Sparing Practice [Takeshi and Roku]

[Sand Council]

She was looking for a man that was not a man or an Ancient for that matter, in fact what he was could not yet be defined. She was able to identify several anomalies in the man named Kasha. She was not a woman of intuition, in fact she had every reason to believe that there was no such thing as a 'sixth sense' but rather an irrational mind attempting to create logic where none exists. The vigilante Kasha was a name somewhat known by the Sunan underworld as a nemesis as despised as the ANBU. The ANBU in Sunagakure differed from the ANBU in other parts of the world in that the ANBU in Sunagakure represented a wide breadth of law-enforcement individuals that not only hunted but interrogated criminals and maintained order in what would otherwise be a lawless society. Since the discovery of chakra manipulation in Wind Country, a discrepancy between the haves and the have-nots has widened. The value of the sweat commodity has changed since a singular shinobi can do what a team of men were expected to do before. That said, only a small portion of the human population can mold their chakra effectively so the services of such people is highly valued by employed and reviled by non-manipulator civilians.

This divide is obscured by the appearance of order. The expectation that men and women are 'good' and for the most part they are. Well, perhaps 'good' is a strong term, rather 'law-abiding'. Consequentialists by nature most people understand that there will be consequences for their violent or illegal behavior. That was why the ANBU, all chakra-molders, existed. By a display of power and force they maintain order. As for the masks, that was done to hide their identity because some of the things they would have to do would garner the dismay and chagrin of the civilized people of Sunagakure. Their authority ended at Sunagakure's gates, other communities had their own defenses. The reason for this was simple -- most chakra molders sought training for their innate skills. Once there, few ever left. Hidden Villages such as Sunagakure took ownership over their former students. They conscripted them. Some might consider this act selfish or even criminal. Perhaps it was, but it was necessary. There was an act of registration, at least to an extent. Families with chakra manipulation often belonged to one of these villages, their skills well known and often passed down to their children. As for novice manipulators, those who spontaneously developed these powers and those whose genetic simply fell into place sought these hidden villages and thus were registered. When they fled, the ANBU found them.

So who was Kasha?

Kasha wore a mask and the garb an ANBU would often don but he was not a recognized member of the ANBU. It was her hypothesis that he was emulating the ANBU. It was possible that he was an ANBU or a rejected ANBU, she had no proof beyond a hypothesis of inspiration. She assumed that he had ANBU ties, she was nearly killed by Roku and when she was roused she was not in a cell in the Obsidian but rather an office.. As for his lack of humanity, it was because she knew he changed. Yes, he was masked and cloaked but his build changed wildly. Originally Kasha was described as a smaller person, wiry... then he was bulky... then tall but athletic. It was indeed possible that he was many different people wearing the same mask and taking the same name. She considered this, but she had interacted with Kasha more than once and he was familiar with her. He was the same but he changed. He changed, therefore the mask was unnecessary. Kasha was unnecessary except to feed his ego or to hide. That is why masks existed -- to hide. He did not need to hide from the public, they would not know him. Sometimes people wear masks to hide from themselves, from their shame. She could smell his shame, it smelled like alcohol. She did not believe he was an alcoholic, at least not yet. His hand was too firm... too steady. She did not smell anything floral on him, women had a tenancy to smell like lillies or roses. The voice was also masculine. She felt it was likely that he was a man and that he was unattached. If his wife laundered his cloak, it would smell like a woman laundered them. Children? Possibly, but she doubted any were legitimate.

Where would Kasha be?

His activity had stifled as of late. She had not read or heard any recent reports regarding him. He could have retired from crime fighting. He might have died. She doubted the later, someone would have bragged. As for the former, it was likely but only if he had found something equally fulfilling. Perhaps a wife and a family. Perhaps a position of power, authority or responsibility in the village. Still, habits died hard. Vigilantes patrolled. Oracles studied and recorded. He would be where terrible things happened. If he was still lonesome, he would be a patron in one of these bars drowning his sorrows or forgetting why he felt shame. If he was fulfilled, if he was simply 'busy' he would be walking. He would tell himself that he needed to walk his dog. A dog he did not own. He would tell himself that he wanted to check the weather, despite the fact that the weather was almost always the same.

How would she draw him out?

Crime.

That is what she needed a willing... or better unwilling assistant. That is what she was looking for. Someone to scream for help in a part of town nobody in their right might would pursue. Well, nobody except someone like Kasha. She would wander the streets until 3 in the morning. The bars would start to empty. Those filled with liquid courage would not be able to stumble into a heroic act. Perhaps Kasha would be drunk as well, even if he was she had confidence that he would come even if he was not wearing pants and defeated a mailbox in an epic battle.

What was she going to do?

Attack a drunk.

Well, someone not as drunk as the rest. She wanted someone that knew enough to yell for help. Someone who would make a little bit of noise. Someone she would not have to kill.

Why was she doing this?

She wanted to convince Kasha to enter the tournament but first she needed to make sure he knew how to fight.

Seeking Takeshi and Roku.

 

[Uchiha Takeshi]

Takeshi walked around the dingy place of sand, though he didn’t mind after all this seemed to be a place where he would likely get his training on. Figuring that while he was out and about he should get some practice in before he came home it was always worth it just to do the training in this sense. As he glanced at stools that he walked past a small smile crept across his lips seeing that this place offered the darkest sales that could be seen, wondering how much went on behind closed doors. As he glanced around a few more stools he allowed himself to walk down the streets checking out the people that wandered by him in a few seconds.

Well I guess I wanted to see what this place was like, this seems like it could be a good place to find the opportunity for a chance to test myself.

Takeshi allowed himself to glance at a local bar, though it seemed that he was wandering without purpose, standing on the outside of a bar he glanced around for a split second before deciding to miss the bar, he wanted to look around a bit more plus while the temptation was there to go and get a few drinks in he wanted to see more of the area, as he glanced around to check the customers inside of the bar. It was a simple matter of looking for someone who was able to show him around maybe know the area and even give him some pointers at where to go or where not to go.

[Topic Entered]
[MFT: 269]

 

[Sand Council]

Time -- 3:02:47

Temperature -- 11.67 degrees Celsius, colder than normal in subterranean Sunagakure.

Mild north-eastern breeze likely through the fractured ceiling a half mile to the east that was damaged a few years ago in a terror incident.

Civilian to potential shinobi ratio estimated at 17 to 1 on this evening, within the standard deviation expected. Potential shinobis are identified by the fact that they are not visibly armed but she identified an unnatural bulge in their attire. Paranoia is rampant among the Sunans considering the rising tensions domestically so weaponry is often donned for show by even the most mundane of citizens. In addition, the attire that many shinobis donned was divergent from their non-chakra manipulators. Many failed to realize it but they wore their vocation on their sleeve. Some wearing their Chuunin vests from a long day of labor, others displaying hunks of their own flesh forgetting the burns and the deep cuts they once suffered from and now a scar endures. Even a 'normal' person can suffer from an injury or an attack, but a shinobi often has more. They tend to forget about these injuries, the marks they display either recklessly or with a sense of misplaced pride. Shinobis also walked differently, they talked differently. They had a sense of authority, fearlessness even. It was an enviable, but foolhardy trait many possessed. It was why civilians hated them as much as they did even if they failed to realize. They showboated their skills, disgracing craftsmen and laborers alike. They were rowdy, especially after a couple of drinks and in some cases they would display their mastery (or at the present moment lack thereof) over their shinobi craft. The collateral damage was hard on the general population, many fought without consideration of their environment. Without considering the spectators. Many times fighting only to preserve pride or placate a swelling sense of illegitimacy within them that could only be satisfied by their reckless display. Yet the public tolerated them, they had no choice. There was a social contract between chakra users and the mundane, the shinobi were intended to be the protectorates of society. Often their heroic acts were only performed in exchange for compensation, glory or to sate a blood-lust or a personal ends.

That was why she liked Kasha.

Yes, he disappointed her. He failed her because he never truly considered her. She was willing to end her life to give him the edge he needed to take a stand against the Diamyo and his burgeoning Soverign forces but he was idle and jealously locked away what he knew. He betrayed a facet she held dear -- that information must be shared if we would ever know enlightenment. In the end, everyone knew the truth but it was too late. Diamyo Ishii Shiro amassed too much power, his forces were already in place. The best one could do was slow him down because the war was lost and Sunagakure never realized. It was decades ago that he started, shortly after the maelstrom isolated Sunagakure from the rest of Wind Country for 25 years. Many of the smaller, central villages in Wind Country were destroyed when the winds came. Most of them small frontier-like settlements, even the ruins of these devastated communities were buried too deep for one to find. She came from one such town, not that she could remember much. She was taken away before the storm, but not long before. Only a year or two. She was but a child when the clouds of dust and the biting winds could be seen over the horizon. She was in Malose at the time, the walls were battered but held up against the terrible winds.

Malose was among the first cities to fall, not to the storm but to the will of the Daimyo and his men. The city was starving, their Daimyo had lost the faith and trust of his people when he failed to provide. Stores dried up in weeks and merchants could not reliably brave the storm, but Shiro's men could. In exchange for food and drink, the city became Shiro's. He was celebrated as their savior at first, he provided the people with a means to survive in exchange for their loyalty. Favor came cheap. She had only started her training as an Oracle under a master when a group of thugs broke into their sanctum. She was too young to understand at the time what had happened but she would later learn that the Oracles warned the Council of Malose that Shiro cannot be given control over the village. They propagandized a terrible incident, urging the people to flee and take their chances in the desert storm rather than remain within the walls of Malose. They were laughed at and ridiculed. Some were angry, they feared that the Oracle's claims would reach their benefactor's ears and that Diamyo Ishii Shiori might withdraw his aid. They were not wrong, the Diamyo did just that claiming that the Oracles were to blame. That perhaps they were even behind the storm, stoking the superstition of some. It was in a way the Diamyo's men who attacked, but they were not under Ishii's banner. It was not necessary. It was never necessary when there was someone else out there that was willing to do it for free. Some of the Diamyo's men were scattered among the angry masses, they incited them further. Some had rudimentary knowledge of ninjutsu and genjutsu and they used this to further vilify the Oracles as they tried to stand their ground.

An Oracle was never good in a fight. They knew how to fight but they spent their lives training their minds, not their hands. The Diamyo's men, the earliest of the Soverign, all less two had passed away since that time. She was ripped from her bed, told to run by her mentor. She tried but she did not get far. She lived for one reason, she was the youngest Oracle. The most malleable Nao would say. Her life was stolen by them but the lives of so many more were in the balance. She had a sense of urgency because she heard the announcement -- there would be a World Martial Arts Tournament hosted in Tea Country. She knew with uttermost certainty that it was a trap. That was why she was here, she needed to find someone who could win. She chose Kasha. He was strong, but he was reckless. She saw potential in him, a potential she could potentially hone by sharing with him everything she knew. She could have picked anyone with powerful potential but she did not want someone who was simply strong, she wanted a hero. She knew that he was meant to be a hero, she saw it set in stone that it was his intended fate, perhaps he was not intended to be her hero.

From the roofs edge she watched and she waited. Out of the bar came the perfect victim. Young, pretty thing. Long brown hair and big green eyes. Her shoes were in her hands, they were high heels and she was too drunk to walk on a pair of stilts. She was dressed well, a bit too well considering where this bar was located but she was not wearing any jewelry. If she was, it would have been a red flag that this was a trap intended for a thief. "Mugger Fish'n" they called it -- where they find an attractive young appearing (often through henge) men and women and they dress them well with an over-sized coin purse or jewelry so that the criminal element would crawl out of the woodwork in hopes of easy prey. That girl would likely attract the criminal element even in the absence of her unforgiving gaze. She followed the woman on the rooftops, staying in the shadows enough... but not so well that a watcher's gaze would overlook her if there was someone out here on this cool desert evening that serves as Suna's protector.

She turned down the first street, it was not a narrow, dark alley. That was good, if she had it would have been a dead give away that it was a trap. Still, the street was not as active as the one she had been on, a row of boarded houses rather than rundown establishments. She was not isolated, but if she were to scream the residents would not scurry to her aid. Soundlessly she would drop behind her and match the drunkard's pace. The woman stumbled and spoke to herself. She was complaining that the barkeep was cheap on the sake, from Michi's assessment she would feel it was quite to the contrary. She waited until the woman crossed under a carmot light, she wanted the brightness so that she could be easier to find and identify.

It was... how do Sunans say it? It is go time.

She walked into the woman, in the blink of the eye her knife was drawn and pressed against the woman's throat. She pressed against the woman, her left hand resting on the stranger's hip. She crinkled her nose, the scent of booze seemed to come from this woman's pores. She was quite obviously an alcoholic. She found that repugnant. She did not bother disguising her voice, there was no need. She wanted to be found. "Scream for help now."

"I can have'ish your money *hic*" The woman was not making much sense, she was likely offering to give the assumed thief what little money she had on her person. At least that was Michi's assumption.

"No need, just scream," Michi repeated with a tone of frustration.

"*Hic*" The woman hiccuped, swaying.

BLAH! Remnants of nachos and booze splattered on the dusty street.

She was not going to be of much help. That was quite unfortunate. She could gut the woman but then Kasha might be less than complaint. That meant that there was only one other option. She screamed in the woman's place.

AAAAAIIIIIIIIIEEEEEE!!!!!​

 

[Uchiha Takeshi]

As the air begun to change it seemed that it had gotten colder than he remember when he had first arrived in the village. Though he didn’t think on it too much instead fascinated by every aspect of this place, it seemed to be a completely new experience for the Uchiha, something that he was not used to. Probably even threw him out of the comfort zone that he had come to know inside of leaf, but that is what he wanted to experience. The new smells, sights and most of all interactions that had been opened to him. None of this time was going to be wasted and tonight he finally had a change to do some exploring.

As he found himself idly talking to someone in the hopes of direction, he wanted the chance to grab some food. But right now, he knew nothing about the area or where to eat or even who to talk to about trying to buy some gifts to bring back home. He knew that he would be in hell if he didn’t manage to find something to bring back, at least he left in an inconvenient time he hoped that when he had returned he was forgiven for his steps and that people realised sometimes one needed to put the orders of the Hokage before themselves. In situations like this it was key in the development of a relationship for others.

Half way through the conversation he words stopped as a sound echoed from an ally one that he didn’t expect to hear in this place, but one that he could never forget. The scream was that of someone in need of help, someone that was in a situation that could end badly. It seemed to have come from nearby and right now he was not sure how to go about reacting to this situation, but knew full well that he had to do something. Even if he was a foreigner in a foreign land, Takeshi was never the one to stand by and just let something go down if he could do anything to help.

“Excuse me I do apologize but right now I am going to have to just disappear for a bit. Thank you for your help and I will try the recommended place out for food. I got to run have a good evening and once more I do appreciate the help in pointing me to the right direction!”

Takeshi was already on the move, though he had no idea of the layout of this place. No situational awareness so to speak he still was willing to give it his best show to find the troubled woman, wanting to make sure he reached her in time he was already on the full sprint. Not slowing down for anything or anyone. As he spun on his heels he headed directly into the ally that the noise had come from. Skidding to a halting that split second, he allowed his eyes to focus on the situation that he came into.

It seemed one woman had the other at knife point, though one seemed to have drunk a bit too much it was still a situation that no-one would have liked to be in. Takeshi looked at the woman that was wielding the knife, she had a well-formed look to her the black hair outlining her face and framing it. Takeshi paused for a second before deciding to speak unaware that this was his situation to get involved in or not.

“What are you doing? Who are you? What do you want?”

Three simple questions but right now he wanted the answers, it was a situation that would have to be handled more on the delicate side of things, and throwing fists right now would not help that matter. Instead he tried to find the solution threw using words first and seeing what the woman wanted from this outcome.

 

[Raizo]

[col]The slums. He seemed like he was trapped in the slums. There would be no further deep thoughts than that. He was in a funk, in a bad mood, and he was doing the one thing that his brother--

"Fuck, not ev'n my brudda..."

Well, correction, the man he once considered his brother, would have taught him to do in tough times; drink. So that is where he now found himself. Mumbling angrily under his breath as he marched, like Frankenstein's monster, upon a rooftop in the Bazaar. What he was doing, well that was a rather easy yet difficult question to answer. It had been ages since his last appearance as Kasha, his life becoming more absorbed with his physical changes and his pursuits in leading the ANBU alongside Reaper. His mind was at a tipping point, pushed to a figurative ledge, at a proverbial end of a rope. There was just too much chaos in his life, so his past comfort zone told him to retreat into a bottle. But Roku was never that simple. There was a duality of him, that was now fractured into several pieces, but the real face of Roku thought one way. The "real" Roku, his ordinary face persona, was the one dealing with all these new changes and stressors, the face of the Sennin, would only be a part of the equation--and boy was it going to shit.

So a thought would come to mind; if my real face is fucked up, why not see what the other side is doing?

To make a long story short, he was now drunk upon the roofs in the slums waiting for a cue. He would quickly get it; a scream. From there a mask would form within the palm of his hand and would be lifted up to his face.

"Wrong fuck'n night, bu--bu--buckaroo"

After that final moment, the 'real' face of Roku would be hidden once more. A sensation would resonate through him, maybe even several sensations. Comfort, joy, pleasure, reassurance, or maybe he was just way too drunk, ultimately it didn't matter. New face, new man.

Dashing across the roofs he would make his way to the sound of the commotion, and then with a deep inhale, he would gently topple off the edge of the roof and go darting into the ground. His landing would cause the dust to kick up and the ground to shake ever so slightly as his chakra encased body absorbed the normally disastrous effects of such an impact. Raising up form his knee, the figure would remove a cigarette from within his coat, tilt his head towards the man that seemed to be taking charge of the situation, a foreigner maybe, and then to the woman, the mess and the other person. The masked man would then light his cigarette, take a drag and politely ask;

"The fuck's going on here?"
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OOC:
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[legend="[img]http://i.imgur.com/WSBLHAP.png[/img][img]http://i.imgur.com/d1AN2WH.png[/img]"]

 

Name: ???
Epithet:
Height: 6'2"
Build: Muscular
Eyes: Red
Blood Type: O NegativePersonal Data[/spoiler]Fight DataMood Music X

[/legend]​

[/col]

 

[Uchiha Takeshi]

Takeshi allowed himself to look at the man that had entered in that split second, watching him light up a smoke he scanned the man for a few seconds before concluding that he alone was enough to handle this situation as it was. Also, the thought of having to get involved in something that belong to Sand was not something the leaf Sennin wanted right now not considering what hung in the balance. As he weighed up the current options open to him he allowed himself to nod his head slightly before coming to address the man that had just joined.

“I came after I heard the call for help, but now that you are here I would rather not let myself get involved in a matter that belongs to this village. Not when it does not have to involved myself in such a manner. I will take my leave.”

Takeshi glanced back to the women before tilting his head towards her, though it was clear that this situation was one that would need answering for now the Uchiha needed to make sure that he was able to leave with a moment noticed as he allowed himself to turn around and walk out of the ally. Maybe one day he would get the chance to cross paths with the man that had arrived again.

[Topic Left]

 

[Michi]

She did not raise her voice like that often. She was certainly capable and it was not because she considered it uncouth but rather because it often did what it was intended to do and that was attract unwanted attention. At this moment, however she desired the attention

“What are you doing? Who are you? What do you want?”

"Right question. Regrettably it is probable that you are the wrong source," she replied. "If you are not Kasha you may leave," she added with a wave granting him leave in a nonchalant manner. She was not particularly interested in the verdant-haired stranger. He did not fit Kasha's profile. Indeed, Kasha's size and shape might have changed but never the man beneath. He might have believed he was changed, that something was irreparably altered but he wasn't, he was merely a snake shedding his skin. Kasha was not particularly personable, when he was younger he was more idealistic and someone that she admired. As time went on and the silent war became increasingly more apparent he lost his ambition for justice and she lost faith.

Faith was not entirely logical. It was her flaw.

He became short-tempered and volatile. He became the personification of wrath at least in her eyes. yet she was seeking him all the same, not because she wanted to but because she needed to. There was trepidation in her heart as her eyes scanned the roof's edge and the darkened alleyways. She sniffed the air and listened for footsteps. She would spy a man masked under the guise of a fool would descend from a rooftop and come crashing down onto the ground. She would not recognize the mask he donned or his physique, Kasha was thinner last she recalled. Well, he had a lower mass at the very least. Beneath the surging mass of robes, size and shape were difficult but not impossible to discern. Height was simple, obvious even. A slouched posture or lifts in the shoes could make a difference, a few inches but weight was not as easy to disguise. The earth and dust would be displaced when he landed, this could be measured but it would be unreliable. There was variables to consider such as the weight of the sand and the lack or abundance of moisture. There was one consistent physical law that she could measure and she did -- mass as related to the speed of descent. It is indeed a natural law where when an object falls its speed increases because it is being pulled on by gravity. The acceleration of gravity near the earth is g = -9.81 m/s^2. In laymans terms: this robed figure was falling faster, therefore he was heavier.

"The fuck's going on here?"

The masked figure would growl. The behavior was very much akin to Kasha's behavior. "I am seeking the vigilante Kasha, but are you the audience I seek?" The question might not be the right question but it ws the only question she felt was relevant as she stubbornly stood in the street. She had after-all called him... them there. Fuu's hand would reach for the back of the woman's blouse and pull her back to her feet with an almost mechanical motion. Her eyes fixed on the interlopers. "Are either of you Kasha?" She would repeat. The former lacked the aggression and the later looked more like a 'Joker' than a 'Kasha' with that smiling mask and the fag that was clenched between shadowed teeth. "I am not pursuing just any masked fool," she was goading them "only one particular vigilante, Kasha," she repeated.

The sin of pride much like his wrath were his greatest assets as well as his weaknesses. ANBU had a sense of pride and were often identified by their mask, a sort of consistency their egos and culture demanded. When a moniker and an identity is created it becomes a part of you, the good and the bad. When you disassociate yourself from that identity it is because there is a sense of shame or regret attached to the character. By changing the mask you change who you are. You change who you were. There was a false sense of safety in wearing the mask, one that the green-haried young man failed to don. The second reason she relieved that he was not her target. "I suppose this is where I make a threat," she retained her grip on the woman as well as the hazard of harm by pointing the blade in the direction of the woman. This was where she would need to take care in what she said.

The green-haired stranger seemed uninterested in an altercation.

“I came after I heard the call for help, but now that you are here I would rather not let myself get involved in a matter that belongs to this village. Not when it does not have to involved myself in such a manner. I will take my leave.”

The third reason she had come to believe that the emerald headed man was not the one she sought. That was an unexpected reaction to a potential hostage situation. Well unexpected from Kasha at the very least. She had learned enough about his personality to recognize him. It was what inveigled her to him. Kasha was a headstrong fool with a bit of a white knight syndrome but he only knew how to fight with his fists like a barbarian. She overestimated him, a rare fault, expecting more from him. "So be it, you are not the one I am attempting to lure," she replied as she waited for him to walk away. Her eyes would look at the masked man. "Will you be enough?" She smiled, it was a twisted and terrible expression bereft of tenderness.

She relinquished her hold on the woman and allowed her to stumble forward. She would fall to the ground again, scraping her knee. She did not loom down at her, she was merely bait and bait was not worth much more than a cursory glance. Her boots crunched the gravel underfoot as she made her approach. She was not nearly as imposing a figure. She was no longer interested in the woman, she could stay or she could flee for all she cared. She seemed to lack fear if you looked at her stoic, determined expression but if you saw her hands you would see that they shook. That she was in fact terrified. She was never particularly brave but she was learning.