Golden Treasures And Jade Jewels. [Sousuke]

[Kokomo]

It was a dead night. The type of night where the moon was a white smudge among the black clouds in the sky. Where the wind dared not whisper to its neighbor, and the air stood still. The geothermal heat keeping the quiet night warm without much of an escape. Not a sound from any sort of creature, living or nonliving, would beckon from the cracks of reality, save the minuscule sound of the air molecules brushing past the stealthy body of a woman scantily-clad in the summer night.

She was a tall woman with fair skin, and hair blacker than the night itself that brushed the small of her back. For a woman of her stature, she had an ability of moving through the streets without the brash sounds that most humans made. Her steps were graceful and careful, and never beckoned the noisy walking of anyone else. She was light on her feet, and clearly practiced in the art of stealth.

It was today, that this masked Shinobi would make a move far more dangerous than most would find considerable. Never had anyone among the depths of the slums questioned what sorts of treasures were kept in none other than the Kazekage Tower itself. Not until, of course, Ijimeru Kitanai came into town.

Pressing herself against the side of the tower, the slender Shinobi peered around the side of the wall towards the lined up guard that stood, erect, in the pathway. She could hear a few of their feet crunching around the sand, patrolling, on the other sides. They were interesting guards, looking around all day and night for intruders, and not even capable of finding her. Though, in hindsight, it was a flattering compliment.

The Seikon rolled her eyes at the thought. The guards talking casually among themselves every once in awhile as she leaned closer to the wall. It was, at this point, that suddenly, the Seikon was inside of the building. Her body manifesting inside through some sort of strange warping of space and time as she turned to find the stairs.

"Huh?" A deep voice inquired as a larger man turned to see what new presence had disturbed the air around him as the thief stepped, once more, through the boundaries of space, moving behind him just as he had turned. Kitanai's knuckles making a quick blow to the nape of his neck, he free hand catching him by the back of the shirt to set him down silently on the ground as she observed the area more carefully before making her way to the stairs.

"So this is the drab place the Kazekage slumbers in..." the woman thought, gliding like a silent ghost across the room. "Tell me, old rooms, what treasures do you hide from me?" She inquired to herself again as she kept her fingers away from everything. Her shockingly cyan irises scanning each room with a bored expression. "What a depression discovery, you would think that he would be rolling in riches--Ah?" She interrupted her thoughts as she stopped short of walking past what appeared to be a technical suit of some sort. It was almost like a large set of highly advanced armor. "What have we here?" Kitanai thought again as she reached forward and placed the palm of her bandaged hand on the breast plate of the armor. "You're far too big to carry..." She thought again, sticking her arm inside the plate. "Perhaps you hide something within the walls of your--heart?" She pulled a bit, removing what appeared to be a gold pocket watch of sorts. "How plainly cliché, Kazekage." Her eyes rolled as she scanned over the pocket watch. "It is sure to make a good sell, nonetheless."

The scantily-clad woman gave a smirk to the treasure, tucking it safely into her bosom as she moved towards a nearby window. Afraid of making too much noise, her body, once more, shifted reality and appeared outside of the window, her hands clutching to the ceiling as she pulled herself on top of the top, taking silent steps across it. "Such a beautiful night," Kitanai thought again as she moved towards the opposite edge of the roof, gauging the world below. If she jumped out far enough, she'd manage to land outside the premises of the Tower, where she would be able to make her way back to the district.

Kitanai backed up, her long legs limbering up as she took a running start...

 

[Takahashi Aki]

The Steward was a man of little worth. He was not a rich man by any means, but he was often aided by the generosity of others. The Takahashi clan had suffered hard times more than most. Thus one thing was of great import to the Steward. His family's pocket watch. The first to own it was not the Steward's father, nor his father's father, but his father thrice before. Such an heirloom was passed down from father to son upon their twenty-first birthday. The pocket watch carried with it a carried with it a meaning. Time could not be controlled, it would pass by on its own time, but if one wanted to best time, then they had to be patient. The Takahashi were known for their patience. It was one of their greatest qualities, and in the case of Sousuke it was most evident given his experiences with Okibi who was anything but patient.

The Steward was a man who was known greatly for his patience and his self control. Perhaps he had too much of it. Even when his greatest family treasure was stolen, the Steward practiced self-control. When one found an object of great value, stolen one would think a little loss of self control would be in order. Well obviously not, as one would find a very un-hostile approach to a certain thief.

As Kitana tried to make her exit, a great wall of fire would rise up blocking her exit. If she were to turn around and try to make another exit, she would find another wall of fire rising up, and after that two more would appear boxing her in. A figure would then phased in. One solitary figure who seemed unbothered by the heat. This of course would be the Steward. He didn't look happy, but most of the time he never did look happy. The Steward reached into his lab coat and removed a remote. He simply pointed at Kitana and pressed the button. A beep noise would then come out of her, in particular her bosom. The Steward would then extended his free hand and expected his family heirloom to be returned. "The jeweler that my family deals with is still open for another six minutes. If you return to me what is mine I can have him disinfect it from your bacteria. I also have to get the mark two model also disinfected too because you left a smudge mark on the Gen Core. That can wait of course, but I do treasure my family heirloom."<i></i>

 

[Kokomo]

Jumping from a roof top always had it's aspirations. To fall from the top and feel the breeze against your skin. It was breath taking and surprising, and made your stomach churn with excitement. That was, assuming, you knew what you were doing, and you intentionally jumped. But as Kitanai took a running start, a large wall of fire burst from the floor, and she skidded, pulling the brakes as she fell to the ground, scrambling backwards away from the surprise inferno. "What the hell?!" She shouted to herself, clearly not expecting that, as three more walls burst from the roof to box her in.

Standing, Kitanai gave a playful smirk to the walls of fire, and then to the shadowy figure that materialized before her, clearly displeased. "Oh, today isn't my Birthday, is it?" Her voice was low and suggestive as she tipped her head down and gave a sultry smirk. "I'm a little excited, what a surprise." Her innuendo was thick as she placed a hand on her side, cocking her hip, and pushing her chest back as she looked over the figure. But the man removed a remote, pointing it towards her, as a beep echoed from her bosom, her head angling downwards as her cyan eyes settled on the area the noise came from. "Oooo~" She puckered her lips slightly as she rolled her shoulders back, "That looks like a really fun toy--I love games."

The Kazekage began to speak, demanding--sort of--that she return the item she "filthied". His hand jabbed out, palm upwards, and Kitanai removed the pocket watch, looking at it as she dangled it in front of her face, and raised a delicate eyebrow, her fair skin glimmering in the heated box. "This?" She toyed, "Family Heirloom, you say?" She said, stepping towards him, the pocket watch in hand as she looked over it, walking a circle around him harmlessly.

"But...I want it." She said bluntly, her face leaning in before pulling the spandex away from her chest, again, and dangling the pocket watch above it, teasingly, before dropping it back in. "And you're going to have to come get it if you want it~" It was another sexual suggestion as she backed up, her eyes sparking as she twirled with those long legs and her slender body to turn away from him, "It's just a pocket watch." She said simply, turning to face him again, farther away now, "Why would you want to keep it when you have such a large mechanical armor you could pass down to your son--assuming you have one." Her hand raised to block her lips, as though she were whispering to him, "I'm always available to practice, if you want~" She winked.

 

[Takahashi Aki]

The Steward was not amused. He was being circled, it was a rather pointless tactic he thought considering he had a flaming box surrounding them both. The Steward looked up for a moment as he was trying to block out most of her movements. "Modesty or control doesn't seem to be your strongest characteristic. Your intellect alone is equivalent to the amount of clothing you're wearing. Do you take your victims for granted?"<i></i> The Steward spoke. "Then again, if I were to examine your cranium I would expect to find a lot of void-matter... "<i></i> The Steward spoke unenthusiastically. He was going to employ the use of sarcasm, but decided not to as this thief was stealing from him, which alone was not too bright.

For a moment it seemed like the pocket watch was going to be returned to him as she pulled it out, only to have it once again hidden away in her bosom. The Steward was not the least bit impressed. "Employing your gender? How typical."<i></i> The Steward thought about calling Kumiko or one of the female Anbu to acquire back his heirloom, but that would only result in more taunts from this woman. All of her movements seemed to be lost on the Steward. He merely stared back at her. "You might want it, but it is mine by right of succession. You're not in the line of succession, but I suppose such a concept would be lost upon you, as it does upon most extra-legal individuals who acquire other's goods through means of stealth. Technically we call that stealing, and that is an extra-legal affair that is punishable on accordance with what is being stolen. You're not some beggar, but you seem to think yourself an accomplished thief, and you thought stealing from the village's leader would result in a high risk, high reward. Unfortunately for you it is a high risk, very low reward. Having been caught you are employing your good charms upon me in an attempt to make an easy escape because it is your hope that I would let you off with a warning. Unfortunately for you, that is not going to work. The last time someone broke into my office, they found themselves being dropped from this tower three times, and then attended to by rookie medics who just barely passed their test."<i></i> The query of having a son or not was ignored by Sousuke. Clearly she didn't know him that well. The Steward's brow merely furrowed. Really? Did such foul women exist?

 

[Kokomo]

The typical technique wasn't working. It seemed as though the Kazekage wasn't interested in sex, and according to his concept, he wasn't interested in money either. Hell, according to his facial expressions, he wasn't interested in anything! He spoke with very little to know flow or change in pitch, and in a monotone drawl, Kitanai stepping back to stand square in front of him, no longer throwing her hips or bust out. She stood casually, a single eyebrow raised as she stared at him.

But, alas! he was not done! He spit more about her failed attempt (which really wasn't failed, because she still had the pocket watch), but he did bring up a valid point about the item she had taken. It was a high-risk item that was totally worthless. Except for the gloating rights, it really had no appeal to her or anyone. All in all, managing to get in and then out with it in hand was gloating enough for the streets, even if she didn't return with it in the end. Surely she would be able to make up a story--or not, seeing as the walls of fire were pretty cool.

But, it was really hard to take the Steward seriously. He was babbling what appeared to be insults, but they bounced off of the woman as though they were meaningless. It wasn't your casual 'you're a bitch' sentence, but had some sort of special twist. It was almost like he was reading from a thesaurus or scientific novel to get his insults, and it was, as a matter of fact, hilarious.

Kitanai's face cracked into a humored smile as she started to giggle a bit, leaning forward to peer at him with one eyebrow raised, again, "Are you serious?" She said, trying to stifle her laugh. "Is this a joke?" She looked around, as though expecting an audience to appear and start to laugh. After looking for the invisible audience she looked back to the man, the grin still cracked across her angular face, "Oh my god, you're serious." She started to laugh, more sincerely this time. "Do you seriously talk like that?" She inquired, her laugh becoming contagious to herself, "How long did it take you to learn to speak with such a babble?" She retrieved the pocket watch from her bosom, giving it a lazy toss to him as she mused to herself about his behavior.

"Wow, that's really rich," She nodded a few times, looking at the walls of fire, "You really know how to put on a show. With the fire, and the serious face, and the monotone accent." Her laugh faded as she was left with nothing but a cocky smile. "Let me know when your next show is, I'll be sure to attend and bring a few friends of mine!" Her body turned as she looked up towards the wall of fire, wondering if he was going to let her leave.

 

[Takahashi Aki]

The Steward continued to stand there as the thief in question began to take in his details which were anything conservative in the extreme. The Steward said nothing. He was as silent as the grave. She seemed to think that this was some sort of joke, but no the Steward was very serious. When she broke down into laughter, the Steward snorted and broke eye contact. He looked skyward to the roof above. He began to go through the prospect of division of invisible numbers within the realm infinite hextagrades. The Steward was somewhat paying attention to the woman making a fool of herself in his eyes, but he was far more interested with the prospect of dividing by a number that could have very well been zero. Eventually the woman stopped talking, and the Steward turned his head back down to focus on her? Was she finally done?

No. She continued to talk. The Steward thus returned to the realm of math. The Steward proceeded to do more and more calculations and eventually realized she stopped talking. "Oh. You're done."<i></i> The Steward caught the watch and before the watch landed in his hand, the Steward's armour activated. The Steward's eyes narrowed as he looked at his beloved family heirloom. He didn't like where it had been. This woman could have been swimming in garbage for all he knew. "To answer your questions, not this is not a joke. Do I look like the comical sort to you?"<i></i> He inquired. The Steward's eyes went from his pocket watch to Kitana. "I assure you this is my normal way of talking. You're the second person to inquire the same. I don't put on shows. I do what is required of me, and you who were acting like a common criminal needed to be caged and dealt with appropriately."<i></i> Despite the heat coming from the walls, the Steward had not broke a sweat. "What drove you to attempt to steal from me? The thrill of success, or merely just the concept of the thrill of committing a crime?"<i></i> The walls of fire remained still, and it seemed that it was the Steward's turn to ask questions. "I do not beleive you were tipped off, because most people know of my ... modest living."<i></i>

 

[Kokomo]

There was a moment of awkward silence. It was strange, as the Steward stared upwards at the ceiling of their great and powerful cave. Glow worms creating the effect of stars scattered across the ceiling. Kitanai leaned forward again, cocking her head a bit to try and see what he could possibly be looking at. His consciousness would return as he snapped back, realizing she had finished poking fun at him. He was a drifty man, certainly not fit for a Kage.

Of course he appeared comical! The best kind of humor was when the person doing the humor had a straight face! But, he was quite the mood killer, and Kita's face had straightened back out, only looking bored now. And yet, he continued to speak as though she, too, had been serious. Reassuring that her joke about him putting on a show was not accurate. Oh, wow, he was just adorable!

Things, however, quickly turned to seriousness. The Steward bringing up the fact of being caged and dealt with. What was she, an animal? No walls could bind her in!--Well, except the ANBU prison, of course. It was an area of chakra draining that would surely drag her down--but they had to catch her first!

"My my, Steward, I don't think you realize how popular you are in the slums." Her voice said in a low tone as her eyes looked down at the ground before flickering back up. "You're a joke." She spat at him, "Breaking an entry into the tower and taking a useless item is but a game to us--and, in hindsight, I suppose I've won." She said, turning back to the flames, her expression calmed from before. "Though, I must say, you do indeed live a drab life. Most leaders are dripping diamonds from their pores--but all you have are strange machines..." Kitanai's voice trailed off in a moment of pondering as she considered what the man might possibly use the mechanics for.

"Now, please release your security system, and I shall be on my way." Did she really expect him to let her go? Not exactly. In fact, she'd be amazed if he did. She was fully prepared to show him the techniques of the Seikon had he decided to take the hard route and demand she be put to 'justice' of some sort. Yet again, he had his weird heirloom, so what more could he want?

 

[Takahashi Aki]

The Steward wondered what exactly she was getting at. Yes the homeless network. It had if anything great potential if one so much as paid into it. Bribes were powerful, especially for individuals of a lower income. The lack of morality to accept a bribe for a homeless person was easily understood by the Steward. Perhaps if he needed to acquire information in the future, he too should tap into the homeless network. What drove such a thing was self perseverance. "I think you have me confused for someone else. Perhaps a companion of mine named Roku. He is an amused man of sorts, and capable of laughter as I am not."<i></i> He spoke in return when she said that he was a joke. When she spoke of him and the concept of riches he again reminded of the same fact. "I think you have me confused with a Sunahoshi. Have you perhaps suffered from a grave heard wound as a child?"<i></i> The Steward finally inquired. Truly. This woman must have suffered a massive loss in brain cells.

"Wrong again. This is not a security system. This is actually a technique of mine."<i></i> The Steward raised his hand and the walls of fire pushed back a bit and began to thin out. "..."<i></i> The Steward was at a loss of sorts. He was going to let her go. She did steal from him though she did return to him what was rightfully his. The Steward was at a loss of sorts. What was he actually supposed to do?

 

[Kokomo]

Wow, he was thick between the ears. Just about every sly remark she made bounced off of him because he didn't get it. It was tiresome really, and she found herself exhausted with the idea as he finally admitted it was time to release her. What a good Kazekage! He knew his limits!

Kita turned towards the thinning flames, her eyes staying locked on his as her body turned until her head finally whipped to join the direction her body was facing, moving towards the edge of the roof, looking down before she turned around to face the Steward, a sly look on her face as her emerald eyes burned with that hidden vileness she had.

"Thanks a million, sugar." She smirked, her body crouching before she sprung up and backwards, her body turning upside-down as her body flew downwards towards the ground. Her feline movements making her swift and agile as she grabbed a pole hanging from a building, slowing herself down as she jumped from the pole to a clothes' line, and down into the striped awning of another build as she tucked and rolled into the streets, brushing herself off and flipping her dark hair over her shoulder as she looked up and over towards the Kage Tower.

Oh, what a grand time she had.

Walking away, moving into the darker parts of the city and towards the allies of the slums, Kitanai pulled the golden pocket watch from her bosom again, smirking at it as she tossed it around in her hand. Oh, yes, the young Seikon had used the time he took to scold her with his words to materialize the item from his pocket and back to the place she had stored it originally. Ah, yes, the thief was a snake in the grass, after all.

[Topic Left]

 

[Takahashi Aki]

[Topic concluded]