Bleep You! [S-Rank]

[Honma Kotone]

Unsettled by the sudden appearance of a ghostly figure, a monster, an apparition of one's own nightmare; a child snatcher, Saul Lacroix. It had only been a few hours since a note was past onto her desk, a squared paper for a Sennin's eyes only, before her legs had hastily taken off and headed for the Obsidian Tower. Kinnaku had left her comrade, the medical chief Iori, in-charge of the branch until her return as her urgency required her to act now, and not then, whenever that may be. The Sennin was not strong, no, she was not prized on her hateful strength but rather her fluid compassion and utter love for one's life, and the lives of those around her. So, one may question why this woman decided to act so hastily on the matter of a child abductor, rather than pass on this information to another Sennin, such as the Main Branch Sennin: Kuro.

Well, this matter had a personal twang to the woman seeing as she loved children, and wanted to protect their innocent from those hateful forces. Returning back to our story, Kinnaku hastily made her way into the Obsidian Tower, searching for one who may assist her during this time of need. And that is when luck fell upon the Sennin in the form of a young, captain of the Anbu forces, his codename was 'Osiris'.

It really didn't take long for the woman to brief the captain on Saul Lacroix, the child slaver, as his name was whispered viciously around the village and the country. It was unfortunate to hear his vile actions in the form of those nice citizens, whom had now been altered by the actions that didn't even reach them: scaring them into submission. Osiris would have taken the lead, which was only appreciated by the Sennin as her strength came from love, and not war. Yeah, she went there.

The pair left the Village in search of their wanted man, muscles stiffened with anticipation, as they moved under the cover of nightfall to mask their presence from any watching eyes. But now, Osiris and Kinnaku had to track this fiend into the dead of night...

 

[Hanone]

Eiji had been sitting at his new desk, fiddling over the pen cup for some time when a notice came over his com saying the medical sennin was looking for someone who could aid her immediately. Of course since he was available he slipped on his jackal mask and his captain's jacket then met the woman as she almost ran up to his office. He had shucked away Eiji and became Osiris the moment the mask was down. He had been expecting something much more mundane of a request, but what he was met with was a frayed woman with motherly protective instincts and a request for his immediate aid in bringing down a known child slaver.

A small part of Osiris wanted to call up a group of his ANBU to handle the situation, but the woman's insistence found him leaving the prison ready for death.

Osiris, unlike Oba, was a killer. He revealed in the bloodletting of others and bringing true justice to evil men. True justice oftentimes meant death. And in some ways he was anxious to kill another man. The last person he'd taken the life of wore him down with guilt. Ikkadan.

Before her knew it, they were out the entrance of the maw. They were met with the darkness of a real night sky and the chill of a sunless desert. It was amazing how cold it could get out on the sands. He was glad for his jacket, though he would have to rid himself of it when they drew closer to their goal.

But that was also the issue now, wasn't it? There was a tip off that Saul Lacroix had been seen near the eastern outpost, but it hadn't said if they were camped there or moving through and if so, which direction. Assumingly Saul knew where not to stop for the night and how to travel the sands in secret. The winds out here would wipe away a person's trail within minutes. It might be a matter of luck finding him now. Still, Osiris and his female sennin companion had to travel with some haste toward the east post. It was at least 12 miles out from the village and with a come hilther sort of movement with his fingers over his shoulder, the ANBU captain took off in a full run. Hopefully she could keep up.

 

[Honma Kotone]

The conversation was dry between the two, after all, how can one converse freely with another who hides his identity: such was the ultimate vice of an Anbu member, they were sworn to secrecy from everyone bar their superiors. "Thank you for coming with me, Osiris." She would state with a kind tone of voice as the two ran along the sands, the sound of their feet slapping against the tiny minerals drowning out any silent words; so she had to speak up somewhat for the man to hear here. Kinnaku kept up with the Anbu member as best as she could, although she wasn't one for much field work lately - the paperwork at her desk really restricted her professional movements. Granted, there were times where she wanted to slip out, under a new guise, and masked a normal medical ninja so that she could just get one little field mission.

"What do you know of Saul?" She would question the man as they ran; two block smudges against a massive overview of a sandy landscape. Truly, they were on their own on this mission, much to the discomfort to the Sennin. Perhaps it was unbeknownst to Osiris, Kinnaku had already dispatched a swarm of kikai into the air, primarily to create a radius around the two. The radius would be in place to detect any foreign bodies entering, and of course, any person(s) who did enter would be identified and Kinnaku would be notified.

The two would come across, after a steady few miles, of scaling dunes and make-shift mountains of sand; the two would come across an outpost. Kinnaku and Osiris would come across a small hut, a sand encrusted hubble, which would be the outpost of Saul. The location and coordinates matched, so it was likely to presume that this hut was that of the child slaver. The Sennin crouched as she stood on top of a dune, her black eyes sharpened onto the building that may house such a monster. "It doesn't look as if anyone is there..." She would comment on the hut's silence as she kept her motherly gaze locked on.

 

[Hanone]

Osiris didn't respond to the thanks. It was his job and his job didn't require any graditude. He didn't know these children and nothing said they would find the man Saul, and if they did, maybe they wouldn't survive the encounter or if they made it through the meeting, perhaps their lives would be no better... orphans were greatly unwanted creatures. He was so negative, but after the things that were happening with his clan coming to Suna and seeing his dreaded mother face-to-face after such a long time, he wasn't feeling particularly chipper.

But as they passed yet another mile and the Medical Sennin spoke once more, it was very relevant. Shortly before they had spoken the first time, Eiji had traced a seal over his throat, one of his own design, that would lower his voice by several decibels. Now his voice was a deep bass, almost otherworldly in sound. What did he know of Saul? "He's a slaver with infamy. It's thought he has stolen and sold over 200 children, most of them girls. It's rumored he works out of Demon country which lies west of Wind Country. It's also rumored he sells slaves in Fang and Bird Country" It was the last part that made him feel a little ill, but he said it anyway, "He generally sells girls under 10."

Anythign else about the man was mystery. His appearance, skills, age.. even gender. It was possible Saul was a codename and he was a she. There was no way to know for sure.

Osiris had noticed the bug swarm the other released, but had said nothing of it. The information about his ally was filed away into his mind though. It was always handy to know things about your companions just as much as your enemies.

Soon enough, the pair found their way to the eastern outpost. It was dark and quiet. After his ally stated the obvious about it looking empty, Osiris opted to check more thoroughly. The ANBU captain stood and his hands moved in a blur of handseals. When the set was complete, he raised his hands before the slits in his mask and searched the outpost for a hint of a chakra signature. It was completely blank but even the chakra sense jutsu could be flawed if the target was very smart. Dropping his hands and crouching, Osiris said, "Stay put." calmly then seemed to disappear into his own shadow.

The short time Osiris would be away from the sennin's side, he would be down at the outpost searching the building for signs of life.

No heat signatures, no weird smells. Nothing but rubble. But the place didn't look so unused that it had been empty for months. There was a hint of ash on the floor of the building and what looked like a few hairs in the corner of the room. Picking them up, Osiris withdrew his headset and turned it on as he walked out of the outpost, no longer hidden from view. This would be an obvious marker to Oba that the place was empty. In addition, Osiris raised his hand, holding his fingers together as if he held something out to her.

He was offering her the hairs. Maybe she could tell something from them. If she came down, he would offer them to Oba wordlessly as he spoke over his com. "Osiris. I need some information." A pause then. "When was the last time someone was posted to the eastern outpost?" Silence then.. "Alright." Com off again and the headset back, Osiris had learned that, no, no shinobi from SUNA had been here in the last 3 months on record. This was good.

 

[Honma Kotone]

It was displeasuring to know the actual statistics of Saul's gruesome legend, so many children, so many little lives lost to the hands of a mad-man. It wasn't fair and it wasn't right - he would have to pay for his actions, actions that had created crimes and crimes that were so severe, so unruly, that he would surely be put to death under a court of law. However, his judge, jury and executioner were standing out in the cold sands, waiting, praying to find the monster; ready to confront the beast and sentence him. But, for now, that sentencing would have to be put on hold as the monster's presence wasn't detected by the highly skilled Anbu member - which worried the Sennin somewhat as his chakra sensing ability, well what she assumed was that, had come up with nothing.

"Understood." She would comply with the simple command to remain still, allowing her comrade to venture closer to the outpost with shadow feet. From there, Kinnaku would arrange the formation of her Kikai to converge around the outpost; segregating themselves among the sands's surface, blending in with the minerals that seemed black due to the darkness of the night. If anyone was to approach, she would know about it. Although, she worried about the safety of Osiris as he searched the outpost.

Osiris wasn't long, there wasn't much to search really nothing that his trained eyes didn't miss at least, and as he exited the outpost he signaled for the woman; effectively informing her about the emptiness of the huts innards. The Sennin would walk down the small, but steep, sand dune that lead to the hut at the base of the dune. She would strain her eyes as she looked at the captain's open-hand, it was so dark that she wasn't able to, at first, identify the strand of hair. Kinnaku would peer her head forward, almost too close for comfort, but she would pinch her purple polished nails together and lift the strand so that it dangled before her very eyes. "It's red and quite long..." Kinnaku would inspect the strand further, "I don't really understand... Why would there be hair in there? I mean, if its abandoned."

The Sennin would lower her expression, chills running up her spine with anticipation for a horrible little monster to pop out from the darkness, but nothing appeared. "What if he's still here..."

 

[Hanone]

There were no little monsters waiting for them here, but it hadn't been abandoned long. "The hair means someone was here not long ago. No one's here now. Don't lose that" he said to cease the woman's worry, at least a little and the last part because it would be vital for the next part of his plan.

His eyes didn't find hers though, they were too busy searching the area for clues, footprints and leads. There was only the single hair and no other marks as far as he could see, so that left him with the most obvious answer. Coming back over to Oba, Eiji preformed the same set of handseals then took hold of the end of the hair the sennin held, then turned his eyes out over the desert. Slowly, silently he searched out for a hint of the owner of the hair. Slowly he increased the amount of chakra into the technique which let him sense farther and farther.

Finally a signature registered. It was very faint, which either meant the person was untrained or near dead. He focused his chakra into his eyes and took a mental snapshot of what he was sensing. It really looked like nothing more than sand, but it was the stars in the sky and sand ahead him he could recall if he needed directions again.

Osiris pivoted then, addressing the woman once more with his oddly deep bass voice, "The only lead here is the hair. I can sense it's owner far to the north here."n he pointed toward where the sense was coming from, "We can't be sure this is even a lead to Saul and not some wanderer, but I think we should take it. If we don't, we've got nothing."

 

[Honma Kotone]

Kinnaku would remain quite, holding the tiny strand of strawberry blonde hair with as much caution as she could muster from her well-versed hands. She would watch as the Captain flurried through a set of seals, familiar though as some were identified as the previously performed Chakra Sensing technique. However, the woman would strain her thoughts and try to muster a reason as to why he would be preforming the same technique again. It really didn't take her long to suss it out, well, it did but time wasn't a big issue for this woman's overstuffed and overworked mind. "I see..." Kinnaku would state, realizing that he was trying to pinpoint the strawberry blonde owner by amplifying the chakra sensing technique through the connective medium of the hair strand - it belonged to a child, most probably a girl, and thus it would contain elements of her chakra; something that everyone possessed.

Osiris would then confirm her thoughts by, very vaguely, identifying the hair as a key element in tracking down the owner.

"You're right, it's our only lead, so lets not waste any time discussing it." Kinnaku would nod her head, giving the masked man a reassuring smile, as her motherly touched pressed against his shoulder; pushing by the man and making her way to the door. "If we do come across Saul, what do you think will happen?" She would hesitate at the door way of the creaking old door that swooned awkwardly against the bitterly unpleasant midnight breeze. Kinnaku's back would be turned against Osiris, still gently holding onto the strand of hair as if it was a sentimental object to her; pushing her clasped hand into her chest.

"Children... He's hurt so many children." She would shake her head turning it around so that her black eyes met with the Captain, "Let's crush him." Kinnaku stepped forward and walked out into the breezy night, holding her coat against her body as it shielded her from the bitterness. After a few moments, she, along with Osiris, would proceed to head to the destination that was designated by Osiris' technique.

Perhaps there next move would be that of a critical decision: life or death, who knew...

 

[Hanone]

Since the Sennin agreed with him that heading toward this lead was probably the best option they had, Osiris and the woman took no time in leaving their current position and heading out toward the signature. The woman's worry for those children was bringing out a darker, protective side of her. While they ran he imagined she would have no qualms about tearing a man's throat out with her fingertips and sheer arm strength if it meant saving those children.

He was only focused, drawing in his killing intent and honing his excitement and forming fury into deadly purpose. Though in order to raise his fury level, he had to remind himself about some of the specifics those slave girls were found in. Osiris had little care for others on a personal level and even less care for women, but no one, NO ONE deserved what these children received. He could agree... crush him.

He had little else to say about the children, but before they would reach their destination, he did have one thing to present the Sennin with. "Oba-san. Our laws say that if we find him, he is expected to be brought in and questioned and then go through a hearing and sentencing. If we kill him for rage and a personal sense of justice, that's considered murder." He didn't have a qualm about killing someone in cold blood. He'd done it before, he would do it again. But was she? "Whatever you want to do, when the time comes, as long as you have the conviction I won't stop you." It meant he would lie on the report, if it meant that much to her.

Even just saying that could get him in trouble, but if he had read her right on this matter, he didn't think he needed to worry about it.

Whatever her reply, the two would come closer and closer to the source of the chakra. Once they were close enough, maybe half a mile away, Eiji came to a halt and raised his hand to stop her too. Quietly, he said "Send a kikaichuu out and search for us. I want to know if there are several people there or just one."

 

[Honma Kotone]

Cutting straight to the point, Osiris had posed a very valid point in the form of a question. However, it made the Sennin silent as she mulled over her options, trying as hard as she could to not allow her emotions to influence her in anyway. "You're right, Osiris." She could reply with a different tone to her voice as her head stayed still, only oddly bobbing around due to her jolted footsteps as she ran across the darkened sands. "However..." Kinnaku would begin to voice her thoughts with a tone of determination now formulating into her words, "My authority is only second to that of the Kage and thus, on this occasion, we will be his judge." She would not smile, she didn't take pleasure in causing pain or taking a life, but for the greater good; Saul's death was necessary.

"And... For a monster like him, I see a fitting punishment to be death." Surely it can be posed that she had no right to do this, and it was an inappropriate misuse of her authority, however... Why would she risk scolding from a higher authority in order to punish a wicked man? Well, the answer to that was simple: Saul was just like Kinpatsu, the man who misused her innocence and taken away her childhood with pregnancy, and no man like that should have an equal. How many lives had this monster destroyed by snatching a child from a family? Too many.

"I will understand if you report this to your superior but I am not afraid... I just can't allow another life to be destroyed by someone who so carelessly wrecks another life." Kinnaku would shake her head, scrunching up those thoughts as if they were in the medium of paper and tossing them into the darkest corner of her mind. "It's insanity to give this monster fairness..."

The duo would come to a steady stop having already neared the signature, which caused the Sennin to become much more calmer and collective; she needed to be after all. Osiris would order the woman to dispatch her Kikai out so that they would search the area for any people, dangers and what not. "Spoke too late, Osiris." She would kneel, giving the masked man a smile that would imply that she had already done so. Well, after all, she had already had her Kikai tailing the two; which allowed her to easily thin her forces into small units that would venture out.

 

[Hanone]

There was no way Osiris would hand off the Sennin for dispatching Saul, if the time came. He oftentimes went against the law when he felt it was justified. And in this case, he was sure not only killing the man would be justified, but skinning him alive, tearing out his tongue, chopping off fingers at every joint and castrating him without numbing agents was also called for.

The pair had stopped, then Eiji pushed his thoughts to the forefront of their mission. Distraction would mean death and that wasn't okay, no sir. From where they knelt, Eiji could see a faint light. It was only a mile off over sands and dunes, probably a fire. The wind was also almost non-existent so voices would carry.

For several minutes while the Kikaichu were scouting ahead, Osiris stood quietly with his masked head cocked toward the direction of the flickering faint light. His eyes were closed and his mouth was shut and passive. He tuned out his other senses, turning his attention onto his ears only.

Sand ruffled with the light breeze by his feet. Oba breathed softly, air pushing and pulling passed her soft lips subconsciously. He ignored it and sought further. A small desert mouse scurried by... Then he focused harder and heard the muffled sounds of voices. They were intermittent, then suddenly much louder, followed by another loud sound. Even Oba would be able to hear it.. it sounded like a man or men and a woman crying out. His stomach tightened slightly, feeling as though they had found their culprit.

Satisfied with the observation, he brought his masked face toward Oba once more and he spoke to the attractive woman calmly, "I think this might be the right group. Once your insects return, tell me their findings, then as before, I want you to stay behind at first. I will head in and see what I can learn about who's ahead of us. The numbers and whatnot." Osiris came back to his feet, standing upright, his face turning back toward the camp. Acting rashly would be folly, but it wouldn't be hard to figure out if the group was smuggling children or not and action could come about swiftly. He hoped she was mentally prepared for blood...

Maybe when this was over he would ask her the thoughts he had on his mind, ones he had to push into the back for later. Finally he spoke again, "If you can move in stealth, move forward in a straight line from here until you are about 100 meters away from the site. I will find you again when I need you, do not act without direction." And though the last part was an order, Oba had picked him to come along for his skills. He knew this sort of scenarios, it was best if she accepted his leadership.

 

[Honma Kotone]

Kinnaku would crouch down, her body still and quiet against the howling backdrop. She would focus as her Kikai buzzed continually, gathering data and location information from the surrounding area. However, it wouldn't take very long for the creatures to be on the return. "They're returning." She would state emptily as she stared off into the distance, awaiting their budding return. Although, the blood-curdling screams that ripped through the silent, the still, air caused the Sennin to stricken her eyes into a state of shock. Kinnaku would turn her head towards the direction of the screams; a painful lump developed in her throat.

"Two men and one girl... However, I can't be too sure if there are more children. The chakra signature from the girl seems to be weak, almost faded." Kinnaku would open her palm as the Kikai returned, swarming into a cone of liveliness. She would stare at the swirling cone so to distract her mind from the screaming that originated from the direction of the trio. But it was at that point that Osiris would, most probably, lead on so to gather information about the numbers of enemies, or the number of children.

Or even to see if this was just a fluke, and perhaps, the screams from a child's voice was but an illusion of misunderstanding. Perhaps a travelling family decided to camp out before reaching the nearest village, Sunagakure, and to calm their daughter they give her a 'tickle fit'. This, of course, was all but wishful thinking and the truth was more than likely to be darker, sinister and much more twisted than any simple plot line. "Just give me the signal and," Kinnaku would, before her comrade left her side, place her motherly hand against his shoulder, "Stay safe."

It was doubtful at best that Osiris was aware of the sneaky implant, when she made contact with his shoulder, but regardless: the Sennin sneaked a rather bulbous insect onto his coat. It's tiny body wasn't weighing, and it didn't even make a sound. It was only there purely for sensory reasons, but what would it do if someone approached from behind? Well, the Kikai's bulbous body would ignite with a custard, almost tinged with gold, colour and that would alert Osiris to any in-coming danger. And of course, the Kikai would pinch its blades through the clothing material in order to make contact with his flesh; causing him to turn around and face said danger.

If there was any.

 

[Hanone]

Osiris was a skilled tactician and shinobi. There was little he missed, but Oba too was no spring chicken; the bug she had left on his shoulder went unnoticed. He accepted the touch to his body, the paternal nudge without a word. After the contact broke, he stepped away from the sennin and into the shadows of a dune. He was then as if gone from sight, becoming one with the shadows.

Now alone, or mostly alone thanks to the buggy, Osiris moved in stealth slowly forward, following the shadows of the dunes. He would have moved quicker to the campsite, but he couldn't be sure the people ahead didn't lay traps. If it was Saul, it was important to remember that the man had never been caught yet.

The approach took Osiris almost right painfully long minutes, one's he was certain Oba was feeling keenly before he was close enough to be standing at the edge of the light given off by a single roaring fire. His senses were on overdrive.

So far he was faced with 3 tents. No people were in view, but he could certainly hear them. To his right, the smallest tent, was where two cruel males voices were and a muffled third, female voice. These were the one's the kikaichu must have reported on. A sickened feeling swirled in the pit of his stomach, one he was forced to ignore. Moving without full thought was poor decision making. Impulse could kill you. And if this was Saul's camp, one shouldn't be wiling to trade 1 life for all the others there could be.

Forcefully, he turned away from that tent, shifting silently to peer at the tent to his left. What what he could tell from sound alone, it was either empty or whoever could be inside was silent. He moved along the shadows, leaving the 2nd tent to be for now and approached the third, farthest tent, beyond the last one. This one was bigger than the other two and sealed well from the outside. Osiris came up to the back of the tent and closed his eyes, listening deeply to what laid inside. No voices but.. breathing. Lots of quick breaths. Fear perhaps. He was sure now he'd found the elusive Saul's campsite and this was probably the tent for the children.

Before he could do anything more, though, one of the men from the other tent came out, grinning greedily. He was button the top of his shirt and stopped at the campfire, turning over a desert rat on a spit. It was decided..

Osiris raised his hands, going through the quick handseals to create a single clone. When it formed before him, he sent it out to find Oba. This time the trek would only take a minute. He knew the path was unspoiled. Once it was gone from his sight, Osiris moved around the children's tent, still maintaining his stealth. He shouldn't attack anyone until the sennin arrived to aid him, to protect the others, but a pitiful cry came from the tent where the single man still lingered. The man at the campfire laughed and said "Just hit the bitch for it, Danu!" And Eiji snapped. Eiji, not his masked persona for Eiji couldn't stand by while whatever was happening was left to happen.

He hurried around the tents to the back of the one where the girl was crying and a man was grunting.

Calm... precise...

Eiji slit the tent's back and rushed in. His eyes found his target, too stunned to say anything. He was as Eiji imagined him to be, a scene gruesome in it's perversion and wrongness. The girl was bloody and her hands were bound, but her eyes were closed. She did not see Eiji. The man didn't believe what he seeing.. and then he was seeing nothing at all. Eiji had reacted, thrusting out to the man's throat with crystal clawwed fingers and crushed the man's windpipe. He gasped and fell off the girl and in one swift movement, Eiji snapped the man's neck. His limp body fell to the sandy floor, dead.

The girl was so dazed, she hardly moved, but shuddered horribly. The image of her turned his stomach and his gorge rose. It took his will to keep it down. Silently, he peered out the tent's entrance. The man by the campfire knew nothing, he was oblivious to what was going on within for now. Osiris began to return to predominance, his own personality being returned to the back of his mind. He dropped his eyes back to the girl and figured her to be drugged. The best thing he could do in the situation was to put her to sleep. If he unbound her, she could flee and give him away. Carefully he pressed his palm to her nose and mouth. He cut her off from air, with some struggling, until the point she passed out.


Back in the dunes, the clone arrived at Oba's side. It was a perfect copy of Osiris, so he explained himself quickly "This is a clone. You need to follow me, in stealth if you can. This is very possibly Saul's camp. We have found the childrens' tent. I will show you to it, then you must enter if you can without detection and find out their condition. We don't know if there are any traps laid in the tent or if it's who we seek for certain. Prepare yourself."The clone then turned and beckoned Oba over his shoulder. He would lead her to the tent, as promised the would disappear, leaving Oba to her task.

 

[Honma Kotone]

Kinnaku remained patiently, comfortably numb against the sound of screaming, but that's what years of experience had gifted this woman with: the inability to lose her cool. So to speak. However, she did spend a lot of her time trying to focus on the shadow of a man that slipped through her line of sight; a true shadow stalker, a loyal member of the Anbu; Osiris was living up to his title. She would ultimately lose the man of shadows to the shadows themselves, wasn't that a bit ironic? It wasn't long before a clone, whom the woman believed to be Osiris himself, until it stated otherwise.

The Sennin wasn't used to sneaking by all means she was a home-bird and bathed in the artificial, almost yellow, light of her wards. So when it came to sneak, you can imagine that she was a pot of different emotions - excited was probably the best one. She would silently prowl along the sand dune, skidding gently at certain, steeper, points of the dune. She made sure to move as quickly as possible and readied her Kikai just encase she really needed to defend herself. However, she didn't sense another person behind her or around her immediate surrounding.

She worried a little about Osiris, why had he sent out a clone instead of returning as he said he would? The clone would elude the shadows, tailing would be the Sennin, as they approached the heavily breathed tent that seemed to be hosting a body of life. The clone would disperse and enabling the woman to continue on herself, which was something a little daunting. However, as she pressed her head closer to the membrane of the tent; she could feel the subtle warm, a warmth that resembled a hot, closed-window ward in a summers day. Kinnaku drew out a kunai from her pouch and stabbed the tip into the tent's membrane, at this point she had already positioned herself at the very end of the tent - so that it, and herself, was concealed by the darkness.

As her blade cut through the tent, she could hear worried gasps, although they sounded exhausted. The woman would poke her head through the hole, or rather slit, and observe what was inside...

[I didn't know what tent I was suppose to go into, so I left it vague enough to be carried on in the next post!]

 

[Hanone]

Children were inside of the tent, lots of them. Probably close to a dozen or more. It would be hard to tell from a single slit in the tent the exact number and more so, their gender and ages, but it seemed as though that was there was in the tent; the children. It was relatively safe to assume she could enter and then see to the state of the people inside.

Eiji however was tasked with ending lives quietly and quickly. He was back to being Osiris, in full form. He moved over the unconscious frame of the naked, bound female to the tent flap. He could still see the man at the edge of the fire ring, he was turning the spit and making the desert rat's flesh bubbling and ooze over the fire. His eyes were greedy. Osiris figured he would have to wait until the man was coming back to the tent before attacking but wasn't sure how long that would be. Luck, however, would be on his side. He readied his crystal claws as the man approached, a sickening apparent look on his face. He wanted back in on the action it seemed.

"Hey why are you so quiet in there, fall asleep you bitch?" The man asked, coming to the tent. His hand was no sooner on the flap and his head peeking in when a claw cut up under his jaw, into his skull and brain tissue. Eiji pulled him in slowly, hoping to make the kill go unnoticed.

No one else stirred, this was a good sign. He was able to bring the body in and lay it upon the sand next to the girl. The man was dead already. It was a faster death than he had deserved. Yet he couldn't believe of these two, one of them had been Saul. Saul must be in the last tent.

Osiris had known Oba was at the other tent, after the clone dispersed, all it had seen or learned came back to Osiris which told him where she was now. He could only hope she was prepared if something when awry. Things never went this smoothly...

Silent as a desert mouse, the slim ANBU captain slipped from the tent. The fire was too right to all him to slip into shadow right away. He had planned to quickly go back into untraceable stealth, but as he took his third step to the side of the tent, a voice came from within the middle tent. It was youthful sounding, male, and amused. "Did you think you could come unnoticed, shinobi?" Osiris cursed silently and attempted to ready himself. The owner of the voice did not emerge yet. "You cannot fool Saul. I am not so easily taken." He couldn't actually be sure if it was him or Oba who had been noticed and so it was best to draw the man's attention to himself for now, even if it put himself at risk.

"I was hoping that would be the case, yes." Osiris's false deep voice spoke low, but clear. He was the target now.






[you can proceed with the children as you want. Our tiers says how many there are I think. Some injured, some okay, your call]

 

[Honma Kotone]

"Children," The Sennin would hold her finger to her peachy lips, as she broke into the tear and stood among the frightened rabbits, "It's okay, we're here to help you but you all have to stay very still." Kinnaku would reassure the children, an odd few still scurried silently to the edge of their personal space; pressing against another frantically. She had a trusting look about her, she seemed reliable and homely. Something that had forgotten these poor souls long ago. "Everything will be okay, I'm just going to make sure you're all okay." Kinnaku would lower herself, slowly, down to their level and approach the first of twelve. She would teasingly brush to the young boy's side, placing her soft, motherly touch, upon his shoulder and sigh with relief. She really needed them all to remain quite quiet. Kinnaku would check over that boy, another, then another and so on for any evidence of physical abuse; which there was significant evidence for.

Some had been abused sexually. It would be too early to assume they were even mentally capable of much, the trauma of such abuse would scar their childhood. Only a monster could really do such a thing to young pups. "Everyone, I want you all to hold out your hands." Kinnaku gently ordered to the pups, who looked at each other with confused expression, but they did as they were asked regardless.

But why?

The Sennin would, one at a time, inject the young pups with a small condensed portion of her own chakra. The chakra would become a part of their own, unused circulatory system. But what did that mean? Well, this technique was commonly used by advanced Med-nin in order to preserve a portion of their chakra so that if they were caught in a sticky spot and were unable to heal, or any reason, they could active this seal. Of course, the seal would blend into the children's skin and its presence would vanish from all's sights. And it was at that moment that Kinnaku held some commotion, the shadow-voice of Osiris followed by another crooked, much more sinister sounding male.

Kinnaku would remain with the children, treating the ones that needed treating, and offering a motherly care as her comrade dealt with that problem.

 

[Hanone]

The children were so relieved to feel the healing warmth from the woman, it was the first kindness in so long. Hushed voices, however, gave way to whimpers and fear as a voice spoke up outside. It was Saul. The smallest child nearest Kinnaku broke the hand holding connection and threw herself onto the Sennin, wrapping her small arms around her middle like a tiny vice.

Outside, Osiris stepped out of the shadows and into the flickering light from the campfire. The desert rat was beginning to smell of burnt meat and was smoking some now that it was not longer being attended to. Osiris placed his hands together behind his back and swiftly he drew a pattern into his palm with a crystal fingertip, dragging a sequence out in blood. "Then step out where I can see you, Saul. Otherwise I will just destroy you from within your tent." The tactic was easy; be blunt, look inexperienced, make the man cocky.

Whether it did or not, the man laughed low. It was closer to a chuckle than a laugh and fully laced with malice, "You would risk killing whatever else may be in here with me? Very merciless of you, shinobi-chan." But out he came. Eiji almost struck out the moment a head appeared from the tent entrance, but the height was wrong for an adult and he stalled.. Out from the tent was pushed a girl, probably no more than 11. Her black hair was chopped short and uneven. As she was pushed out from the tent completely, Osiris was met with the visage of brutality. The girl's face was swollen and bruised. She couldn't open her right eye. Her body was covered in tatter rags, stained with blood and other unknown things. Her small body was too thin, knees and shoulders looking awkwardly sharp on her small frame, as a starved prisoner looked. Her arms were chained to her body and clamped down at her sides. She was on a metal leash.

But the worst thing was the deadness in her eyes. She was not afraid, she was dull; empty. Osiris felt ill and angry and nearly unable to remain calm. He let his hands fall to his sides and forced his hands from clenching. It was imperative he remained outwardly still and emotionless. It would be a kindness to kill the girl, but to be killed as a body shield to someone like Saul?

This however was not the only surprise he brought with him. There was another child, bound the same as the first. This one was a boy, about the same age, and not nearly as abused, though hardly without his own scars. Terror and fright registered on his face, his unmarred and exotic face. He was a rare beauty that no doubt would draw in a large sum by some filthy purchaser. His youth made him soft edged and pretty as a girl was pretty, though few would compare to him. He pleaded with his eyes for help, but said nothing, just whimpered.

So Saul used both tactics as protection. Some would feel worse for the broken, lifeless girl, others for the unused and terrified boy. At last Saul appeared from the tent. Both chains binding the children were attached to a hook at his waist, leaving his hands free.

The man was of moderate height. He wore a black half mask over his nose and mouth and a wrap on his head to conceal his hair. He wore nondescript, loose travelling clothing and sandals. There were no marks to recognize him by, and with his features concealed, he was as if a blank man. No wonder he passed along so easily. But this left Osiris in a terrible position. Attacking the man would most likely mean one or the other child would die. He wouldn't have a clear shot and could even hit one of the children himself. He wasn't generally the merciful type, but he wasn't so heartless and cold he could kill victims like these just to take down a man who could STILL potentially not be Saul. "Fine decorations." he said, keeping his deep, false voice aloof and casual. "Why don't we talk?" His suggestion was met with a snort. Yes, talk. What else could they do?

 

[Honma Kotone]

Kinnaku wasn't fully aware of what was actually transpiring right outside of that thin membrane of a tent, and frankly, she wasn't worried. She was more concerned with the safety of these children, Osiris would be able to handle himself - he was a well established member of the order, after all. Kinnaku felt the soft paws cuddle her shape, their fearful shaking motions would drive the motherly instinct out from the Sennin. "Why don't we play a game?" She would say softly, with a smile, as she kept her crouched level. "It's really fun," She would say, bringing the children as close to her as possible, "We just have to stay very quiet..." She would add in a hushed voice. Kinnaku would turn her head back to the make-shift entrance that she had made, a fairly large slit in the tent's wall. The Sennin had to weigh up her options her: she could stay with the children here, but risk being drawn into a battle or she could leave with them now while Saul was distracted.

"Everyone, I want you to grab hands and make sure that you're holding onto someone." She would say quietly, arching her body over the children and making sure that they were all locked in a hand-embrace. After she ensured that they were all holding onto each other, like a long link, the Sennin would take a soft paw and lead them out from the tent and into the darkness of the sands. However, before she would make her break for it the woman would leave a Medical Assistant behind; a useful technique that would create a specific type of clone, one that could heal others.

It was obvious that the group's movements would be small, bush hushed, and any sort of distance away from Saul and his camp of horror was good distance. As long as he was distracted by Osiris, the children stood a large chance of actually surviving.

[Sorry, I didn't have much to go on e.e]

 

[Hanone]

Things weren't going to go that easy it seemed. Saul had been readied, utilizing the back of his tent to ready a stealth attack on Osiris. There was a moment where the soft brown hair on the ANBU Captain's arms stood on end, like there was an electric feel on the air then quite suddenly a wave of black tore from the backside of the tent and scooped around in a half circle, coming back down toward Osiris. It happened so quickly, if he hadn't been as trained as he was, he wouldn't have been able to avoid the first attack.

Osiris pushed back, using chakra in his legs to propel him far away from the black mass. A horrible hissing sound echoed from the thing that struck at him, but he had little time to contemplate it as a second black creation landed beside the first and pushed toward him as a beast leaping from a tree to the ground then continuing to chase it's prey. The analogy wasn't far off in fact as he could swear it had legs. The second thing screamed loudly, a sound so piercing and violent, Osiris's body was rocked to the core, unbalancing him. His feet couldn't find purchase and he fell backward. The creature would have gotten him, certainly killed him but he couldn't be had to easily.

The ANBU captain worked on impulse now, using years of training to react instead of think. He stared down the creature, binding [url]the creature with one of the hardest ANBU techniques to master. It's shape paralyzed and crashed uselessly into Osiris's body. Saul seemed to get excited, thinking he'd won, but something wasn't right.

The creature wasn't moving. It gave Osiris the time he needed to complete a set of handseals and make [url=http://www.ninpocho.com/viewtopic.php?p=1016#p1016]a creation. It burst from the ground, it's green body wiggling like an animal and it's red maw drooling with acid. It was at the ANBU's command and snapped at the two remaining creatures, attempting to catch them in it's mouth. One avoided it, the other was caught by the face and swallowed in, trapped within the summon.

Osiris could leave the thing to aid him while he rid himself of the bound thing. He hadn't been able to remove his eyes from it the whole time or risk breaking the bind. The creature was not to be held though and seemed to unravel before him. It was turning into a thousand different threads, pulling out of the bind and back toward Saul. Osiris caught the glimpse of something within the creature, what looked like......

He got to his feet, racing through a new set of handseals as the one creature in his summon's mouth was torn apart by more threads from the inside out. It turned into a poof of smoke as the jutsu was dispelled and Osiris was left again facing... wait now there were only two and Saul. The man smiled venomously at Osiris from across the sands. Both of his creatures were now at his sides, looking down at Osiris like hollows. Each had a mask over it's face, the third was no where to be seen. "I must congratulate you, you're still alive."

Eiji smiled beneath his mask, a gesture that went unseen. Saul had gotten the upperhand there, almost killing him, but whatever he was, he'd revealed some of his secrets to him already. What he had in mind now was simple... He didn't offer up any words, but made the last seal from the set he had been working on, then released the ability. Saul had thought him ready to attack him and was prepared with a grin, but what came instead was a black shape. It settled around the beasts, Saul, the two children and himself. It was a barrier, the black blockade, another one of the ANBU's finest techniques. It was designed to hold them in together, but it wouldn't last very long on his own. But it would give them enough time... he thought.

"Kinnaku, get the children from there, escape as quickly as you can, take them out of range. I will hold him." It might be suicide. Saul seemed confused at first, then turned his head toward the tent that laid outside the barrier. Confusion gave way to realization then rage passed over his features, twisting them up behind the mask. He growled darkly and shot a piercing glare back at Osiris.

"How dare you, infant!? You will die and then that woman in there will die as well, much slower and more painful than you." The threat would be followed by a rush of attack, one Osiris hoped he would be able to deal with.


Within the tent, the children were clinging to Oba, trying to do as she said, bur fear clutched them and they couldn't really do as she asked. The sounds that started to appear from outside were of attack and possible death. Raised voices and finally, Osiris's voice calling out to the sennin to take the children to safety. Their eyes showed a hint of hope, would she save them? Would they leave this place and their horrible master?

It would be up to her to take them away, and either go back to Suna or come back for the ANBU Captain. Without her, he might not live.

[yes more liberties with the children.]