Sword of the Thunder Spirit

(Flashback occurs before Current Events.)
"Hadora, you tried to kill him! You tried to kill ALL of us! What the hell were you thinking?" Mimi hissed angrily, fighting the overwhelming urge to scream at Hadora as she motioned violently towards the closed hospital room door. She didn't want to disturb the room's occupant, or the rest of the wing. Hell, it was bad enough they had already started to accumulate a few medic nin spectators. "You know you didn't have to go that far! I mean, look at him! We don't even know if he'll last the day with all that internal damage!"

"…" Hadora didn't respond, just crossed his arms irritably, eyes narrowed. His glare at her was icy, an
expression he had never used towards her before. It's prolonged effect left Mimi feeling endangered, alarmed, and definitely made her hair stand on end. It alone made her adrenal cortex work overtime.
An awkward moment of silence passed between the two. Eyes still cold as ever, Hadora broke the moment. He reached for her chin, the bandages wrapping his hand coarse on her skin. He then turned her face towards the room in uncharacteristic forcefulness. "If I hadn't tried to kill him, it would be me in there right now, and you'd be stuck out here yelling at thin air, because he would have stayed with General Goldain. Hell, you'd probably be in the hospital too. To top it off, he'd be disappointed he hadn't managed to kill us, and brooding over when he'd kill Hoki. Or are you really so deluded by images of grandeur, you thought your good looks would have been enough to bring him back?"

Mimi merely stared at him. She had to admit, that was some pretty sharp articulation, especially for the Hoshi. The comments hit her hard and fast, so she responded the only way she knew how to (Before thinking through what had been Waid) - Defensively. Her entire body bristled inrage as she finally let out a cry of normal volume. "What the hell is that supposed to mean, Hadora?" Hadora merely gave her an amused smirk that Waid clearly, 'You're such an idiot.'. The coldness never left his eyes. The combination of the two (not to mention the bandages for the chakra burns on his face) gave his face an ugly, contorted look. Especially in comparison to the usual happy-go-lucky expression he
usually wore on it. She could sense the change in his demeanor, the whole wing could - he was livid. "You know perfectly well what I mean, Mimi. Or should I refer to you as Reisuke's mistress?"
To her, the words seemed to hang in the hall air forever. Like malignant cancer or something else horribly unpleasant. She had no idea how to respond to that insult. After a minute, Mimi deemed words would not be a strong enough of a response. Inner Mimi was absolutely no help in this matter,
with her usual commentary. 'Arg! Stupid, moron, idiot! Who does he think he is?'

Mimi gave him a harsh back-slap to the face, one that threw him slightly off balance, forcing him to grab the white wall. The sound of her hand hitting his face still echoed down the wing loudly. She swung her hand for a second hit, Hadora easily catching it in the air, his smirk gone. Now only a red mark remained there, and a little river of blood ran down his face from his lip. They stood like that for a few moments; Hadora's face already bruising where her blow had landed. He finally dropped her hand, tuning away from her. At first, he didn't move. "I'll be at home. Feudal Lord Hojomojo is expecting me. If Reisuke decides to grace us with his conscious presence, you can call me."

Then he began walking down the hall, hardly making a sound. People gave him the
right of way, though; they could feel the animosity bubble around him. She wanted to stop him, god, how badly she wanted to stop him. Fight or not, he needed to be here for Reisuke… It hurt to see him walk away like that, to just turn on her without saying anything about her slapping him. She somewhat wanted him to reprimand her, something, anything, just to show that he at least cared a little… She just wanted to see him turn around, face her. But he didn't. He just kept walking.

But hell, Hadora had needed to be told off for what he did… Admittedly not hit though. He had been injured pretty severely from the Inner consciousness's chakra, it had successfully burned a good portion of his body. Then again, he was out walking around, arguing even, whereas Reisuke was laid up. Possibly permanently."Coward!" She yelled out angrily, her voice breaking as the medic nins gathered stared at her as if she were in the wrong, on both accounts: hitting him and yelling in
their hospital. Hadora did acknowledge this cry out from her though. He raised a hand as if to agree with her comment whole heartedly. Or else it meant to tell her to fuck off. Either way, it wasn't what she had wanted him to do. Minutes later, Mimi finally moved from her spot, shakily pushing the door open to Reisuke's room. What has she done? The fight had left her stomach in painful knots. Didn't help any she had already been worried sick over Reisuke's condition. And now this…Mimi
didn't look at the man lying in the hospital bed. She avoided looking at his heavily bandaged body, at his bruised and broken face. She couldn't bear to look at Reisuke being reduced to nothing more that a sack of dilapidating meat on a stretcher. Mimi plopped into the chair beside his bed, and laid her head on its edge, thinking about how things had ended up this way. Loud explosions and the crashing of falling trees broke the tranquil silence of the mountain range. A terrified flock of black birds flew out of their nests in the trees, just in time to avoid a large misfire of red chakra. It left a trail of destruction for miles, stopping only once it had hit the far mountain wall.

As the smoke and rubble cleared, a limping man's silhouette came into view atop it. His last step was on a loose rock, which resulted in him sliding and eventually rolling the rest of the way down. He laid on his back at the bottom for a minute, then tried to sit up using the arm that wasn't broken.
"Na… Hadora!" He began to scream hysterically. He watched in horror, as the same swell of chakra thathad hit him began to form into the shape of a large red dragon, towering over even the mountains, its its wings swishing around in the air restlessly. The shadow of the monster fell over his broken body. "Reisuke!" He turned towards the scream, which was coming from his former team mate, Haruno Mimi. He grasped the Katana hilt at his side, ready to attack her, if necessary. He could probably muster up one last good lunge with his remaining chakra. She stopped running at this obvious threat, just watching now. His attention split when he heard the dragon scream out. Just as he was turning around to look, a large paw slammed him into the rock face once again, pinning him there. Crushing his insides…"Traitor…"The Dragon brought its head now to eye level, snarling at him. Its breath was like rancid meat, and large globs of saliva fell from his mouth, sending steam up from the ground, the acid content creating a hole under the traitor of Kumo. Reisuke was no longer conscious. "Stop it Hadora! Please!"

The dragon's head swung to the left, snarling at little Mimi nastily. The dragon pulled his claw away from Reisuke, letting him fall into the hole his saliva made. He took a single step towards her, and leaned down to be eye level with her, blood lust radiating off him. They stared at each other for a few seconds, Mimi uncertain what to do. She knew this wasn't Hadora, and that words would not reach him. This must have been the pills that Genral Goldain had been experimenting with. He had gone mad years prior, and must of now begun utilizing the powers of those around him in order to make pills to give temporary boosts in genetic mutation. Those angry red eyes told her that much. He was all Inner consciousness now. 'Inner consciousness' turned his head to the side as other Ninja approached them, crouching back for a lunge away from her. He couldn't seem to keep his attention on one target at a time, not with so many interruptions. She too, turned towards them - Marco, Ishako-sensei, and Eee. Mimi had the vague thought of wondering, ‘Where the hell were Mino and the other boys?' "No! He'll kill you! It's not Hadora!" She shouted. As if to confirm her warning scream, thedragon lunged at the group, who scattered into the air. They landed as far off as they could, Ishako and Reisuke together; Marco and Eee landing near Mimi. Inner consciousness used his tails to swipe at them as he roared into the sky, successfully hitting Ishako and Reisuke, throwing both them
and the tree line back a few miles. The cry sounded as if he were in pain.

Just as abruptly as he had attacked, the dragon stopped moving. He just froze, seemingly no longer breathing. Then, he fell to the side. The Chakra forming His very realistic shape began to dissipate, like fur being blown away by the wind. A black form fell from where the head had been, hitting the ground with a heavy thud. Mimi looked up as she felt the sheets shift under her now tear-streaked face. Reisuke had shifted positions ever so slightly, barely enough for him to now look down at
her. The look on his face was one of confusion, and physical pain. "What…Mimi…" He moaned slightly, turning his head to the window. Well, good to know he still had maker functions, and that insane resistance to pain that was just so… Hadora.

"Don't move Reisuke-kun, you'll only hurt yourself more!" Mimi jumped up, arms stretching out over his body as if to hold him down should he try anything particularly stupid, like trying to sit up. "Kain sama and I both agree you have way too much internal damage for you to move… Or even really be awake at the moment." "Where's...my brother Hadora?" Was all he Waid to that, pointedly ignoring the rather soothsayer portion of Mimi and Kain's diagnosis. Damn pessimist of a kage… Mimi froze, uncertain how to respond to this. The knots in her stomach clenched more tightly than before, sending an instant and horrible migraine to her forehead. "He… He was busy, so he left." She lied, the words coming off her tongue easier than she ever could have imagined. Reisuke had become so easy to lie to… Probably because of the fact he had abandoned them… And there she went defending him like he
was the great father of gonga, to the point of slapping Hadora. She'd really have to find a way to apologize to him for her actions. He really didn't deserve that. "Ifyou see him before me… Tell him…" Reisuke closed his eyes for effect, as if to go back to sleep. He sighed to add on. "… I'm sorry."
It had the desired effect. Mimi stared, as if not sure what to say or do. For the second time in her over opinionated life, she had nothing to say. Not even a rude 'Go fuck yourself'. These two boys she'd befriended were certainly giving her mental loops to jump through.

Inner Mimi scoffed. That was twice in one day. Outer Mimi was losing her edge. Mimi let her hands fall to her sides, as she heard his breathing regulate to that of a person sleeping. Her mind still ran over what had happened. 'He… He had apologized…' 'Yeah, peachy. Are we really going with this 'forgive and forget' shebang? If so, you need to do some serious apologizing to Naru-chan. Not like
anything he Waid was completely inaccurate, or without basis, ya know?' Inner Mimi snapped nastily.
She sat back down again, pretending to ignore her little id. The migraine that had popped up from stress was easing up at his words. Reisuke knew he had made a mistake, and he was trying to make up for it already… Which was great. ' Then we come to... let's see... You think sorry'll be enough for Naru-chan? I think you're gonna be unpleasantly surprised with this outcome, usuratonkachi. Even though ya should, he ain't going to take it. Oh, and by the way, don't forget about checking up on the injured Ishako-sensei, Mino, Reisuke, Euji, or Fara. You hearing me?' 'Bite me... And I won't forget.' Even if sorry wouldn't be enough for Hadora... No, wait, inner Mimi was the total idiot, of course he would be fine with that. Hadora was the forgiving type. He couldn't hold a grudge against anyone for long.

After all, she, Reisuke, and Hadora were together again, they could make up for it all now.
Reisuke had already made the initiative to apologize. (Though it HAD taken blunt force trauma to the head coupled with mentally incapacitating pain killers) That would be the first step. Next was
getting them all health and in perfect shape. They could make up for everything, and it would all be okay..She smiled to herself, all the pains in her body relaxing, stopping completely at the relaxing thoughts. Everything would be fine.

Hadora silently made his way through the cold shadowed streets of Kumo, pretty much alone in his long walk home. As it was January, there were snowflakes falling around him, piling up slowly on the lampposts, signs, and the ground. He left deep footsteps behind him, which were quickly filling up. No one else was stupid enough to walk around in this weather, or irritated to the point they didn't actually notice. Despite the evenings events, he looked disturbingly calm. He had stopped by to see Ishako sensei and Reisuke(By this point you should know there are a total of two people in Kumo with the name Reisuke. Try not to get confused.) on his way out; though the former had still been unconscious, and the latter had been sleeping. (Or pretending to be asleep, he was talking about Reisuke, the lazy genius. Wouldn't be the first time.) Technically, he himself was
supposed to still be in the hospital, but thanks to the good 'ol attentive medical staff, he had managed to slip off for the night. If all went planned, in the morning it wouldn't matter anyway. As if to prove this point, he felt that familiar tug in his mind of that person wanting to talk. Jackass, Hadora wasn't his dog to be called whenever he wished. Yet, that person did. And every time, Hadora answered. " Naru=kun, you look better than the last time I saw you… More color in your cheeks." The rather snide comment about the burns on his face did not amuse Hadora in the least. He grunted, making this point clear to the taller man that had appeared there, in front of the Inner consciousness's cage. The person stayed hidden in the shadows, careful to keep his cruel voice low. The foxes red eyes viewed the two suspiciously, moving only slightly up and down from his breathing The person spoke again. "Well, have you made a decision then? Yeah, made a decision yet, stupid?" "I haven't… had the time." Was Hadora's rather low response, leaning against two of the thinning wooden bars that kept the Inner consciousness trapped in his mind. They were warm to the touch. He ignored the 'stupid' comment, as his guest often had such rude comments. "…Do you intend on making it soon? Time ain't really on either of ourhands." The person reached out of the shadow to touch a bar, pulling it back abruptly. He wasn't fast enough to keep Hadora from seeing the fact his green hand had been burnt from them. "Like a damn microwave in here."

"Come again?" Hadoragave raised a brow. Microwaves were a little off subject, even for a splite personality Venus fly trap. "A microwave oven. The Inner consciousness is sending out waves of chakra that are making the water molecules in the wood vibrate fast. It's also why the bars are thinning, the constant attack- Oh never mind, I know it's over your head even in simple terms… You'll figure it out soon enough, idiot. Sir Leader Sama does not like waiting. We will give you one more month to make your decision." The person disappeared from Hadora's mind with a light whoosh sound as the blond stepped out of the street's shadows, and into the pale yellow moon light. His thoughts were now on the reasons that had originally kept him here- His promised to Mimi to bring Reisuke back being the biggest. It hurt him the way Mimi had treated him after fulfilling it, like having salt poured into an open wound, then having it cleaned with a metal bristle brush. Plus made a good excuse to leave the village for a bit... Sounded better than just abruptly leave. But that was his past, this offer was his future. He had to embrace that, by first going to Hojomojo. The hermit had plenty more to teach him, and this time, he would be ready to learn it. These “Sword of Thunder” techniques. He needed those. Hell, he craved the knowledge of them… That would be the only way he could survive in their organization. Sighing, he ran a hand through his rather long spikes, holding them down for a moment as he walked. The snow that had landed in his hair either fell off or melted from the sudden heat. Hadora could already tell, the time ahead was going to be a long, tedious, and annoying.

The Next Day, January 16th, 6:30 A.M.
Hojomojo yawned as he waited for Hadora. He was sitting on Kumo's surrounding wall, close to the
north gate. Snow was still falling from the night before, adding to the thick white sheen. Personally, they hadn't expected winter this year- The weather was all off, so the sudden snowfall the night before had been a pleasant surprise for everyone. Meant they hadn't totally screwed the world over. Yet. Moving on. The old hermit wasn't exactly surprised by the kid's sudden desire to want to train again. In fact, with Reisuke's 'miraculous' coming back, he had almost bee expecting it. (Though perhaps not so soon.) He had been expecting the kid to get a let down by that girl, Mimi, just cuz the nice guys always, yes, always, finish last. And of course, he knew better than any one, what better path was there to take when in rejection, than to go with the most perverted lecherous old man around? Nope, there wasn't one. He spied Hadora heading his way, with a huge khaki knapsack on his back…Hojomojo frowned, looking at what Hadora was wearing. It wasn't his usual attire of the black and orange jumpsuit, rather, he wore an unique set of purple garments. A skirted breastplate dou made up of iron and or leather plates of various sizes and shapes with pendents. A kusazuri made from iron or leather plates hanging from the front and back of the dou to protect the lower body and upper leg. Large rectangular shoulder protection sode made from iron and or leather plates. Armoured kote gauntlets which covered the forearms, connected by chain armor kusari, to protect the hands and arms from an enemy's sword. Thigh guards haidate which tied around the waist and covered the thighs. Shin guards suneate made from iron splints connected together by chain armor kusari and sewn to cloth and tied around the calf. Tight leggings worn over his baggy pants called hakama. Woven sandals known as zōri or waraji worn with socks called tabi. Each of these where purple. He simply looked like a massive samurai, with his Katana in its obi.

The hermit leaped down to meet Hadora, looking rather confused. Wherethe hell was the kid's hiate-ate? "Are you… ready?" He asked uncertainly, once the kid was in hearing range. "Yeah. Where all are we going this time? Hadora spoke. Please, refer to me as Casus. My old name is shameful." Hadora….no Casus stopped once he was at the Hermit's side. "We'll start in Iwagakure… Get some earth techniques down… Then we'll see from there."I want to learn the sage techniques. Asap. Think that'll be possible, ero-sanin?""Later.Don't think you have the endurance for that training yet." Hojomojo didn't find it necessary to mention he didn't hardly know the techniques himself, and that it wasn't really up to him whether or not Casus learned them. Course, it'd be one helluva test of endurance, surviving Iwagakure looking so much like his father. Heh. That'd be some bad ass training, right there. Best way for Casus to learn to avoid or counter a technique was for him to see it in action... Or rather, feel it in action… "… Sounds good, I guess. Did you tell Kain?" "Of course. I'm not you." Casus only nodded, before started to walk again. The kid was obviously in a hurry to leave the pain behind. With a sigh, Hojomojo caught up to him, and they left Kumo together, the only sign that they had been there, their foot prints in the snow… Casus ran the women's razor over his
head while standing in the shower, letting the hot water run down his buffed/trained-to-perfection body while he did so. He was getting rid of the light stubble that had grown across his head. Having to do this every few days was the price of his high maintenance hairless cut. This new fad of his was thanks to the idiots from Iwa. Casus had to do something drastic in order to coexist with them four years ago, while training there. When in sight of the blond spikes, they turned on the tunnel vision and had one train of thought- 'Kill ze Sunbringer! Kill!'- Even though he had explained multiple times he WASN'T his dad. At any rate, he and the old hermit had decided getting rid of the golden locks completely was his best bet as Casus wouldn't have his hair dyed any other color. He preferred having none at all. Fortunately, he started to like the look, so he kept it. "You almost ready, kid? The
workout earlier was shorter than this." Hojomojo called out from the balcony, his voice coming in through the open window.
"I cannot help I'm better than you, now can I sensei?" Casus commented dully in a deephusked voice, stepping out of the shower. Most other people would take this as a very arrogant remark. Hojomojo took it as a hilarious joke, and nearly fell out laughing. The skinhead grabbed the white towel off the rod, first drying his head and then patting the towel down his body from there. When he finished that, he wrapped it around his waist hiding his goods. As the bathroom was western style, he had a mirror
above a porcelain sink in the same room. He paused in front of it, wiping the steamed glass 'clean' with his hand. He doubted seriously that anyone in Kumo would recognize him. Casus's facial features had changed considerably. His face had grown longer and leaner, giving it an almost sharp edge. His eyebrows were at just the right angle; paired with his flat affect he appeared to really just not give a shit… The only things that remained the same were his vibrant black eyes and a large cut marks on his nose. And that was just his face. "I am nearly ready, merely lacking clothing. You may go on ahead, if you wish. It will not bother me to catch up." Casus came out of the bathroom looking around the room they had lived in for the last two years or so. Two bed rolls lay rolled out on either side, separated by a shoji screen. It looked… neater than usual on Hojomojo's side, and on Casus's, was set up in the same meticulous manner it had been throughout their stay despite the 'chaos' moving tended to be for most. Currently his bed was his staging area; laid out on it was his over stuffed worn
out khaki knapsack (He was slightly curious as to how much longer it would last in that condition), a set of three pouches, two for kunai and shuriken and a small ninja tool pouch for the miscellaneous stuff. A small black tanto was also there. Leaned up against the wall, nearly touching the ceiling even at its sharp angle; was his new weapon of choice, a nodaichi named Kyoufuu, with an ivory colored sheath.

"I think I'd rather wait. The kage and I don't have the warm fuzzies forone another, if you remember correctly…" The old man sneer of 'I am nota miracle worker' was obvious in Hojomojo's voice."Perhaps if you were a bit less… Ahm, perverted sensei, women would not be so eager toharm you." Stepping lightly on the tatami, Casus went over to his bed's edge, squatting in front of the knapsack. He had a set of cloths there, the ones he had planned on wearing for the day.One piece at a time, he quickly put it all on, looking rather ragged. "Aha! Nice joke kiddo. I'm not perverted, I just know what I like." Hojomojo had come on inside from the balcony, obviously sensing Casus was about done. At first, it had been odd for the hermit to look at the once 'high on hyperactive life' boy be so… Flat. But he'd gotten over it. Better than the kid faking a personality with him. "You know… we need to buy you some new clothes. It must have just been the water in Mizu, you haven't grown an inch since we left there… So it's not as if you'll grow out of them ten seconds after we buy them now." It took him
standing next to the Hermit for one to really see how tall he had gotten- He topped off at the airy height of 6'9". No, his growth since leaving Kumo wasn't unnatural. Promise. Not even… well, for the most part not… unhealthy. (The fact this growth spurt had started in Mizu had seriously made Jojo first question what was in the water there, as the village had been known for producing insanely tall individuals.)

"I never grew that fast before, sensei. You were imagining it." Casus grabbed his amenities, strapping them on over his clothing in a series of snaps and buckles. "Ah, finally finished? I think it's a new record, longest time taken by a man for prepping to leave." "… You can be quite annoying, Sensei." Lazily, Casus reached into pocket, to get a pack of cancer stix (the actual name of the brand) out. Huh, he had forgotten those were in there. Well, waste not want not. The Ex-Samurai Lord stuck the cigarette in his mouth, not planning on lighting ittill they left the hotel. "With all your bad habits, I'm amazed you made it through the sage training alive - let alone so successfully." "Habits
do not necessarily reflect a person's skill. Look at yourself, Sensei. I would never guess you to be one of the legendary three when catching you peeping at the women's side of the Onsen."
Hojomojo guffawed at the statement, slapping his pupil hard on the back. "Touche! Though
that could be taken as evidence of superior eavesdropping skills, you know." "I suppose it is all in perspective. Can we please get a move on? I am more than ready to go…. My nicotine deprived cells are screaming in agony." Casus moved the cigarette with his tongue to have it sticking out the other corner, plopping down so that he could put on his black, soless sandals he wore that kept his steps noiseless. (Yes, he wore them even in the snow, as they were a necessary part for his
samurai jutsu.) "Yes yes, to the Raikage's office so you can say goodbye to her." "… It will be a pain sensei. To have to climb the ranks in Kumo. It will take me a while to get to a rank of any use to our… needs." "Don't worry about that, I've already got it covered… Er, I think I do, at any rate." Hojomojo grinned, before looking away suddenly. "Won't say more, as the walls have ears around here." He poked a wall, making a heavy clunk sound, before turning towards the door, motioning for his pupil
to follow. Casus did so obediently, without argument. The time it took to get outside the hotel was short. It took even less time to get to the Raikage's home. The duo was already within the mansion, and on their way to the Raikage's main room, to officially tell her that they were leaving. She held the same expression as Casus did, though she was perhaps more 'agreeable'. She did appropriately comment on how she hated to see them go and how Casus had perhaps been her best student
when it came to her techniques. Hojomojo had laughed and answered accordingly and lastly Casus Waid nothing, merely nodded where it was expected. "Casus kun," The young fifth Raikage, Kashiko Misa, stated, apparently intent on getting a response, "You must come back to see us… Soon. I should dislike if I never see my best student again."She stood, giving him a rather stiff hug and rigid kisses on each cheek. He rigidly returned it. Hojomojo had truly never seen
anything funnier than two people who had trained themselves to feel
nothing, try and express sadness at departure, friendship and gratitude
all at once, without the aide of a substitute personality. He honestly
thought he might fall out from holding in the rolling laughs.
"I
will come back as soon as I can." They pulled apart, looking at the
hermit, as he tried to stifle the bodily noises. He smiled innocently,
motioning for them to continue with the conversation.
"Moving on
then." The Raikage diverted both their attention back to the parting
'ritual'. Misa reached into her black and silver filigree desk, to pull
out a square pale blue package, with a ribbon on top. "I have a gift
for you Casus kun, one I think you will find very useful if you intend
to go through with the plans you mentioned to me a few days ago."
Casus
took it from her with little apprehension. Finding there to be no need
for words of thanks (yet), he pulled the ribbon, letting it fall into
his hand, pulling the paper away. Inside, was a Kumogakure head band,
much like his Kumo one, the mMinor difference of a cloud like symbol
instead of the Kumo leaf.
He looked up at her. "Thank you, Misa chan. Should I take this as… Evidence of your support for our goal?"
"I'd
call it more of a crusade. But yes, it is my token of support in any
venture you may undertake. In theory. I'm sure you understand this
makes you an official ShMinobi of Kumo, and bound to follow my orders
whenever issued to you." She made a rather unenthused 'squee' like
motion with her hands, then let them fall to her sides. "That also
means you can come here at anytime you please…"
"There seems to always be a catch with you…" Casus placed the band in his Ninja tool pouch.
"I am a Kage of Kumo, if you remember."
"Duly noted."
"Now,
make sure you keep up with the personalities I taught you. Practice
them often as possible. So that when you need them, you aren't unable
to perform." Misa nodded coming from around her desk to his side, then
changing completely in expression. Her eyes lit up rather devilishly,
and she ran her hands through her hair to make it poof. Even her
breasts seem to swell. Misa went from plain to sexy in under .03
seconds. Huskily, she purred, "Hafta be able to relate to all the needs
of every situation, don'tcha Naruuu chan?"
She had made her point (and the innuendo) rather clear.
"I
will be sure to remember your kind words. Now, until I meet you again."
He only nodded, turning away to leave, Hojomojo following. They were
outside heading towards the gates rather quickly.
"What was it you
wanted to tell me, earlier?" Casus asked once they were on the
outskirts of the village, and walking along the snowy mountain path. It
was always winter here…
The hermit, once satisfied they were far enough out and alone, started talking.
"First
off, I'm worried about Kain. Hell, worried about all of Kumo. I don't
know what the hell she was thinking, attacking and taking control of
Kyusagakure last winter. It strikes me like she's trying to start a war
with the other countries… You know Iwa's pissed about it, as she's
obviously making moves towards them. Thank kami that revised treaty
with Kumo and Suna was signed before her antics… I doubt that was a
coincidence though."
"Of course it wasn't coincidence. But this hardly has anything to do with-"
"It
has to do with everything we've done up until now. What I want from
you, while you're in the village, is to get me information. She's kept
me out of the loop for too long. Check missions, especially in the
Jounin and ANBU corner. Nothing below B Rank." The hermit handed his
pupil a scroll that held Kain's name on it. "And give this to her for
me, will you?"
"Hai. I can do all of that. I assume I have
permission to infiltrate the village archives?" Casus took it from him,
sticking it in his knapsack's side scroll holder (Originally, a cell
phone holder, but it worked both ways). There was a seal on it, so he
didn't bother trying to read it, nor would he later.
"Yes. Don't bother asking her… if she says no, it'll be obvious who did it."
"I agree. Now, what of the Vultures?"
"…
What of 'em? Their movements have been erratic. None of them have been
in your direction, which I assume is because of your 'apprenticeship'
with them. Best move you could have made for survival, as you're one of
the last Jinchuuriki that hasn't been caught… And apparently one of
their members has been replaced, though it's been some time since it
happened." Hojomojo looked over, eyes flashing. "It was one of the high
members, I believe. I'm sure you've heard. Nothing to do with you, I
know."
"Is that so? Did they replace Bababui, or Bobobui?" Casus nodded slowly at the info.
"They
weren't very high in the ranks, and this member was killed only
recently. A woman. Her body was found somewhere in Ame no kuni."
Hojomojo shrugged pointing at Casus's tool pouch. "Careful carrying
that Kumo hiate ate in Kumo. The Hyuugas are still bitter about the
attempted kidnapping of their heir, treaty or not."
"With good
reason." Casus stopped walking as the two came to a fork in the road,
turning to face Hojomojo fully. "Where will you be going, after this?"
"Wherever
I feel. I have no commitment to any village, unlike yourself, who now
has one to two." Hojomojo pulled out a second scrolled, putting it
firmly into the Hyuuga's hand. "This is yours. You'll be glad you have
it once you're back in Kumo, I heard your former apartment complex
burned down a year or more ago."
Casus stuck his finger under the
end, pulling the paper off and unrolling it. "Your going to let me live
in your family home?" He stated, slower than his usual speech.
"Not
like I'm using it, obviously enough. Just keep a room ready for me… I'd
suggest avoiding the area around Taki no kuni. I haven't heard from
Earth Grudge nin, but I can guess he'd love nothing better than to kill
you right now. The Sea would be your best bet."
"Of course."
" 'Fore I forget… what personality you plan on using in Kumo, my little walking mental case? "
"I
have no intention of fully reverting back… Perhaps the Yakuza one, or
else the scholar…. I need to keep up the façade of being angry with
Mimi. Even if she hasn't told people, it keeps me out of the limelight
as being the antagonist. Also gives me a petty edge; people will avoid
conflict with me to some extent just to not get on my shit list."
"Consider yourself disowned if you use the Yakuza…"
"What are your suggestions then, if not the Yakuza?"
"The Scholar would be good. Or something that is non-threatening… Like a Buddhist monk. That would be perfect."
"… Are you suggesting I refuse to kill my enemies? Follow the sutra? Pretend I have a religion? Et cetera?"
"Yes. Put yourself in an even better light."
"You
do realize that when it comes to karma, if I do that, I will be
officially screwed? I will act as is expected, but the ulterior motive
will be for the wrong reasons."
"You'll have ulterior motives no matter which personality you pick."
"It is my religious preference not to use the Monk."
"Why
the hell did you make him up then? Fine… Just… Pick the scholar. It'll
explain why you've gained such a vocabulary, and will cover your bases…
You can impress them with your musical skills… And being a klutz is
good too… Gives people a sense of innocence. Seeing as this training
makes you an intentional walking dissociative personality disorder."
"That can be done. Good bye, Hojomojo Sensei. Be careful getting out of this peninsula."
The two parted ways at the Gate, Casus taking the southern path, Hojomojo taking the northern one.
After
he had gone a good mile or so down the Sothern path, Casus stopped,
looking back behind him. Once positive Hojomojo had gone on, he darted
into the snowy woods, cutting through them to go the western path. He
had no interest of going to Kumo by sea, he had some unfinished
business in Takigakure that he needed to complete.


"… Ishako
senpai, it's a mission to Ame. I think we were all were assigned to
attack there." Reisuke placed the scroll on the table, which had his
most recent orders form the Kage's office. He then used the same hand
to sip on a beer. "I'm starting to think your theory might be right."
"No,
we all weren't. Mine says I'm going to Kyusa, along with Mino. Just to
act as a way to put fear into the people a little, I think, since we
have control of that place now… I mean, they are obviously rebellious,
can't expect them to take this lying down." Mimi waved her hand in the
air a bit, and then placed it beside Reisuke's.
"Thought as much.
Seems this time around, everyone in the ANBU, or are considered high
level Jounin, have been assigned to areas near Iwa. She's not outright
saying it… But I believe she's going to make a move on them as soon.
Got to show whose is bigger." Ishako sighed heavily, rubbing his brow.
"I can't believe we haven't been attacked by Iwa, or by one of the
other countries…"
"The treaties. If anyone declares war, Suna and
Kumo are supposedly obliged to be on our side. They'd rather not deal
with a fight against Iwa, with all the natural barriers that land has."
Mimi pulled her waist length pink hair over her shoulder, braiding it
absentmindedly.
"She and the elders probably feel a war is the best
way to go. Kumo is at its economic peek… Means it's only down from here
in a few years. It'll be a huge gain if we succeed and take over."
Reisuke added his two bits, eyes going between the two. He'd never
admit it, but he looked a helluva lot like his brother and father…
"Pretty
big loss if we don't. If we start this war, people are going to start
picking sides… But even with the treaties, if we pick a bad enough
enemy Suna and Kumo might turn on us. She's got to have something to
backup the idea we can win this." Mimi took the time to point out the
flaw in her earlier statement.
This had been a conversation for the
last year or so for the trio. Ishako had been amongst the first to
realize the obvious acts of aggression. He was the only one to start
discussing possibilities of the calamities when the inevitable
happened- That being, Iwa getting their cage rattled and retaliating.
"I
spoke with Hojomojo, he seems to think the Vultures are participating
in this. He has a theory that Kain might be using them to help make all
the ends meet. I'm still not sure on that one though, seems to me
getting in good graces with the Vultures would be difficult… let alone
getting them to do what you want…" Ishako trailed off, lost in thought.
"Senpai,
you spoke with Hojomojo? Did he say anything about Casus coming back
soon?" Mimi snapped to attention, no longer playing with her hair.
Reisuke also seemed interested, though he didn't make it quite so
obvious.
"We didn't talk about Casus. Forgive me for forgetting, but
I found other pressing matters on my mind." Sarcasm and annoyance were
in Ishako's voice, which directed the two kiddos back to the problem at
hand.
"I agree, Vultures support sounds a little far fetched. 'Cept
for maybe… If they encouraged a war, it'd be like opening the door for
them to take over. If we fall. They'd be playing Devil's Advocate,
working it from all sides to make sure everyone fails miserably."
Reisuke shrugged.
"I doubt Kain would depend on such flaky support. That's not like her."
"She's
got to be getting it from somewhere. Obviously not us, as we aren't
officially informed of anything… We get anything new from Akimaru?"
"Nothing." Reisuke updated him on the matter.
"Mizune?" Ishako turned to Mimi.
"Nothing on my end either."
"Wai?"
"He
tried to tell me something about Danzo, but he acted… Really strange. I
didn't press the matter at the time, I think he might be under a Jutsu
or something. Or he felt that the place wasn't secure enough." Reisuke
scratched his ear.
"… Alright. Keep me posted on everything. I'll talk with you all later."
"The
hellis that?" Titsu stared at the horizon to the north of Kumo, mouth
open slightly. He had been walking with Dicku down the busy market
street. After spotted the thick, far off stream of black smoke, he had
stopped to stare. A few others had joined him here and there,
whispering amongst themselves.
"Titsu-" His comrade had begun to
talk in a scolding voice, probably because of the fact Titsu had cursed
in public. He also abruptly stopped, his eyes widening when they caught
sight of the obvious threat. They quickly narrowed, as he finally came
to a conclusion of what it was. "… Looks like Taki is burning…"
"That
is one helluva bomb fire if we're seeing smoke that thick, this far
off. Could be something closer, ya know, one of the towns around here."
The blemish on the sky grew quickly, and added a red sheen despite the time of day.
"I
doubt that highly. We'd already be there, defending the town. No, it's
Taki… Titsu! Go to Ishako sensei, and inform him this may be Iwa
heading our way. I will go tell the Raikage." Dicku hissed the order to
Titsu, both darting off in separate directions. This alarmed the
gathering crowd, but not to the point they were screaming and running
around. Just enough for them to know there was a problem and they
needed to get things done and get home.
Thick, black pillars of
smoke darkened the sky above the burning village of Taki. Black flakes
of ash fell in the rice paddies near the area of destruction, polluting
the water. Men, woman and children lay on the ground, charred to a
crisp. One ore two flailed miserably, their screams slowly being choked
out by the very smell of their own burning flesh.
Inhumanly ignoring
the carnage he had inflicted, Casus unzipped the black and red cloak he
wore, staring blankly at the last standing Taki Kunoichi. She was the
last thing standing between him and his current goal – The Mad Scientist/ General Goldain's mansion. Rather, the Ring within the mansion.
"How…? You're
only one man. Vultures or not, you're only one man! You had help!" Her
accusation was enraged and had an edge of defeat to it, though her
stance with the Katana was one of pure offense. She was wounded, burns
and a few scrapes and gashes. He did admire the high level of spirit
and pride she clearly had…But it was misplaced, much like her loyalty.
"One,
I am more than an 'Vultures'. Two, yours was never really a village of
Shinobi. Just ruffians and outlaws." Casus held up his gloved hands,
smoky blue chakra covering them like a thick oil. His method of attack
hadn't really enabled him to fight anyone face to face. Acting as a
true ninja tended to have that downfall… He was looking forward to
trying his new jutsu… A sort of delinquent version of the Samurai
techniques.
"Fuck you!" She lunged at him, slashing the Katana
madly. Oh darn. The girl was too agitated to give him a good fight.
With the smallest of moves he dodged the blade, its landing splashing
up a good deal of bloody mud. Casus slammed his foot on it before she
could re-chamber, taking advantage of the moment to lightly run his
right hand across her exposed upper back.
Now finished, he scooted a few feet away so that she could bounce back, weapon and all.
"You perv!" Her cry of disgust and horror almost sparked a bit of amusement in him.
Almost.
"Well…
I do know what I like." He thought of Hojomojo's earlier words to him,
moving his now chakra free right hand as a testament of what he'd done.
The
look on her face told a thousand words; she didn't understand the
motion, and more than likely wouldn't catch on to what he had done
until it was too late.
Casus flicked his right hand so that it was
positioned in front of him, giving him the look of a magician prior to
revealing his prestige. The Kunoichi went rigid with the movement,
controlled by it, though there was no visible binding. Confusion and
pain twisted up her face as she gurgled a yelp.
"Is General Goldain
home?" He asked, moving his fingers in a slow and calculated manner, as
if playing an air piano. Cracks accompanied each of these movements,
all coming from his opponents twitching form.
At the end of these
sounds, her body went abruptly limp, head lolling to the side
unnaturally, then falling to the ground. Whatever bonds he had on her
broke in death.
Oh dear. That was a little unexpected. He hadn't
meant to snap her neck like that, merely give her a warning. At least
he knew better for next time -
The newest Vultures member tensed,
sidestepping barely an inch and twisting his body to the side so that
he was a smaller target from behind. A long purple Tentacle shot past
him as if out of a cannon, hitting some burning wall. He heard it fall
from the random onslaught. Oh ho, this was working out nicely. He did
so love when situations solved themselves.
"You came out of your hole." Casus craned his neck to look at the white clad figure about twenty feet to his left.
Earth
Grudge nin looked much as he had before, only his hair color was
different. A pearly white... Had his most recent body lasted that long?
That was intriguing. The Raikage would be most interested in that
information.
"Thought I'd save you the trouble of looking for me,
Casus-kun... My home can be quite the maze." That silky smooth lisp of
a madman was a little too nostalgic. How on earth had Reisuke put up
with it for so long?
"Yes, I remember. Thank you, I am on the
clock." This deadpanned statement perhaps would not have had the same
angering effect if expressed sarcastically. Giving Casus a rather
spirited hiss, General Goldain was in a cyber suite, but had been morphed. Turned into some sort of monster. He slung his head out into a wide arc,
showing just how long it could get.
That could not be healthy for the spine…
Running
with a floppiness in his upper half Goldain lunged at Casus,
his body independently flipping to the right and away form the Vultures
member. His head bobbed around Casus, closing in the distance for an
attack every so often. Every time, Casus moved, just enough to barely
dodge them.
Once he had enough of the dance, Casus pulled his
Nodaichi from its sheath with abnormal ease. He took a long, spinning
stride forward, thrusting the back of the blade out in front of him,
blocking the next attack. The impact busted the generals mask, sending shrapnel into his nose and
the Sannin's reflexes brought his head back to his body.
Blood
poured down the front of his white robe. He looked like the main ghost
of a Japanese horror film, all set and ready to haunt.
"It's not a
wonder you couldn't keep us from taking your prized power back. You
are weak to the point it is pathetic." Casus made special effort to
call Reisuke the 'Blue Nova'. It would hit more of a nerve for the old
Tentacle, as the Hoshi's actual personality had been an insignificant
obstacle to be put up with for what he wanted.
"Pathetic? Perhaps.
But I would say your running away when he returned tops even that."
Goldain baited, having regained his composure with the pain.
He touched the blood flowing from his nose with the tips of his
fingers, then looked at it curiously.
"Why are you here, dressed in that get-up? Not to talk about Reisuke's betrayal of all sides, I hope."
"What
do you know, Goldain… Your blood is red. And here I thought it would
be black." Casus ignored the question, the chakra appearing on his
hands again, then squatted down ever so slightly. He was clearly
preparing to spring.
"You're not the first to be surprised. Tell me…
Who helped you destroy my village? You knew my elite shinobi's
techniques before they even used them." Goldains question was
asked in a way that it could almost be a statement.
Casus cocked his head to the side, "I'm sure you've already figured out the answers to both your questions."
This
time, the Vultures member took the initiative- He made a double step,
then a step slide forward, closing the distance between them quickly,
using one arm to brandish his sword in five slashes in front of him. He
wasn't holding it in a traditional manner, if his hands were at his
sides, the blade would poke out to his left side, razor edge forward.
Goldain began summoning his own weapon of choice the second he saw
Casus move. His tongue had just barely managed to pull the sword out of
his throat when Casus's first blow landed and knocked the air from his
chest, subsequently making him drop the blade.
The Tentacle Sanin
slid back in the mud, bringing his arms up to block the attack,
hissing. He was actually losing against this punk! That in itself was
enraging, putting the fact all of his minions had just been treated
like human torches aside.
Goldain threw a desparate low
front kick, aiming for Casus's knee - It missed, and went between
Casus's legs. The Sanin took advantage of this, pushing himself forward
and slamming his body into Casus. He slammed his foot down, a little
more at an angle than Casus's legs.
The overall effect of the motion
made Casus unbalanced, and sent him falling backwards head first. Goldain took a few large steps back, getting as far down the street as he could and still see his opponent.
Not that he had any
intention of lettings things go that far in the wrong direction again.
In one graceful motion of shedding his human flesh, Goldain
revealed his truest form:
The White Tentacle. The tentacle attacked however Casus was ready.
“I AM HADORA PALAZZO!” He screamed as he lifted his blade upwards, and then made it cascade downwards. Sawing the creature in half. He was proud of his name. After killing the man who was responsible for creating all the bad things that destroyed Hadoras village. He grasped the blade that belonged to Goldain, and swung it about. Feeling its weight and power, making energy come out he slashed at one of his friends. Killing them instantly. He knew what he had. It was the sword of thunder. “Lord Jashin will be pleased” Was all he could retort as the madness slowly crept upon him.