Rough Nights [Contract Search]

[Sekuro]

Saturday : Diamond Maelstrom : 1:10AM​

Kagemaru's plan had succeeded and he'd successfully saved Choukushi from the quick sand. But his dragon was lost in the process. However, Kagemaru didn't seem to express much concern for it. This was because the dragon was a simple construct of his chakra and a small manifestation of mental capability. Kagemaru could make more of he so needed but the situation now didn't call for another one.

As Choukushi spoke, Kagemaru's eyes began to adjust to the bright chakra of the cave. But there was still the sting of the illumination as if he were staring directly into a bright light. Even if his eyes got used to the majority of it, there was still a fair amount of pain that he had to endure.

Have you ever tried staring into the sun? You end up blinking or looking away after a while right? Well I don't have that option here. Wiping his eyes that had teared up a bit due to the strain, Kagemaru raised himself from his kneeling position and they would move forward just as Choukushi explained that he no longer would be able to navigate the two of them through this cave unharmed. They still had to make their way across the quicksand which Kagemaru already had a plan for.

I usually work alone, so I make sure that I am equipped for most situations since I don't often like to rely on others. Something like quicksand is childs play for me. Kagemaru began to focus his chakra into his feet. This technique was taught to genin as it was a very simple technique but very useful.

Shinobi learn to water-walk at an early age. You do this by focusing your chakra to your feet to create a stable platform to stand on. Quicksand is hardly any different from water so walking over it with my focused chakra should be fairly simple. Kagemaru began to walk over the sand and had his logic been correct then walking over the sand should have been a simple task as placing one foot in front of the other. Once accross, Kage would wait for Choukushi to instruct him on where to go to next. His vision was returning slowly so they weren't as blind as Choukushi made them out to be. Kagemaru's largest asset was his vision but as Choukushi just witnessed, he was still capable without his eyes. He kept his searchlight jutsu active so that they could see the way.

Well you're the guide... I'll just try and make sure we get through here alive. You focus on getting us to wherever it is we're going.

 

[Kazu]

As Kagemaru explained his plan to Choukushi, the little lizard seemed pleased that Kagemaru could come up with such a good plan. Smiling at the man, Choukushi would speak from the bank of the quicksand. "Well done, Kagemaru! Now, how's about letting me get on your shoulder, huh?" As the lizard said the words, he was preparing to jump. But that's when it happened. All of a sudden, all of the chakra in Kagemaru's legs and feet were violently drained out of his body. With nothing to keep him up from the sand, gravity took over and forced him into the quicksand. As he plopped into the sand, he would begin to sink rather quickly. The little lizard, Choukushi, became wide eyed and startled. It took him a second to regain control over himself. "Kagemaru, hang on! I'll figure something out, so just sit still!" As the lizard rushed off to find something to pull the man out with, Kagemaru would feel the rest of his chakra slowly being drained out of him. Slowly, yet surely, he would be left as nothing more than a hollowed husk. If he took the time to take notice, he'd see that his chakra was being sent through the sand and into the walls of the caverns. His chakra would join that which lay dormant in these caverns. As he sunk, the little lizard was no where to be found. Where had he gone to? Had Choukushi left Kagemaru to die? As time went on, Kagemaru's fate seemed inevitable. As his face sunk underneath the sands, it was a sure sign that his life was over...

...or not. Before the man had known it, he had dropped down several feet into a small room. Well, it was more of a cage, to be honest. A cage made of gigantic bones, a lit with only wooden torches. All around the man was darkness—he couldn't see anything. In fact, even with his visual jutsu, he wouldn't be able to see outside of his cage. This thing was draining his chakra, just like the sands. It wouldn't drain all of it, which was fortunate since if he lost it all he'd be dead. He would retain a little bit of chakra, but certainly not enough to perform any techniques. Furthermore, it blocked his visual jutsu so that he was unable to see anything outside of it. Out of the shadows came a voice, a whisper actually, that seemed to echo across the halls. "Well, what have we here? Meat for us to dine on?"

 

[Sekuro]

Saturday : Diamond Maelstrom : 1:13AM​

It was a safe plan. It was a logical plan. It was a good plan. So WHY were things still going wrong? It was like no matter what he did, everything would take a turn for the worse right after he made just the slightest bit of progress. Truth be told his resolve to rescue his student was beginning to fade away just as his chakra was from the quicksand. He was even beginning to doubt his own decisions. As his body sunk slowly into the dirt, he questioned his choices and if they were the right ones to make. In his head, he visualized the alternative options that he'd thought of but decided against, the first of which he was that he could just jump over the quicksand, but he decided to walk due to not knowing the structural integrity of the pathway he walked on or actually being able to see well enough to gauge the distance he needed to jump and he didn't want to differ to Choukushi's opinion on that subject. His second thought was to 'test the waters' with clones first. He would have made a few clones initially and then had them walk across to see if there were any traps but he was trying to conserve time and chakra so he decided that due to what happened to his dragon that it was more then likely normal quicksand so walking across it as he ultimately decided on seemed the best option for speed, and practicality.

But no...

Kage didn't struggle as the sand took him. His chakra drained too fast for him to be able to react and before he could reply to Choukushi who'd readily scuttled off, Kagemaru found himself waking up in what seemed to be a cage with his vision being cut off by the bars and only a voice echoing to him. After doing a quick body check, he still had all his appendages and all his essential body parts so they hadn't really done anything to him since he lost consciousness. That was good, so now he just needed to figure out a way out of this situation. But he was already coming up with something. He could see easily that his chakra levels were too low to try and escape these chakra infused bones of this cage but hopefully they'd fall for his faint instead.

You can't hold me here... you should give me more credit then that. While he said that, he weaved handseals for his Energy Transfer jutsu. His chakra was much too low for any other jutsu and this particular jutsu had the wonderful effect of not costing chakra, but absorbing chakra. However, Kagemaru's intent was to cause his captors to think he was about to use a jutsu in which he also assumed they already knew he was too drained to do any actual jutsu so that he could secretly absorb some of the chakra being drained out of him. Hopefully if his process was faster then the chakra being drained out of him, he'd gain enough chakra to use an effective jutsu for breaking out without his captors noticing.

Whats this? After weaving his seals, he threw his hands to the ground to make a large display, only to fail at anything coming out. This was part of his feint. If he was correct, his captors would do little more then laugh at his pitiful attempts to escape. Sighing heavily, he'd plop back down to the ground. The chakra absorbed could be done through any point of contact from his body so literally absorbing the chakra through his buttox would leave his hands and feet free to move so that his captors wouldn't think he was up to something. The absorbing process was also invisible. The chakra absorbed wouldn't be concentrated enough to become visible so if all went well, it would be only minutes before he could escape.

Alright... so I'm still alive, and you're obviously intelligent. I can't really see you but if I had to guess, you've got some kinda relationship to Choukushi. Makes sense due to this being the cave that he brought me to and a trap that he said didn't use to be. So the question is... what do you want from me? If I were just a meal, you'd have eaten me while I was asleep. The game was to keep them talking as long as possible so that he could regenerate more chakra. If they thought he was being drained of all his energy, they would probably see him as less of a threat and more inclined to answer his dying questions before they enjoyed his lifeless body. While he talked and while he waited, Kagemaru tapped his foot upon the ground of which he sat. This was because he had another secret ability. A technique that his father taught him years ago. Through forced tactile connection (hitting things) he could absorb chakra from it. A very minute amount, but none the less, he needed more chakra. So while he waited, he would casually tap his feet in a way that made him seem fidgety, while rocking back and forth in a manner that made him seem nervous but all the while never once losing some form of contact with the ground. If his plan went well, he'd have enough chakra to attempt to escape from wherever it was he was being held or at least be able to power his Byakugan up enough to see passed the walls of his cage.

 

[Kazu]

As Kagemaru's plan unfolded, he did indeed produce the desired results. As his faked attempt at failing a jutsu finished, the same voice which had spoken before burst out into laughter. The laughter stopped just long enough for the voice to speak in-between fits of chuckling. "Oh, you are amusing prey. Please, by all means drain your own life force. It would help speed things along for everyone." Unbeknownst to this voice, however, Kagemaru's plan was going along quite smoothly. While the cage did attempt to drain his chakra, the man's technique successfully retained his chakra and even managed to drain some back. Slowly, he was gaining back his chakra. In a few moments, he would have enough chakra to completely bust out of his cage. Even now, Kagemaru's visual jutsu was beginning to come back online. His vision was slowly growing outside of the cage, granting him a view of the creature that spoke and the rooms beyond. His captor was a gigantic lizard, as big as the man, and standing on two legs as well. He wore plated armor, and carried a large spear. Past him was a hallway, made of stone, that led down into a large and open room. Inside his vision was not long enough to view its entirety, but it was enough to see that there were hundreds of other lizards—all just as large, if not larger, than his captor—all congregated within that room. There was something vital that he was missing, though. Some very important piece of information. Regardless, his technique would be ready soon...

— — — — —

The little lizard was running round frantically up on the surface. Through the caves he ran, desperately shouting at the top of his lungs. "SOMEBODY, PLEASE ANSWER ME! FOR GOD'S SAKE, LET ME IN!" It took a bit of time, but finally a panel in the stone walls opened up. Out came another lizard, dressed in a battle suit of plate mail, who addressed Choukushi like an old acquaintance. "Choukushi, there you are! We've been combing the deserts for you. Where have you been all this time?" With a look of exasperation and worry, Choukushi turned to the lizard without skipping a beat. "Oh thank god! Quickly, there's a human that I brought down here that got sucked down by some quicksand! I assume it was one of your traps?" The other lizard looked surprised and taken aback for a moment, but quickly collected himself and answered. "Yes, that was one of ours. That one leads directly to the Chakra Cage." At this, the lizard hesitated for a moment before adding, "Choukushi, if you don't mind me asking, why did you bring a human here? Surely you don't mean that..." Brushing off the comments like they were nothing, Choukushi immediately began to speak. "Never mind that! Quickly, tell them to let the human out before he gets hurt!" At this, the other lizard immediately stiffened up. It was as if he'd been given a direct order. "Right away. But tell me, why would you bring a human that easily injured for that?" "I'm not talking about the human. I'm talking about the guard..."

[ooc]
Feel free to RP busting out. Be as creative as you want~

 

[Sekuro]

Saturday : Diamond Maelstrom : 1:25AM​

And his plan was finally going his way. Believe it or not, this was a situation he was far more equipped to handle then the previous situations he'd been dealing with recently. He was alone, he was underestimated, and he was in complete control. His captors may not agree, but Kagemaru wasn't exactly asking for their opinion. However, as time passed, his vision began to return to its regular god-like state though not fully returned, he was charging enough chakra to make his escape.

Well since I can ascertain that you're going to wait until my chakra has drained before you eat me or something... I think I'll tell a little story before I go. Kagemaru was nothing if not a showman. As he continued rocking back and forth, tapping his hands upon the ground, absorbing chakra back into his system, he would buy himself a bit more time in the form of a dying man's last words.

My name is Onryu Kagemaru. This one time, when I was just a kid, me and my dad were out training when we saw that a predator was hunting another animal. My dad thought it would be a good idea if I learn the lesson I'm about to tell you. It was at this point that he stood up. Kage wouldn't have been surprised if his captor would have been a little shocked by this. Kagemaru began to pace back and forth in his cell. Truth be told, if it was an average person, they should have been getting tired and not have the energy to walk, but Kagemaru seemed to be getting stronger.

As we approached, I could see that it was <insert native animal A here> being hunted by an <insert native predator B here>. B had cornered A by a stone wall and A had nowhere to go. My father asked me what I thought would happen. I thought that the answer was simple. B was the predator and A was cornered. So I told him that B was going to eat A. My dad chuckled a bit before he told me to to just watch and see. Wanna know what happened? While he paced, Kagemaru had been keeping his eyes closed. He didn't want his captor to know that his eyes had resumed glowing. He couldn't exactly turn that part off so he kept his eyes closed. But as he finished his statement, Kagemaru stopped. His captor now on its guard as even the most dimwitted of animals would have sensed that something was strange. Kage paused before suddenly looking up at his captor and opening his eyes and within an instant, Kagemaru's body burst into smoke. Stunt Double + Elemental clone. His body had instantly appeared behind the lizard captor's and a flurry of strikes pounded against the scales of his would be jailer.Eight Trigrams 64 palms. The lizard would live, but just because Kagemaru wanted to finish his story.

Instead of simply striking when he had the chance, B continued taunting A because it assumed it had the upper hand. But suddenly B had lunged at A with such ferocity that that carnage was etched into my brain even to this day over a decade later.

Wanna know the moral of the story? The lizard man had fallen to his knees as his body functions were going to give out any second now.

Don't play with your food... The lizard man collapsed. Now that he was free, he had to escape. He could only assume that Choukushi had betrayed him with this clever ploy to get him here so Kagemaru's current concern was escaping alive. Killing the Lizard man was definitely an option but there was the chance that he was wrong about his thoughts and being the first to shed blood may cause for the situation to be unreversable. He had not been physically harmed so he would return the favor. While the lizard man was unconscious, Kagemaru was low on supplies so he didn't have anything to tie the man up with, but he did have a means to keep him from moving for a while. Weaving hand seals, Kagemaru would completely replenish his chakra reserves in a few seconds by placing a seal upon the unconscious man. Leach Seal then while that seal did its job, Kage would encase him in another jutsu that would take the Lizard's chakra and replenish Kage's. these jutsu all working together his vision was back 100% but there was still some information he was missing from the next room. It was like something was hiding its presence and it was hiding it well. He would have to treed carefully. Once his chakra was back to sufficient levels, Kage removed the armor of the lizard man. He was going to wear it to hopefully mask his own scent while he escaped. Placing the armor on and then activating the Transformation technique, Kagemaru would appear to be a large scaled lizard just as his captor did. He didn't place his captor in the cage he'd just escaped from because with the amount of chakra Kage had just sapped from him, prolonged exposure would more then likely kill them as they had intended for Kage's demise. Too bad Kagemaru had other things to do today. Using the Destroy Presence technique to remove traces of him ever being there, Kage then activated his Active Camo technique. He had been transformed into a lizard, but he didn't wanna be spotted still. Now was the true test. He would climb through the wall into the next room atop the ceiling and attempt to make his way out. He was good, but he wouldn't be able to take on those numbers alone. Now was the time when his sneaking skills were put to good use.

Damn lizard... This had better be a misunderstanding or I'm coming back to nuke this lizard army... Kage thought to himself as he climbed out and into the next room.

 

[Kazu]

Kagemaru had done well to break out of his prison. He had been swift, cunning, and to the point. But most of all, he'd been resourceful and adaptable. He had taken a horrible situation, and completely flipped it upside down. That is how he now made his way, disguised as a lizard man, into the next room. The room that was hidden from his view. As he entered, he would see how the room opened up into a large cavern nearly a mile around. Everywhere there walked lizard men, even larger and more ferocious looking, than the one that had been guarding Kagemaru earlier. That one had probably been a runt, compared to these ones. They outnumbered the man nearly 3,000 to one—fighting would not be an answer here. If he took the time to observe, he'd notice that they were all looking in one direction: towards the area of his vision that was blocked. Each one of them seemed perfectly at attention, as if listening to someone of great importance. None of them wavered, and none seemed to look anywhere but forward. Furthermore, there seemed to be a voice that reverberated throughout the cavern. It was a deep and mighty voice, that had all the commanding authority of a great general. If Kagemaru wanted to see what they saw, he'd need a direct line of sight. If he wanted to heard what they heard, he would have to strain his ears to pick up on what the voice said. If he chose to look and listen, much would be revealed to him...

There sat a mighty lizard, draped in armor of bone and feathers, sitting atop of a a throne made of bones and skulls. His vicious appearance was only outmatched by the rough and gruff sound of his voice. "And so, my followers, we rest for the evening. Our battles are won, our power is secured, and we continue to be the mightiest of all the clans around. Rejoice, and allow yourselves to enjoy the entertainment for tonight! We shall watch as one of our finest warriors slaughters and devours a human captive. We shall fetch him now." As his eyes wandered around the crowd, staring each and everyone of the cheering attendees directly, his gaze fell across Kagemaru's. As he looked, the mighty lizard seemed to sense something. His body tensed, and he stared down the man with a gaze filled with ferocity. Before this went on for too long, he stood up off of his throne and pointed directly at Kagemaru. As he did, the whole crowd began to shift their gaze backwards, following the direction of the outstretched hand to lay their eyes upon Kagemaru. The mighty reptile's voice boomed out from across the cavern. "You there. Tell me, what is your name?" What would Kagemaru do? He was stranded—alone and outnumbered—with his identity about to be revealed. He'd better think fast.

 

[Sekuro]

Saturday : Diamond Maelstrom : 1:25AM​

It became apparent that the obstruction blocking his vision of the dark area was chakra based as he continued to make his way through the large cavern filled with other lizard men. His eyes could see most of everything in every direction aside from the darkened area so he would need to move into an area that a normal field of view would be able to see. His disguise was working, or so he thought as the passing lizard men in the cavern didn't seem to spot him. It wasn't until a thunderous voice began to boom and echo throughout the tunnel that he began to have a bad feeling about his predicament. As the voice spoke Kage gained a better understanding of his situation and the more he understood the more he felt like a fool for trusting Choukushi in the first place. Why did he trust that lizard so much and risk himself to come here? All on the promise of help so that he could locate and save his lost student Ginjiro. This reaffirmed in his mind that he would work better alone so that he didn't have to worry about others and wouldn't be placed into situations like this. Somewhat lost in though, his attention was brought back to the present as the thunderous voice seemed to single him out. By this time, Kage had maneuvered himself to be able to visually see the large obstruction and was sincerely shocked by what he was seeing. That massive lizard has single handedly ruined his cover and any chance that he had of escaping undetected. Severely outnumbered, there was little he could do in this situation. Running wasn't an option at the moment due to the outrageous number of foes in the room but he could probably manage to slip through if they all attacked him at once. Finding 1 target in a pit of 3000 would be like finding a needle in a haystack. In Kagemaru's case, he'd blend in with his surroundings so it would be like looking for a needle that looked like a piece of hay in a hay stack. But that was only if he was attacked. For now, he'd keep it cool and reply simply to the large creature who was obviously the boss. Jumping down from his position upon the cavern walls and onto a stone bridge like passageway, he stood up straight and spoke.

Onryu Kagemaru. The human who's going to be a lot harder to devour then you expect. He spoke as if he weren't afraid of the rather large army that they had in front of him. Which more or less was true. Kagemaru didn't fear them at all. He was a trained shinobi and even though it wasn't exactly what he was trained for, being out numbered was something he knew how to handle. Until they attacked him, he would play it cool and attempt to either gain information or get a raise out of the reptiles here. When you were this badly outnumbered it was best to use your opponents numbers against them. He was already suited in similar armor to them so if they tried using scent, it would be distorted. And he could also quickly transform into one of them and make clones to further cause confusion. His only concern was how long it would take him to find his way out. Judging by how he ended up, he should only need to go further up until he reached the surface but this cavern was still an unknown labyrinth to him. Maneuvering would be difficult even for him but if it was to survive, Kagemaru would move heaven and earth to beat the odds and make it out alive.

[Marked for Training]
[Wc: 600+]

 

[Kazu]

As the man known as Kagemaru responded, the giant lizard grunted. As he continued to stare down the man, he reached up and scratched at his...hair? He had hair? Regardless, his voice boomed out across the cavern. "I thought so. You do not hold yourself like one of us: proud yet determined to live in any way that you can. You look like you do not belong. Enough, though. You must be exterminated." At this several of the lizards began to move forward, slowly creeping up to the man. They clutched at weapons, and readied themselves for battle. "Time to die, human."

"STOP!"

At the voice, the whole situation seemed to stop. Everyone stood still, and turned to look. Even the leader turned to look. If Kagemaru turned and looked, he'd see a familiar face...

Choukushi stood in a doorway, set on the side of the cavern. As he stood there, the little lizard looked straight at Kagemaru and smiled. With everyone still watching, the little lizard started to walk across the cavern and up to Kagemaru. Once he got there, the lizard smiled up at the man sheepishly. "Hey, are you okay? Quite the predicament, huh? I really didn't mean for any of this to happen. Especially not the 'held captive' part. Can you forgive me? It's my fault you got put through all of this..." After that, the lizard turned back to look at the giant lizard that was the leader. "Father, please release him. He saved my life, countless times." The giant leader seemed stunned. Obviously, the leader hadn't been expecting something like that. Scratching at his hair again, the leader directed his gaze and his words towards Kagemaru. "Is this true, human? Did you save my son?"

 

[Sekuro]

Saturday : Diamond Maelstrom : 1:28AM​

Events were preceding as predicted. The large lizard barked out an order to end Kagemaru's life and the whole of the lizard army below began to make their way to him. He was preparing several handseals as they came closer but then as he was about to unleash his jutsu, the army was halted due to the voice of Choukushi. Kagemaru was a bit relieved at the sight and his nerves were slightly put at ease. Choukushi made his way to Kage's location and asked if he was alright.

I'm about as well as can be expected. Can't say I'm to thrilled about being dinner for a horde of reptiles though. It was at this moment that Choukushi exclaimed to his father that Kage had saved his life several times. Kage was a bit confused about that part. Technically Kage was the reason why Choukushi was in danger in the first place and all he did was keep himself alive while at the same time keeping Choukushi alive by extension. But Kage wouldn't dare make that correction right now. As he'd told his subordinates when they had first arrived in the Wind Country, the best way to lie is to not lie but detail the truth in a way that suits your needs. Looking up to who Kage could assume was the leader of this lizard army, he spoke with confidence.

Yes, I've protected Choukushi from life threatening situations. He brought me here in hopes to receive aid in locating and rescuing a subordinate of mine. I kept him save while we traveled through the storm. All of his statement was true and matched up to what Choukushi had stated as well. Even if they could detect lies, what he said wasn't a lie. Kage just didn't exactly believe that he saved Choukushi's life but kept him alive in potentially dangerous situations. Even the quicksand part wasn't life threatening as Kage had fallen though it and lived so had he not saved Choukushi, he would have been just fine. But that was another situation he would dare not clearly explain. For now he needed to keep himself from being eaten. If things turned sour, Choukushi was going to get to experience what it was like to be a hostage.

 

[Kazu]

This was certainly an unexpected development. The large creature looked to be locked in some sort of mental decision making process. He didn't move, nor did he say anything. Eventually, the creature merely shut its eyes, sat back down on his throne of skulls, and gave out a giant sigh. Scratching his head, the creature began to speak out. "If that is indeed the case, then I must apologize to you, Onryu Kagemaru. You having saved my son has left me in your debt, and as such I could not possibly kill you." At these words, Choukushi seemed to be enormously pleased. Looking back at Kagemaru, the little lizard smiled and whispered something under his breath. "Consider that me paying you back for getting you in this mess. But now you've gotta get me twice the amount of dragonflies from your hometown." Winking at the man, Choukushi knew that they had just stretched the truth quite a bit. The lizard knew exactly what their standing was, and he intended to use this position immediately. Speaking louder, so that he was no longer whispering, Choukushi began again. "Thank you, Father. Kagemaru, allow me to introduce you to my Father Ichi. He rules over all of us lizards." The lizard allowed that introduction to sink in for a moment before he spoke, this time solely at his father. "Father, I have brought this human here for a reason. He needs help, and I told him that we could help him. I have brought him here for the signing." At this, everyone in the room gasped. Even Ichi seemed a little thrown off. Nevertheless, he did not skip even a single beat. "The signing? Are you sure, Choukushi?" "Yes, Father, I'm positive. He has shown great promise, and I guarantee that he will be up to it." Nodding in understanding, Ichi ceased looking at his son and instead stared directly at Kagemaru—the only human in the room. "Well, Kagemaru, how about it? Would you like to sign a contract?"

[ooc]
I just had to put in the Madoka reference. #w#

 

[Sekuro]

Saturday : Diamond Maelstrom : 1:32AM​

The situation seemed to have been diffused for now. A wave of relief shot over his body as even though he was prepared to face that entire lizard army, he would be remiss to not be glad to not need to. The odds were not in his favor no matter what his cunning tactics proved to be but for now, he was not in any immediate danger so he would follow the course of events as they unfolded.

I'm glad you've reconsidered. Kage wouldn't ruin the moment by further going on to say how bad of an idea it was, and so he kept his tongue to himself. But he would nod at Choukushi's statement for more dragonflies. The little lizard had turned out to be trusting after all so Kage would make sure he kept his end of the bargain as well.

Choukushi took the floor and announced that the largest lizard of all was in fact his father and the leader of all these lizards. It was at this point that Kage had the time to actually take in what he's been experiencing for the last few minutes. He was in an underground cave surrounded by an army of lizard men. This was the stuff of insanity and sickness in the head but he held his ground. Choukushi then went on to speak of a signing. This turn of phrase confused Kage as he was no longer aware of what they were conversing about.

Sign? Kage thought to himself with a slightly puzzled expression sprawled across his face. Choukushi continued and then the leader spoke. Kage was being offered a contract but he was unsure what the best choice was. He'd heard of making deals with the devil and how they usually were never good for the signer. Kagemaru didn't want to fall prey to any trickery so he would attempt to gain more information before continuing on. Tightening up the blindfold around his eyes he took a stern stance before addressing the lizard king and then asked:

What does this contract entail? What are the terms and conditions of this contract? You'll have to forgive my ignorance but this whole situation is an entirely new experience for me.

 

[Kazu]

As Kagemaru responded to Ichi's proposition, the great lizard raised one of his eyebrows in surprise. What was this, the man known as Kagemaru had never heard of this sort of arrangement? Ichi knew that the humans knew that creatures such as they existed in this world. They were the stuff of legends—gods among men. And yet in all of his young years, this man had never once heard of them? Ichi's face began to contort into a smile, visibly becoming amused with the entirety of the situation. After a moment of this, the leader of the lizards burst out with laughter. It was a hearty laugh, full of mirth and amusement. After a moment, he settled down enough to speak again. "You are a funny one, Onryu Kagemaru. You seriously have never heard of us? Very well." Turning to two lizards that stood next to the doorway, Ichi motioned with his hands for the two to go and fetch something. Reacting immediately, the two lizards scurried off without another word. Turning back to Kagemaru, Ichi began to speak. "You see, Kagemaru, we lizards are a powerful race. We are warriors, survivalists, and on rare occasions we are friends..." At this time, the two lizards would return, between them holding a large wooden branch. Wrapped around it seemed to be some sort of paper. "To those few individuals whom have proven themselves to us, we offer to them an agreement. A contract..." The two lizards carrying the enormous branch set it down at Kagemaru's feet. The wooden branch, upon closer inspection, seemed to be made out of a twisted and gnarled branch, petrified after so many thousands of years. It was impossible to know how old it was because of this. The parchment that wrapped around the branch was tattered and old, stained in places and ripped in others. To Kagemaru, it must have looked like this piece had been horribly neglected. This was not the case. "It's been a long time since we've met anyone worthy of become bound to us. Someone who can summon us at their beckoned call." The two lizards unfurled the parchment, showing a twisting maze of signatures that Kagemaru would not recognize. Blood signatures of those people who, long ago, once wielded the power of the lizards. But no longer. "This is the contract that we offer to you. Sign the parchment in front of you in your blood, and we shall be linked to you until the day you die. Summon my kin to suit your needs, whether it be in battle, tracking, or anything else. Consider it repayment for saving my son, and showing your mettle." Staring directly into the eyes of the man that was faced with an incredible opportunity before him, Ichi tried to guage what he must be thinking. Surely this was a no-brainer, but he'd met crazier humans before. "So, Onryu Kagemaru, what is your answer?"

 

[Sekuro]

Saturday : Diamond Maelstrom : 1:34AM​

Honestly Kagemaru was taken back by the sudden burst of laughter from the over sized reptile. Had what he said been truly that appalling? But he had to understand that this race was an ancient one so something that seemed like common knowledge to them may have been lost knowledge to the outside world. However, Kagemaru thoroughly listened to the offer given to him by Ichi and Kage could hardly believe it. He was being offered a contract to summon these creatures when he needed them. That was a powerful ability if he ever heard one.

Two lizard that were instructed to bring out the physical contract brought them to him and laid it upon his feet. Kage didn't recognize any of the names scribbled down there but he could tell that the names were written in blood. The scroll itself was obviously ancient as the way it looked was like history itself had bashed it over and over again. True enough he was expected to sign it with his own blood.

So I need only sign this and I'll be able to summon some of you when I need to... Sounds fair enough. Kage didn't have any sharp objects on him as he generally used his bare hands for fighting so he took the closes rock to him and picked it up with his right hand and ignited his left with chakra. A swift chop with the hand and the rock was now smooth on that side. He turned the rock on the oher side and repeated that process which effectively sharpened the rock. Spear Hand x2. Taking the now sharpened rock, Kage used it to prick his left index and middle finger deeply. He wanted the blood to spill from his fingers well enough to write his name clearly. It hurt for only a second as his adrenaline from the pain began to dull the sense of it. Leaning down he began to sign his name: O-n-ryu Kage-maru (Hiragana "O" and "n" Kanji symbol for dragon "Ryu", Kanji symbol for Shadow "Kage" and Kanji for Maru). Leaning back up once he was done, Kage spoke while initiating his healing process.

So does this contract come with an instruction manual or something? How do I know what you guys are useful for so I don't summon you at the wrong time? More importantly... how does this help me find my subordinate?

 

[Kazu]

Grinning as Kagemaru used his own blood to sign the contract, Ichi was obviously pleased. The lizards had found a new member to join into their fold, after how many years? Far too many, if Ichi were to say. Of course, Kagemaru had a couple of questions to be answered. Somewhat patiently, Ichi tried to answer them all. "The process is simple. Merely make the handseals for 'Boar', 'Dog', 'Bird', 'Monkey', and 'Ram'. Then place the hand you signed the contract with upon the ground. We shall be summoned thus." As he answered Kagemaru's questions, he motioned for the two who had brought the scroll out to now wrap it up and put it away. Amidst that, Ichi would continue to converse. "As you can see, our numbers are numerous. Whatever your need is, we have the skill. One of my kin whom is most suited to your need will come when you summon them. Over time, you will learn who among us is good at what." The last question, though, was troubling. Ichi hadn't heard of this, and stared with a menacing glare at Choukushi. Nervously avoiding his father's gaze, Choukushi eventually relented and spoke. "Well, he was saying that his student was missing and so I said we could help him. He was in trouble, and so I..." "BAH! Damn it Choukushi and your loose lips! Binding us to an agreement before we've even..." Ichi allowed himself to trail off. He realized that he was getting rather worked up, and forced himself to calm himself. As a leader, he couldn't let himself get too out of control. Addressing Kagemaru again, though this time with a repressed rage, the giant lizard seemed to gaze right through the man. "Well, I suppose that I ought to honor my son's idiotic deal. I do not know the circumstances of your pupil's disappearance, but I shall command my men to comb the deserts. We shall inform you as soon as we find him. Now, if that is all..." It was quite obvious that Ichi was tired of this whole charade. Choukushi, who still stood next to Kagemaru, shrugged and offered to show the man the way out and accompany him back to where they'd met. With an army on his side, there's no way that Kagemaru wouldn't be able to find his student.

[ooc]
Congratulations, you have successfully gained the Lizard Contract!
Be sure to note this somewhere in your Profile, along with a link back here.

 

[Sekuro]

Saturday : Diamond Maelstrom : 1:36AM​

Memorizing the seals that he was told almost instantly, Kagemaru felt somewhat joyful like a child who had just received a new toy but his toy was an army of lizard men at his control. However, for some reason, it seemed like the hard part was over even though he still had to find Ginjiro. Taking a second to assess the number of lizard men in the caverns, and then somewhat estimate their physical speed and strength based on what he'd encountered so far, if they ALL searched for Ginjiro in the desert, it wouldn't take them long before they had actually combed the entire desert. That put his mind a bit at ease.

Well its not in my nature to be so trusting but I hope you can help. With that, a simple head nod at Ichi and he made his way out of the caverns with Choukushi as his escort. He would wait until just before dawn for his lizard compatriots to bring him his student before he would resume the search himself. Hopefully he wouldn't have to explain this to Mizuki.

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