The Beggar's Opera (Private)

A red sun rose over the Quay. Eerie shadows traced the sides of buildings like wretched fingers. With Elif asleep back at the inn, Ankaret's silent walk meandered away from the small town into bordering woods. She passed grey building after building, careful not to attract any unwanted attention. The less people knew that she was technically a ninja, the better. Besides, the practice was good. She gave a saccharine smile and giggled softly. If things go my way, they'd never know I was even here in the first place.

She eventually stepped onto a soft bed of rotting leaves. Just a little farther. It would not be a good strategy to go out so far I can't find my way back. Eventually, she found a small clearing. A few patches of ferns were littered here and there, and through the leaves filtered enough sunlight to clearly see everything around her. If anyone tried to sneak up on her, she'd see them. It was the perfect place to practice her techniques away from public eye.

"Hee hee..." giggled Ankaret, her hands were twisting into a strange position, clearly meant to be a hand seal of some sort. A squirrel or a chipmunk scampered by, then suddenly stopped. Despite their close proximity, it did not move one bit- almost like it was paralyzed in fear (or perhaps something else). She felt her chakra shift and flicker outside of her body, wrapping around the rodent like thick chains. She had learnt this technique off of a scroll filched from some travelling merchants. It's not like they were using it, anyways, and they were clearly well off.

She was miles away before they had even noticed.

She took the scroll out of a hidden pocket, unfurling the blemished parchment with great care not to tear it. It depicted a very detailed diagram which displayed the proper hand seals and chakra flow. A few paragraphs describing the jutsu were wrapped around the images. Ankaret scanned the page. Checking that her technique matched that which was written down, she eventually put the scroll back in her pocket. She knelt down to the squirrel, poking its furry sides experimentally. "What an interesting place, the country borders," she spoke, mostly to herself. "There are no laws, not too many headhunters... You have no idea how lucky you are to be living here." the squirrel did not reply. After a moment, she felt a sudden slackening in her chakra, and the squirrel scampered away. I suppose a jutsu such as this cannot last for a very long time.

Crack. She flinched. Looking up, a single kunai found its way into her open palm, balanced between her fingers. That sounded much too heavy to be a normal forest creature. Something stirred deep within her soul, bringing a small swirl of violet gloam to life around her body. Her bloodline was ready to spring into action at the slightest provocation. Crack. Crack. Something moved in the corner of her vision- a figure in a dark blue cloak running amongst the treetop branches. They clearly weren't doing a good job of being quiet; if she squinted, she could see a smallish hand pressed firmly against their abdomen. Ankaret blinked. I don't want to recklessly endanger myself... Hmmm... Her hands molded effortlessly into the clone seal, and a perfect replica of herself split into being at her side. Violet energy swirled around the shadow clone and she sprinted off silently.

She crept behind the copy, practicing the paralysis jutsu on a few scattered forest creatures she came across. They froze in their tracks, but she heard them scamper off after a few moments. She wasn't trying to imprison them for long, just for a little bit to get a feel for what she was doing. She was about to paralyze a small bird before she felt her clone disperse. Blinking, she attempted to scan through the memories.

The clone effortlessly followed the stranger through the woods. They approached the Quay, though never quite exited the boundaries of the wilderness. Suddenly, she froze in her tracks as she felt a blade pressed against her throat.

"Who the hell are you?" they spoke. It was impossible to determine gender from their voice- though it was soft and kind of grumbly. The replica chuckled.

"I could ask the same of you, friend." The blade tightened, drawing blood.

"Are you a bounty hunter?" Did they not believe her? Well, if he was that gullible, then he probably wouldn't still be alive...

"What's it to you if I am?" she retorted, though not before the blade plunged itself into her throat.

"Damn fucking headhunters," she could have sworn they said. And then... White.

She stroked her chin. Logically, if they were afraid of bounty hunters, it was because they had a considerable bounty. With their wound, they wouldn't be at their full strength, and through the shadow clone she had a general idea of where they were. I could kill them right now. Actually... she smirked maliciously. I think I will. Ankaret called upon her inner demon, feeling his energy enriching her chakra, and sprinted off after the stranger. A violet aura wrapped itself around her. Her muscles tingled as her running speed increased, and the forest blurred by. She didn't even try to remain silent; the stranger knew they made a clone, and it would be very hard to sneak up on her in broad daylight- especially with a wound like theirs.

Suddenly, a cloaked presence dropped on her from above. She rolled out of the way. As she stood back up, kunai in hand, a few dead leaves clung to her clothing. They lunged at her, palms crackling with electricity. Her aura flared as she ducked and fumbled behind them, taking a kick at the back of their knees. They caught it, and her foot stung fiercely. With a yell, she launched the kunai at them. They dropped her foot, leaving her to race through the handseal to form another clone. Without a second thought, the stranger grasped the kunai midair and plunged it into the replica's eye, though not without her getting in a cheap shot between his legs. At the wince that followed, Ankaret found it appropriate to label the stranger as a definite him.

He whipped around and launched the kunai at her. She lunged to the side at the last possible moment, and the weapon sliced a lock of her hair as it plunged into a tree right behind her. Electricity crackled in his palms once more, and she found his hand at her throat. He slowly lifted her numbing body. The back of her neck scraped against the bark. Ankaret winced. Without warning, she spit in his eye and in the heat of the moment raced through the handseal required for the paralysis jutsu she was practicing not ten minutes ago. He froze for a moment, but that was all she needed. She ripped his hand of her neck with a sickening crunch and reeled back.

The stranger howled, breaking out of her paralysis jutsu. Hmm. Maybe the jutsu has trouble holding people with exceptional strength. Aura still flaring, she punched him in the nose. Another sickening crack of shattering bone (cartilage?) echoed throughout the woods. A stream of blood ran down his face from his nostrils. He reeled back to give her a punch to her ribs, but before she could she thrust her open palm at his neck. He struggled for breath, bringing his non-dominant hand to his throat. Quickly, she brought a heel palm to his nose, pushing upwards and inwards, and he collapsed.

The cartilage was driven into his brain. He couldn't recuperate from that. She let out a sigh of relief, leaning against a great oak tree. Damn. Just... Damn. She looked at the slowly cooling corpse. Ankaret expected to feel something- churning regret, despair at having taken another life, or even a sick sense of joy.

Instead, she felt nothing.

She forced herself upwards, cracking her back with a wide stretch. She kneeled at the cadaver, searching through pockets and pouches. He didn't appear to have any money on him, but eventually, she pulled out a slightly bloodied letter and a simple wooden block, painted black and much heavier to lift than she anticipated. She set the cube down, carefully, and began to skim the letter.


To Ivan Pavelovich Sokolov:

I have heard of your retrieval of a particular box, and am most interested in seeing it with my own two eyes. My partner is located in the ruins of your parents' fatherland, and we would be most grateful for its safe delivery. Perhaps a reward would be a good incentive? He will safely transport the item to me by summon. Perhaps, if you pass his tests, you will be permitted to join us in our quest for greatness. Awaiting your arrival with eagerness,

Anadil


The first thing that caught her eye was the word 'reward'. It's not like she didn't need the money, and the whole thing intrigued her. The second thing was the word 'box'. It honestly looked more like a wooden block that a young child was use to play with more than a box. I wonder what's kept inside. It must be valuable. Placing the objects gently on the ground, she rifled through the pockets on the stranger's- Ivan's?- coat... specifically, the pockets that lay hidden on the inside. She pulled out a village headband, careful not to scratch it any further. It depicted a single snowflake on a worn metal plate. A deep scratch divided the emblem into two halves. Were Ivan's parents from Yukigakure?

A plan began to formulate in her mind. Taking the bloody kunai from the tree and wiping the blood off on the fabric of his socks, she cut her hair down to her shoulders. The cut matched Ivan's almost perfectly. Tearing fabric from the bottoms of her own pants, she wrapped it firmly under her shirt. It effectively bound her chest. One would have to deliberately touch her chest in order to find out what was hidden.

Her shirt looked similar enough to his to pass, but she pulled his coat over her shoulders. It fit snugly and was surprisingly warm. Her pants were comfortable enough, and ninja went through shoes fast enough that having a different pair than expected was the norm.

She thought of her friend that she had left in the Quay. She won't miss me, she reasoned. She would be much safer if she didn't know. Ankaret pulled herself up. The items had been placed back safely in her new pockets. The sun was still low in the sky, and many civilians were not yet awake. She pulled the corpse over her shoulders and began to run towards the outer edge of the village. She filled his pockets with various stones once she got close enough to the quay- it wouldn't do to have him float too early- and tossed it in. It sunk to the bottom. The slur quickly covered any hint of the underwater cadaver, and soon all that was left was a faint ripple engraved on the surface of the water. She tied the old scratched Yukigakure forehead protector around her temples.


She fixed her posture, standing up as straight as she could. The still rising sun cast a dramatic shadow across her face. Her eyes narrowed. Something stirred within her gut, though she couldn't tell if it was anticipation, eagerness, or something else entirely. Her hand found its way into the coat's inner pockets. Feeling the box's strangely smooth texture within her fingers, and crumpling the corner of the letter as well, she let a smirk come to her face.

"Ivan Pavelovich Sokolov," she drawled, her voice taking on a tone eerily similar to that of her victim, "I think it's high due time that we collect your reward."

She sprinted silently out of the Quay, leaving not a single trace behind.

[Exit]
[WC: 2006 c: ]
[Claiming: 10 stats, mastery of the Temporary Paralysis Technique, and 6 words to the Shadow Clone technique. :L]

So, most of this thread was written in July. My original bloodline is under weird revamps, so I was allowed to pick a different clan because I never really mentioned my clan by name, it fits my character, and I only used my BL in like one other thread than this. Blargh.


Here, have a husky and a kitten.

this pic is bigger than i thought: