| abstract | - As a quiet rain falls over a small valley along the southern border of the Land of Lightning a young man looks out from the inside of a small restaurant, taking a movement of reprieve from the inevitable continuation of his objective. It had been several months since he had begun to track down and eliminate the members of the White Snake Sect, but his mission was far from over. Gazing out over the rhythmic precipitation Arashiyo, operating under the name Hashitaka, couldn't help becoming lost in thought over everything from recent ordeals to the events that sparked the flames of his current predicament. Breaking from solemn attitude the rain ninja's glance suddenly locks open a man making his way for the exit. Following suit Hashitaka places a few coins upon the table before strolling out the front door in pursuit of his target. Maneuvering around a few pedestrians the shinobi keeps his distance as he trails his mark, a slender man in his early thirties. Steadily closing ground Arashiyo waits until the crowd thins out to grab the man by the collar and hurl him onto the ground of an adjacent alley in a single movement, before stepping into the corridor as well. Arashiyo's opponent doesn't stay disoriented for long, quickly spinning about to face the shinobi with a curved kunai in his grasp. Taking the initiative Arashiyo draws the blade from his side in what seems less than an instant, disarming his opponent with a shallow cut across the wrist before he had a chance to respond. Falling back from surprise the man begins to inch his way away from the swordsman, who steadily approaches with his blade to his side. Cornered at the end of the alley the man falls to his knees in fear. "Where is the rest of your group?" Arashiyo asks, peering at the exposed tattoo on the man's wrist. The trapped cultist attempts to convince the rain ninja that this is a misunderstanding but is cutoff as the swordsman slices the man shallowly across the face. "I'll only ask once more," Arashiyo explains coldly as he pulls back his blade in preparation to strike again. "No, wait!," the man begs, "There's a hideout in the forest to the north...we've been laying low up there." Seemingly appeased by this information Arashiyo turns away from the cultist, sheathing his blade in the process, who appears to be relieved by this change of pace as he pulls himself to his feet. "Thank you for sparing me. Tor a moment I though you were really going to..." the man begins to say before being cut off a final time as Arashiyo whirls around swiping the edge of his hand past the mans neck. For a moment there is silence before the cultist collapses the the ground from a deep slash across his throat delivered from an unknown origin. "Spare you? How foolish," Arashiyo speaks quietly as he makes his way out of the alley, "Not a single one of you will survive this ordeal." As he walks away the man quickly succumbs to his wound, suffocating steadily on his own blood. Gasping was apparent as the woman rushed through the trees, "shit! Damn brats," the woman proclaimed as she looked around, sweat dripping down her face, "it's quiet..." The woman looked around, her pupils dilating convulsively, continually becoming more and more paranoid at every sound. She had finally reached the Land of Lightning again, she never thought she'd be back here as she hasn't been so in a many years. Her breathing increases as she wandered in a disorientated state for a few moments to catch her breath as she continued to take off at a run, this time it was clumpy as her feet smacked the ground, her limbs flailing. Turning around she saw gold eyes peering at her through the tree tops as her eyes widened, "wait!" she screamed trying to plead with the mysterious figure as she turned around and took off as fast as she could; jumping onto a low branch. Kunai flew out of the trees at the woman as she dodged and deflected them with her own, she was getting more nervous and paranoid as time went on. She couldn't understand why he wasn't coming in to capture her, she knew he could easily, "WHY ARE YOU DELAYING!?!?" she screamed into the dark ends of the forest. The woman ran for several more minutes gasping for air, as she tripped face-planting onto the ground. She looked above her head as she saw the figure standing upside down on a tree branch glaring down at her, his upper body and face completely shadowed. The trees bristled as she turned her head quickly to see another man walk out from the low bush... Some amount of time after getting his lead Arashiyo makes his way into the forest to the north. He had a general idea where the base was located based off of other information he had gathered prior, which was only validated by his earlier interrogation. As moved casually through the trees he suddenly hears the shout of a woman nearby. Turning towards the direction of the voice, the young man can't help but fall victim to his conscious as he turns off of his original path and makes his way into the darker recesses of the grove. "It's always something...isn't it?" he thinks to himself as he picks up his pace, silently and swiftly maneuvering around both branches and foliage alike. Moving through the dense arrangement of trees Arashiyo mind wanders back to other events beginning with a lone yell in the darkness. "I hope it's not too late," he ponders aloud, sincerely hoping that the shout wasn't due to the White Snake Sect. Shaking his head as he progresses he tries to snap himself out of his melancholy demeanor, "It's an eternity too early to decide the fate of another," he echoes in his mind, picking up the pace towards source of the sound. As the trees brushed against Arashiyo's face, he was closing in to the spot he had heard the voice call from. As the trees twisted back, a opening in the forest broke, "oi!" a voice called up above Arashiyo, it was a man standing upside down on a low branch sustained by nothing but chakra. Judging by his piercings and metal plating it became evident he was a member of the famed Kamiyo Clan. "Sup," callously responds as he halts his advance on a nearby branch as he quietly takes note of the man's lineage. "How pitiful...to overlook this man's presence by being caught up in the past," the young man thinks to himself. Peering around briefly Arashiyo doesn't initially spot the the source of the shout he heard earlier, and reluctantly focuses his attention on the man before him. Taking note of his surroundings, the rain ninja concludes that if there was anyone else in the vicinity they were likely disguising their presence. "So what brings you out here...cloud-nin?" he casually continues, a hint of sarcasm on his tongue. "I'm always out here," the man replied, he appeared to bein his 30s, judging by the experienced look in his eyes, "i've been here for several days, on this branch, in the exact spot, here," he replied, his gold eyes glaring down at Arashiyo, without blinking once. His stare never once faltered from Arashiyo's position, even observing his very breath, analytical eyes. "A better question would be what are you doing, but of course that would be rhetorical as I never actually asked." Attempting to verify the Kamiyo's allegiance by glancing at the man's wrists Arashiyo is sorely disappointed to find them out of view. "Since you were here first...I can tell you that you don't need to pay any my to me here," the rain ninja explains bluntly, "...as long as you can let me see your wrists." Despite being rather confident that nobody from Kumo had been associated with the White Snake Sect thus far, he'd prefer to be sure before carrying on. Regardless, there was still the issue of the screams source to be determined as well. "As long you say, so if I choose to not show my wrists I will need to concern myself with you, why don't you come up here to see them yourself, this isn't a question only a suggestion as I never speak in question," the man said, with a blank stare closely scrutinizing Arashiyo below. Wind throwing his hair about. "In response to such a simple request, you attempt to incite a fight," Arashiyo begins disappointingly, "I had heard rumors, but didn't think that shinobi from Kumo would necessitate violence so openly." Considering his situation for a moment the rain ninja pauses his response temporarily, all the while keeping his focus on Kōkū and the surrounding area. "You're really putting me in a bind here...should I assume that the woman I heard earlier was due to your actions as well," Arashiyo remarks in an impudent fashion, placing his left hand upon the handle of his blade, "Perhaps you're adamant on causing all kinds of trouble for me today." "The woman was a criminal, I simply brought her in for interrogation," a voice called out from behind Arashiyo as another man stood there. He had been standing their for apparently several minutes, yet the stealth of him was nearly scary. It became apparent quickly these two were build for assassinations. The man behind Arashiyo wore a bizarre mask, it was in this moment that Kōkū spoke again, "we're members of the Ambiguous" the man said. "State your reasons for coming into the Land of Lightning..." asked the one standing beind Arashiyo. "Is that so?" Arashiyo responds calmly as he takes a glance at the masked individual, "In that case I don't need to pay her any mind. If you two are merely fulfilling your assignment...I have no reason to interfere." Realizing the delicacy of the situation at hand Arashiyo makes a final attempt towards avoiding a unwelcome scenario. After a short pause of organizing his thoughts the rain ninja provides his response. "I'm afraid I can't reveal my purpose in this country...but I can ensure that it doesn't concern your innocent civilians or your village," he attempts to illustrate, "Though I don't assume that is a viable response. So, how is it the pair of you wish to proceed? "Two options appear visible, one - you could back track," said the masked figure as he side stepped to clear the path, "or you could come with us to be interrogated," Kōseki stated with a firm voice. The moment Arashiyo lost sight of him, Kōkū had completely vanished from view, the slightest blink.
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