Like a white curtain over the pavement, a thick mist covered the streets of Cronopolis aiding only its already-grim atmosphere and instating claustrophobia. A lone boy walked like a nomad in the deserted streets, cold from the previous rain, thinking only of how unlucky he was to be there that night. A foot in a puddle and a soft splash, he tried his best to make no sound, but his abilities had been easily surpassed by the will of gods. Unlucky he was indeed, or he at least he would come to be, for his destiny stated that this night would deprive him of sleep. There was no air of safety, but after walking several blocks, still in the ghastly district, the mist had stated diminishing. What was once tall was now at ground level, the mist stood only to the height of his waist, but the lone boy kept walking. Walking, walking, and then stopped, he had reached his destination – an alleyway, resembling in every trait the rest of the place. But the alley was special, for many had lost their way in it, many had found their destiny, and many had gotten it stolen. The lone boy sat down and waited. He waited for one hour, for two hours, and fell asleep.
His mission was easily explained when it was given, but its complexity was hidden. There had been a series of children kidnappings in Cronopolis, and try as they may; shinobi hadn’t found the hiding place. Where did the children go? The question remained unanswered, the request was sealed and stored for months; but then another child disappeared. The daughter of a noble man that was visiting Kumogakure for humanity affairs; as a family they had gone to Cronopolis to give out food for the poor, but the child caught the eye of envy, and her destiny was sealed. The request, aided by the money of the noble man, and the greed of the takers, was taken back to light. Failure was no longer an option, and so a lone child was employed.
His mission was easily explained when it was given, he had to find the missing child. Not a soul dared tell him, of course, or even relay a single hint of how he would do this, but he knew… he knew there was a reason why they gave -him- that mission. And so, accepting his grim fate, he slept for one hour, two hours, until they arrived.
“Well, well, well, we hit the jackpot with this one.” – a voice spoke up. The boy’s eyes were still closed.
“Yeah, let’s get him and go back, I’m starting to get tired of this shit.” – another replied.
With a kick on the ribs the voices woke the child up. He let out a groan, loud enough to describe his surprise, but quiet enough to not be a shout. He stood up, and walked. He walked for what seemed to be hours, but really was just minutes. He walked across a market, alleyways, dumps, a bridge, and finally… a wall.
"There is a wall right in the middle of the district, but why? Why is there a wall here? There isn’t supposed to be a wall in Cronopolis. This is the place where they hold the children, this surely has to be. There isn’t any other place, maybe I should turn back now, before they take me in."
Mystery.
Surprise.
Dread.
Those were the only possible explanation to what lied on the other side of the wall. Right in the middle of Cronopolis, a small area was closed up. As the boy went in, escorted by two men, he could see that the walls, even though two stories high, enclosed an area no more than two-hundred square meters. There were more people inside, all sickly looking, pale white, and exhibiting signs of incurable diseases. As the boy walked deeper into his prison, he came to the realization that the walls were built to keep the people inside from mixing with the others, and even though it was a rather obvious resolution, it was troubling nonetheless.
Perhaps the shinobi that were previously sent on this mission were scared?
No. They couldn’t have been. Shinobi are raised and trained in a way to not be afraid of anything, not of the enemy, and not of nature. Yet here he was, a lone boy, captive by the kidnappers who had so recently taken a little girl against her will. This mission, he would not fail.
They walked for another minute. Miko was surprised that his kidnappers hadn’t impaired his vision. They were sure of themselves, they were confident that he wouldn’t escape. Just why were they kidnapping children anyways?
They stopped in front of a one story building, looking just the same as the others in the inner sector of Cronopolis, and inside the walls. The place was dark, humid, and the wooden planks that made up the wall were starting to rot, conveying the threat that the place wouldn’t hold for much. Foot on a plank, and a creaking sound, the boy was no longer trying to walk silently; he was scared of his fate. He was scared that, in the end, he wouldn’t be able to complete his mission; he wouldn’t be able to find the missing children.
Inside were many more men, one tall, one short, one skinny, one fat, one with a long nose, and one exhibiting ugly teeth. Apart from the extremely contrasting traits, all the men were normal, ordinary Kumogakure citizens; other than the fact that they kidnapped children for a living. Miko was lead to a stairway leading to a dungeon beneath the ground. There was not nearly enough light to see where he was going. The ground has hard beneath his feet, feeling almost like stone, but his senses were not good enough to determine the actual composition. There were a few candles lighting the corridor, each with irregular spacing; one was just a meter apart from the other, while another was ten meters away. The candles were melting, and only a little light was left; the floor was indeed stone.
The place was a maze; he kept turning one way and another, leaded by the two men that had “rescued” him the alley previously in the night. With each passing minute it became harder to breathe, the walls compressed him towards the center, waking a claustrophobic sense that differed from the mist he had already encountered. Six minutes he had been inside the abandoned mineshaft, and he was still worrying that he would not find the children after all. They came to a stop, putting an end to his worries; they had no more use, truth was right in front of him.
About twenty-seven children lied with their head resting in the tough floor, in front of him; only three of them were still alive. The three looked sickly; two were already exhibiting the signs of the people outside. The girl was there, behind the iron bars that jailed the group. The doors opened, and he was let in. That single action should have taken all hope of ever getting away, but not so easily would the boy give up, not so easily would he fail. He was ready. The two men left, and with them they took the light of all the candles.
“Hello?” – Miko whispered as he tried to make his way across the dark room. “Is anyone there?”
No answer, just a loud bump. He had hit something with his foot, the body of a dead child. Miko couldn’t afford to make light, he couldn’t afford to raise attention. The girl was there, two children were there, he had to get them out, and it was his duty. He heard a soft cry.
“Hello?” – he said once again.
“Hi…” – the girl whispered.
“Hi…” – he paused for a moment. The other two children weren’t speaking; they were too tired to do so. “A beautiful girl like you shouldn’t cry…”
“We’re going to die here…”
“We won’t. I’m here to get you out. Don’t worry. Ok?” – he paused for a moment, waiting for a response. The girl didn’t speak. “What’s your name?”
“Watanabe Kimi.”
“Alright… Kimi- chan. You’re with the two boys, right? Can you wake them up?”
“I can’t.”
“Why is that?”
“They won’t wake up. They have the plague. And now…” – she whimpered silently.
“Kimi? What’s wrong?”
“Now I’m going to die... they did it to them, now they are going to do it to me! I don’t want them to do it to me!”
“Calm down Kimi, I’m going to get you out of here… just wait a little longer.”
One by one the candles lit back, revealing the long tunnel that lead to the maze before the staircase. Two men, different from the one’s before, were walking towards the room where they held the children; each of them was carrying a knife.
Clink!
The tall one banged the knife’s end into the iron bars. “Time to go, you know the drill. It’s your turn little girl!”
“Hurry up!” – said the short one.
Both of their faces were hidden by masks that resembled a black bird, with a beak that extended one feet forward; Miko recognized them as plague masks.
“Doctors?” – the boy thought. It was the only explanation after all. But why were doctors kidnapping children, why did they killed them?
The tall one got out a big, rusty key, inserted it into the key hole, and with a loud creak, opened the iron door. The girl was terrified, Miko could feel it; she was on the verge of giving in. He had to do something, but he couldn’t act now, if he did – he wouldn’t find out anything. He had to wait.
“Please! No! Help! Help! Please help me! I don’t want to! No!”
Help!
Help!
Help!
With each step the men took, dragging her, from her hair, across the dirty dark corridors of the maze - her screams faded. With each passing second, she was further away, and Miko knew of the ever-present possibility that he wouldn’t be able to get her out. He crawled his way towards the other kids. He extended his left hand in order to feel where he was going. A dead body, another dead body, another one – that one moved.
“Hello?”
No response.
“Hello?”
No response. He couldn’t waste any time, the girl’s screams had faded completely, and he wasn’t strong enough to carry another one, they had to be able to walk if he was going to get them out. The light of the candle closest to him went off, then the next one, the next one. Miko wasted no more time, he couldn’t save the other boys, and deep inside… he didn’t even care. The one paying for his mission was the young girl’s father, and she was the VIP; the others were just extras. He gripped two iron bars, and like he had done accidentally before, he now did in order to escape.
Bang! Clank!
The two iron bars broke in half as a controlled explosion set off of Miko’s palms. As soon as they did, he dashed forward, the candles were starting to fade, they were guided by chakra, but by lack of sensory abilities he had to guide himself with the light. Little by little he caught up to them, then darkness. The candles faded, and he was left in complete darkness, the men had taken the girl, he had failed his mission…
Soft cries. Heavy breathing.
He heard it, it was coming from nearby. Two men were talking about needles. Blinded by complete darkness, he slid his hand through the wall as he did his best to follow the sound, the wall ended, he took a step forward, extended his hand to the left; there was nothing. Miko turned his head to the left, and noticed that there was light, just a little light, coming from under a door. There were lit candles inside. He wasted no time, and in a swift motion he was already at the door, with his palm resting quietly in the wood.
Bang!
The wood cracked near the handled, pushing the door open like a breach. The men were the startled, the girl was asleep. He dashed, extending both his hands forward as two pieces of clay shot outwards from the openings in his palms and towards the two men. With perfect accuracy, the clay stuck to their faces and exploded immediately. It wasn’t enough; the two men were already drawing kunai. He had to be fast, the men were starting to charge at him. He had no time for handseals, their kunai were on his belly. They pierced him.
Bang!
Another explosion, followed by a fireball from behind the clay clone; the men were screaming as their flesh burned to ashes in response to the heat. The room as filled with smoke, hiding everything inside, and only the screams of the burning men could be heard. More smoke, it emanated from the room and filled the hallway where the candles were already lit up and reinforcements were on the way. Four more men entered the room.
Splash!
Water was shot from their mouths, putting down the fire that scarred the flesh of the tall and the short man. The smoke cleared, but there was no one else inside. Slowly the smoke had extended towards the hallway, and with it, in the darkness, was hidden a boy and girl.
“Let’s get out of here.” – the boy said as he carried the girl, in his arms, through the maze that made up the dungeon.
[Topic entered/left][B-Rank Self-modded mission]
His mission was easily explained when it was given, but its complexity was hidden. There had been a series of children kidnappings in Cronopolis, and try as they may; shinobi hadn’t found the hiding place. Where did the children go? The question remained unanswered, the request was sealed and stored for months; but then another child disappeared. The daughter of a noble man that was visiting Kumogakure for humanity affairs; as a family they had gone to Cronopolis to give out food for the poor, but the child caught the eye of envy, and her destiny was sealed. The request, aided by the money of the noble man, and the greed of the takers, was taken back to light. Failure was no longer an option, and so a lone child was employed.
His mission was easily explained when it was given, he had to find the missing child. Not a soul dared tell him, of course, or even relay a single hint of how he would do this, but he knew… he knew there was a reason why they gave -him- that mission. And so, accepting his grim fate, he slept for one hour, two hours, until they arrived.
“Well, well, well, we hit the jackpot with this one.” – a voice spoke up. The boy’s eyes were still closed.
“Yeah, let’s get him and go back, I’m starting to get tired of this shit.” – another replied.
With a kick on the ribs the voices woke the child up. He let out a groan, loud enough to describe his surprise, but quiet enough to not be a shout. He stood up, and walked. He walked for what seemed to be hours, but really was just minutes. He walked across a market, alleyways, dumps, a bridge, and finally… a wall.
"There is a wall right in the middle of the district, but why? Why is there a wall here? There isn’t supposed to be a wall in Cronopolis. This is the place where they hold the children, this surely has to be. There isn’t any other place, maybe I should turn back now, before they take me in."
Mystery.
Surprise.
Dread.
Those were the only possible explanation to what lied on the other side of the wall. Right in the middle of Cronopolis, a small area was closed up. As the boy went in, escorted by two men, he could see that the walls, even though two stories high, enclosed an area no more than two-hundred square meters. There were more people inside, all sickly looking, pale white, and exhibiting signs of incurable diseases. As the boy walked deeper into his prison, he came to the realization that the walls were built to keep the people inside from mixing with the others, and even though it was a rather obvious resolution, it was troubling nonetheless.
Perhaps the shinobi that were previously sent on this mission were scared?
No. They couldn’t have been. Shinobi are raised and trained in a way to not be afraid of anything, not of the enemy, and not of nature. Yet here he was, a lone boy, captive by the kidnappers who had so recently taken a little girl against her will. This mission, he would not fail.
They walked for another minute. Miko was surprised that his kidnappers hadn’t impaired his vision. They were sure of themselves, they were confident that he wouldn’t escape. Just why were they kidnapping children anyways?
They stopped in front of a one story building, looking just the same as the others in the inner sector of Cronopolis, and inside the walls. The place was dark, humid, and the wooden planks that made up the wall were starting to rot, conveying the threat that the place wouldn’t hold for much. Foot on a plank, and a creaking sound, the boy was no longer trying to walk silently; he was scared of his fate. He was scared that, in the end, he wouldn’t be able to complete his mission; he wouldn’t be able to find the missing children.
Inside were many more men, one tall, one short, one skinny, one fat, one with a long nose, and one exhibiting ugly teeth. Apart from the extremely contrasting traits, all the men were normal, ordinary Kumogakure citizens; other than the fact that they kidnapped children for a living. Miko was lead to a stairway leading to a dungeon beneath the ground. There was not nearly enough light to see where he was going. The ground has hard beneath his feet, feeling almost like stone, but his senses were not good enough to determine the actual composition. There were a few candles lighting the corridor, each with irregular spacing; one was just a meter apart from the other, while another was ten meters away. The candles were melting, and only a little light was left; the floor was indeed stone.
The place was a maze; he kept turning one way and another, leaded by the two men that had “rescued” him the alley previously in the night. With each passing minute it became harder to breathe, the walls compressed him towards the center, waking a claustrophobic sense that differed from the mist he had already encountered. Six minutes he had been inside the abandoned mineshaft, and he was still worrying that he would not find the children after all. They came to a stop, putting an end to his worries; they had no more use, truth was right in front of him.
About twenty-seven children lied with their head resting in the tough floor, in front of him; only three of them were still alive. The three looked sickly; two were already exhibiting the signs of the people outside. The girl was there, behind the iron bars that jailed the group. The doors opened, and he was let in. That single action should have taken all hope of ever getting away, but not so easily would the boy give up, not so easily would he fail. He was ready. The two men left, and with them they took the light of all the candles.
“Hello?” – Miko whispered as he tried to make his way across the dark room. “Is anyone there?”
No answer, just a loud bump. He had hit something with his foot, the body of a dead child. Miko couldn’t afford to make light, he couldn’t afford to raise attention. The girl was there, two children were there, he had to get them out, and it was his duty. He heard a soft cry.
“Hello?” – he said once again.
“Hi…” – the girl whispered.
“Hi…” – he paused for a moment. The other two children weren’t speaking; they were too tired to do so. “A beautiful girl like you shouldn’t cry…”
“We’re going to die here…”
“We won’t. I’m here to get you out. Don’t worry. Ok?” – he paused for a moment, waiting for a response. The girl didn’t speak. “What’s your name?”
“Watanabe Kimi.”
“Alright… Kimi- chan. You’re with the two boys, right? Can you wake them up?”
“I can’t.”
“Why is that?”
“They won’t wake up. They have the plague. And now…” – she whimpered silently.
“Kimi? What’s wrong?”
“Now I’m going to die... they did it to them, now they are going to do it to me! I don’t want them to do it to me!”
“Calm down Kimi, I’m going to get you out of here… just wait a little longer.”
One by one the candles lit back, revealing the long tunnel that lead to the maze before the staircase. Two men, different from the one’s before, were walking towards the room where they held the children; each of them was carrying a knife.
Clink!
The tall one banged the knife’s end into the iron bars. “Time to go, you know the drill. It’s your turn little girl!”
“Hurry up!” – said the short one.
Both of their faces were hidden by masks that resembled a black bird, with a beak that extended one feet forward; Miko recognized them as plague masks.
“Doctors?” – the boy thought. It was the only explanation after all. But why were doctors kidnapping children, why did they killed them?
The tall one got out a big, rusty key, inserted it into the key hole, and with a loud creak, opened the iron door. The girl was terrified, Miko could feel it; she was on the verge of giving in. He had to do something, but he couldn’t act now, if he did – he wouldn’t find out anything. He had to wait.
“Please! No! Help! Help! Please help me! I don’t want to! No!”
Help!
Help!
Help!
With each step the men took, dragging her, from her hair, across the dirty dark corridors of the maze - her screams faded. With each passing second, she was further away, and Miko knew of the ever-present possibility that he wouldn’t be able to get her out. He crawled his way towards the other kids. He extended his left hand in order to feel where he was going. A dead body, another dead body, another one – that one moved.
“Hello?”
No response.
“Hello?”
No response. He couldn’t waste any time, the girl’s screams had faded completely, and he wasn’t strong enough to carry another one, they had to be able to walk if he was going to get them out. The light of the candle closest to him went off, then the next one, the next one. Miko wasted no more time, he couldn’t save the other boys, and deep inside… he didn’t even care. The one paying for his mission was the young girl’s father, and she was the VIP; the others were just extras. He gripped two iron bars, and like he had done accidentally before, he now did in order to escape.
Bang! Clank!
The two iron bars broke in half as a controlled explosion set off of Miko’s palms. As soon as they did, he dashed forward, the candles were starting to fade, they were guided by chakra, but by lack of sensory abilities he had to guide himself with the light. Little by little he caught up to them, then darkness. The candles faded, and he was left in complete darkness, the men had taken the girl, he had failed his mission…
Soft cries. Heavy breathing.
He heard it, it was coming from nearby. Two men were talking about needles. Blinded by complete darkness, he slid his hand through the wall as he did his best to follow the sound, the wall ended, he took a step forward, extended his hand to the left; there was nothing. Miko turned his head to the left, and noticed that there was light, just a little light, coming from under a door. There were lit candles inside. He wasted no time, and in a swift motion he was already at the door, with his palm resting quietly in the wood.
Bang!
The wood cracked near the handled, pushing the door open like a breach. The men were the startled, the girl was asleep. He dashed, extending both his hands forward as two pieces of clay shot outwards from the openings in his palms and towards the two men. With perfect accuracy, the clay stuck to their faces and exploded immediately. It wasn’t enough; the two men were already drawing kunai. He had to be fast, the men were starting to charge at him. He had no time for handseals, their kunai were on his belly. They pierced him.
Bang!
Another explosion, followed by a fireball from behind the clay clone; the men were screaming as their flesh burned to ashes in response to the heat. The room as filled with smoke, hiding everything inside, and only the screams of the burning men could be heard. More smoke, it emanated from the room and filled the hallway where the candles were already lit up and reinforcements were on the way. Four more men entered the room.
Splash!
Water was shot from their mouths, putting down the fire that scarred the flesh of the tall and the short man. The smoke cleared, but there was no one else inside. Slowly the smoke had extended towards the hallway, and with it, in the darkness, was hidden a boy and girl.
“Let’s get out of here.” – the boy said as he carried the girl, in his arms, through the maze that made up the dungeon.
[Topic entered/left][B-Rank Self-modded mission]