfortunately we owed them a debt and they decided to cash in."[/color]� seeing that Keiji was about to protest she continued, "Don't worry about your money; the council will subsidize your payment to that of an average S rank mission, now unless you have more questions I suggest you leave now"[/color]
--
Two days later a lone wander could be seen marching down the dreary dirt road that led to the village of Utatya. At first glance there was nothing particularly remarkable about the traveler, for his figure was shrouded by a dull grey cloak and the straw hat he wore cast his features into shadow making it impossible for him to be recognized.
This last fact did not sit well with the two soldiers in charge of guarding the gate; they were at war after all, although some might have claimed such a title to be an exaggeration; it had been more than three years since the last true battle had been fought on the plains of the rice country. That particular conflict had ended in stalemate with both sides having suffered heavy losses and since then there had been little more than minor skirmishes and raids from both sides. Still the guards had undertaken a duty to ensure that no enemy spies penetrated the village, and to that end a 40ft wall had been constructed out of the local timber and placed around the village. Archers were assembled at key points along the perimeter and two man teams patrolled both the outer and inner lengths of the barricade, even a highly trained shinobi would have difficulty sneaking past such defenses.
As the traveler approached the gates the two guards on duty drew themselves to their full height before walking forward and blocking his path. The voyager paused and seemed to be confused, if the tilting of his head was any indication. The guard on his left thrust out a hand, "Your traveling papers please."[/color] Despite the polite words it was clear from the guards strict tone and somewhat aggressive stance that he was not making a request.
In response the stranger simply cocked his head to the other side and, for a moment did, nothing. Then, as if struck by a sudden revelation he nodded and slowly reached into his worn cloak and withdrew a crisp white scroll which he casually passed to the requesting guard. The guard unfolded the paper and looked it over, scanning the various details and searching for any obvious sign of fraud, finding nothing he handed it back. Then with a shrug he turned to the other guard and they heaved the gate open, allowing the traveler to enter.
The town seemed small but this was only because the stranger was used to the hustle and bustle of larger settlements like the city of Cirus located along the Lightning countries East coast. In reality the village was of moderate size and if the appearance of the townsfolk was any indication the villages' economy was not as poor as those located inside Rice country.
Casting his eyes about in a methodical manner the stranger scanned the streets before him as he searched for some landmark or another. After ten minutes of wandering the travelers gaze focused on a single location and he made his way to a nearby Inn and stepped inside.
--
The atmosphere of the Inn was much livelier than Keiji had expected; the first floor of the establishment had been converted into a bar of sorts and patrons lined up along the entire length. Roughly carved wooden tables and chairs occupied the middle of the floor while the back wall was covered with slightly more elegant booths, all of which were full.
Moving towards a vaguely circular table near the back room Keiji took a seat and lowered his head, ensuring that his straw hat would continue to mask his features. ’Now how long am I going to be kept waiting?' he wondered silently. It wasn't that he was in any kind of a rush, on the contrary he would like nothing more than to stay in his seat and enjoy the best sake the place had to offer, unfortunately he had other things to do today, at least I think I do, I still don't know what the hell I'm supposed to be doing here.'
The jounin remained in silent contemplation for two minutes, letting the smoke and noise of the area wash over him as he pondered his purpose here, only to be interrupted by a barmaid who seemed to appear magically before him.
"May I get you a drink?"[/color] The voice was almost annoying cheerful.
"You may" the Kyoujourans voice was a low monotone as he tried not to wince at the girls high pitched voice. ’Why the hell would they let someone like her talk to the customers?' he wondered with mild annoyance. Raising his head briefly he gave the girl a quick glance. ‘Ah, I should have guessed', compared to most of the patrons the barmaid was rather young, only sixteen or so, yet despite this she had rather… ample, assets, which her current outfit made no attempt to hide, ‘pure eye candy,' he thought dismissively lowering his head once again.
The barmaid was off put for a second; normally she had no trouble gaining the attention of others, especially the younger men which, to be honest, she wasn't entirely sure she liked. The chances of anything untoward happening though were slim; the owner behind the bar was a mean hand with a club and had let it be known publicly that he would thrash into the ground anyone who manhandled his staff. For a young girl such security was rare and so Yasue had leapt at the chance to gain the position she currently held, and for the most part she’d enjoyed it. The customers were normally civil, if somewhat clumsy since she always seemed to find herself picking up spilt mugs or dropped possession, still though, provided she kept them supplied with their preferred poisons the girl was normally able to listen in on some new piece of gossip on top of a generous tip. This guy though, he was just acting like she wasn’t there, and she couldn’t say she cared for his attitude either.’don't let it get to you Yasue, just keep smiling.'[/color]
"What would you like to drink?"[/color] again that cheery tone.
"What would you recommend?” the same monotone voice.
If Keiji had been hoping his antisocial efforts would persuade the girl to leave him alone he was deeply disappointed.
"Well here at Benten’s Haven we have a wide variety of cheep beers certain to cater to anyone tastes, we also pride ourselves on the quality our ale which we actually distill in our own brewery located just behind the Inn"[/color] Despite the same cheery tone, which at this point seemed somewhat forced, it was clear that the barmaid was reciting a speech from memory. Keiji had to resist the urge to bang his head on the table as the tone of her voice continued to grate on his nerves. "If you have more expensive tastes we also offer jugs of sake at-"[/color]
"Sake sounds good" the abrupt statement caused the girl to lose her place and left her speechless for a moment, which gave the jounin a chance to continue speaking, deciding he may as well meet his contact sooner rather than later, "I wonder though, is your Sake superior to that served at Raidens Fury?"
[color"Of course!"[/color] the instant response was brimming with youthful enthusiasm and confidence, pity it wouldn’t last long. "The drinks we serve-"[/color]
"Oh so you've been to Raidons Fury then?" another interruption.
Yasue stammered for a moment, "Umm, n-not as no, but I have-"[/color]
"If you haven't visited Raidons Fury how can you be sure your drinks are superior? Tell me do even you know where Raidons Fury is?" Keiji continued trying to impress upon the girl the hidden meaning in his words. When she failed to answer immediately he decided to go to the source, "perhaps someone more knowledgeable would be able to answer my question?" he waited a moment and when the girl didn't move he raised his head to glance at her, only to see she was staring at him in what appeared to be annoyance. Sighing Keiji lowered his head and drew a silver coin from his pockets. "I would appreciate it if you passed my question along to the owner of this establishment" he murmured as he placed the coin down on the table.
Yasue continued to give the customer in front of her an odd look as she slowly picked up the coin and placed it in her dress before turning around and heading back to the bar. ’Ugh! What the hell is up with this guy? First he won't talk, then he won’t stop and now he wants me to be his messenger girl. I’ve never even heard of that other place so it can’t be that good. What a weirdo.'[/color]
Five minutes later Yasue returned to Keiji's table, her look of annoyance replaced by one of confusion. "Shinjiro-san would like to see you upstairs, please follow me."[/color]
’Finally', he thought as he rose from his and followed the girl to the back of the Inn. ‘Now I can find out what the hell I'm supposed to be doing.'
--
‘I wonder what I did wrong in a past life to deserve this?' the Kyoujouran grumbled as he searched the forest a few miles wide of the Generals stronghold.
In essence Keiji's task was a simple retrieval mission; the faction which had contacted the council had had a military VIP by the name of Takahashi captured by the enemy almost a month ago. After several failed attempts to rescue the unfortunate soul the elders had finally broken down and requested assistance from a hidden village. When Keiji had enquired as to why Takahashi warranted rescue the jounin had been informed that the man was apparently a strategic genius and his presence would be vital for an assault his people was planning for the coming spring against the opposing faction who were currently ruled by an individual under the simple alias of the General.
To be honest Keiji had his doubts that any genius would have been captured by the enemy and after a little prodding the Cloud nin found that Takahashi had been privy to the location of various supply stores scattered throughout the country, that and he was also the son of one of the council members. When the Kyoujouran had tried to argue that Takahashi had likely spilled everything he knew during his month of captivity he had been met with many loud, annoying protests. When he had then gone on to suggest that he kill Takahashi instead of rescuing him, something which would have made his job easier by far, he had been met with stark outrage.
Sighing the jounin dug through his robes until he came up with a little glass vial; it was the only thing his clients had been able to give in the way of support. The vial contained a toxin which was supposedly capable if inducing a coma deep enough to emulate death. Keiji was to administer the poison to Takahashi and then wait for the Generals men to bury him outside the fortress before digging him up and applying the antidote.
‘This is almost a suicide mission' he continued to grumble, ‘they wouldn't even give me time to scope out the Generals base, how the hell am I supposed to know where Takahashi is being held?'
Sighing once more the jounin placed the vial back into his robes, ‘I guess I'll have to resort to good old interrogation.'
--
They had just sat down to eat their meal. It was meager fare; steamed white rice with slivers of pork. The most senior in rank among them, Lieutenant Tokuro, had received the largest portions. He was the leader of this unit, part of the 15th Infantry Division on detached duty. It was simple garrison work, a welcome respite from fighting the unending skirmishers along the border. The men of the 15th were getting rested so that the General could throw them back into the grinder in the next offensive. Tokuro had grumbled to his superiors that it would be detrimental to the men's morale if they were sent back to the front lines too early. The Lieutenant was politely rebuked and told to ensure the combat readiness of his men. Otherwise, the only thing Tokuro could look forward to was an early grave as he had his throat slit in the middle of the night. So, he did as he was ordered. He was about to raise his fork to his mouth when he heard the familiar sound of metal flying the through the air.
A second later a kunai had embedded itself in their campfire and Lieutenant Tokuro's keen eyes widened as he spotted the thin slip of paper attached to the blades hilt. He shouted as he threw himself behind the log he had been seated on. "GET-"[/color]
BOOM
The exploding note promptly fulfilled its purpose; the blast sending debris and shrapnel in all directions. A second explosion occurred moments later, this one destroying the tents other soldiers had set up a few minutes prior, swiftly eradicating those who had been peacefully sleeping. Everywhere Tokuro's men were panicking, archers grabbing their bows and firing wildly into the shadows, swordsmen grabbing their weapons and attacking blindly in the sudden dust, striking down friends instead of foes. Still other simply abandoned the group and tried to escape into the woods. The lieutenant, washed all this with a mixture of confusion and anger and had was about to give an order to regroup when he felt a heavy strike to the back of his head. The last thing that Tokuro saw before darkness overtook him was a tall dark figure outlined in the explosions flames as his vision deteriorated.
Glancing around the chaos before him Keiji finished restraining the young officer, he had recognized the rank on the man’s shoulder from his early days at the ninja. The jounin easily picked the other man up and placed him on the other side of the log he had been hiding behind, away from any arrows that might be fired by his blind archers. He needed to keep the man alive to get some last minute info, such as the layout of the enemy stronghold and where his target was being held captive.
He glanced up at the sky and checked the position of the moon, he still had another hour or so before midnight, plenty of time. After ensuring that the Lieutenant was still unconscious, he withdrew another kunai from his robes and attached his last exploding note. He looked around and found a small cluster of soldiers cowering behind a pile of sacks that made up their supplies. He infused his chakra into the note and sent the deadly projectile flying into the air.
It spun around and around until it reached its target. The note exploded among the group of soldiers. The blast knocked down everyone within its range, the cries of the seriously wounded and dying among them. There were still a few brown uniformed soldiers on their feet, weapons in hand. Keiji sighed and turned to face them, ‘Why couldn’t they run? It's so much easier to kill them when they're afraid. Still, I guess this way is quicke’. Sending a pulse of chakra to his arms and legs Keiji felt his muscles strain as the limbs grew in density and attracted a metallic sheen . Sprinting towards his foes Keiji weaved around one mans wild swing before ending his life with brutal blow to his face, crushing his skull. A second soldier attempted to strike him from behind, the Kyoujouran sidestepped the blow and pivoted on the balls of his feet, lashing out with his foot and catching the man in the chest, knocking him off his feet and cracking five of the man’s ribs, one of which impaled his own heart. The man was dead before he hit the floor.
The jounin continued to dispatch the soldiers until no one was left standing. In under a few minutes, he'd turned a ragtag infantry unit into a smoldering ruin. Personally, he didn't have anything against these men. It was just business. As a good professional, anyone still breathing was mercifully killed.
He circled the camp once to make sure there were no other survivors except the young lieutenant. The last thing he needed was some half-dead private running back to base to report the attack. Certain that no one was left breathing he made one last check on unconscious officer before heading back into the woods; he had some stragglers to take care of.
--
When Lieutenant Tokuro came to, the first thing he realized was that he was still breathing. The second thing he realized was that he was bound, gagged, and trussed tighter than a bull at a rodeo. ‘What the? I’m alive?'[/color] He looked around and saw that he was still at the massacre that had been his units campfire. The place seemed to be deserted and for a brief moment he entertained the idea of trying to escape, just as started struggling with his bonds though the sound of footsteps alerted him to an approaching presence, craning his neck around the Lieutenant caught sight of the individual responsible for the destruction of his entire unit.
Keiji was now garbed in the brown military issue cloak instead of the dull grey robes he had worn initially, the straw hat which had previously clouded his features had been he replaced with a metallic helm of slate and in his left hand the Kyoujouran held a somewhat tarnished Naginata; a fair choice considering his build since the weapon was far from light and so required a great deal strength to wield. All in all he could have easily passed for one of Tokuro's own men.
Seeing that his captive had regained consciousness Keiji placed the stolen Naginata on the ground and drew a standard issue kunai from the insides of his robes as he approached the bound man. “I suggest you listen closely as I’ll say this once. All I want from you is information. If you tell me what I need to know truthfully, I'll spare your life. Refuse to cooperate and you’ll join your men in death. Lie, and your fate shall be the same, only far more painful. If you wish to cooperate nod your head once, otherwise I’ll kill you here and now and find another to answer my questions.”
The young officer stared into the jounins face, Tokuro had encountered bloodlust before, half the men under the Generals command were addicted to it. The man before him though lacked the sadistic gleam which occupied many a soldiers’ gaze and, for a moment the lieutenant believed the shinobi to be bluffing; thought him incapable of killing in cold blood. Then he remembered that this man had single handedly wiped out his entire command and any thoughts of deceit were instantly dismissed as Tokuro realized what he was dealing with; not a common grunt or run of the mill rebel but a cold blooded killer. The Kyoujourans emerald eyes were full of calm indifference; this was a man who long since ceased to care about life and would end another’s in a heartbeat if necessary. The lieutenant thought of his wife and daughter waiting for him at his home village, his little girl would turn four next week and he hadn’t seen her for almost a year…
Tokuro nodded.
--
The Generals stronghold, also known as the "Mountain Fortress" reminded Keiji greatly of Cloud. The primary reason being that the entire structure had actually been embedded into the side of the mountain during it’s construction in a manner eerily similar to that of the Kyoujourans hidden village. Still, this cheap imitation possessed one weakness Cloud did not for the base of the mountain was ringed by an immense forest, making it all too easy to approach without detection.
In an effort to combat this weakness the General had placed archers along the strongholds outer and inner walls. The man also dispatched guards with vicious dogs to patrol the perimeter of the two walls. After his interrogation of Tokuro, Keiji had discovered that the animals had been trained to identify and react violently to any scent of chakra in addition to other suspicious odours such as blood. It was for this reason the jounin had chosen to disguise himself in a more traditional manner in place of the more customary henge, for all though there was no doubting convenience such a technique it would have been impossible to suppress his chakra whilst utilizing it.
‘Well it's now or never' Keiji thought as he saw the last patrol unit pass the front. He was amused to note that one man was struggling to restrain the animal under his command as the beast continually strove against its leash in an effort to sink it sizeable canines into the leg of the man’s partner.
--
It seemed like weeks, if not months, since he'd felt anything even remotely bordering hope. The darkness was suffocating, the air seemed to stale a little bit more each day. His arms and legs had ceased cramping, probably because they'd been permanently damaged by the rope that bound them. The gag in his mouth was removed infrequently, when he was forced to drink and consume some rations; he didn't dare to think what was in them, and he was unable to make himself sick afterwards for fear of choking on his vomit while his mouth was obstructed; though dying might not be a bad thing.
His mind drifted back to thoughts of trees and gardens, sunlight with the breezy air drifting past carrying the scents of a hundred different types of flower. The faint sound of someone singing softly, their lilting accent easily wandering amongst a variety of notes. The mountains rising above the verdant green valley that was his home, providing safety and security the wooded terraces where one could sit and waste an entire day just drinking in the sights that surrounded you, the constant bubbling of brooks and ponds soothing your mind until you achieved a sense of inner peace. ‘Home’[/color]
He shook himself from the conscious reverie, unwilling to put himself through any more pain than he was already facing. It was lost to him, hopeless memories would not save him from the fate that lay in store. All he could pray for was a swift death to end the lingering decay of his mind and body as he wasted away, a prisoner of the very fiend he'd been trying to defeat. But even that seemed unlikely; his captor delighted in torturing him, then using the powers of his underlings to heal over the worst of the wounds, leaving him to rest fitfully until it began again the next day. For years he'd feared death, if only because he didn't know what awaited him; but now he found himself thinking that even hell would be heaven compared to what he had endured.
He would have closed his eyes were they not shut tight already; a desperate attempt to ignore the world and his situation, but futile in the extreme. He would have sighed, but the gag in his mouth was wedged in tightly, and had begun to chafe at the corners, leaving sores that wept whenever it was removed. He would have given up hope, had he had any in the first place.
When he heard the noise of voices, he ignored them. When the discussion rose into shouting, he stirred slightly, but told himself to ignore it. When he heard the sound of steel upon steel, the cries of battle and the shrieks from injury, he opened his eyes. He was unsure what to think; to have hope would only lead to disappointment when the newcomers were helplessly slaughtered by the guards and various ninja under the Generals command, but in all the time he'd been trussed up here, no one else had come.
Silence fell abruptly and he strained to listen for any noise, any sign of survival. He snorted slightly; it would be just his luck that they'd all managed to kill each other, leaving him as the sole survivor. Death would take him through either starvation or disease, whichever hit him first, and the pain would be excruciatingly slow. It was hopeless; he closed his eyes once more.
He ignored the noise of movement; it was so quiet and restrained that it had to be one of ninja's, no doubt rifling through the corpses of his attackers. His torture would prevail; he'd even been cheated out of the awful death he'd dreamt about only seconds before. He frowned slightly when he heard a low muttering from a voice he did recognize; surely no it couldn't possibly be. His eyes instinctively closed tighter, he shook everything from his head. He was going insane; he was developing a fantasy that rescuers had arrived; friendly faces who would help him escape the hellish prison he was held captive in. People who had slain the ones that bound him and tormented him" but it couldn’t be. It was impossible.
He flinched when he felt the touch of a cold hand on his face; his delusions were becoming wild, and he was too frightened to open his eyes, too terrified to see what was really standing before him; nothing but the unending darkness of the cavern. Then a voice; low and without warmth, but quiet and concerned.
"Are you alive? Can you hear me?"
One eye opened slowly, protesting at the torchlight surrounding him. He squinted, trying to focus on the kneeling figure; cloaked in the dark brown robe of Generals men, yet he knew this man was no common underling. Dull emerald eyes met his hazel ones and then darted away to take in the damage done to his body. His rescuer was saying something but he was unable to listen to what was being said, his mind swirling with the inability to believe any of this was real.
"Listen carefully Takahashi, I'm going to get you out of here, but in order to do that I need your help" digging into his robes once again the Kyoujouran withdrew the glass vial of poison, displaying it to his target . "I need you to drink this, it will cause you to fall asleep and make you easier to transport, now open your mouth"
Takahashi refused to comply, still under the delusion that this was some sort of twisted dream he shut his eyes once more and his jaw seemed to clamp shut.
‘Why, can’t things be easy for once?' the jounin repressed a groan as he grabbed Takahashi's nose and forced it closed, waiting for the man to open his mouth before forcing the amber liquid down his throat. The man coughed and spluttered a few times but he eventually swallowed.
Nodding to himself Keiji waited for the poison to take affect while he started to dispose of the bodies outside the cell. He'd been quite lucky that the only shinobi in the hall had been med nin and thus rather lacking in combat experience. Despite his opponents skill though they had still held the advantage in sheer numbers, one of the guards had even managed to land a blow which, by all rights, would have disemboweled a normal man, fortuitously though the blood which ran through the Kyoujourans veins was far from normal; his lineage bequeathed upon him the ability to convert his cells from simple flesh to hardened steel. Still though the blow had been well placed and had his aggressors not been momentarily stunned by the jounins apparent ability to shrug off a lethal strike then the battle may have proven to be far more difficult. As it was he'd be able to walk away with nothing more than rather large and painful contusion across his lower torso.
‘Well at least the hard parts over.' He thought grimly as he came back to check on Takahashi, and noted with idle interest that the toxin had succeeded and his target appeared entirely bereft of life. ‘Now all I have to do is get the bastard out of here.’
END
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