A Heist Gone Wrong: Kusariha Awakens

Wed Jun 15, 2016 9:26 pm

Preparations:

Day 0

Zabuza Momochi, Demon of the Hidden Mist, wielder of the Kubikiribōchō. Kisame Hoshigaki, wielder of Samehada. Both former shinobi from Kiri, former members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, both high ranking missing nin. And most importantly, both reputable wielders of two giant swords. Isao liked that part in particular. He had heard tales of their exploits from before the Eruption growing up. Kisame, in particular, was brought up often at family gatherings, him being part of Isao’s clan. While the adults were off discussing the future of the Shark Clan, all the little ones would gather around one of the elders and listen as they would recite the exploits of all the past members of their clan. Isao was different than most of his cousins, always looking forward to hearing the stories that often spooked the other kids. Perhaps it was his hatred of authority that made him like Kisame and his notorious status so much… Or perhaps… it was the oversized sword!

Isao jolted, as he realized he had been day dreaming the entire time while his comrades had been going over the details of their upcoming heist. Isao knew the plan already, why did he need to bother sitting through all these boring meetings?

Take the public ferry out the island, wait for dusk, break into the estate, and clean the place out. Well, there was more too it than that… Someone had to be waiting with a getaway boat in the nearby cove. The guards had to be neutralized. The electricity had to be cut prior, but not too much earlier as to give them enough time to do their job before any electricians could be dispatched. And, of course, they weren’t just there to steal to their hearts’ content. They had a very specific mark they needed to lift. But none of that mattered to Isao. He was in charge of knocking out the guards and that’s it. And while he was there, he would be damned if he wasn’t gonna take a few precious valuables for himself. He was a THIEF, after all, it is kinda what he DOES.

SWACK!

Down came a ruler right in front of Isao’s face. “Pay attention, slacker!” shouted one of his fellow thieves, the one in charge of the meeting. Remi was his name, and he sure was annoying. Always by the book, this one. Even though there wasn’t a book. Because thieves don’t write. “Do you even know what it is you’re in charge of on this hiest?”

“Alright, alright, sheesh…” Isao responded, jerking his fingers back from the table. “Taking the guards out, duh.”

“And I was hesitant giving you that much responsibility! Now, stop gazing off into the distance and be apart of the conversation.” Remi retorted. The conversation went on for another ten minutes before Remi had said everything he felt he needed to say. And that was a looooot. The heist was in two days, so you can’t really blame him for being so high strung. After the meeting was over, everyone retired for the night. Tomorrow was the day they set out on the ferry. This place was so far out of the way, it was gonna take a full day of travel just to get there.

As Isao was laying in bed waiting for the sweet embrace of sleep to take him for the night, he heard a very faint whipser.

“Sooooon”

Isao thought that was pretty eerie, but didn’t give it a second thought. He heard no foot steps, so at least no one was trying to steal from him.

Day 1

Early mornings were not Isao’s cup of tea. But then again, late mornings weren’t either. Isao really just hated getting out of bed. “Money!” he thought to himself. That was all the motivation he needed. The only thing he liked more than sleep was money. A quick face scrub, a small bite to eat, and a hastened adornment of his typical outfit, and he he was off. But he was forgetting something… he could just feel it.

Arriving at the docks, slightly behind schedule (because being fashionably late was in style. It was always in if you asked Isao), Remi was sure to give him an earful. That is, he would have, if he wasn’t already giving someone else an earful. Apparently the other guy had forgotten his wiring kit, and he was in charge of cutting the electricity. The poor guy explained that he could definitely still do his part with a basic kunai, and Remi left with a scowl across his face. That remindied Isao, wasn’t he forgetting something…? Ah, if it was important enough he would have remembered it. No use worrying about it now, there wasn’t enough time to run back to his house before the boat was scheduled to leave. Everyone boarded the vessel and they were quickly on their way.

About an hour into the voyage and….

“The knock-out gas!” Isao exclaimed, much to the surprise of his crewmates. Quickly catching himself, he waved them off with a silly grin on his face, trying to avoid eye contact with Remi, who did not seem to notice Isao say anything at all. Probably for the best. Well, at least he knew what he had forgotten now. That was a load off his mind. It could be worse, he thought. He could have forgotten his… actually, no it could not be worse. That was about as big a mistake as he could have made. “I guess I’ll just have to dispose of them the old fashioned way,” he thought, with a murderous grin spreading across his face. That way was always more fun. He was beginning to think that his subconscious might have purposefully made him forget the gas.

About halfway through the voyage, Isao got the good idea of scaring Remi. Well, good might not be the best word for it. Isao, with all his mighty shark powers, crept into the water while no one was looking. Being sure to stay hidden, Isao waited until someone took notice that he was no longer aboard the boat. Remi, outraged, started pacing up and down the length of the ship, screaming Isao’s name and Curses left and right. Finally, when he had settled down and began looking for Isao behind the ship with a spy glass, it was time for Isao to make his move. Isao swam to the back of the ship, slowly crawled up the rear and every so slowly placed himself right in front of Remi’s view. Remi, seeing the world at a magnified distance, practically lept from his skin. After a long scolding, Remi turned a light green and excused himself, barely making it to the edge of the boat before hurling his lunch into the deep blue.

The rest of the trip was pretty uneventful, save for Remi throwing up about every other hour. Of which there were eight total. By the time they reached the remote island, the sun was beginning to set. They probably could have made the attempt on the estate tonight, but the security check was scheduled for tomorrow, at which point most of the security systems would be offline for several minutes as they were checked for issues. Also, Remi was way too sick from the trip to oversee the operation. And god forbid they do the operation without their great and fearless leader (sigh). They all checked into a local inn for the night. At least tomorrow Isao didn’t have to be up til late in the evening. And he planned to sleep that long too.

Again, as Isao was beginning to fall asleep, he heard the same voice, this time a little louder.

“Soooooooooon, Isao. Soooon.”

Creepy, yo. Whatever. Probably just a ghost or something. No big deal.

(WC: 1310)

Thu Jun 16, 2016 5:59 pm

Heist

Setting

A small island far out to sea. So far away from the country’s mainland that you couldn’t see land on the horizon anymore. The island consisted of a very small township, if you could call it that. There was a single dock with a single road that led through town. An inn, general store, storehouse and a handful of lower middle class housing units were all the buildings of note. A few fishing shacks lined the single beach, a few small fields just above them. A small group of shacks rimmed the outskirts of the town’s reaches. But the main attraction of the island, the reason our group of thieves made the eight hour journey to this little rock, was a mansion that sat in the middle of the island. The lone road out of town ascended up to some highlands that encompassed most of the island, to a small plateau that housed quite a spectacle. A walled, multi-story estate, all in white. There was a helipad, an observatory, and a guard tower to name a few features of note. Whoever owned that building must have been providing work for the village below. There was just no other good reason for them being there. But who?

Day 2

Yaaaawwwwnnnn….

Isao stretched and groaned as he propped himself up in bad. Today was the day, he thought. Heist day. Or more like night. Isao opened up the blinds to his inn room to let some light in, only to find that it was useless. The sun was already behind the highlands, setting for the day. Had he really slept that late?! He checked the clock in the room. 7:30. Wow, you really out did yourself this time, Isao.

Getting dressed as fast as he could, he bolted out the door. Luckily the inn was just now putting away the dinner time meal, so Isao grabbed a loaf of bread as he ran for the door. It wasn’t until he was outside that he realized he forgot his shoes. A quick foray back inside and he was on his way again.

Good thing the operation didn’t start officially until 8:15, because Isao only barely made it to the meet up point by 8:12. Remi gave him a quick menacing glance on his almost lateness. They sat in a small cluster of brush about 200ft from the walls of the estate. Five of them. Thier sixth was off getting the boat in place for the getaway. The seventh was getting into place to cut the power. Remi motioned to Isao to get ready for his part. Isao nodded and quickly got into position in a tree closer to the walls.

This was going to be easy. A quick in and out, by the books operation. Sure there were some guards to take care of, but Isao had plenty of experience with that sort of thing. Easy. Or so he thought.

3… 2… 1… Light out! That was the signal, obviously. Isao leapt from the branch he was on, straight over the wall. He had heard a few guards passing by this location from the other side, and was quickly raining down on them. The went out pretty easily. two down, six to go. Next were the two in the tower. Isao bounded up the side, careful not to get in the way of the spotlight. Rolling through the window, Isao did a quick sweep with his legs to knock down both the guards in one move. From there the they were easily subdued. Halfway there. Isao leaped from the tower onto a second story walkway. Two more guards were about to round a corner, Isao lying in wait for them. But at that moment, Isao heard two more approaching from the other direction. He made a quick decision and sprinted for the closer two, rounding the corner and blindsiding them both at the same time. Now, just the last two, who were fast approaching to investigate the commotion Isao had just caused.

Isao rounded the corner before they made it, hands up in a non-aggressive manner to his sides. “Hey there fellas! Mighty fine night for a stroll, huh?”

“HEY! You’re not supposed to be up here. What are you doing here?”

“Oh, ya know, just robbing the place.” And before he could even finish saying the words, both the guards were falling to their knees, two needles in both their necks. “Oh man, I totally had things under control!”

“What happened to the gas bombs? Let me guess, you forgot them?” Remi’s condescending voice came in from behind. Not missing a beat, Remi motioned for one of their companions to crack the lock on the door. A minute later and they were inside, shifting through the halls as quiet as a mouse. Round this corner and that, down this hall and through that door.

“Cloooosseeer, Isao.”

Finally, after a handful of twists and turns, they arrived at the room they were looking for. The trophy room. Every corner was filled with display cases and stands. And there, in the middle of the room, stood the item they came all this way to get. “An egg?” one of their companions said, rubbing his head. “All this fuss over an egg!”

“It’s not just any egg, dimwit. This is a faberge egg. A highly sought after heirloom that many will pay top dollar for at an auction.” Remi said. “Don’t worry, I think it’s stupid too.”

Their in-house locksmith went to work on the case the egg was in. It was quite a bit tougher to crack than the door was. While he was busy, the rest of the group waited, two guarding the door. Isao, ever the one to get into mischief, decided now was the time to scope out any other goodies he might want to get his hands on while he was here. He began pacing around the room.

“Clllllloooooooossssssseeeeeerrrrrrr, Isao. That’s it.”

There they sat, in a case not unlike the others in this room. Two sheathed blades, nothing too flashy. But for some reason, Isao could not break eye contact with them. They seemed to be calling out to him, edging him on to come closer. Were these the source of the voices he had been hearing the past two days? Whatever they were, Isao had to have them. Longed for them with every fiber in his body. He needed them.

Without thinking, Isao brought his elbow as hard down onto the glass as he could, shattering it. An alarm went off somewhere. He was bleeding. Remi was yelling at him. He didn’t care about any of that. These blades were all he could think about. Slowly he reached into the case, picking up the larger of the two blades. He unsheathed it, only to find that there was nothing attached to the handle. No blade at all. The sheath wasn’t even hollow on the inside either. It was at this moment that Isao finally noticed the chain of razors that lay in a circle around the base of the stand in the case. He reached out towards it, but before he was able to grasp it, the chain wreathed like a snake. Isao hesitated, and in that moment the chain leapt for Isao’s outreached arm. Not given enough time to react, Isao just sort of stumbled back as the chain blade twisted itself around his arm, writhing its way through his sleeve and up to his torso. That is where it stopped, coiled around him, tightening every so slightly.

He felt weak all of a sudden. Like his life force was being drained out of him. By this point Remi had made his way over to Isao’s side. He looked in astonishment as the blade attached itself to Isao, crawling up underneath his clothes. From his perspective, it almost looked like a snake was shifting around under there. A jagged snake. Isao fell to his knees, and then proceeded to lose consciousness.

Coming to momentarily, Isao glanced to his side and realized that he was being carried by two of his companions. They were making there way down a steep slope towards the ocean. He could hear shouting behind him. Guards. They weren’t far behind. Isao drifted back out of consciousness again.

When Isao finally woke up again, he found himself strapped down to a medical table, a bright light in his eyes. He realized that he had no shirt on, or any clothes for that matter. Where was he? Why was he strapped down? Who were the faint shadows looming over him? He didn’t get an answer before he was knocked out again, this time by an injection from one of the shadows.

Day 3

Isao awoke, what he assumed was the next day, to find that he was still strapped to a table, though this time he was orientated vertically. His view consisted of a medium sized room, painted grey, with no decorations or, for that matter, anything in it. In front of him stood four men. Two guards, dressed in the same attire that the guards he had knocked out the night before wore. A doctor of some sort, or maybe a scientist? Whatever he was, he had a lab coat on and held a clipboard in his hands. The final figure was dressed in an expensive suit, had shades on even though they were indoors, and was a hand shorter and quite a few hands wider than the other men gathered around him. He must be in charge, Isao thought. This must be his estate.

“Finally awake, are we? You’ve gotten yourself into quite a predicament, haven't you, boy?” said the man in the suit, “I’m sure you don’t even fully understand the gravity of your situation. I mean, how could you? Well you see, that blade you have wrapped around you is mine, but it seems to have taken a liking to you. Which is a problem, because now we can’t remove it. I’m not to fond of the idea of owning a little kid along with that blade either, which is bad news for you. See, we’re gonna run some tests on you, seeing as how that sword has never acted this way with anyone else before. And then, when we are done with you, we’re gonna rip that thing off you, one way or another.”

And with that, the group dispersed from the room. It wasn’t until this point that Isao had noticed a camera pointed directly at him in one of the corners of the room. He looked into it, and after a few moments, he was out again.

(WC: 3094)

Thu Jun 16, 2016 9:04 pm

Tests

Day 4

Waking up, after what felt like a day or so, Isao takes a few moments to fully remember the events from the previous two days. The heist went well. They got what they came for. They were on their way out when… hey, why am I attached to a table? Then it hit him. The man in the suit. The blade. Isao wondered if his team got out safe. Probably not. He wondered if any of them were still alive. Not likely. He wondered if he would get out of this alive…

“You will, Isao. I will make sure of that.”

Then there was that. The ominous ghost whispering. He thought he would have shaken that damn ghost by now.

“I am the sword Isao, you idiot…”

“Gah! Talking sword!” Isao exclaimed. “Get it off, get it off!”

“Shut up kid. Listen, no one else can hear me, so you best not make a scene over this. They are watching you, remember.”

Oh yeah, that camera in the corner. Well, it probably wouldn’t help his case by coming off as a mad man in front of his captors. The sword responded to what I was thinking just now, so that must mean it can hear my thoughts. Hmmm. Butts butts butts butts bu…

“Stop that! Yes, I can hear your thoughts. Don’t be immature about it. Anyways, I believe introductions are in order. Don’t bother telling me your name, I already know everything there is to know about you. Your deepest darkest secrets.”

That’s really creepy, yo.

“Whatever. I bet you are wondering what, no, who I am. My legacy has been lost to the history of man for eons, my name known only to me. Mugen no Kusariha, the Infinite Chain Blade. Living weapon of magnificent power! And I have chosen you, Isao, as my new host. You can call me Kusariha…”

Magnificent power, huh? Like say, immortality?

“No… I am just a sword that can turn into a chain, not the bloody Chalice of Youth! But I have other powers. You may learn them in time. For now, be wary, for the ones that hold you here are approaching.”

And with that, the door to the room opened, and in walked the same man in the suit and doctor, this time accompanied by two different guards and someone bound and blindfolded, wearing what looked like prison clothes.

The man in the suit walked up to Isao and gave him a quick look over. It wasn’t until this moment that Isao realized he had been covered by a sheet this whole time, and could not see anything below his neck, although he could feel Kusariha wrapped around him beneath the sheet. The man quickly yanked the sheet away to reveal Isao’s body. To everyone’s surprise, the blade had grown in the number of segments, over doubling the 20 or so it had started out as. Now, the chain was easily 50, if not more. And that wasn’t the only other change. The blade had expanded out from Isao’s torso, wrapping around his forearms and calves. A few strands connected each cluster back to the center.

“Remarkable, it seems to be feeding off the boy’s chakra!” the doctor said, ”It seems to be creating new segments based on how much it gets. This is most likely the reason why the boy has been so weak the past few days.”

“Interesting. Make note of that.” The man in the suit said, “Let’s get the body set up and conduct the test. I want to see this thing in action.”

The guards moved the prisoner into the middle of the room, leaving him bound and blindfolded, and the group left him in with Isao as they exited the room. Isao heard the click of an intercom and then the suited man giving the order to release Isao’s restraints.

Isao fell from the vertical table and landed on his knees. He felt a lot heavier, like his arms and legs were attached to deadweights. That must have been from the blades wrapped around them. After a few moments to adjust, he actually found that the weight almost seemed to fade away.

“Isao. Kill that man.”

Just what he had hoped they wouldn’t say. Although he knew from the moment they entered the room that he was gonna have to kill the prisoner. He had never killed anyone before though. He was just a thief, not a murderer.

“Do it.”

Kusariha? All of a sudden Isao had an extreme urge to kill this man in front of him. And to kill anyone else that happened to get in the way. He felt the chain writhing on his arms as one of the ends began to extend outward from his right arm. He raised his arm in a striking manner, almost instinctively. The next thing he knew, he arm was coming down, the extended segments straightening to form a solid blade. So this is what Kusariha was talking about when he said powers.

Off came the man’s head. It rolled away, bloodied and scared. The man’s body fell limp and slouched to the ground. He was dead.

The doctor’s voice came over the intercom. “Interesting. The blade seemed to take over when presented with a target. It is quite obvious the kid would have hesitated otherwise.”

“That is enough for today. Gas the room and secure the boy.” the suited man said, “We will conduct a more… personal test tomorrow.”

Before too long, Isao felt weak. He fell to the ground, unconscious.

Day 5

Isao awoke with a pounding headache. He really hated it here. The bed was hard, there was no cable TV. This hotel really sucks. It was all he could to do keep his cheery inner monologue going given the circumstances. But if there was any aspect of him that was unbreakable, it was his cheery inner monologue. He prided himself in that regard.

“Do exactly as I say and we might get out of this alive. Well, you might. I am a sword, I should be fine either way.”

Huh? Oh yeah, that guy. What exactly do you have in mind?

“You’ll know as it happens. Now, gather yourself. They are coming.”

Thanks…

The door opens and in come the usual drab. Suit guy and doctor, followed by two guards. They obviously couldn’t have the same prisoner as yesterday, but in came someone else dressed in the same garb. Only, this one looked more familiar than the previous. Isao couldn’t put a finger on a name though, because this one had a bag over his head.

“You know the drill, kid. We’re gonna leave this one in here for you to kill, just like before.” the suited man explained, “Only, before you kill him, why don’t you take a look under that bag?”

He chuckled as the group left the room. After a moment, Isao’s restraints were undone. He approached the person, wondering who it might be and why they wanted him to know who it was.

“Don’t do it. Don’t look underneath. You won’t like what you see.”

Isao, against his better judgment, slowly lifted the bag. To his astonishment, he found Remi. So they hadn’t killed them all. Remi looked up at Isao, just as surprised to see him. He was gagged so he couldn’t speak, but Isao removed that for him.

“Remi? They kept you alive? Are the others ok?” Isao asked.

“No. They are all dead. I would be too, but apparently they saw value in me.” Remi said, “I understand why now. Listen, do as they say. Kill me. If you don’t, they will. There is no reason for all of us to die.”

“But…”

“Do it, Isao. You know it’s the only way.”

Isao was never too fond of Remi. Always so stuck up and strict. But he had grown on Isao over the last few months. This wasn’t their first job together, and it wasn’t supposed to be their last. They worked well together, Remi always keeping Isao’s free spirit in line. Shucks, is that a tear? Grow a pair, Isao, geez. You weren’t supposed to grow attached to anyone, that’s not cool. That’s not your style. But damn, why couldn’t they have brought another stranger in.

“Listen, I am not gonna make you kill him. But you know the only way you are getting out of here is by staying alive long enough to find an opening. If they think you are noncompliant, they will have no more use for you…”

Isao hesitantly lifted his arm as if to strike. With watery eyes and shaky legs, Isao did the deed. He could hear the gas already streaming into the room.

“Alright, here’s my plan. Pretend to faint.”

That’s it?! That’s the best you can give me?!

“Whatever man, let me hear you come up with something better.”

Gosh, this sword sure does have an attitude. Gotta at least give it a shot. After what seemed like an appropriate amount of time, Isao fell to the ground, trying his hardest to make it look real and at the same time trying not to actually faint. For some reason, the gas wasn’t as potent this time, or maybe Isao was building up an immunity to it. Whatever the reasoning, Isao actually managed to maintain consciousness this time.

The doors opened, and the two guards came in to dispose of the body and to put Isao back in his restraints. Presumably because of the added weight from Kusariha, it took both men to lift him by the shoulders, something that should have been easy enough for one. As they were dragging him over to the table Isao noticed that the chains on his legs were moving. They were slowly unraveling, each extending towards one of the two guards. Then, all of a sudden, they wrapped themselves around the guards’ legs and jerked them out from under them. With the guards on the ground, Isao motioned his arms towards them, which caused the chains to extend outward. In one fell swoop both the guards were dead.

Isao bolted towards the doorway. Right as he got to it two more guards came through. Isao swiped his arms at them and they were both down in an instant. He got out into the hall and started running in a random direction. Every once in awhile a guard would be waiting for him around a corner, but Isao would make quick work of them. Isao stumbled into a room that had lockers all around the exterior. A few lab coats were hanging up on some racks. He took one and covered his naked body. He also noticed the two sheathes that he had seen with the chain during the heist. For some reason he had an extreme urge to take them with him as he left the room. After a little more running, he found an exit to the outside. When he left the building he found himself in the middle of a jungle, the building behind him only a small bump in the ground. He must have been in an underground bunker.

No time to worry about that. He noticed that he could smell salt in the air, which meant he was close to the ocean. He ran off in a direction he could only describe as not towards the bunker. He could hear footsteps behind him, but as he ran they got fainter and fainter, until he couldn’t hear them anymore. After running for some time he stumbled upon the edge of the forest, which happened to be a cliffside. Below he could see the village and off in the distance he saw the estate that he was at a few days ago. At least now he knew where he was.

“Jump.”

Isao, not being one to argue with a talking sword, jumped. As he was falling, he reached out for the rocky surface of the cliff. Out came the blade, hitting the cliff with a good amount of force, enough to lodge it into the surface. The sudden jolt made the rest of the segments on his arm dig into his flesh. It hurt, but the adrenaline kept him going. Slowly, the chain started to extend, lowering Isao towards the ground below.

When he arrived on a flat surface the blade quickly receded down and assumed its resting position on his arm. Isao bounded off for the village. Hopefully there would be a boat there for him to hitch a ride on.

There was. The ferry just so happened to be in dock. But it was late in the evening and the ferry wasn’t scheduled to leave until morning. Isao didn’t care. He found the ferryman and threatened him with his blade. He was happy to oblige. After the boat had been sailing for some time did Isao finally relax. It was at this moment that he realized how drained he felt.

Day 6

Isao awoke to the loud sounds of a busy dock. Ships bumping the piers, people shouting over each other, seagulls fighting over scraps they were given. The sound of home. Isao stumbled out of the ferry, getting some odd looks from passersby. He couldn’t blame them, he was in a lab coat after all. The ferryman wasn’t too far away. He gave Isao a nervous look. Isao thanked him and reassured he would pay him back for his inconvenience.

“Ya know, Isao, I think we worked pretty well together.”

Whatever you say talking sword... I guess this is my life now…

Isao stumbled away from the docks, tired, hungry, and alone. Alone, save for the sentient sword wrapped around his body.

Claiming Kusariha when/if it gets approved.
Two points into stamina with the leftover words...

(TWC: 5400)

A Heist Gone Wrong: Kusariha Awakens

A Heist Gone Wrong: Kusariha Awakens

Re: A Heist Gone Wrong: Kusariha Awakens

Re: A Heist Gone Wrong: Kusariha Awakens