Devils_Advocate [P_R_I_V_A_T_E]

[Horigome Sukejuro]

[spoilername="TAGS"]Michinori Kato & Asami Saotome[/spoilername]

[spoilername="Tomorrow is a better day."]Sunny days had finally come compared to the gray and uncertain grains of the past. Solemn mosaics of the past had finally been rinsed with the eradicating color of the promise of a greater future. But was it enough? Graven silence sat still and vacant, leaving the physical reminders of the past to be torn bitterly by familiar dust and melancholy. Today was different though as a face none truly knew would be a more familiar one even if it was a stranger's still.

"Don't fret, human nature isn't such a complicated thing, today is the day."

"The day that. ..we...stop watching." His tone had rang ut with an unfamiliar chime against a morose static, but thematically it sang with absolute amusement[/spoilername]

Standing head and shoulders amongst the typical rabble in the festival of wares, colored textiles decorating shop fronts in the ever illustrious and busied village Hidden in the Clouds. A man such as Arakaki Sadehige felt these two places shared a destiny, one with adversity birthing greatness, a shrewd man hewn from Lightning Country's own war split rocky spires given flesh replete with a finely groomed outter appearance.

His reflected with the sheen of finely polished iron, resolute and determined that his centure here could never fail even as worry began to pain his features as he muttered "Where is that fool...he knows how important this meeting is..." he fretted with the hint of anger injecting creased imperfection in the well dressed young man's features, marring magnificent and fierce fiscade with very natural doubt and worry.

"Could...my very life be endangered?" The handsome philantropist worried, would he steal away a ray of happiness from this world years early?

"I'll just have to ve vigilante, yes?" He assured himself as he tpuched a hand to his face.

 

[Saotome Asami]

The hustle and bustle of the high street was one that Asami rarely appreciated. She wasn't tall or strong enough to carve a path through a crowd. In theory, a head of thick purple hair should have made her stand out. In practice, nobody cares, and her hair was much more likely to get caught between people, their bags, their clothes... Ugh. More trouble than it was worth. Her appreciation for her newfound shinobi skills was born from that distaste. Why bother trying to squeeze in and out of the swarm when she could stand above it? Leaps and bounds between buildings were surprisingly easy, even for a rookie like her.

Not only did her alternative route cut down on her travel time, it also allowed her a new perspective on her home village. Why did so few people bother to clean their rooftops? Did that couple in the alleyway really think nobody could see them? She chuckled to herself as she landed atop a circular structure, seemingly built into one of the village’s countless mountains, and gave pause. She had plenty of time before the sun set, and her errands were done for the day. In other words, she wasn’t in a rush. The little lady stopped, letting her legs dangle off the building’s edge. Some poor worker was going to look out the window and see a pair of legs gently kicking back and forth. Their owner assumed they wouldn’t mind, since all she meant to do was watch.

She easily lost track of how long she had sat there, observing the people tending to their business below. With the constant cycle of people moving through the area, the one man choosing not to move was hard to miss. Seeing as he was abnormally tall, it wasn’t hard for her to see the impatient look on his face. Perhaps, before long, he would notice her too – even in a shinobi village, a little girl watching a stranger was a little bizarre. She was a few seconds too late to realise that. Again. Damnit. A slight widening of the eyes, and then she was off! A little application of chakra allowed her to walk down the building and back to ground level, where she promptly disappeared into the crowd she had spent the whole day avoiding.

“Ah! Excuse me. Pardon, sorry… Just going to squeeze through…” Her voice could be heard before she could be seen, as she tried (and only partially succeeded) to make a clean path to the man. Soon enough, she was a mere few feet from him, waving in case he somehow missed her. “Mister…! You’re not looking so great. Is everything alright? Do you need a hand?”

 

[Michinori Kato]

After class its time to relax. Taking this chance Kato goes for a stroll heading down high street while taking in the sights. As he walks into the crowd some people seem to look at him wearily and move farther away. Kato seems to not quite understand why as he moves through the crowd.

Hearing people talking in the crowd and well being a curious cat, Kato heads over wanting to hear more. Seeing the small girl he seems to be saying something and the tall man who well seems occupied, Kato decides it might be best to leave them alone.

Though being the curious person he is he heads closer over and waves at them. "Hello there, everything ok here?" He says as he comes into sight. He seems to have an aura of fear and dread around him, a color that would represent this would be a crimson red as this is the demonic aura from the being inside. "I heard you guys talking and just wanted to make sure everything is ok, What are you all up to here?" Kato says as he smiles friendly.

 

[Horigome Sukejuro]

It was as if he was now a pulse in the tapestry of lift, a magnet made of flesh. Was it his concern or apparent status that drew those glances? Was it the skin deep, a handsome man who achieved the worried glances or a fellow human that warranted the concern? It was infuriating no matter how you felt, either they were self-serving scavengers or complacent sheep. Enamel of impeccable grooming pressed, pushing against gums, the anxiety of this bothersome state of affairs as the endless void filled with empty familiarity unfolded before him.

and how fortune smiled on him.

Two youths happened to cross into his presence. Who were they though? Seemed a bit tall for their age or was it they seemed a bit young for their height? No matter, caught off guard this man struggled to remain his composure, where his only saviors of this city children? What a entropic thought this aghast person found himself in, skin crawling in the throngs of pulsating society that existed as a vast nervous system that ached to lash out.

“Children, I-“ he struggled to spit out his words, hope had nearly fled his body though there was no bodily expression of fear after all “My name…is Arakaki Sadehide.” He inhaled, regaining his senses as he regained the illusion of confidence and durability that most strong, beautiful men achieved. Well define features kissed by the passive glow of the sun. “I am…I guess you could say a philantropist, a good samaritan. I want to make Lightning Country a beacon, starting with this village, but…I fear my partner has betrayed me.” Sadehide admitted as he sucked wind through the teeth.

Constructing drama in it's wake.

Across the sea of bodies where daces were lost in the glowing void of the sky, a trio of men with rough blue fabric hanging loosely over their heads watched the gathering of Mr. Arakaki's new associates closely, apparent age, physique and appearance obscured with makeshift hooded robes with a glint of something underneath.

“I really don't want to drag you two into this, but can you can't help me?”

 

[Saotome Asami]

More players entered the scene, but she was only aware of one of them. Asami’s smile wavered as she turned to the new voice. The boy would be considered a giant by adult standards, but his face told that he wasn’t much older than she was, if at all. His freakish height was the biggest contributor to something being off about him, in the eyes of a girl that knew such thoughts weren’t right. He couldn’t help the way he grew, but the scar wasn’t helping his case much. Something was just wrong.

…She was staring again. The smile reformed, just a tad stronger than before. If nothing else, she had learned to set the worries aside, or at least stop them from showing. When most of the academy’s staff were scarred, grumpy, threatening killing machines, it was practically a required skill. She would simply have to keep her wits about her. It wasn’t enough to clue her in on their silent observers, but she was trying.

The two said their piece, but the man’s words set alarm bells off once again. Was it the inflection? The way his sentences didn’t quite make sense? A bit of both. Again, her smile gave out a little. One cause for concern could be brushed off as paranoia, but she knew better than to ignore two. Before she had even exchanged her name, she was on guard. “Er… It depends! I might be able to help. If you’re lost, I should be able to point you in the right direction, and if not, we’ve got, er…” She briefly turned to the titan, his name unknown to them. Hers was too, and she greatly considered keeping it that way. “You might be better off trying to find your friend, though. It’s always busy in these streets, so it’s easy to miss people.”

 

[Michinori Kato]

Kato smiles warmly to both of them, he's seem to have trouble making friends. Maybe its his size or the scar but, Kato is more then happy to help a fellow shinobi. Hearing those two talk Kato waves alittle when the girl points at him,"My name is Michinori Kato, ill gladly help with what ever it is." Kato says with a smile which seems to be completely opposite of the vibe he seems to give off.

Kato looks at the small girl and notices she never said her name but, he doesnt say anything. People can be shy and he wont judge, i mean he himself is shy at sometimes he is trying to get better at talking to others so he can make more friends and meet more people.

"So, what is it that you might need help with Sadehide?" Kato says as he looks back at the strange man."I will help any way i can," he says with a smile.

"Someone or something is watching stay alert." Kato hears this in his head as he looks around with the corners of his eyes not wanting to draw attention completely to himself yet. He fixes his coat on him and makes sure his weapon is near of needed.

 

[Horigome Sukejuro]

Sadehide ‘s retina shifted sharply which beheld at least a sharp mind which suited the touch of fair features of a man who had hit the genetic jackpot, Kato's stature didn't seem to budge an ounce of interest inasmuch as the shifting mass of nerves which ebbed in and out of each others perception flocked past himself and his two guests. Still children, despite their calm, but soon between the hesitation of the girl and the glance from them both he honed in on the grim sight of, not shinobi but thugs or cutthroats as they began to split up and use the crowd as a screen.

Pushing himself to feel that which he had not felt in a while, dormant sweat glands kicked in as he let out an exaggerated gulp as his spirit wavered. It was true! He was condemned to death, gripping his fingers to ball them into a fist he shrieked “They're coming for me!” he quickly searched his surroundings for a narrow alleyway to his back and without a moments notice he bid the children “I must leave, you should run too, I am a dead man I fear.” He then broke into a panicked sprint away, but as the crowd cleared, it was certain that the suspicious men had vanished.

Could they have already passed by with the intention of staging an ambush? It was clearly not their business but what might happen to the stranger would comfortably never be known if the pair decided it was not their business. After all, deaths was inevitable was it not? Peasants died, shinobi died, lords and ladies to perished. Families died, cities burned, empires, all must come to an end. To that note, was it worth worrying about at all? By now the heel clicks of Sadehide’s shoes might in time fade from all memory as time moves on.

 

[Saotome Asami]

Asami offered a small nod at the boy’s name, committing it to memory. As far as she knew, she would never see the boy again, but something told her he would be hard to miss if their paths did cross. It was a thought she could extend to both of them, in fact – the increasingly unnerved philanthropist (or so he claimed) seemed convinced that he was marked. Her smile fled the scene as he attempted to do the same. “Eh? Er… Sir?” She furrowed her brow as she turned to watch Sadehide.

He must have been overreacting… Right? And yet, she couldn’t shake the growing sense of dread. It was another one of her shinobi skills – understanding on an instinctive level that things weren’t as they seemed. Still, it wasn’t her place to get involved, was it? If there really was danger, a young student wasn’t going to do much to turn the tides. At the same time, who else was going to do the job? She looked back to Kato, still bearing quite the confused expression. He was a stranger, and she knew better to rely on those. Somehow, it seemed she was the most qualified to handle the situation.
In her mind, that meant they were already doomed, but she wasn’t raised to abandon a man in need.

“Just… hold on a sec! I don’t think he’s okay.” The best she could do was try. Fortunately for her, the man she was tailing was too tall to simply disappear into the crowd. That was an issue in itself – if somebody meant to hurt him, he was only worsening his odds by moving into an isolated area. The observation surprised her – it wasn’t one that the average civilian would make, as Sadehide was proving. She followed as best as she could with that in mind, calling on a little chakra as she moved. A jutsu formed, but Asami’s handiwork was subtler than most ninjutsu. A paper tag slipped out of her sleeve and into her hand, adorned with distorted kanji. To an oblivious observer, it could have been there all along. A few words were whispered under her breath – a silent incantation that aided a budding shinobi, but was ultimately unnecessary, given that she used her free hand to form seals anyway. The ofuda tag shimmered out of existence as quickly as it had arrived. Of course, there was a purpose to her little act. She had marked the panicked man, and the seal re-appearing by his side as he ran was proof of that. There was no guarantee that anybody meant him harm, but if somebody did try to attack him, the seal would return the favour with a lightning bolt. A weak bolt, but there wasn’t much strong about her. “Mister Sadehide…! Please slow down. I’m trying to help, but you’re not helping yourself much!”

 

[Michinori Kato]

Kato stands there stunned for a second from Sadehide's outburst before watching the girl chase after him. Kato started runnimg after following the girl who seems to know where to go. "H-hey wait up!" he says as he trys to catch up.

While running Kato keeps his eyes darting from side to side trying to keep his guard up and he looks to find the people who were watching them. People who Kato can only assume are the bandits or cutthroats Sadehide was talking about.

Keeps his hands in his coat and wraps the chain of his Madoka around his arm ready to fight if need be. "Mister Sadehide what are you talking about?! We can help you!" Kato yells trying to get them both to slow down a bit so he can catch up as his weapon is wrapped around his arm ready to be used.

Kato keeps running to catch up with all his might as he wants to make sure he can help even if it means getting into a fight.

 

[Horigome Sukejuro]

Heads turned at a sudden commotion that disrupted the mass ignorance to the very reality that could erupt beneath their nose. After all, this was one of the safest haven one could be, packed to the brim with warriors, assassins, and at a time, even gods among men. Certainly with the trio of a stranger and two children missing, was there proof of any foul play or mischief. He'd seen it again and again, the ugly truth cast off in favor of perpetuating the illusion of safety despite the well documented fact that life deeper in the city was not so glamorous or kind.

Confliction scoured the doubt wracked mind of a man broken, surrendering to the base animalistic behavior ‘Fight vs Flight'. He did not do so out of an overblown sense of self worth but in reality he was an idealogue, a politician, an agent of particular thought and personal motivation. It was about the message, the idea he sought to spread, for the good of all people! That's what the man thought, lungs breathing cool air, but growing hot with a fierce, raking heat of exertion though the many blood vessels as ill-prepared muscle along extremeties cramped and grew sore.

He was a hunted animal.

Shadows were thrown from above on some low-hanging rooftops, two rogue phantoms dancing down from the direction of the sun overhead and running with the two impulsive students. In a flash they shifted and started to shrink until both men landed, halting the advancement of the students. Fire glowed like embers, pain-stoked fire eminated from a sticky, cloaked, hunched over man wielding a Kunai.

“…Turn…back.” The voice rasped, pleading with a menace in his voice as his partner kept running ahead. The man before them appeared to be brandishing a long tonfa as well braced against the floor, trying to dissuade their advance but his body language and canter foretold of little agility. There was about 8 feet of space from wall to wall, buildings started to get taller deeper in, darker, but the stranger was still much alive.

Would he die like a cornered prey in the dark or would he go out in a mess? Some dark thought amused the great, white, flickering shadows in a great, turbulent void of their own mind.

 

[Saotome Asami]

She paid the onlookers no mind; she barely acknowledged Kato. If the man of the hour had chosen to stay in the streets, a commotion might have been enough to scare off his attackers, but they didn’t have that blessing for the moment. An alleyway was much too easy to corner a target in, but at least the hypothetical trouble would have to get through her first. If nothing else, the youths would be able to try and calm the man down and go about their business.

No. Of course not. That would be too easy.

The shadows were impossible for a vigilant fighter to ignore. She kept running anyway, intent on reaching her target. It wasn’t until the would-be assassin blocked her part that she drew to a halt. A flicker of shock showed itself in her eyes. Armed and hooded. A real fighter, ready to kill. Asami was none of those, but her body didn’t care. Adrenaline fuelled a racing mind. Fighting wasn’t an option. She already knew she couldn’t win. What about the other boy? No guarantee. She’d heard his voice behind her, but most children ran at the sight of real danger. Realistically, she should have done the same… But how could she do that when it meant a man dying?

In her eyes, there was only one option. She narrowed her eyes and let out a gentle sigh. “What a bother.” The girl sounded almost uncharacteristically calm, and soon enough she had a look to match. “The boss is going to hate a corpse on the streets… But he’ll hate a dead client even more.” A bluff was the best choice she felt she had, especially with the second attacker keeping up the pursuit. For once, the fact that her age was at the upper end of academy students might work to her advantage – a clumsy observer might mistake her for a trained genin.

Without any movement, another tag slipped out of her sleeve and into an awaiting palm. She made the mistake then of taking an eye off the attacker. Assuming Kato hadn’t chosen to charge, she would finally realise that he was bearing arms. Everybody was just full of surprises today, weren’t they? Fortunately, she was a quick thinker and realised two things. First, that anybody bearing a weapon should know how to use it better than she could. Two, she really should be paying more attention to the enemy. Both eyes were back on him, if she hadn’t already been struck down.

“If you leave your friend behind, we’ll pretend we didn’t see you. It’s better for everybody that way.” Hopefully, Kato had a better idea.

 

[Michinori Kato]

While running closer to catch up with this girl Kato sees the shadows moving and sees the mad land infront of the girl he was following being a bit of a distance away and watching the other shadow still run towards Sadehide. Kato quickly performs some handsigns in his coat summoning an elemental clone (fire) of himself to go through a detour and chase after the other one while Kato him self heads towards the girl.

Being right there as the mysterious person talks to them and seeing that he is armed, Kato takes a second to debate whether or not they can take him. As Kato is debating this he hears the girl start bluffing saying that the "boss" is going to be angry. "Huh, shes a quick thinker,
Should make sure im her good side, she doesnt seem to have a weapon but, ill go with her bluff hopefully this will work at least to allow my clone to catch up." Kato thinks to himself as he smirks and looks down hiding his face as he walls closer to the hunched over man.

As he walks by the girl his aura of fear starts getting stronger and his tattoo is burning. Walking decently close to the hunched over man, Kato who is at least a bit taller looks up directly into the mans eye's as Kato's own eyes a glowing a bright crimson red and has a malicious glare in them as his demonic aura spreads and gets stronger. Kato says in an extremely different voice from earlier, this voice dark, gruff, and deep,"Move unless you want the boss angry.." Kato says as he takes his Madoka out and uses it as a threat putting within easy reach to hit the hunched over man. "You are in the way of my target...that wont end well fpr you unless you MOVE!" Kato trys emphasising his words by focusing the aura as best he can on to the man. As he is saying all of this, if the man attempts to attack the girl Kato will defend to the best of his ability.

[Casted elemental clone (fire)]

 

[Horigome Sukejuro]

Footsteps of the cat and mouse choked and were muted by the distance both measured by grains of sand and volume where they wee swallowed by the cavernous maw of an insatiable appetite that the hidden village, like all hubs for collective human consciousness, bore down with unburdened scrutiny. Teeth of the village had swallowed the fondest two senses of two bodies, out of range to both sight and sound save for the pursuit of a vigilant clone acting on blind orders of two beleaguered butchers in training, yes?

Y-E-S-?
A flutter of utter joy seems to pulse at the unravelling of social norms being blasted by hell sired winds through the gaps of day to day reality. The stationary figure tossed his knife at the renegade elemental clone, though one eye maintained that the volley would miss, clattering against rough hewn stone masonry of the more archaic foundations of Kumogakure no Sato's past.
"…I sssaid…turn back.” The man menaced, drawing with his left hand a sterling edge of a bloodletting tanto, contrary to the haphazard garb and posture, the blade was well balanced and of unusually high craftsmanship, including hand carved inscriptions depicting blood vessels terminating into human eyeballs. The motion was fast as the steel cap pommel at the bottom of the handle in an fraction of a second.

The motion wasn't without consequence, with a lurch there came a tell, a ‘click' that drew the eyes to a ramshackle crutch of rusted steel that explained perhaps why he'd stayed, if the pair were so keen. Such a lordly weapon amongst a thief, but something about the pair seemed insufficient to draw an offense from the man but somewhere further into the void, a clash could be heard.

Blood droplets ran down a cold gray iron kunai, a man lost blood and a trap discharged due to the foresight of a certain kunoichi in training as the disfigured man hidden away broken textile and sundered flesh, they had the man distracted and imbalanced for a precious fraction of a moment.

 

[Saotome Asami]

Her apparent partner was doing a great job of playing along. She had no idea how he pressed waves of malice through her; it did nothing to help her nerves, but she refused to let it show. Fear would show a lack of confidence, and a lack of confidence would show a lack of skill. If anybody saw through that, then there could be several deaths. The man wasn’t budging. Asami feigned mild irritation, but her heart raced. She hadn’t thought quickly enough to have a back-up plan, and if they didn’t move fast-

More violence, further down their path. She couldn’t make out much, but she did hear the distinctive zap of a lightning bolt. The trap had been sprung, and that meant nothing good for them, except that their enemy needed to know what was going on. There was no way she was wasting that opportunity.

One handed seals, aided by a rapidly-vanishing tag, channelled the chakra for her next trick. The surface beneath the nuisance liquefied; if he looked down, he would find that he was standing in a mess of mud. Looking down was exactly what she was counting on. The longer he was distracted, the more time they had to get past him. A pair of steps drove her ahead and to the left, and a leap sent her to the wall. Chakra allowed her to stick to it as she continued running. Her plan was to travel in an arc, moving up and further away from the man as she drew closer to him, and descending once she had safely passed. She moulded another string of handseals as she moved, preparing a wind jutsu if he found a means to attack. To do that, however, would mean fighting to keep his balance on the mud and drawing his attention away from Kato.

The boy had a weapon. He could follow suit, or take advantage of her distractions. Either way she wouldn’t be stopping of her own free will.

 

[Michinori Kato]

Kato tried his best to intimidate the man seems that didnt work, Kato growls and rubs his head for a sec as the man talks. Kato watches the girl out of the corner of his eyes seeing her originally have the idea of the bluff Kato hopes she has another, and he was not disappointed.

Kato watches the the girl does the hands signs and forces the ground beneath the man to turn into mud. "Earth user? Nice plan." Kato says in his head as he smiles a little. Taking this second to cast Fire clone again and had it run next to the girl in between the man and her. The minute this jutsu was done Kato already started to cast another jutsu as his body melts into the shadows, Dark Displacement.

Being in the shadows and having his clone help the girl, the clone says to the girl, "Save Sadehide, ill keep this guy off you.Also im sorry." the clone then makes sure to stay between her and the hunched man to protect against the next attack that would target her. Taking this second to cast one more jutsu, the ground under the man grows dark as Kato uses the mud to halt the mans movement Kato lets his ninjutsu loose again trying to inflict as much damage to this man as possible to get him off the girl. Kato uses, Black Eruption as the tendrils come out from the ground and go to impale this man over and over.

 

[Horigome Sukejuro]

[spoilername="I am Wrong."]Life is survivor’s guilt.
…
…
…
…I[END_S_D_][/spoilername]

As hard earth and minerals suddenly gave, the man before them stumbled hard, his shoulder making a grotesque groaning sound as bone in the shoulder popped forth. Dropping the steel blade, which clinker off the still tangible earth, the mud threatened to swallow the weapon in it's voracious jaws where light never dared to pierce. Pain was there, plane as a bonfire, gnarled and folded skin littered with scars and weathered by wind, that one exposed eye experiencing pain.

“N- Nu-oh.” There came his protest as piercing spears materialized, his cause lost he managed to reach into his cloak by his chest but right when the fatal blows came, there was the faintest glint of a headband before a flurry of visceral gratuity exploded as the thug became a vast brushstroke of red on the melancholy stone walls.

Setting the Mood: Listen to Blue Darkness - A Sleepless Town by Raiden95 #np on #SoundCloud

Further down the path lie joyous stokes of conflict, glossy and slick, arcs of droplets which occasionally massed together, others not so exceptional or noteworthy besides the fact there was blood. Opening wider past a curtain of drying clothes where fibers and threads were almost hopelessly stained, their friend stood with blood smeared on his face with the other assailant on his knees, stricken repeatedly with what appeared to be a fish boning knife “Old Shinobi are the reason for so much…”
“…suffering.” The beautiful man stated, pupils shrunken with a sort of detachment from reality, tears in the eyes of his assailant-turned-victim.

 

[Saotome Asami]

The girl didn’t need to be told to rescue the man. She kept on the move as their target stumbled, but the sounds of chaos behind her drew her attention just as well as they had the attacker. For her efforts she received the sight of a man transformed. As far as she could tell, the man had fled; she was either unwilling to accept or blissfully unaware that he had become but a smear on the wall. There wasn’t enough time to consider it, which was probably for the best. The sight of her first death would have drawn her from her goal. Perhaps later she would come to understand what she had seen (and what kind of boy Kato was to reduce a man to that without a second thought), but adrenaline kept her focused.

Without any opposition, it didn’t take long for her to follow splatters and splashes of blood to her goal. She held onto her wind chakra, ready to strike at the second assassin. It was fortunate that she preferred to think first and act later, as once she threw the stained clothes back, she realised her help wasn’t needed. Asami drew to a swift stop, hands clasped in a seal as she tried to process the scene.

The hunted had become the hunter, but… how? Why? “Mister… Sadehide?” By some miracle, the man had wrestled a weapon from his attacker and turned the tables. No, that didn’t make sense. The man wasn’t nearly injured enough to be inexperienced, and his attacker appeared to have given up. It didn’t add up, but she quickly remembered that it didn’t have to. “We should go. Find the authorities before any more of them show up. We can get you out safely.” There was an edge of doubt in her voice, but hopefully the fact that they had tailed him for that long would count for something.

 

[Michinori Kato]

As the man is hit with the spikes and the blood is splattered Kato watches, watches seeing his past, watches seeing his future. Blood is splattered as the man is gone, seemingly vanished but, the blood says otherwise. Kato dispels his jutsus and wraps himself in the cloak slowly looking down as he slowly starts walking towards the girl and Sadehide again.

"Such a mess..." Kato says to himself as he keeps moving towards them. His mark is glowing slightly as he keeps walking. "Good kill, let your rage and adrenalin out, every kill brings you closer you know that." Kato hears and nods gently. "This will be my job...got to get used to it.." Kato says as he looks down and traces a symbol, that looks almost exactly like his tattoo.

After finishing carving the mark, Kato gets up and makes sure his weapon is around his arm ready as Kato takes a second to run and try to catch up with everyone. Hearing no fight he figures that they are ok, but a dreaded thought passes into his head and he hurrys running faster.

After reaching the point where everyone is here Kato looks at Mister Sadehide and looks at the thug now turned victim."Mister Sadehide...everything alright?" Kato says cautions as he realizes the man who ran from a fight was able to turn it around with seemingly no effort so wanting to make sure Sadehide isnt going to turn on them. Kato heads over to where the girl is as he keeps his eyes on Sadehide just being cautious. "Is there anyone else Sadehide? And mind telling us why they are after you?" Kato says next to the girl walking closer to Sadehide.

 

[Horigome Sukejuro]

The final act had finally concluded and weariness had began to set in as unhappiness ebbed at the active mind behind the performance as he heard their pleas, saw their disillusion settling in as the thick infection of guilt and self-loathing started to erode and grind at the excitement or good he'd been inspired to do. His wild eyes and expressions softened on the face that wasn't his, it wasn't anyone’s. Keeping his features most neutral as a man could with limited experience at projecting visual emotion, get remained taciturn with a blue coat streaked red.

The reluctant voice as the man pulled his hands up and dispelled the cascade get had meticulously constructed to selfishly experience acceptance by hiding his true self.

"Sadehide never was...." sighed the stranger, It was at this time he felt relief, joy? Joy of suffering. In an instant a mask shrouded man towering over both of them, scars wracking his arms with a skullish mask carved meticulously from steel.

“Kekeke. My name is Horigome Sukejuro.” He laughed as the static of stress, anxiety and fear returned, making the whole situation more…interesting. Were it not that he had a purpose he might not gave found purpose to dig words from the static color of shifting consciousness trapped in a faceless identity. “I was hoping to encounter fresh students, I wanted to examine not your abilities but rather…potential to be the future. We are killers, oh yes, to shed blood is our burden inevitably…” he admitted, his voice slow and ponderous, carefully trickling the selected words from his manic consciousness.

“But based on moral fiber can we prevent graver…casualties. The people here and around us are thankless, many more are…not responsible for our recklessness.” He still struggled to keep himself in line as anxiety cut deep into his chest as he ran his fingers down the razors of his Tekko-kagi. “Anyone can kill thoughtlessly, anyone can suffer and die from that thoughtlessness, so as Shinobi we need to mitigate the loss of screaming souls to the void. We have the freedom to at least alter the greater picture. Did either of you realize these two thugs hadn't tried to wound you?”
Sukejuro would gesture to his clone which was built of blood with a Kumo headband. “I was to be the charismatic autocrat, being hunted by retired Kumo nin. Mako, did you consider that a lethal move was rash?” he'd ask, lucid memories of his adopted father being murdered forced Sukejuro to recollect the crushing guilt and numbness he felt, even when vengeance was done.
“The devil is in…the detail. We all must be loyal but when the black fields of blood…reeking of cedar, ash, volumes of rotting that conclude the chapter of every last person you knew or loved, how will you forgive yourselves?” he would start to walk about them in circles, conflicted and truly lost in this situation, but despite his crippling internal feelings he always maintain responsibility or care for almost everyone.
[spoilername=”Let me out”]
Please. Please[/spoilername]

his words grew more unconventional as he turned to Saotome like a scarred white crow “Most exceptional, given your limitations, you're mind is as keen as any set of talons I've used. The Main Branch could use you in the intelligence services. I can sense reluctance in you, which is so very good. I was once so…eager to join ANBU but realized that I was a selfish idiot. Good times…you two, though, should train together as you both have much to learn. From him, martial and chakra talents, from her? Perception and investigation. Any questions?”

Bright red eyes from his cursed heritage, the failed legacy of his mad father's pride and shame flowered like embers behind thick glass of his mask, motionlessly awaiting his pupils words as his inner conflict about himself thrashed. He certainly didn't want them cursed like himself, to live in a world of isolation, fear and hate. Ever aware of his own weaknesses, this was his attempt to preserve the world from the anomaly of his very existence.

 

[Saotome Asami]

Nothing was as it seemed. It was a lesson many a teacher had attempted to show future shinobi, and one that was much better learned through experience. Asami was finding that out the hard way. The hunter and the hunted became one in the blink of an eye; prompting her to take a half-step back from surprise. No doubt, she had shown that she had a quick mind, but as the man attempted to explain and commend her efforts, she bore an unmistakable look of confusion on her face. Worse still, there was a growing sense of fear, although she felt it much more than she let it show. Never mind the implications that she couldn’t even go through a normal day without a surprise ‘test’, or that the masked man was waxing poetic after making them believe he was going to die… She couldn’t help but feel he wasn’t quite right in the head. Their predicament added a bit of bias, but she had already proven to be observant. His mannerisms, the hesitation, the fact that they couldn’t see his face… Even though he clearly held all the power, he still seemed worried about something, and that only made her more worried about herself.

An offer to train? Even under normal circumstances, she wanted little more than necessary to do with the shinobi life. With everything else compounded onto those thoughts, she found herself feeling dread again. Before it had been mild but persistent; the knowledge that something was wrong, but the inability to pinpoint why. This time around, she knew the problem. The ‘teacher’ was mental, and she wasn’t sure where Kato lay in terms of stability either. She needed to get herself somewhere safe, but how? Moving too quickly might startle the man into action, but she was too far from the public eye to call for help. If the man could create a scene of multiple men for them to follow, while she could barely attack, she had no doubt that he would win any confrontation.

What was a girl to do, then? In times like those, she found honesty was the best policy – mainly because lies were harder to pull off when one’s composure was already slipping. “Er… No. No, thank you.” Even then, her discomfort made itself clear in her voice, and her eyes were a little too wide to be considered normal. “I… I’m actually not too interested in this shinobi business. Really. I just thought somebody was in trouble.” Another step back. “I’m sure you both mean well, but… It isn’t the life for me. Sorry.”