More of these damned Headbands [Mission, Shizuka or Invite]

Mission Taken:

Since returning from Sabaku with Alec, Shizuka and the Uchihas, Konran had been training himself in the senses. With help from Alec, he was able to catch on, after days of nonstop training. He caught headaches, but that was part of the price to pay in order to learn. Konran now knew how to sense and even track people down over vast distances.

Konran was headed back to the mansion after walking around the marketplace. There was someone strange walking the streets. Konran ordinarily wouldn't have paid them any mind, but it was the headband on his forehead that caught his attention and held it. He had a suspicious look on his face, and looked at many of the villagers coming and going. Maybe he was looking for new people to kidnap and experiment on.

Konran frowned. He vowed to never let what happened to him happen to anyone else. The Shift Blade was in his left hand where it always was. he thought of cutting the man down then and there, but he wasn't sure if he was actually part of the Headbands. So for now he would watch, and wait.

Konran put a hand to his left ear. "...Shizuka... Quiet," he said in a hushed tone, taking a seat on a bench while keeping the man in his vision. "...I think there's a Headband in the village, looking for new victims... I'm gonna follow him around and see where he ends up, but I need some back-up. You want to help?... I know you hate these guys just as much as I do. If it turns out this guy really is a Headband, he has to have more guys, and we can shut them down together."

530 (Mission)
17,292 (Overall)

Shizuka since returning from Sabakugakure with everyone else had been scouting out the village. She wanted a prime location to be able to see everything from; or at least the majority of everything from. She found that location on top of one of the towers nearby the Kane's mansion; there were a few blind spots from there, mainly the twisting dark back alleyways that wound through the streets, but everything else was seeable from that perch.

It was there that she was now, using the scope of her gunscythe which was fully unfolded to keep an eye on things. She hadn't really been looking for anything in paticular, watching people go on about their lives was interesting all on its own since Shizuka had never known a normal life herself and given her vast distance away from the general population up on her tower perch it meant she couldn't be easily spotted except by only the most keenest of eyes. It made it safe for her to watch without any awkward moments happening due to her unwillingness to speak.

It was while watching a mother with a young crying child in the market that she picked up on Konran speaking to her through the wireless radio she had recently purchased. It was the way everyone in the village seemed to communicate, and while she wouldn't exactly speak that didn't mean she couldn't exactly listen. Konran said that he had spotted an individual he believed to be one of the Headband gang, and wanted to know if she would have his back given how much she despised them as well. It was an opportunity she had been waiting for, one that she wouldn't pass up. She whistled a short affirmitive into the mouth piece, hoping he understood this as a yes, meanwhile she used the scope of her gunscythe once more to locate Konran, and then the individual he was talking about.

Activating the green laser, a laser only Konran would currently be able to see given the way she was manipulating the light with her Light Release, she would train the laser onto the potential Headband gang member, tracking his movements and keeping it glued right between his eyes as he walked or the center of the back of his head were he to end up facing away from her direction: she wouldn't pull the trigger though, not yet. If there was one then chances were there were others, just as Konran had already said. The light, at least, would also allow Konran to track it back to her location, so that he would know where exactly she was located compared to him and the Headband individual.

Wordies: 447 / 900

Crescent Rose:

Shizuka whistled into the wireless comm, and Konran took that as a yes. A beam of light shined from somewhere directly onto the suspect. Konran was worried that he or someone might see it, but no one reacted, not even the Headband. Maybe it was a special light from that weapon of hers that only allies could see. Konran followed it back to one of the towers around the mansion. So that's where she'd been hiding then...

Konran moved around the marketplace as inconspicuously as he could, doing his best not to alert the Headband that he was being followed. Every so often he would take out a notepad and write something in it, eyeing villagers in a suspicious manner. After so long, the Headband pocketed the notepad, looking as if he'd seen what he came to see, then turned and began to head towards the village entrance in a hurried manner. Konran continued to follow him.

The Headband left out of Kurayami and began on the road out into the wilds, with Konran not far behind. Konran remained out of sight, but he was able to follow the Headband through sensory. The headband, after leaving the road and traveling into dark plains, got into a fight with several shadow creatures, dispatching them with a kunai after being slashed himself several times with sharp tendrils.

There was an outpost out in the wilds, looking like it used to belong to some kind of army. There were several buildings, and several other guys. Using his sensory, Konran could see that there were more hostages, but not as many as there were when they set Shizuka free. Konran was ducked down behind some growth and shrubs, out of view. "...I was right..." he said, frowning. "They have another camp, and more hostages..." He started to think about how to go about this. If he rushed in, he was sure they would kill the hostages.

"Hey, Shizuka... come to where I am, I have to show you something..."

868 (Mission)
17,630 (Overall)

Shizuka kept the green beam locked onto the Headband gang member as he went about the area. She saw him pause every now and then and take notes, and could even see how closely he seemed to look at some of the villagers. There was no doubt in Shizuka's mind that he was gathering up information for him and what was likely his crew to go on a kidnapping spree so that they had some more people to experiment on: it was something Shizuka had no intentions of allowing to happen. She had, in her own way, sworn her loyalty to Alec Kane and that went for his village, friends, and family as well.

When it was clear that the Headband individual had gathered up enough information, and was preparing to leave the village, Shizuka moved finally from her perch at the top of the tower. She moved quickly down the steps, and into the streets, using the darkness to hide herself so that she would not be spotted following him. She could see Konran ahead, and kept back further than him: she preferred to keep her distance after all - a shot from long range was less likely to be dodged after all as it meant seeing it and knowing it was coming was damn near impossible.

From the roads and into the darkness itself Shizuka kept following; even as she heard what clearly was a fight between the Headband member and some animals. Over the wireless communicator a short time later she could hear Konran say that he was right; there was more of the Headband crew and they had hostages. He then asked her to come to where he was. Curious, Shizuka did exactly that; using the shadows and the natural darkness of the land to hide her movements so that no one would be able to spot her: it would be a chance to find a nesting spot to sit with her gunscythe anyway.

Upon arrival to Konran's location she would look at him curiously; he had to have a reason for calling her down there after all, though she had no idea what that could be.

Wordies: 808 / 900

Konran glanced towards Shizuka when she got to where he was, then looked back at the outpost. The Headband who'd scouted out Kurayami returned to the rest of his men and began to share his findings, then some of them went inside the building where the hostages were.

"Ok..." Konran said, frowning, looking around. 3 guys were outside. The other 3 were in the building. The 3 in the building looked stronger than the 3 outside. "...I don't wanna go about this in a way that will get those innocent people inside killed... So i'm gonna show you how to bend the light around your body so you appear invisible. Watch close, alright?..."

Konran stood up straight and formed a couple of hand signs. His form seemed to vanish from sight. After several moments, Konran came back into view, and he ducked down again. "That won't fool everyone," he said. "Knuckleheads like these don't usually have the brains to know someone's there, but if you move around too much or make noise they'll see you. Also, somebody really good like Alec will still see you. So be careful who you use that around..."

Hiding with Camouflage:

Konran peeked over the bush again, tightening his grip on the scabbard of the Shift Blade. "...After we get rid of these guys out here, i'll go inside... You can keep watch out here, or you can come in with me. Let's do this before these guys go try to kidnap more villagers..."

Using the Shift Blade's shadow teleport ability, Konran seemed to vanish into a cloud of black.

1,305 (Mission)
18,067 (Overall)

Konran said he didn't want to go about this in a way that would end in the deaths of the innocent people inside, and it was something that Shizuka could agree with: who knew what all sort of torture and horrors those people inside had already endured at the hands of these idiots, especially if they were already scouting out more potential victims. She didn't say anything though, and simply listened. He mentioned teaching her an ability that would allow her to bend the light around herself in such a way as to allow her to disappear before demonstrating said technique. Shizuka watched closely as Konran disappeared before her eyes and then reappeared; his body would remain, but he would be completely unseen. He mentioned that for knuckle heads like the idiots outside and inside it would work, but on people such as Alec Kane it wouldn't.

Thinking back to all of the techniques and skills that she knew she applied those principals here before weaving the same hand seals that she saw Konran use. It took roughly two tries but she was then able to get it and cause herself to disappear completely from sight. She used this invisibility, or nearly so, to allow herself to move to a new location; one that would give her an advantage over the area. It would allow her to use her gunscythe like a gun, and fire bullets from great distances: these bullets, given they were made out of chakra, would be completely silent - if she played her cards right these guys wouldn't know what was happening until it was too late.

She found a hill nearby to position herself on; it would allow her to remain close enough to easily fire, yet far enough away to where there was no risk to anyone seeing her with or without the camouflage technique - though she kept it activated just to be on the safe side. Just like before the green beam of light would focus itself on a target, bent in such a way that it would be visible for Konran and invisible to everyone else. She was patient though; she didn't pull the trigger right away. She would instead begun to whistle a very low tune, too low for the Headband crew to hear, that would be an indication to her being ready to fight while giving Konran a chance to get himself set up; it would certainly be picked up by the wireless radio.

Wordies: 1,223 / 900
Chakra: 795

Konran appeared running full speed. The 3 goons outside were taken by surprise. Konran jumped above one while grabbing his shoulder. When Konran flipped over him, still holding his shoulder, he flipped the goon over himself and threw him off into the distance with one arm.

Early Sacrifice:

When his feet touched the ground, Konran was immediately in motion again, grabbing the handle of the Shift Blade. The 2 goons struggled to get out their Kunai. Konran ran past one and took a swing at him, which was blocked by the Kunai. Konran began to run circles around the goon, making other swings that came faster and faster. He managed to block some, but not all. Eventually the Kunai was cut in half and the goon was cut many times.

Canyon Style:

The last goon tried stabbing Konran from behind, but suddenly found that he couldn't move. A shocked look appeared on his face. Konran turned to face him as the cut up goon fell down, bleeding from many wounds, his nose and his mouth. The goon behind him suddenly took the same pose that Konran was, not knowing that Konran had connected his shadow to the goons.

Shadow Imitation Technique:

"I--I can't move," he struggled to say. "What---what did you--do to me, you freak?..."

"...I'm a freak?" Konran repeated with a frown. "...You kidnap innocent people to use them for experiments. You ruin people's lives. What does that make you?"

What looked to be a sword rose from a nearby shadow, hovering above the ground by itself; the sword itself made of shadow. The sword suddenly moved towards the wide eyed goon, who could do nothing to avoid it. The sword came in from below and buried itself into the bottom of his chin. The blade went through his head and came out of the top of his skull, sinking itself into his flesh up to it's handle. He made a choking sound with a look of dread on his face, before falling flat onto his back.

Death Shadow Blade:

2,279 (Mission)
19,041 (Overall)

Bullets were loaded into Shizuka's gunscythe as Konran began to go into action; ten in all packed with power and ready to be fired. These bullets would not only penetrate but they would cause burn damage due to being made up of nothing but light - it would also make them silent too, since they were comprised of chakra. The man that Konran flipped over and sent flying didn't make it to the ground alive. While his body was in midair and Shizuka's scope trained on him - the green beam focused on his head as he went head over heels - a single bullet was fired from her gunscythe which would fly straight and true through the air, impacting the tumbling headband crew member right between his eyes and easily penetrating his skull. Not only would it leave a hole in his head, but the bullet would burn and fry his brain, killing him instantly. Due to the blade of her gunscythe being dug into the ground it meant that Shizuka didn't have to deal with the recoil of firing her weapon, allowing her to quickly focus on the remainder of the fighting.

Konran had another of the headband crew on the ground and bleeding from several slash wounds, and yet another impaled through the chin with a blade looked to be comprised of shadows. The man with the blade through his chin surely had to be dead, but the other one who was beginning to bleed out was still trying to get back onto his feet. Shizuka trained the beam of green light onto his forehead and fired, yet another bullet leaving her gunscythe and following a direct path to the soon to be dead man. The bullet would impact without sound leaving a hole right in his forehead and doing the same burn damage to his brain as happened with the previous individual, killing him instantly. The same tune whistled through both of their deaths - it was like her killing song.

Still using the camouflage technique Shizuka released her gunscythe's blade from the earth and began to move, heading down and to Konran. She would skid to a stop next to him, looking at him in silent curiousity. Did he have a plan on how he wanted to handle the three headband crew members inside? They had to be careful of course because of the hostages, so they couldn't exactly go in there guns blazing. Shizuka after a quick glance through the nearest window would point toward the window and then to her gunscythe followed finally by the hill directly across from the window; indicating without words she was going to watch through the window with her gunscythe: she could easily fire through the weak glass after all, and the window would give her a direct sight line to the hostages meaning she would be able to stop anyone from coming near them were someone to try and take them out quickly. If Konran didn't mention having a better plan, or mention having an issue with hers, she would take off and get into position up on the hill, the blade of her scythe once more stuck into the ground to keep her aim as true and straight as possible without the issue of recoil. Shizuka would wait now, patiently, for a target to present itself and for more of these headband crew to die at either her hand or Konran's.

Wordies: 1,799
Chakra: 755
Bullets Remaining: 8 / 10

The thrown goon was shot in mid-air. He was dead when he hit the ground. The goon who was currently bleeding out was shot too. Konran began to catch on to the fact that the weapon Shizuka was using had to be what was described to Konran once as a "firearm." It fired projectiles as a fast enough speed that they would penetrate people. Shizuka was a long ranged fighter; she could hang back and shoot people from an unknown location. As he'd just showed her how to come mostly invisible, she'd just become the perfect assassin.

She came to a stop nearby and gave a stare. Konran didn't know how to feel with a pretty girl looking at him like she was. he scratched the back of his head and tried to focus his mind back onto the task at hand. There were 3 more inside, along with hostages. Shizuka pointed to a window, then to her weapon, and finally to a nearby hill. It translated to "I'll cover you from up there through the window."

"Wait, hold on," he said before she took off. "I'll show you something else." Konran had to concentrate his ability to generate light, causing his body to glow, primarily from the light he collected from the desert. He held his hand out to Shizuka next, causing a glowing orb about the size of a tennis ball to appear in his hand. "...This is easy to do," he said. "You throw it above you and it'll go into the clouds, and clear some of them away for about 3 minutes. (3 posts) The sun will shine rays of light down on you.... With the way you acted on the Mossberg it should give you a boost, yeah?"

Light Bomb:

Konran glanced back to the building, then to Shizuka again. "...The thing is though, you'll draw attention to yourself... I'll get their attention first..."

Konran began to make his way towards the building while Shizuka made her way to the hill. The 3 inside, all armed with swords, were discussing kidnap plans, and the best time to go to Kurayami to do so. The individual who'd scouted Kurayami in the first place never noticed the shadows beneath him moving. He himself looked surprised when he grabbed one of his cohorts, asking what the hell he was doing, and threw him out of the window that Shizuka indicated she would cover, completely at her mercy.

He drew his sword next and tried swinging it at the other cohort, who drew his sword to block it. The first goon attacked with the sword with skills he himself didn't have, all the while with him saying he didn't have control over himself. The fight ended when the sword was knocked from the hands of the other goon and he was thrown out of the window next as target practice to Shizuka next. Finally, screaming, he found himself putting the sword to his own neck and slicing open his jugular veins, to bleed out, fall over and die.

Chakra: 840/940

2,911 (Mission)
19,673 (Overall)

Another new ability; one that would cause Shizuka's power and abilities to double for several minutes even in a land as dark and lightless as Kurayamigakure. She memorized what Konran did, making a mental note as she hurried her way up the hill to wait until the perfect moment. She was going to use this new ability to increase the power of her bullets; to increase the physical and the burn damage that they would do. Just like Konran had suggested she waited patiently for him to head inside and get their attention; which was done by some jutsu that caused one of the headband crew to throw another toward the window.

Before this headband member would make it through the window Shizuka would replicate Konran's movements perfectly, causing this ball of light to shoot up into the clouds and clear them away, making it bright and sunny. The moment the sunlight hit Shizuka she felt the now familiar high feeling wash over her and knew that her power was now doubled. She didn't miss a beat though as she kept her aim and fired at the headband crew member as he came crashing through the window. She couldn't aim at his head and therefore she hit him three times in the chest in a close cluster where his heart was. Given the light shining above her, and the fact that her abilities were now increased in power, the three shots did more than kill her target; it shredded him in half completely. The man was lifeless before his two halves finished tumbling across the ground.

Shizuka watched through her scope as a fight broke out then between two of the goons, one whom clearly wasn't in control of himself. It resulted in one of the two being thrown out the window where Shizuka would put three bullets into his chest just like she had the last, effectively killing him and causing him to be torn in two by the impact. The final goon was then killed by taking his own life, and Shizuka knew the coast was clear. She freed her gunscythe's blade from the earth and then made her way down the hill, past the dead bodies, and inside cautiously.

Wordies: 2,170
Chakra: 740
Bullets Remaining: 2

The two outside were blasted to pieces. The sun boosted Shizuka's Light energies tremendously, so much that it allowed her weapon to shoot people into pieces. Konran felt nothing for them, or the goon before him bleeding out into the floor. He was dead when Konran stepped over him, looking around the room they were in.

"Help!" came a voice from one of the closets, as Shizuka came in. "We're locked in here! Help us! Let us out, please!" Konran went over and opened the closet to reveal a couple of families with kids. There was an odor in the closet and the people looked dirty and malnourished, hinting that they'd probably been in there for a while. "You're... you're not going to hurt us, are you?..."

"No," Konran said, stepping out of the way. "We came to get rid of these guys and set you free... Go on, go home..."

The families thanked Konran and Shizuka as they came out of the closet. Some of them gathered some of the supplies the goons had in the room. Some of them went to stomp and beat on the dead body lying in the floor.

Konran wouldn't let saving these people go to his head. He want to find more of them, to kill more of them. His expression didn't change much. "...That's done," he said. He grabbed a bottle with some kind of fluid in it, sniffing, smelling something that the people who used to beat on him used to drink. He remembered that it was flammable from watching the man who would beat on him spill some, and knock over a candle, which set the liquid on fire. Konran poured it everywhere, then grabbed one of the burning candles in the room to toss it into the fluid. The whole room began to go up in a blaze.

"Nice work, Shizuka," Konran said as he turned to exit the building. "...We're done here. Let's head back to the village..."


3,252 (Mission)
20,014 (Overall)
[Exit]

The whole headband crew was dead and the hostages safe. There was a cry for help from what looked like some kind of closet and when Konran opened the door Shizuka could see what looked like several families. From the way they looked, their appearance, and the smell coming from the now open door, chances were they had been in there for quite a while: it made Shizuka wish she would have hurt the headband crew she had killed a bit more before killing them.

She was quite glad when Konran answered their questions, stating that they weren't going to hurt them; it saved Shizuka from having to relay that kind of message herself. Shizuka didn't respond to being thanked, she just began to hum a very calm and peaceful tune while folding her gunscythe back up and clipping it back to her waist.

She watched then, after the families had left, as Konran went and picked up a bottle of something that clearly had to be some kind of booze. He sniffed it, and for a second Shizuka wondered if he was going to drink it. Instead, he began to douse everything in the liquid and Shizuka figured he was going to start a fire. Sure enough, once everything was drenched in the luquid Konran used a candle to set the whole place on fire. Shizuka walked outside, having no intentions of being near such hot flames, and glanced around. There were no more headbands nearby, but she kind of wished there were: she was all for killing some more of them.

She looked toward Konran as he spoke, still whistling her calm and peaceful tune. After a quick glance back to the burning building she would turn and follow Konran back to the village. All in all that had seemed like it had turned out rather well considering that Shizuka didn't speak to communicate: perhaps her and Konran working together would definitely work out - and perhaps they'd be able to do more missions like these in the future: Shizuka was all for killing every last member of that headband organization after all. Every. Last. One. Of. Them.


Wordies: 2,535