BotE Part II: Castle's Destruction

[Aka]

[

The Begining of the End: Part II
The Castle's Destruction

“Isn’t it a wonderful day, Jubei-tan?” Aka’s piercing voice prodded from behind the man who was standing in Aka’s personal office with his ANBU mask on, staring out onto the horizon. It was more than apparent he was irritated by the way she used “tan“ instead of something much more fitting for a ninja of his rank, but his hands were tied as to what he could do or say to the Red Oyster. She was scarier than she looked, but he would not show his fear. Everyone in the upper crest of Kumo knew Aka was as fierce as her name implied, and because she was the right hand of the Raikage, no one dared question her. “Oh, come now. You don’t think you’re too old for that, do you? You can tell me the truth.”

The man, his bright green eyes flashing through the two designated holes in his mask, shook his head slowly and did not speak. He was a silent assassin, her silent assassin. “Good. Because it suits you. Anyway, we have a mission from sensei. I want to get going as soon as possible, so I have a few errands to run.” Aka pulled out her chair in front of her desk and sat down daintily like the royalty she pretended to be, then intertwined the thin, quilled pin in her fingers and began writing out a summons. Jubei watched patiently from his spot by the window.

“Since my partner is already out on a mission and most likely won’t be back for days, I’d like you to deliver this.” As she spoke, she rolled up the scroll and sealed it her own personal seal. It was not as heavily weighted as the Raikage’s, but everyone knew it was hers. "This guy will be joining us on this journey."

Jubei walked over slowly an took the scroll from her fingers, then leaped from the window. Windows and roofs were much faster than walking through the bustling city streets.

After he had departed, she leaned back and laced her tiny digits behind her head. “Come, Setsuna Gen. Now I can keep an eye on you while you help me get what I want. It’s the perfect affair.”

[Gen]

Residing in his moderate sized abode was the Kirigakure no Sato traitor, Setsuna Gen. Having just returned from a mission the the day prior he had decided to take the day off and think about what had happened. There was something working in the shadows. Something dangerous, and something that was not above jeopardizing his mission to accomplish its gains. Whatever it was it knew about him and his past. That in itself made him uneasy.

To ease his unsettled mind he had decided to use the methods utilized by his mentor. Place infront of him was a large piece of blank washi¹ paper. The paper was weighted down by two small wooden sculptures of a bear and a koi at the top corners of the sheet. Brown eyes scanned over set-up before a hand picked up a brush, and moved to the inkstone next to the paper. Dipping the brush into the ink and removing any excess the hand hovered over the paper for but a moment before beginning.

Slowly and gracefully the brush glided over the paper. A black trail marked each of the brushes movements. Each stroke was precise and thorough, the hand leaving no margin for error. Brown eyes focused on the sheet intently as each stroke was made, watching the elegant movements. A silence had befallen the room as if everything had stopped in awe of the spectacle. At last, the final stroke was made and the masterpiece was completed.

前
^{[ Zen ]}
虎
^{[ Ko ]}
後
^{[ Kou ]}
狼
^{[ Rou ]}

Placing the brush down Gen narrowed his eyes on what he had written. It was an old phrase, one that seemed to serve perfectly for what was at hand. Literally, it meant "keeping at bay a tiger at the front gate, while a wolf appears at the back." In other words, the events that transpired the day prior were only just the beginning of a much bigger scheme. He would not contemplate over this long as he felt the presence of another lurking behind him.

"You need something?" he spoke, not bothering to face the ANBU that had been perched on his windowsill. The ANBU, who's mask would conceal the surprise he had for being detected so easily, made its way into the house. It was constructed to resemble a traditional Japanese house, and remained simple in design. After walking towards Gen the ANBU pulled out a scroll and held it out for him. Taking the scroll he looked at the seal that was placed on it, and frowned slightly. It belonged to the Raikage's second-in-command, one of the fiercest kunoichi in all of Kumogakure no Sato. She was not to be taken lightly, a fact that she emphasized at all times.

Breaking the seal and opening the scroll he read it over, and rolled it up once more. Placing the rolled parchment on the table he arose from his kneeling position and began to walk out the door. "Wait here. I'll be back momentarily," he said to the ANBU before sliding the door open and walking out. Five minutes passed before the man returned to the room, now fully dressed in his shinobi gear. "Lead the way," he said to the ANBU, who nodded and with that the two were off.

- - - - - - -

After arriving at the location the ANBU escorted Gen to the office that belonged to Aka. He raised his hand and knocked on the door of the office and spoke for the first time since he accepted his mission. "Setsuna-san is here, and awaiting to speak with you." With that said the two of them would wait in the hallway for her response and permission to enter into the room

---

¹Washi - is made from the kozo, ganpi, and mitsumata, as well as other materials like bamboo, hemp, rice, and wheat.


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[Aka]

Aka, who had been fiddling with some of her golden throwing knives smiled in delight at the announcement of her guest. It had been so long since she had needed teammates. She did not need them so much here and now, but they would certainly come in handy. "You may enter."

On the wall opposite her chair was what looked like a dart board mad of a shiny opal black and and bloody red. It seemed as though each section had been stained with human blood, but it was just paint of course. Aka simply like the look of it. The way it seemed to drip from each trapezoidal section onto the flat, obsidian sections beneath them. It was more like art to her. Death was art, as was battle. She would not believe otherwise. She fingered another of the thin gold throwing knives before tossing it at her target, though, her target was very close to the ANBU's head as he opened the door and entered the room. The sharp sliver of metal whizzed past his mask. "Ooops. Sorry. My aim seems to be off today," she said unapologetically. "Then again, I've always said that the dart board was too close to the door, Jubei-tan."

[Gen]

No sooner had Jubei opened the door to entere into the room did a golden knife come whizzing past his head, missing by only a small margin. Though, this merely meant that now the blade was heading directly towards Gen's head. In a blur of motion that would go unseen by the untrained eye the young Jōnin's hand swiftly moved up, and caught golden dagger along its blade -- stopping it only centimeters from his nose. At this point most people would become cautious, or even turned away from entering the office. That, however, would not be the case for Gen. Having lived in a foreign village for years now he had come to accept that danger lurked around every turn, a truth all too common in a village occupied by trained shinobi.

For a moment Gen merely looked at the blade that was trapped inbetween his fingers, his face stern as he examined it. A small smile soon crept across his lips as he moved into the office. Not bothering to acknowledge Aka's comments to the ANBU he simply examined the craftsmenship of the blade. His brown eyes soon shifted from the golden knife and up to Aka, staring her directly into her golden eyes. Extending the knife to her his gaze never shifted, almost as if he was sizing her up.

"I believe this belongs to you," he said, his tone was polite yet carried a sense of mild amusement. "Borei-san."