Murder in Kawatonton!

[Axcel]

So this was Kawatonton? It. . .didn’t look like much. Poorly constructed buildings flanked the dirt road, and a depressing mist filled the air as it did in most towns within the country. It was starting to get dark as well--meaning the person they were seeking would be out and about. If there was a time to do this mission, then it was now.

Axcel was garbed in a long coat, dark blue in color, which was worn over a set of bandages that covered most of his torso and forearms. Beneath his waist was a standard pair of shinobi pants that ended just above the ankle; the pants were accompanied by matching sandals most shinobi could be seen wearing. These clothes were provided to him by Kirigakure--seeing as how he came into the village with nothing but tattered clothing and the silver necklace worn around his neck.

“It was Lash, right?” he asked, though he knew he hadn’t forgotten the girl’s name. It was an odd name--though Axcel didn’t have room to talk. “Did you read up on the mission--have you been here before?” it was one question after another, and he hadn’t even introduced himself yet.

In all honesty, he didn’t want to introduce himself. Up until now it looked like the girl didn’t recognize him--and why should she? She was but a genin--she wouldn’t know Axcel by face, but by name and reputation. He didn’t want to be seen any differently than a regular shinobi--though if she asked, he wouldn’t hesitate to state his name. He was, after all, a very proud person.

“Hmm. . .” his eyes scanned the horizon--the town didn’t look like much from the outside, it was easy to tell why a person was able to get away with murder so easily. Still--they had a lead: the survivor of the second attack. Rather than racing off to complete the mission, the lad clapped his hands once and turned towards the girl.

“Alright Lash! I want you to take point! Okay?”

Axcel smiled genuinely, eager to see how well a genin of Kirigakure had been trained.

[/justify]

[.devious]

There I was, the epitome of fashion, standing tall and proud with my long pink hair flowing down gently towards my waist. Though I was garbed in 'moderate' attire, with a long-sleeved white silken button-up shirt, black skirt that cut off mid thigh, and heeled black boots that came up mid-calf, it was still something far superior to the dress of those who made this place their home. On my left side was my weapons pouch, zipped close, and on my back rested my familiar Chokuto.

As I observed the area, I was given to know that this place was pretty much a slum... the kind of place where a murderer would be likely to run rampant. I felt sorry for the underprivileged who found themselves doomed to a life without fashion, but I was in no position to change their lives; only to protect them. I thought about that for a moment, and my will begin to resolve itself, hardening with a desire to find and catch the sort of weak, insolent man who would prey upon women.

With my right hand suddenly clenching into a fist, a thin frown would settle on my face and I'd glance over towards the man who called my name and asked me my question. My partner on this mission was a man whose name I didn't know, which was something that I found odd considering the fact that he was otherwise an incredibly talkative person. After hearing what he had to say to me, I simply nodded my head once; then twice as he asked me another question, and then shaking my head no as he asked if I'd been here before.

"I'm rather new to the area of Kirigakure, actually. I grew up in Kusa no Kuni before the war." With a casual shrug, I'd turn away from him and continue to glance around, attempting to gather clues and information. With the sun beginning to go down, it was clear that the time of a murderer's spree would begin. Would he target another female this time...? It was then that the man distracted me again, asking me to take lead of the operation for the time being. My right eyebrow raised itself slightly. Normally, a Gennin was not asked to take the lead in a mission over a more experienced shinobi.

However, I wasn't going to argue with the coldly garbed man. After all, it was fully possible that he was a murderer himself and that I could end up well-dressed roadside carrion. Therefore, I would nod my head and speak a simple "Hm," to confirm that I had heard him. What to do then? The only information we might have to go on would be from the survivor of the second attack.

Turning back to face the man, I'd say, "I believe that we should locate the survivor of the second attack in order to ask her some questions. Otherwise, we have no information to go on about the attack other than the fact that it's taken place in this village twice."

Drawing on information I'd garnered about the mission from the village, I'd begin to walk towards the home of the surviving woman. We needed to ask her some questions. I had a feeling things were about to get interesting.

[/blockquote][/blockquote]

[Axcel]

Ugh--from Kusagakure? The mere thought of the the village reminded him of his encounter with Sasori Fina, Yuuryou, Kaorin of the Hozuki, and Aburame Yuuku. It was. . .a terrible experience, despite being one that taught him many lessons. He was in the capital city of Kusa no Kuni and was just a lowly, unnamed genin during that period of his life, and he ran into four high-class shinobi. The team that had accompanied him had perished, and Axcel was the sole survivor. As he tried to return home, he was forced to engage Aburame Yuuku and managed to emerge victorious, somehow.

Rather than delving into the past, the lad decided not to plague his mind with events that happened more than five years ago. So the girl didn’t know much about the area, eh? That didn’t help them much--but it was good to know he wasn’t the only person who wasn’t familiar with his surroundings. He had been to Mizu no Kuni before, and he’s even been to Kirigakure in his past, but he didn’t know the terrain inside out like he did when he was in Yuki no Kuni, where the snow was his playground.

Now that she agreed to take the lead, what would she do? She wasn’t from around here--so she wouldn’t know any of the townsfolk and be able to talk to them. No, if she wanted to get anything done, she would need to come to the same conclusion that Axcel had: speaking with the survivor. It was their only lead, their only chance at finding the murderer. Let’s see. . .

. . .and disappointed Axcel would not be! It seems the genin of Kirigakure were indeed capable of critical thinking--a trait Axcel hadn’t picked up until his late teens, though many would argue he is still incapable of this. Grinning, Axcel parted his lips in order to respond.

“Good! That’s exactly what I was thinking--let’s go, shall we?”

His arm motioned for her to lead the two of them into the town as he spoke. The small scroll, which the girl should be carrying, had all the required in order to complete the mission. Meaning, they knew which house belonged to the girl who managed to survive the attack. Hopefully the information provided would be useful towards their endeavour. Either way, it was all they had to work with.

[/justify]

[.devious]

It would seem as though I had managed to please the man who was my sensei and teammate on this mission. Although the tiniest surge of recognize filled my being, combining with the determination to ensure the safety of the women in this desecrated and desolate village, I willfully ignored the urge to thank the man for his congratulations and commendation towards my mental ability. Instead, I simply decided that I would keep walking forward while keeping my eyes open for anything suspicious.

Over time, it would be assumed that our travels would take us towards the home of the woman who had been attacked and had survived. Motioning towards the dark-garbed man, I would nod my head towards the door and speak.

"This is the home of the woman, I believe. If you'll pause for a moment, I'll ensure that the area around us is secure before we proceed." We were dealing with a murderer, after all. Closing my eyes, I'd move my hands towards the familiar position of the Ram, allowing the tiniest surge of chakra to fill my core and then take a reading on my surroundings. As the vision of my eyes faded, so too did the vision of my mind come into play, filling the area of 30 meters around us with my chakra, allowing me to detect the signatures of all other living creatures nearby.

The blue light that was my ally's chakra next to me was powerful - one of the most powerful ones I'd ever felt, actually. I resisted the urge to shiver: just who was this nameless fellow who was assisting me on this mission? Other chakra signatures moved in and out of my field, but there was only one inside of the building ahead of me, assumably the woman that we were coming to interrogate. Other chakra signatures remained in the buildings around us, but nothing that was out of the ordinary or vicious.

Taking that as my queue that it would be same to enter the home and ask the woman the questions we needed, I would remove my hands from their aforementioned position and open my eyes, nodding my head once again to my assistant to denote that the coast was clear before asking a question.

"Shall I continue to take the lead, or would you prefer the honors?"

[/blockquote][/blockquote]

[Kii!]

GM!

The outside of the home--even the village itself--was quite luxurious compared to what awaited the two shinobi inside. It was but a simple home of three rooms. What little light there was within was squandered on a corner in the far side of the main room, and spread out to just barely light the rest of the place. Lately, there had been many guests to the home, and still it was in disarray. The woman answered the door, obviously quite shaken; her front side, a white apron over a simple dress, was tainted with a dark red. The blood, now dried thoroughly after days of sitting, covered not only the apron, but was splotched across her dress and much of what was visible of her skin. The dress was a faded, pale green and obviously quite worn. Despite this ragged appearance, her hair was notably a silken obsidian, and shone well even in the faint light.

"A-ah, you must be the shinobi from Kirigakure . . . Come in." She'd swipe her hand across the air and into her home, motioning for them to make their way in. It was filthy within--dirt coated the floor and parts of the walls. The wooden frame was torn up and splintered, and a few spots of dried blood remained on the floor, near the center of the room. "I . . . apologize for the state of my home, I've been a bit shaken." There were a few chairs near the center of the room, apparently prepared ahead of time in anticipation of the help that was coming.

"S-sit, please. I'm sure you're just here to get information, right?" Though the lighting was dim, when she entered the corner in which the light was at its brightest, it was obvious that the woman hadn't slept since the attack. Her eyes were bloodshot and wide, and a knife rested on a table beneath the spotlight. "I'll provide whatever information I can."

The other rooms were a bit hard to see into, as the light couldn't quite stretch itself far enough to illuminate them.

[Axcel]

Hm? Though Axcel’s attention appeared to be elsewhere, he did notice the girl’s eyes close and the handseals formed. Though she did this--there was no change in their surroundings. Her handseals hadn’t conjured anything, so Axcel couldn’t help but wonder what it was she had done. He had a hunch, but would wait until later to confirm them.

“I’ll take it from here.” he said cheerfully, his countenance wearing a reassuring smile. Stepping in front of the girl and towards the door, Axcel would knock three times. It wasn’t long before the door was opened, and the pair would be met by a woman in an apron. Amber eyes, sanguine in appearance, would meet with the woman’s, his gaze never moving towards the blood on her apron and skin--despite him noticing it through his peripherals. Doing that would remind her of the cause--and that was the last thing Axcel would want to do.

Upon receiving her invitation, Axcel would step inside and motion for Lash to follow. As he followed the woman into the house, he took note of the surroundings. The place had practically been torn apart--several objects were broken and overall the house wasn’t in good shape. There was blood staining the ground. All of this alone told Axcel plenty about the attacker. He was obviously no shinobi, otherwise this woman have died for certain. The fact that he had to go through all this trouble with such a frail woman meant he wasn’t exactly a trained fighter--which meant if Lash and Axcel were to actually find the suspect, getting rid of him would be more than easy.

“No need to apologize,” he said reassuringly as he took a seat. “I was hoping you could tell us more about your attacker. Anything that can help us find him will be extremely helpful.” his voice was calm, and a bit more serious compared to the tone he had taken earlier when speaking with Lash. As he sat, he leaned forward, clearly determined to soak in each and every detail the woman has to tell her.

The lad hoped that what she knew would aid their cause. Anything from his appearance, to whether or not he’ll be attacking her again, or even his next victim would be a big leap in the pair’s search.

[/justify]

[.devious]

It would seem that my companion would once more be the leader in this unfortunate scenario. As the man moved forward to knock on the door, my body tensed slightly awaiting for the response. It took only a few short moments before the door creaked open slowly, revealing the face of a woman who had been shaken to her core by the attack that had come close to ending her life. I felt remarkably sorry for the lady. It was, in fact, one of the sole reasons why I had become a shinobi: that is, the desire to become strong to protect myself from such occurrences.

As we were invited into the woman's home, I found my eyes moving around slowly, taking into exact detail the living environment of the woman. Though the attack had happened some time ago, it seemed as though the haunting of it all still bothered her. Was she afraid that the assaulter would return to finish the job that he had botched...? The only flaw in the woman's story that I noticed, however, would be that she had taken the time to see to her hair, it flowing pristinely and full of ebony color. Why had she taken the time to prepare her hair but not the rest of her appearance...?

As my comrade moved into the limelight, I decided to fully step out of it, choosing not to sit down but instead remain standing slightly behind him, to his left. I didn't feel comfortable in this house, not with the sign that the woman had taken some care for her appearance but remained otherwise perturbed and disgruntled. I felt like something was out of place, and that something could be the death of us if I were not prepared for it.

With my position behind the man, I would once more move my hands into the Ram position, letting the slight build of my chakra envelop the area around me as I closed my eyes. To the woman, he would not be able to see my handseal unless my ally moved his head, I would appear to have fallen into some sort of sleep or trance. Instead, I was sensing the area for any more potential intruders who might have witnessed our entrance, and also watching the movements of the woman, whose chakra form I could see absolutely clearly as we were so close.

With my Kagura's Eye open, I would not be able to be surprised by an ambush. I stood ready to defend my life and my ally's even if something went wrong in this home. We. Were. Prepared.

[/blockquote][/blockquote]

[Kii!]

GM!

"R-right . . ." The woman exhaled a deep breath, mentally preparing herself for the memories as she sat down in a chair facing the two. This was a moment she'd knew would come, so she'd often ran through the scenario in her mind. She'd noticed the female close her eyes, but didn't concern herself with it, and instead concentrated at the task at hand. It was, despite her mental preparation, a difficult one. Partially because it had been traumatic, and the memories felt vivid, as if upon her skin, and partially because a large part of the memories were a blur.

"Ah, where do I start," She closed her eyes and held her hands at her lap, and her voice shook as she spoke. "It wasn't too long ago, a day or two. M-my sense of time has sort of failed me, I still haven't quite gotten over the shock . . ." With a pause, she opened her eyes and sighed. "As you might imagine, he stormed in, the door had been unlocked, so all he had to do was simply open it. It was dark, but he . . . he definitely had a blade, something sharp." At this thought she took a long pause, gathering herself. A single, pale, thin arm stretched itself out into the light; it was covered in blood. Now that she was revealed underneath the light, it was apparent that there was a large amount of blood. So much so, that it was difficult to discern the wounds to her skin through the deep red. "His build was . . . actually, r-rather thin, and he was tall . . . In the darkness, I couldn't discern a face, but his skin seemed tanned. H-he beat me, and cut me . . ." With her face now diverted to the floor, she attempted to continue on steadily. "Somehow . . . somehow, I managed to grab the knife. I used it to . . . get away."

She stood then, and gripped the nearby table with her hands. It shook, and the knife nearly fell to the floor. "I-I tried to stop him; but I couldn't. My hair!" She switched her grip to her hair, once over her shoulder and now within her grasp. One hand shakily went for the knife, which, if she was allowed to grab it, would be shown to have many strands of hair on its blade. "It . . . he was obsessed with it, pulled me by it! Tried to take it . . ." Still she shook, more visibly now as she grasped at her hair and, if she had been allowed to pick it up, the knife. Despite the hair on the blade, there was none on the ground anywhere in the room.

For a moment she stared down at the wooden floor, as if paralyzed. Then she glanced up hesitantly at the two shinobi, before gazing back down again. Then, with a sudden burst of surprising energy, she lunged at the male shinobi. If she was equipped with the knife, a shaky stab would be made for his face--if not, she would instead aim to dig her nails into his throat.

[Axcel]

Axcel listened intently, trying to pick up on every detail that the woman gave her. He leaned back in his chair and tucked his arms into the opposites sleeve, appearing as if he had crossed his arms when the woman mentioned the door being unlocked. The door was unlocked? That was odd--it was uncommon for anyone to leave their door unlocked in the night when living in the country. Mizu no Kuni wasn’t exactly renown for being crime free either, and the world just got out of a war. Hardly anyone, especially a girl, was comfortable enough to be inside their without keeping their doors locked. Still, it was entirely plausible that she had forgotten, and Axcel continued to listen to what she had to say.

It was when she mentioned that the male was tanned that Axcel had raised an eyebrow. He didn’t stop her--but it was something he felt was questionable. The locals of Mizu no Kuni were generally pale compared to the residents of other countries. If there was a foreigner among them, especially in a town as small as this, they would’ve been a suspect regardless of whether they actually committed the crime or not. It was how the society of today worked.

Then she mentioned her hair--Axcel had not put much thought into it earlier, but her hair did appear to be well done compared to the rest of her appearance. The lad had merely dismissed the small detail as the girl being just that: a girl. It wasn’t unnatural that a girl would take time to take care of their hair, but it wasn’t until she herself brought it to attention that Axcel actually thought about it. The more she spoke about it, the more eccentric she acted. Something was off--and it wasn’t until her hand started to, albeit slowly, towards the knife that everything seemed to make sense. The hair on the knife--it was clearly hers. As she gripped it, Axcel sighed while his left hand cycled through the zodiac seals¹.

The woman, three meters away, would then attempt to lunge at him shortly after taking the knife. Just as the weapon approached Axcel’s face, she would be pelted by a number of sharp swallows which had manifested seconds before her assault. The swallows were fast and precise--each of the ten attacking the woman from different angles and the time of impact would be mere fractions of a second apart. One aimed at the wrist that held the knife, two swerved around and hit the back of her knee, two aimed to cut her Achilles' tendon, and the rest converged upon her at all sides, avoiding any vital areas.

The boy himself wouldn’t move unless his assailant had somehow managed to avoid the swallows--if so, he would’ve merely tilted his neck so that the knife strike moved past him and let the genin deal with her.

SPOILER: Click to show

Yuki no Kami (Gods of Ice)
Rank: D, C, B, A, S
Type: Supplementary / Clan Kekkei Touta / Hyouton Ninjutsu
Range: 0 - 50 meters
Special: Dominion extends 10 meters in every direction of the user, and goes up 10 more with each rank learned. Determines rank strength behind all CLAN Hyouton ninjutsu.
Description: Able to manipulate Ice better than the rest, the Yukina Kekkei Genkai specializes in the accelerated recomposition of Hyouton chakra, able to create surdy, powerful creations within seconds. Serving as the basis to the Yukina's ability, their advanced Ice skills has earned them the nickname 'Gods of Ice'.
Domain: Yukina.

1. Tsubame Fubuki (Snow Storm Swallows)
Rank: C
Type: Offensive / Clan Kekkei Touta / Hyouton Ninjutsu
Range: See special!
Special: Strength and range of swallows depends on user's highest 'Yuki no Kami' rank. Up to 10 swallows may be formed when first learned, plus 10 more each time retrained. Swallows fly at speeds that of twice a well thrown kunai.
Description: Hyouton • Tsubame Fubuki is a secret Yukina n Hyouton ninjutsu technique that, although basic, can be deadly with proper use. After a few brief seals, the clan member will create ice swallows which they can launch at their opponent at high speeds. As they fly through the air, these deadly birds can hone in on their target.
Domain: Yukina. Yuki no Kami 'C'.

[/justify]

[.devious]

The woman's conversation was halted, broken, as if trying her hardest to fabricate a story. While she spoke, I began to witness the slightest twitches within her chakra signature, although nothing about it changed beyond that. That was peculiar, and a sensation that I hadn't experienced before. I wondered what it meant, right up until the woman's body began to move. I found myself surprised how easy the movement was to read while using the Kagura's Eye instead of my own natural ones.

The same movement hadn't gone unnoticed by my ally, however. I watched with acute interest as the man's singular hand began to dance through the zodiac, switching from position to position with a flawless ease that I found myself slightly envious of. Upon the final seal, a small burst of charka would escape into the atmosphere, solidifying itself into solid ice, shaped into the form of sparrows, which flew towards the woman and attempted to incapacitate her.

The sparrows moved easily through the air, and their movement was marked by a fairly sudden drop in temperature within the room - surely attributed to the formation of the ice from nowhere. Once more, I found myself wondering just who exactly the man who was my ally in this mission was. He was certainly dangerous, more so than I had originally anticipated with even the reading of his chakra strength earlier... not somebody that I wanted to mess around with unless it was became absolutely necessary.

After the attack was over, I would release the Kagura's Eye, opening my physical ones and looking towards the woman, who was likely to be laying upon the ground, injured. I knew enough that at this moment I should be making sure that our only source of information didn't die. Taking a step around my ally, I would then glance at him cautiously and speak.

"It may be better for us if you do something with her hands and feet to make sure that she can't injure herself... or us." I'd wait a moment to see if he would comply with my wishes, and then I would move over towards the woman and allow the green light of my Medical Ninjutsu, named Shosen by those much wiser than I, and would begin to treat the more severe of her wounds. A dead woman, after all, gave us no clues as to where to go to next....

[/blockquote][/blockquote]

[Kii!]

GM!

She had been so close. A scream left her lips, filling the air with its wretchedness and desperation as pain filled her body. The knife fell to the floor, clanging against the wood of the floor as the swallows pelted her. Her knees buckled and blood spilled from her Achille's tendon as she crumpled to the floor, completely unaware of what had happened. She was no kunoichi, and her senses were far from trained for combat--only then did she notice the biting cold that shackled her like chains. The cold pain spread through her body like spiderwebs, and it was such a familiar sensation. Tears streamed down her face as she tried to speak in between sobs. Her words were jumbled and inaudible.

Even as she was treated, she elected to lay on the floor, motionless save for the rise and fall of her chest, and the convulsions she suffered from through her sobs. After many moments, a single hand moved across the floor to grab a strand of her hair.

"He made me . . ." When she moved her hand from her hair and to the apron at her chest, she lifted it to show them. "The blood . . . it isn't mine!" Weeping overtook her once more, and she was unable to speak for many moments after. "He threatened to kill me if I didn't kill her. If I didn't try to kill anyone asking about him . . . he took her head. H-her hair. Said he'd take mine, too."

---

"Tch." A faint tapping filled the darkness, in which only a small glint of light was visible. "I'm gettin' bored." A man rose, half of his body visible in the darkness. The tapping came to an end as he strode into the light. He was a tall, skinny man with a malicious grin. An obsidian mop covered his head, cropped somewhere in between short and long, and he bounced a machete on his shoulder. In general, he appeared dirty; his clothes were ripped and ragged, and dirt clung to his skin. With a chuckle he raised his unarmed hand and opened his fist, allowing a single strand of dark brown hair to be carried off by the wind.

"Don'tcha think it's time I went and took care o' this myself, babe?" He asked aloud, watching the hair as it weaved through the air and into the mist. "I doubt that bitch did her job."

---

Wiping her eyes of the clear liquid, she took a deep breath. Still unmoving on the floor, she attempted to describe the situation as best as she could. "I-I'm sorry . . ." She closed her eyes. "He'd threatened me long ago, but I did nothing about it. It didn't get this serious until recently . . ." Now, with her eyes open, she rose her arm before her and gazed directly at it, as if studying it. "He beat me when I couldn't do it, until I could. I-I killed her, but . . . I didn't want to! He'll come for me, too, and you! He knows that a request for help was sent to the Hidden Village."

With that said, she tried to rise, but pain shot through her body and she slumped back down to the ground. "Guess I'm not much better than him."

---

He had seen these houses all too many times. Damn, were there some good memories in these houses. At the thought, he looked at his blade, and then up before him at the rickety home in the distance. The man walked confidently, tall and proud, though his grin had faded. It was replaced with a sort of scowl, one of both irritation and evil intentions. Yeah, he didn't give a damn if there were shinobi here to get him.

"Tch. Cocky bastards."

[Axcel]

So she was in on it as well, eh? Of course, she was forced to commit the crime against her will, but nonetheless, everything made sense now. In the end, it didn’t matter whether she was the one who carried out the murder, their mission was to bring down the man behind them. The man who orchestrated all of this and the man, for whatever reason, presented himself to both of the shinobi.

It looks like their job just got a lot easier--they wouldn’t have to find him anymore. He came to them. If the man with the machete thought he could handle fighting the pair, then he was beyond unfortunate. No, he wouldn’t be able to keep up with Lash alone. In fact, Axcel, not feeling threatened by the man’s presence, decided he would take this opportunity to observe the girl’s skills for himself. She already demonstrated that she was a capable medic--a feat impressive in its own right. He wondered then, what were offensive capabilities?

“Lash. Take care of him--quickly.”

He said, still having not moved from his seat. Though he seemed to be relaxed and at ease, if the man with the machete made any attempts of attacking him or the woman on the ground, or if he noticed that Lash, for whatever reason, couldn’t handle him, then he would step in immediately. For now though, he would watch and sedate his growing curiosity.

Perhaps she would slice a vital point using her medical chakra, or maybe even smash his person using super strength--if she were capable of performing the rare feat. exclusive to medical-nin. If not, then maybe a release jutus? Or maybe she would go to a shinobi’s roots, making use of their tools basic hand to hand combat to disable and take out the murderer. Either way, the lad was about to find out.

[/justify]

[.devious]

The appearance of our prey right in the middle of the doorway was something that I hadn't expected. To be truthful, I had pictured countless more hours of fruitless interrogation with the woman before coming to realize the murderer's location... instead we found out that the woman herself had been killing, but had not done so of her own volition. To say that she was forced was an overstatement - she should have died to protect herself and whoever the other murdered victim was - but she was less to blame than if she were a maniac.

Not so with the man who had come to introduce himself to us. Axcel appeared to believe that I was capable of handling this man on my own... and likely I was. However, I was just slightly irritated that I was doing most of the work in this endeavor. After all, I had hunted down the home, made sure that it was safe for our entrance, and had been healing the woman with the use of my own chakra. While none of these activities had required a very large amount of chakra, combined they had taken their toll on my circulatory system and I would need to play carefully.

Fortunately, I was the kind of ninja who could excel under pressure. Since we were indoors, this would be even easier for me. Pushing away from the ground and the woman's location, I would jump about five meters to my right. While within the air, my hands would begin their dance, their deadly cadence coming to an end rather quickly, for the technique I was performing was not challenging by any stretch of the imagination. Upon the completion of the final seal, chakra would leak from my body into the atmosphere, covering the entirety of the floor that we were in within a deep, thick fog which no mortal eye could see through. Thus was my cloak complete - he would not be able to see either me or my attack coming.

As I landed, I would withdraw a singular kunai and explosive note from my weapons pouch, attaching the tag to the kunai and placing the weapon inside of my mouth. From there, another formation of the Ram handsign and the closing of my eye would once more call upon the might of my inner vision, the Mind's Eye of the Kagura. With chakra signatures flaring to life in their vibrantly azure way, I would find the signature of my opponent and, with a carefully calculated and practiced maneuver, would remove my tag-laden kunai and throw it with as much strength as I could muster at the location of my enemy.

Since he couldn't see the attack coming, I was fairly certain that the assault would be successful. Should the sound of kunai meeting flesh resound throughout the room, I would detonate the tag and end the life of the murderer of Kawatonton. If, however, somehow I had missed my mark, I would resume the stance of the Ram and prepare to sense out the location of the man once more.

[/blockquote][/blockquote]

[Kii!]

GM!

A little laugh escaped the man's lips as he stood in the doorway. Using his free hand, he retrieved another strand of brown hair from within his pocket. "See, babe? This whore couldn't do it." His arms spread wide, he flung the piece of hair into the air behind him, and gave a howling laugh. It was barbaric and predatory, but his calm returned to him soon. Again he strode in, bouncing the machete on his shoulder.

The murderer leaned forward, his free hand against a bent knee while his arm wielding the machete dangled loosely."Take care of me, eh? You son of a--" Something caught his attention as he spoke, and he quickly fell into a silence. In that moment, the female leaped to the side and began to rapidly move her hands, forming seals. The man knew what that meant--but it was as if he was paralyzed, stricken by some sort of affliction. As the thick mist began to fill the air, he shook his head and his eyes grew wide and animalistic.

"PERFECT!" He let out a screech, booming through the town and echoing off of the empty walls of the shack the combatants found themselves in. In a sudden burst of newfound, brutal energy, the man began charging forward, both hands gripping the machete in desperation until the whites of his knuckles shone. "ABSOLUTELY PERFECT! I NEED IT! THAT BITCH ISN'T WORTH ANYTHING ANYMORE, OH, NO, ABSOLUTELY NOT, NOT COMPARED TO YO--"

The kunai found its mark, driven right into his forehead. A shower of scarlet flooded his vision, masking what little he could see into the mist. Still he attempted to run forward, ignoring the pain and outstretching his free hand toward the kunoichi just through the veil which surrounded him. There was little time for him regret, however, as the sudden explosion of the tag stained the wooden floors even further.

[Axcel]

It looked like Lash agreed to take on the murderer! She immediately took off into the air in order to position herself better, forming handseals as she did so. Just moments after, Axcel, as well as everyone else in the room, would be enveloped in a thick mist. This is . . . By the time the jutsu had completed, Axcel couldn’t see his own hand in front of his face. He had zero vision. It looks like the lad wouldn’t get to see how Lash would handle the situation after all.

Following the mist’s completion, Axcel shut his eyes and perked his ears. He listened to what was going on, in an attempt to see how Lash went about taking her opponent out. It was difficult to figure out what she was doing over the murderer’s loud, obnoxious voice though. It wasn’t until he heard the sound of a kunai whistling through the air and interrupting the man’s speech did he know that Lash had struck. Following the sound of the explosion, Axcel concluded that she simply used a kunai and explosive note to kill the man. Not bad. . .

When the mist dispelled, his eyes gazed at the painted floors. Looks like he wouldn’t need to check this guy for a pulse. . . The explosive note probably killed him instantly. After noting this, Axcel finally stood up from his seat and moved towards the door. The murderer was dead--their mission complete. They had no further business here.

“Good job Lash, let’s head back to Kirigakure now!”

He said enthusiastically as he set exited the house. The woman had been forced to kill the woman would have to deal with the mess for being to weak mentally to do what was right when she had the chance. She wouldn’t be punished since that wasn’t part of their mission, but ridding her house of the corpse should teach her plenty. Besides, she was already wearing an apron.

--Exit!

[/justify]