- Pronouns
- They/Them
Six votes so far.
End of an Era (Naruto AU)
- Thread starter The Laurent
- Start date
- Location
- Somewhere!
- Pronouns
- She/Her
[X] Follow the potential trail the shinobi seem to have left and see if you can catch them out.
I trust none of this.
I trust none of this.
- Pronouns
- They/Them
One hour warning.
- Location
- Canada
[X] Approach and talk to this new tribe, and see why they are doing what they're doing? There has to be a reason, right?
I suppose....
I suppose....
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Inserted tally
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Info required: which scene was the one where Shizue and Saya went shopping.
Because I'm trying to put together reference stuff!
Because I'm trying to put together reference stuff!
- Location
- Outside the Box
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Last edited:
Act 4, Scene 31 (Cont)
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Act 4, Scene 31 (Cont)
They walked forward slowly as the tribe rolled closer, and then closer still. Shizue wasn't afraid, or at least…
She didn't want that to be seen. She needed to walk and sound as if she were completely unconcerned, because she didn't want to be seen as a target, as someone weak. If she knew anything about the desert, it was that the people who lived in it were hardy people, and they were willing to do violence. So was everyone, of course: Shizue had never seen a place yet that didn't seem quick to do violence if it felt the need to, but she knew that surrounded as she was, as the horses whinnied and began to circle.
The dust they kicked up was like smoke, filling the air so much that she couldn't even see past them, and after a moment or two she realized that was the point. Chuichi didn't seem worried, and so she tried to relax.
And she closed her eyes. Beneath the sound of the hooves, beneath the dust, and the whoops of the riders on the horses, there were other sounds.
The groan of the wagon wheels, which no doubt were surrounding them on all sides, just in case. It was obvious that she and Chuichi were both shinobi, so of course they were being watched carefully.
But beneath that, she heard something more. The tapping of wood, rhythmic and careful, and a voice saying, "I'm not--"
A loud whoop from one of the men covered the rest of the sound, and she didn't want to waste chakra now, not when she'd need it for a real fight. She'd already drained herself a little today, in the previous fight. She knew that she'd need every edge she could get if she was going to fight an entire tribe… without killing someone. Yet again.
"It's a trick," Shizue said, quietly.
"You see the headman?" Chuichi asked. Then he turned and said, "Or hear, rather?"
"I do. But how's he going to get through the horses?" Shizue asked, imagining it. They whirled around, and they didn't sound as if they were slowing down even a little. The horses would tire eventually, and probably not too long from now. It was a show, a game as much as anything, but if so it was an impressive one.
She opened her eyes. There wasn't much more to be gained by listening, at least not the kind of close listening she'd been doing.
The horses were going to stop, and the old man--
Or they wouldn't, Shizue thought, staring a little as the man jumped through. He was shorter than Shizue, but of about average height… if he wasn't slightly stooped. The cane he had, though was…
Interesting.
It looked far too thick and hard, both wood and metal seeming to almost blend together. It ended in a hard knob of sorts at the bottom, and the handle had a slight curve that Shizue vaguely realized might itself be a hook. Or a… stabbing end? Either way, it looked surprisingly sharp, as the old man stepped closer.
He was wrapped thick cloth, but Shizue thought she saw glints of… something.
It was then that she realized just how amazing such clothing was for concealing weapons… or anything and everything.
His hood concealed most of his face, but wisps of pure white pair stuck out, drooping down a little. She imagined that he had long hair, even if it was perhaps balding.
"So, shinobi," the old man said, his voice a slightly wheezy huff of air.
"Would you believe that we're traveling salesmen?" Chuichi asked.
The old man snorted, "And I'm the Kazekage.":
"It's an honor to meet you, ma'am. I've heard much of your great deeds," Chuichi said, quirking a slight smile before adding, more seriously. "We're shinobi hiring out for D-ranks with the Ipetamo tribe."
"Oh? I'm Shitekka," he said. "And what are you doing here?"
"I was wondering what you were doing, actually," Chuichi said. "We came here to check something involving the well."
"Then…" Shitekka said, "What's that?"
"We're checking it for poison. After the Ipetamo were accused of poisoning it."
"Imagine that, so are we," Shitekka said, and then he turned slightly. "Quiet it! You're gonna wear out the horses!"
The whirling horses slowed down, and Shizue could make out the figures. Mostly men, but against her expectation, there were a few men here and there as the horses panted, clearly exhausted from the effort.
Their riders dismounted, hands close to their weapons, as if this was a moment of weakness that Shizue wouldn't be able to resist.
Which was interesting: they were looking at her almost like shinobi would, though their movements were a little too stiff. If they had chakra, they weren't using it the right way to enhance their movements.
Shizue tried not to stiffen, though. She didn't want to look as if she saw what they were doing. Because then it became this game: and there was no winning, really.
If they could notice things, then they'd see through the fakery, but she tried not give on hints of how ready she was for a sudden fight.
"Ah, that's better," Shitekka said. "So, you know why we're here? The Kinaki tribe, those brave warriors and braver fools, accused your hosts of poisoning the water. If they have, then we're going to have an angry word or three with them. It's one thing to get into a spat, but water is precious."
Shizue frowned, but from the look on Chuichi's face, he'd realized the deeper significance quite a while ago. Of course he had.
If you were trying to design a conflict, what better possible cause could you pick then water?
"Who sent you?" Chuichi asked.
"No one. They requested it," Shitekka said. "At the advisement of their allies. And a shinobi. But it's basic logic: nobody could trust them to be entirely honestly, and it's possible they were lying. That it wasn't poisoned."
"Are they the sort to lie about that?" Shizue asked.
"No… but they are very violent, they don't know the higher arts of the desert… there are many things I could say about them. I'm old, we talk a lot. It's better than acting, that's for the young."
Chuichi smiled wider, and he said, "I know a lot about old hands and talking, but… the truth is that we came here to test the water. We did. You can find the bucket there. It could be faked, but it isn't." Chuichi gestured. "The truth is… there was poison, but not at the right places."
"What does that mean, sonny?" Shitekka asked.
"I tested the water at first, and I saw no poison. There should be, unless someone specifically took a lot of time and energy to purify it… but they couldn't get further down," Shizue said, stepping forward. She tried to speak carefully and respectfully, because there was something about this old man.
She wasn't sure what it was, but she trusted her instincts.
"Further down?"
"Further down, there was the poison. There's no way for it to naturally go away that quickly," Shizue said, tugging down her veil a little. She needed to come off as harmless as she could manage. She wasn't the enemy, and that meant she needed to not seem like an outsider. "Deep in the well, where they couldn't get."
"They?" Shitekka asked, leaning forward.
"My suspicion is that a cattle baron and his pet shinobi are trying to start a war. Where is the shinobi that advised you to come here? I bet he wanted you to find nothing, and then assume…"
Shitekka turned back, "Eh, go get 'er!"
"Alright, sir," one of the women said, dismounting her horse and handing the reins to another man. She, at least, was moving a little like a shinobi, though not a very good one. More like a genin than anything else.
Shizue waited as the wind howled, trying to figure out whether she was making a mistake. She was very sure that this could go badly, and also quite sure that she could at least trust this chief to deal straight with her. It wasn't that she thought him incapable of lying, but he had no reason to play games.
"What are your names?" the chief asked, stepping a little closer.
"I'm… Shi," Shizue said.
"Choei," Chuichi said.
"Your real names, I'm sure," Shitekka said, drily. He shook his head. "If this is so, then we must stage a meeting between our three tribes, and perhaps the others not yet drawn into this conflict. We cannot allow ourselves to be manipulated. What is the purpose of these games?"
"He's a cattle baron," Chuichi said. "You have cattle. And you are a part of the market. People like him, they want control, they want power. They want suffering if it gets them even a little bit of wealth." He shook his head.
"Ah, so he is one from outside the tribe," Shitekka said, his voice a bitter whisper. "He's a cheater and a liar trying to drive us apart like every Daimyo we have ever seen. I will not give him the satisfaction, if--"
"Sir, she's gone!" the woman shouted, racing towards him.
"Ah," he said, shaking his head. "Then we'll believe you. We need to meet up with the Ipetamo. Come with us. There is little time."
******
Shizue was a curiosity again. In her experience, that's what being a shinobi meant. Especially if you were a girl. Even though people understood that kunoichi were as deadly as shinobi, there was still this moment of confusion among so many people.
Girls looked at Shizue and saw someone who wasn't like their playmates. Women saw someone who could have been their daughter… but could do superhuman things.
There was a little bit of difference, though.
Here the children asked questions about chakra. One of them even asked, "What's your nature?"
And a question like that wasn't very revealing, so she said it was earth, and frowned slightly as she tried to figure out how they knew things like that. They weren't asking the right questions to reveal everything about her, though.
Elemental nature wasn't very predictive of anything, and considering she was earth, if someone wanted to guess that she came from up north… they were welcome to do so.
She didn't mention details, but their curiosity about elemental jutsu, as well as chakra and its uses in general--boys and girls alike--spoke to something a lot deeper than she expected.
But she tried to ignore it as much as she could, and focus on what she'd do next. They'd have to talk to the Kinaki and then the Ipetamo and work out some sort of agreement. It'd be a lot of work, and Shizue wasn't sure to what end.
Rather, Shizue knew that as many shinobi as seemed to be working with Ken, it might not be quite so easy as being united. After all, so was Ken and his little team of psychopaths.
But she hoped things would turn out alright.
Then they rounded the hill to where the Ipetamo had been planning on staying.
[Commercial Break]
Shizue stared down at the swirling mass, at the battle beneath her. She could see banners to represent the two tribes, and there were screams filling the air. It was clear to her what this was, and it was something…
Here and there she could see some of the captured shinobi from the raid up and about, running wild through the collection of horses, cattle, and wagons.
And they were joined by their fellows.
There was a line of sort, but most of all what there was was complete chaos.
Death and destruction… and would either side, she realized, glancing over at Shitekka, even care if it was started because of a lie, after enough people had died?
...Masato. It had to be Masato. Shizue realized that if this was so, then he could have released all of the prisoners, and would have been behind the attack. And no doubt he'd had other plans. He'd… she didn't know if she could explain the certainty she felt, but everything seemed to slot together.
Advice. All three tribes had at least one shinobi among them, one missing-nin who had wrongly advised them, and then disappeared.
"Masato-san has to be behind this," Shizue said.
"Of course. I suspected as much," Chuichi said, heavily.
People were dying down there.
They were too late.
What to do?
[] Try to find the chiefs. Go into the chaos, and stop this fighting.
[] Where are Okiie and Seiichiro?! Find them first!
[] As long as Ken's little shinobi are there, this fight will keep on going. They have to be nearby to be watching all of this. Perhaps it's time to confront them. With any backup that Shitekka can provide.
*******
A/N: I really do apologize for it being so short.
They walked forward slowly as the tribe rolled closer, and then closer still. Shizue wasn't afraid, or at least…
She didn't want that to be seen. She needed to walk and sound as if she were completely unconcerned, because she didn't want to be seen as a target, as someone weak. If she knew anything about the desert, it was that the people who lived in it were hardy people, and they were willing to do violence. So was everyone, of course: Shizue had never seen a place yet that didn't seem quick to do violence if it felt the need to, but she knew that surrounded as she was, as the horses whinnied and began to circle.
The dust they kicked up was like smoke, filling the air so much that she couldn't even see past them, and after a moment or two she realized that was the point. Chuichi didn't seem worried, and so she tried to relax.
And she closed her eyes. Beneath the sound of the hooves, beneath the dust, and the whoops of the riders on the horses, there were other sounds.
The groan of the wagon wheels, which no doubt were surrounding them on all sides, just in case. It was obvious that she and Chuichi were both shinobi, so of course they were being watched carefully.
But beneath that, she heard something more. The tapping of wood, rhythmic and careful, and a voice saying, "I'm not--"
A loud whoop from one of the men covered the rest of the sound, and she didn't want to waste chakra now, not when she'd need it for a real fight. She'd already drained herself a little today, in the previous fight. She knew that she'd need every edge she could get if she was going to fight an entire tribe… without killing someone. Yet again.
"It's a trick," Shizue said, quietly.
"You see the headman?" Chuichi asked. Then he turned and said, "Or hear, rather?"
"I do. But how's he going to get through the horses?" Shizue asked, imagining it. They whirled around, and they didn't sound as if they were slowing down even a little. The horses would tire eventually, and probably not too long from now. It was a show, a game as much as anything, but if so it was an impressive one.
She opened her eyes. There wasn't much more to be gained by listening, at least not the kind of close listening she'd been doing.
The horses were going to stop, and the old man--
Or they wouldn't, Shizue thought, staring a little as the man jumped through. He was shorter than Shizue, but of about average height… if he wasn't slightly stooped. The cane he had, though was…
Interesting.
It looked far too thick and hard, both wood and metal seeming to almost blend together. It ended in a hard knob of sorts at the bottom, and the handle had a slight curve that Shizue vaguely realized might itself be a hook. Or a… stabbing end? Either way, it looked surprisingly sharp, as the old man stepped closer.
He was wrapped thick cloth, but Shizue thought she saw glints of… something.
It was then that she realized just how amazing such clothing was for concealing weapons… or anything and everything.
His hood concealed most of his face, but wisps of pure white pair stuck out, drooping down a little. She imagined that he had long hair, even if it was perhaps balding.
"So, shinobi," the old man said, his voice a slightly wheezy huff of air.
"Would you believe that we're traveling salesmen?" Chuichi asked.
The old man snorted, "And I'm the Kazekage.":
"It's an honor to meet you, ma'am. I've heard much of your great deeds," Chuichi said, quirking a slight smile before adding, more seriously. "We're shinobi hiring out for D-ranks with the Ipetamo tribe."
"Oh? I'm Shitekka," he said. "And what are you doing here?"
"I was wondering what you were doing, actually," Chuichi said. "We came here to check something involving the well."
"Then…" Shitekka said, "What's that?"
"We're checking it for poison. After the Ipetamo were accused of poisoning it."
"Imagine that, so are we," Shitekka said, and then he turned slightly. "Quiet it! You're gonna wear out the horses!"
The whirling horses slowed down, and Shizue could make out the figures. Mostly men, but against her expectation, there were a few men here and there as the horses panted, clearly exhausted from the effort.
Their riders dismounted, hands close to their weapons, as if this was a moment of weakness that Shizue wouldn't be able to resist.
Which was interesting: they were looking at her almost like shinobi would, though their movements were a little too stiff. If they had chakra, they weren't using it the right way to enhance their movements.
Shizue tried not to stiffen, though. She didn't want to look as if she saw what they were doing. Because then it became this game: and there was no winning, really.
If they could notice things, then they'd see through the fakery, but she tried not give on hints of how ready she was for a sudden fight.
"Ah, that's better," Shitekka said. "So, you know why we're here? The Kinaki tribe, those brave warriors and braver fools, accused your hosts of poisoning the water. If they have, then we're going to have an angry word or three with them. It's one thing to get into a spat, but water is precious."
Shizue frowned, but from the look on Chuichi's face, he'd realized the deeper significance quite a while ago. Of course he had.
If you were trying to design a conflict, what better possible cause could you pick then water?
"Who sent you?" Chuichi asked.
"No one. They requested it," Shitekka said. "At the advisement of their allies. And a shinobi. But it's basic logic: nobody could trust them to be entirely honestly, and it's possible they were lying. That it wasn't poisoned."
"Are they the sort to lie about that?" Shizue asked.
"No… but they are very violent, they don't know the higher arts of the desert… there are many things I could say about them. I'm old, we talk a lot. It's better than acting, that's for the young."
Chuichi smiled wider, and he said, "I know a lot about old hands and talking, but… the truth is that we came here to test the water. We did. You can find the bucket there. It could be faked, but it isn't." Chuichi gestured. "The truth is… there was poison, but not at the right places."
"What does that mean, sonny?" Shitekka asked.
"I tested the water at first, and I saw no poison. There should be, unless someone specifically took a lot of time and energy to purify it… but they couldn't get further down," Shizue said, stepping forward. She tried to speak carefully and respectfully, because there was something about this old man.
She wasn't sure what it was, but she trusted her instincts.
"Further down?"
"Further down, there was the poison. There's no way for it to naturally go away that quickly," Shizue said, tugging down her veil a little. She needed to come off as harmless as she could manage. She wasn't the enemy, and that meant she needed to not seem like an outsider. "Deep in the well, where they couldn't get."
"They?" Shitekka asked, leaning forward.
"My suspicion is that a cattle baron and his pet shinobi are trying to start a war. Where is the shinobi that advised you to come here? I bet he wanted you to find nothing, and then assume…"
Shitekka turned back, "Eh, go get 'er!"
"Alright, sir," one of the women said, dismounting her horse and handing the reins to another man. She, at least, was moving a little like a shinobi, though not a very good one. More like a genin than anything else.
Shizue waited as the wind howled, trying to figure out whether she was making a mistake. She was very sure that this could go badly, and also quite sure that she could at least trust this chief to deal straight with her. It wasn't that she thought him incapable of lying, but he had no reason to play games.
"What are your names?" the chief asked, stepping a little closer.
"I'm… Shi," Shizue said.
"Choei," Chuichi said.
"Your real names, I'm sure," Shitekka said, drily. He shook his head. "If this is so, then we must stage a meeting between our three tribes, and perhaps the others not yet drawn into this conflict. We cannot allow ourselves to be manipulated. What is the purpose of these games?"
"He's a cattle baron," Chuichi said. "You have cattle. And you are a part of the market. People like him, they want control, they want power. They want suffering if it gets them even a little bit of wealth." He shook his head.
"Ah, so he is one from outside the tribe," Shitekka said, his voice a bitter whisper. "He's a cheater and a liar trying to drive us apart like every Daimyo we have ever seen. I will not give him the satisfaction, if--"
"Sir, she's gone!" the woman shouted, racing towards him.
"Ah," he said, shaking his head. "Then we'll believe you. We need to meet up with the Ipetamo. Come with us. There is little time."
******
Shizue was a curiosity again. In her experience, that's what being a shinobi meant. Especially if you were a girl. Even though people understood that kunoichi were as deadly as shinobi, there was still this moment of confusion among so many people.
Girls looked at Shizue and saw someone who wasn't like their playmates. Women saw someone who could have been their daughter… but could do superhuman things.
There was a little bit of difference, though.
Here the children asked questions about chakra. One of them even asked, "What's your nature?"
And a question like that wasn't very revealing, so she said it was earth, and frowned slightly as she tried to figure out how they knew things like that. They weren't asking the right questions to reveal everything about her, though.
Elemental nature wasn't very predictive of anything, and considering she was earth, if someone wanted to guess that she came from up north… they were welcome to do so.
She didn't mention details, but their curiosity about elemental jutsu, as well as chakra and its uses in general--boys and girls alike--spoke to something a lot deeper than she expected.
But she tried to ignore it as much as she could, and focus on what she'd do next. They'd have to talk to the Kinaki and then the Ipetamo and work out some sort of agreement. It'd be a lot of work, and Shizue wasn't sure to what end.
Rather, Shizue knew that as many shinobi as seemed to be working with Ken, it might not be quite so easy as being united. After all, so was Ken and his little team of psychopaths.
But she hoped things would turn out alright.
Then they rounded the hill to where the Ipetamo had been planning on staying.
[Commercial Break]
Shizue stared down at the swirling mass, at the battle beneath her. She could see banners to represent the two tribes, and there were screams filling the air. It was clear to her what this was, and it was something…
Here and there she could see some of the captured shinobi from the raid up and about, running wild through the collection of horses, cattle, and wagons.
And they were joined by their fellows.
There was a line of sort, but most of all what there was was complete chaos.
Death and destruction… and would either side, she realized, glancing over at Shitekka, even care if it was started because of a lie, after enough people had died?
...Masato. It had to be Masato. Shizue realized that if this was so, then he could have released all of the prisoners, and would have been behind the attack. And no doubt he'd had other plans. He'd… she didn't know if she could explain the certainty she felt, but everything seemed to slot together.
Advice. All three tribes had at least one shinobi among them, one missing-nin who had wrongly advised them, and then disappeared.
"Masato-san has to be behind this," Shizue said.
"Of course. I suspected as much," Chuichi said, heavily.
People were dying down there.
They were too late.
What to do?
[] Try to find the chiefs. Go into the chaos, and stop this fighting.
[] Where are Okiie and Seiichiro?! Find them first!
[] As long as Ken's little shinobi are there, this fight will keep on going. They have to be nearby to be watching all of this. Perhaps it's time to confront them. With any backup that Shitekka can provide.
*******
A/N: I really do apologize for it being so short.
[X] As long as Ken's little shinobi are there, this fight will keep on going. They have to be nearby to be watching all of this. Perhaps it's time to confront them. With any backup that Shitekka can provide.
- Location
- scrabbling
[X] Try to find the chiefs. Go into the chaos, and stop this fighting.
I think the 'go confront Ken&co.' vote is backwards; they'll stay as long as there's fighting, not the other way IMO. But the longer there's fighting the more grievances there will be.
I think the 'go confront Ken&co.' vote is backwards; they'll stay as long as there's fighting, not the other way IMO. But the longer there's fighting the more grievances there will be.
- Pronouns
- They/Them
I hope it's alright...
- Location
- North Carolina
I really wouldn't worry about that, your work tends to be stellar regardless of length
Anyway, if we want to go after the Shinobi, we'll want to find Seiichiro and Okiie , but if we want to minimize casualties, the we'll want to stop the fighting.
So what's our objective here? Get solid proof of Baron meddling? Root out the Baron's Missing Nin? Try to prevent casualties? Or just make sure the Team survives? Because I will note, this whole plotline is not part of the mission, so we're going to have to set our own objectives here.
So, what do we want and how are we going to get what we want?
Zeitgeist Blue
Currently Made of Metal
- Location
- Manila, Philippines, GMT +8
[X] Where are Okiie and Seiichiro?! Find them first!
It'd be better to gather everyone first and direct our efforts.
It'd be better to gather everyone first and direct our efforts.
- Location
- Somewhere!
- Pronouns
- She/Her
[X] Try to find the chiefs. Go into the chaos, and stop this fighting.
[X] Where are Okiie and Seiichiro?! Find them first!
Did you mean Woman?
Anyway, great update.
[X] Where are Okiie and Seiichiro?! Find them first!
[X] Try to find the chiefs. Go into the chaos, and stop this fighting.
- Location
- Canada
[X] Where are Okiie and Seiichiro?! Find them first!
Bakkasama
There is always a greater fool
- Location
- Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Pronouns
- He/his
[X] As long as Ken's little shinobi are there, this fight will keep on going. They have to be nearby to be watching all of this. Perhaps it's time to confront them. With any backup that Shitekka can provide.
Capture the enemy, get proof enough to direct their hatred to the Baron.
Capture the enemy, get proof enough to direct their hatred to the Baron.
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Vote closes tonight!