An invite through a strange letter [Iizuka]

[Sayomi]

Her eyes as if starved hungrily sifted through the text, there was no specifics, but only the meeting place was made so readily clear. Her heart knocked angrily upon it's chamber walls, the soft thud of it beating erratically within her creating a profound rhythm. An incoherent blur she followed the directions to precisely for whomever this stranger was, had peaked her curiosity.

'This is strange...'

The excitement she so sought had came along her as if God himself wished it so, she was getting that of what she so desired, so could Masumi complain? A final flicker brought her to a most ominous spot, the mist settled heavily upon the ground, lingering about like a bad cold. A chill went up her spin as she looked around her eyes checking over the letter once more.

Something didn't sit right with her, like an hunters prey that just realized it treaded into it's domain. A mysterious cold was about her as she expelled a short breath, a ivory fog seeping from her lips. Standing still within the clearing she made sure to steel herself for whatever may be coming.

"I have a bad feeling..."

[Iizuka]

"So, you came."

The soft thud of footsteps against the earth would lead to a figure descending from the dark cover of the mist hanging loosely in the air. The same hooded figure that had appeared in the illusion had now come forth. Dark red lips curved slowly into a devilish smile, the hands, with skin soft yet pale, lifted up to grasp the hood. Slowly removing it would reveal the face behind it; a woman, easily younger than thirty, let loose long chestnut locks as she shook her head loose of the tangled mess. Her eyes were piercing, and for whatever strange reason bore a blood red hue to them.

She appeared to be your average succubus, save for one defining factor; a large scar covered her face, stretching from the bottom of her left eye, across her nose, and to the bottom right side of her chin. Her frame, although covered by her cloak, appeared to be thin or perhaps even fragile. She lifted her right hand rather daintily into the air, crossing her left arm so that her elbow could rest upon it. two fingers came together in the right hand, and with a snap of her fingers, four other figures came forth. These four were also cloaked, however they were dressed in black. Upon each face was a mask, and no mask bore any features that depicted a face. Instead, there were merely designs upon them. They were black masks with white lines that curved into intricate figures, each one different to he who stood next to him. Although nothing about them could be seen, it was obvious by their stature that they were men.

"We're happy that you chose to partake in our little offer. Please understand that to be picked for this particular mission is to have the utmost respect within our organisation. This is not a matter to be taken lightly."

She would extend her hand, and with every movement she seemed to radiate elegance, even for something so simple as this. The smile came once more upon her face as she began to speak.

"My name is Izumi. It's a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Masumi. I'm sure you have a lot of questions, so I'll let you begin."

[Sayomi]

From the mist came the velvet garbed woman slithering towards Masumi, she dared not move, but only observe. She was truly interested on why she was called here. The woman removed her hood, revealing her chestnut hair, an her pale face-a long scar adorned her feminine visage. Five figures dawning raven faethered robs and white mask which bore unique, intricate designs. They stood around the woman in red as she smiled, from her lips a haunting voice perforated the air.

For a moment there was only silence before Masumi could take in all this information. Was she truly that special? What did they hold in store for Masumi? The thought alone plagued her like a sirens wails, she wished to know, wanted to know, desired to know.....

"It is my honor than."

Masumi said quickly, even if she didn't know what was in store for her, she took it as a great honor to even be thought of-it made her feel well...special. With the wind blowing softly her voice once more pierced the air, like a knife through flesh it would bore through the surrounding individuals ears.

"I wish to know what it is you want me to do, I desire to know more...."

[Iizuka]

"Nice to see you're not wasting our time, moving straight into it."

Her hand slipped into the folds of her robes, procuring a folded paper from deep within. She would carefully undo the folds, walking forward to approach Masumi as she lowered the sheet before her. The paper depicted a form of blueprints, seemingly representing some kind of fortified compound. The woman, now known as Izumi, placed one finger upon the edge of the depicted compound, looking up to catch the hazel eyes of the girl.

"Your task is simple. You are to move from here..."

Her finger slid from outside the compound to the direct center, and it was here that her finger stopped. The center of it appeared to be a base of operations, and by the blueprints, it was also the most heavily fortified.

"... to here. If you can do that without dying, you'll have only one more objective."

The point upon which her finger lay began to fume, small wisps of smoke rising into the air, dancing around her hand as a hole was burned through the center. The red edges would still burn slightly as she lifted her hand, pushing the blueprints towards the girl; she would need them.

"We need you to take care of a man. He happens to be the leader of a very dangerous group of people. He goes by the name of Faceless, but we have no real information on his abilities. But we do trust that you can do it."

As soon as Masumi took the blueprints of the compound, the hand would disappear once more within the confines of her clothing. She drew forth yet another piece of parchment. This time it was a map of the area. Upon it was marked a rather large 'X' in black. It was circled in red, and obviously depicted the compound that she would need to visit.

"This is something that must be done covertly, so you will be going alone. We'd like to assure as high a success rate as possible, so if there is any information you need, you should start asking some more questions."

Her arms folded, giving a sort of impatient look to the female. The four figures in black were still in their same positions, unmoving and seemingly without anything to say. The only signs of life within them were the slight movements caused by slow breathing. The woman, her foot tapping against the earth, raised an eyebrow as she looked to Masumi.

"Well?"

[Sayomi]

Like a dog being instructed Masumi quietly stood, absorbing all the detail and information she could. Her mind processed what was spoken to her quickly. This task was up to her standards, as a Hozuki infiltration was to say the least easy. Allowing her eyes to follow the points she'd take hold of the paper, the burn mark left smoldering was where her destination lay.

"This man faceless. What is his appearance?"

She'd assassinate him without fail, but for that to happen she'd need just a little more info. For a moment her eyes passed over the other robed figures as she spoke once more. "Will there be many guards? Is there something I should be made wary of?" If one were to do their job correctly they'd need concise relayed information.

Whatever it was that this group-this red garbed lady was offering this task would prove all the more important. Her adrenaline was already rushing, the thrill of such an excitement assignment by an obscure, secret group. It was enough to get her blood pumping as she formulated her last question inside her head.

"One last thing, is there a alternate way besides the front door I can use? I surmise you have that kind of info, maybe a guy on the inside?"

Masumi placed the scroll into her holster, as she awaited for the mysterious womans response, afterwards she'd be well on her way.

[Iizuka]

The woman would merely smile, her lips curving slightly into a frown as she chuckled. Her hand raised to her head, a single finger brushing slowly and softly against the scar as she shook her head. Her eyes closed as she did this, and for a moment there was just the sound of her laughter; a disturbing aura overtook the air as she slowly let her hand drop to her side. The mist, ever haunting, began to close around the four other figures. Within moments they would begin to disappear. This Masumi character was obviously ready to take her role, they would begin theirs.

As Izumi slowly opened her eyes, she would crack the same smile she had the entire meeting. It was dazzling, at first glance, but with a continuous regard, one would find that it was actually quite devilish, Satanic even. A look that was filled with bloodlust, a need for revenge. Her lips parted slowly, and for a moment no sound even came out.

"My dear, there is a reason we call him Faceless. It's because no one has ever seen his face."

Her finger lifted slowly, indicating the scar that gashed her visage. If it weren't for this blemish, this woman would be incredibly beautiful.

"No one has ever seen this man's face, aside from perhaps his birth parents. If the Devil's Spawn has parents, that is. I once tried, you see, and this was what happened to me. And this is what happens if you are very lucky."

Her hand lowered as she let out a deep sigh. She smirked now as she turned, her back facing the kunoichi.

"Those who are only a little lucky? They die. No one has ever been lucky enough to die quickly. Even now this scar burns. I received it over five years ago."

As she began to walk off into the distance, her voice seemed to echo from all around Masumi, coming from no direction yet every direction at once.

"We know of only one hidden entrance, marked by a certain blue cross on the map. The only thing is, that's exactly where our 'guy on the inside' had died."

Her maniacal laughter echoed through as the mist seemed to lift. With the clearing becoming ever more apparent, all five of the cloaked figures would be no where in sight.

"Two men are waiting at the rendez-vous at the front gate, two at the hidden entrance. They'll give you any more information you might need."

With that, the mist would lift completely, and Masumi would be left to make her choice.

OOC: This will be the end of this thread. It was obviously short, but I will be making a new thread for the compound itself. I'll leave you this time to let you buy anything you think you might need or to quickly prepare. I will make the post when I can. You may enter as you please. You can make an exit post here, and then I'll have someone quickly grade the thread. Your mission will truly begin soon!

[Sayomi]

An ivory tooth pinched her lip as her smile slightly curled into a frown. This faceless person, no one had ever laid eyes upon him, so how would she know when she found him? Would she get that special spark, that twisting feeling in her gut, or even womans intuition that'd guide her? Well it didn't matter in truth, she'd murder them all for the reward that was being offered, even while still unknown to her she craved to, and even more she wanted it, so to attain it she'd do anything-even jump off the edge of the world.

Intently Masumi listened however she found herself captivated by the woman, she was gorgeous an although she wore a inhibiting scar, it added to her beauty in a mysterious, unique mystic way. Her eyes wouldn't...couldn't leave the womans visage, her smile was bewitching... A thought passed her for a moment.

'Theres...something about her. I can't help but think that even if I didn't want to do this of my own free will I would have been captivated to do so by her....'

She pressed it to the back of her mind as she nodded to the womans final words, seemed the test was coming, and Masumi planned on passing with ease. The woman an her masked men vanished along with the silver mist that had lingered. "It's time to start now!" Her voiced would be laced with excitement as she darted into the forest, making her way to the upper canopy-her destination was the compound.

EXIT

[永遠に]

masumi 33
iizuka 28