Dystopian Crime (Open to whoever Xb)

Why are people stupid? This is the question Vaneda asked himself every time he set out to end those who would disrupt the peace Kumo provided. There were other things he asked himself, of course, like how much did they want to live or how much they were being paid to break the law. Knowing the raikage, Vaneda couldn't understand why people would want to defy a creature of rot and ruin such as he, especially after what happened at Dragon Ravine. If the rumors held true and he personally rendered that place to a heap of complete and under waste... well... it should be said that no one was safe from his corrosive presence. In this way, Vaneda looked up to the horrifyingly daunting kage. He commanded so much respect, he could smack someone sideways with a glance, saying nothing about his fear-factor. Being the personal agent of a man such as this was something to be PROUD of. Being the hand of a powerhouse such as he was equivalent to being the weapon the Raikage himself wielded, the armor he wore, the orders he sent. He was the extension of the Kage's little brand of justice and it felt GREAT! Serving this man was almost as fun and rewarding as serving Jashin himself. If Jashin were to descend from whatever holy plane he inhabited, the first thing his holiness would do is approach the Raikage, look him over, then take him back to his realm to be the lead torturer in his his plain of suffering and death. In this way, Vaneda was proud to serve under the raikage, and when he was given the order to exterminate some lowly smuggling thugs, the priest accepted with nothing less than a smile on his face. They were a small group, only about 5 people, smuggling other people out of the village. Now that wouldn't do... We couldn't have people trying to escape the Raikage's... "generous" influence... That would be disrespectful, and he knew how displeased mr. Raikage would be if he was disrespected. Needless to say, they would end up much like Dragon Ravine: So, utterly, completely dead that even the shell of the body appeared to be a shell of itself. But mr. Raikage liked to take his time with these types of people! Decay is not an instantaneous process, after all. That's why he was called in, to make it quick, clean(er), and keep the general populous as ignorant as the sheep they farmed. Oh, how he loved his job. If only Jashin were here....

With or without the presence of his god, Vaneda merrily went through the motions of collecting information in his most favorite-est way: Extortion, persuasion and lies. Oh, it was so much FUN, seeing their little expressions of fear, disgust and rage as the undercover priest squeezed every little drippy-drop of knowledge out of their fragile little frames. See, it doesn't really take a scary-looking person to rip their confident masks off. No, all it takes is to believe what you're saying 100% to the core. The best part is when their little facades crumble before you when they realize they can't wriggle free. Each and every time he got what he wanted, he'd smile his friendliest smile and walk away as if he didn't threaten their families with the slowest, most original and painful deaths he could immediately think of. If he didn't get what he was looking for... well... lets just say janitors and back-rooms exist for a reason. Whenever THAT happens, he seeks out the cleaner of the establishment and tips him, the smallest grin on his face. The size of the tip depended on the mess! Some people just didn't like to be tortured, and thus made it more difficult and further thusly made a bigger mess! Of course, he tipped appropriate to the mess. He only had a finite wallet.

Ah... He loved his Job. Throughout his little investigation/interrogation, Vaneda had pieced together the location of the little group of nerd-do-wells, holding up in, surprise, surprise, a warehouse. Can no one think of a better hiding place? If he didn't love the interrogation part of his job so much, Vaneda might have just walked on over to every warehouse in Kumo first BEFORE any investigations were conducted. WHY didn't he simply just head there and save time? Because that.... that would just be boring. That, and he had to follow a certain protocol, of course. OF COURSE. Protocol was very important, you know. Without it, the very foundation of society would crumble into nothing but dust in a matter of days. With that in mind, one couldn't help but wonder: Why was Vaneda following it again? He WAS following a lord... no TWO lords of decay and painful death who revel in the horrifying destruction of law and order. Civilian life being brought down to that of the wildlife outside in a matter of moments?  Surely that kind of chaos would send both Lord Jashin and the Raikage reeling back in their chairs in laughter. Then again, the Raikage was a strange and mysterious creature... He rules a village, keeping it alive and functioning. Wouldn't he rather command his forces atop a pile of corpses rather being surrounded by them? Oh well. 1/2 isn't bad. Speaking of corpses, Vaneda came to the warehouse, a rather bored expression on his face. It was disappointing how many times he comes back to these buildings He was hoping for a more.... cinematic location. A waterfall, or Dragon's Ravine, a place where Vaneda can have FUN with it being far from civilization! NOPE! He had to go clear out this warehouse again! It was like rat-trapping. The raikage should seriously consider changing his title from ANBU Black Ops to Ratter-Corps.

Stupid people do stupid things and this was why this level of crime existed here. As a matter of fact, one couldn't really consider... whatever this was crime at all. At least, Vaneda couldn't. He'd almost feel bad for the slaughtering of stupid, severing their heads from their necks like stalks of wheat. He WOULD feel bad, but 3 things were stopping him from being sympathetic to their lack of higher brain functions: 1. He liked his job, 2. He had responsibilities, 3. ... Okay, he didn't have a third reason. Vaneda would come up with one when he's cleaning up. He entered the warehouse through the conventional front door, obviously not giving two corn-cobs about stealth at this point. No one was around anyway. Place was as barren and lifeless as the Raikage's handiwork. In fact, if this section of the village was just a tad obliterated, his first thought would have been "Oh... Bad day at work, sir?"

The Jashin priest knew, as did these foolish hacks, that they weren't going to be walking out of there. One way or another, their blood would spilled and their beautiful sanguine would fill the wine-glass Jashin sips from. It seemed that for a moment, Vaneda's mind was filled with the blissful static that was his religious fanaticism. Oh, it was so strong, the compulsion to rip them limb-from-limb for the amusement of God. But... this wasn't purely for Jashin. As soulless as these actions were, they belonged to the Raikage more than it did the great god of pain. Oh sure, these deaths would be delivered to Jashin with the utmost prayer and such, but it was as if he was giving the raikage a 3-course meal and his god a lousy one. This realization made the static in his head disappear into the void, leaving a cold lump in his stomach instead as he crept about the dark warehouse. He ducked behind boxes, peered down corridors, peeked through cracked doors, but his mind was elsewhere. Primary allegiances seemed to be the thing in contention here. Who did he serve when he took these worthless lives? How would he kill them and for who? Jashin, with slow and agonizing shared pain between them? The Raikage, quick, painful, clean? Who does he kill for anymore?

He was so wrapped up in his thoughts he nearly walked right out into the open chamber where the 5 stupids were standing, plotting together. Luckily, Vaneda had a small piece of himself grounded in reality and he dove behind a crate, dense shadow hiding his movement. The scarred ANBU peaked out from behind his cover, taking note of the 5. 3 of them appeared to be the typical thug, bulky and carrying a large weapon. The other two, however, appeared far more... civilian. One was a man, slightly taller than the priest, dressed in casual brown and white wear, a nervous expression on his face. The other was a woman. She was pregnant. Several months, judging by the swollen belly. She wore attire similar to the man, but her face was a bit different. At first glance she looked calm, perhaps determined, but if one looked closer, the creases on her face were too deep, her gaze at the man a tad too intense. Being an experianced killer and one of the ANBU, The Cursed One took a profound interest in facial expressions. She appeared to be hiding an emotion that, once one identified the signs, was easy to determine. She was afraid, perhaps more than the man. Perhaps FAR more. The real question was who was she acting tough for? The man? Her unborn child? The mercs? Herself? Whoever it was, they were dying today regardless. It really didn't matter who that face was for, and not just because it was going to be coming off either. Vaneda was just curious and curiosity killed everyone. That gave Vaneda pause. He couldn't die.....

Smiling his best, Vaneda stepped out from behind the crate and clapped his hands, making everyone in the room but him jump. The mercs drew their (over-compensated) weapons, the man jumped and scuttled backwards a few steps. The woman's hands immediately went to her belly, backing up so that the mercs were right behind her.

"GENTLEMEN!" Vaneda boomed, almost merrily. He smiled at his own tone. He sounded like one of those door-to-door salesmen. "... And lady..." Vaneda continued, winking at the pregnant woman. She only frowned at him. He smiled wider. "I come to you, here today, to give you 5 an offer you simply cannot refuse!" It was surprising how the shadow contorted his face to look demonic. On one side, his smile appeared angelic, the scars on his face appearing to be enhanced by the white light from the cracks in the ceiling above. A gentle blue eye seemed to glow faintly in the low light. On the other side however, darkness played a much more sinister role as Vaneda's makeup artist. his other eye was completely obscured by shadow, appearing to only be a vacant hole where an eyeball should rest. His stitches appeared to crawl and slither across his skin as the shadows danced, almost as if his face was held together by centipedes. His smile appeared to curve upwards at an unnatural angle, too wide for any normal mouth to stretch. His teeth, sharp-toothed and cruel, almost as if he was in on the cruelest joke, one life was about to play on them. Of course, this was only a trick of the light. Vaneda wasn't what people would associate Angelic with. He spread his arms wide of to either side, palms tilted slightly upward.

"For a limited time only, you get to choose how to die! Order now, or I'll have to get creative!" Vaneda loved his job. Even as the 3 mercs descended on him with murder in their eyes.

Death and decay followed Vaneda from the shadows, sourcing out the young priests chakra and locking on to it through the use of the second walls functions or monitoring the entire village. It had been as such whenever the Anbu operative struck out on his own in the village. Plague and malice trusted the operative it was more to understand exactly how the male worked and what measures he took to ensure a successful job done. Anbu were required to do their work in the shadows and work as beings that were truly never there and just this once Mortarion wanted to watch his Anbu perform this function with his own two eyes.

The kage moved almost fluidly through the corridors and alleyways to the location that Vaneda had stopped at. His form moving as if just a vapor flowing through the air which spoke for his dexterity when adorned in his bulky armor and Silence the man reaper attached to his back. he had purposefully lowered his chakra to a level of common civilian to not draw attention to his arrival, after all even a Kage would grow dim if his abilities were never used.

His paces quickened as he picked up the chakra readings of more people around where his Anbu had recently stepped inside. Each step he made into the shadows and out of cover produced only slight sounds as the metal boots hit the ground before pushing off again. His breath was lowered yet still produced his well known purple vapor from the rebreather as he blew the poison back into the air. The destroyer plague in his body tensed with readiness to be used in a new environment and he felt the change in his body as it ate a bit of his flesh to ready its breakthrough of skin.

Reaching the building he quickly took stock of his area before entering and taking to the rafters in a blinding speed. In moments he was above and tracking Vaneda's every movement and word with his eternal mangekyo sharigan. Time moved so much slower and he was able to see the joy on his Anbu's face and the worry on the face of the others in such detail. The only thing he pondered was how the male would handle the woman carrying a child, the intrigue gripped his face with a smile and a low dark sinister tint took over his body as the dark orbs formed his halo. He'd watch with great intrigue without making his presence known however unbeknownst to him the temperature had dropped in the immediate area by a few degree's due to his chakra eating away at the very heat around them.

"Show me how Jashin is to be praised...."


He whispered under his breath as he watched the three descend on Vaneda. Instinctively his hand touched the hilt of Silence just in case.

"AH Volunteers!" Vaneda praised as the three mercs attacked. The one to the right had a club. The one ahead, an axe. The right, a sword. They all descended on him in unison, swinging their weapons with their pure brute strength. No precision, hardly and speed. Pathetic. The Jashin, ducked, stepped back and side-stepped each and every swing/chop the three swung, chuckling darkly at their pathetic efforts. Club-man's anger became evident as he charged ahead of his comrades, raising his substantially heavier weapon over his head. He swung it down with a roar, intending to crush Vaneda's shoulder, but the Jashin simply stepped forward, inside his attack. As the club fell behind him, The priest looked up at the merc's snarling face and smiled. Mr. Club-man's eyes went dead as Vaneda plunged his hand into the man's stomach, arcing his arm upward so that it dug under his ripcage and up to his heart. He heard the man gasp above him, choking on some fluid pouring into his throat. With a grunt, the Jashin priest ripped the man's heart clean out through his stomach, spraying blood across the merc's chest, face, along with Vaneda's. He licked the blood-drops off his cheeks with satisfaction, clutching the still beating organ as the man collapsed in a heap in front of the other two. They stared at the man's white, gouged body, then at the heart in Vaneda's hands, then at the man himself, tossing the organ up and down in his hand like a child would a water balloon. It was heavy, muscly, the heart was. He could feel the blood slosh around inside, thick, but still fluid and delicious. The mercs were white-faced, shaking almost, sweat on their brows and a quake in their ankles. Probably never seen anything like this, had they...? Poor inexperianced fools... Thats when the axe-man let out a roar, likely a mix of anger, fear, despair and whatever else he could cook up to give him strength. He charged Vaneda, the swordsman calling for his companion to stop, to wait, to cool off! He was too far gone though, both in life and in this moment. Vaneda swiped the heart across the man's face, squeezing it and sending blood splashing into his eyes, mouth, nose, where-ever, blinding him in every sense. The man gargled and spat, stepping back and trying to wipe his eyes clean. The instant he opened his eyes, his head was in the air, slowly tilting back a foot above the neck that once supported it and the Anbu that severed it stood behind him, sheathing his katana slowly. the moment hilt hit sheath, the body fell and the head it the floor with a delicious splat, the head's frozen expression that of surprise. The last man, the Omega man, was on his pathetic butt now, scrambling back against a wall of crates to escape the ever-increasing pool of his comrade's blood. He stared up at Vaneda as he approached, feet making sticky splashes as he casually walked through the sanguine as if it were a rain-puddle.

"Please.... Please don't kill me..." The man pleaded with desperate eyes. Vandeda crouched down so that he was eye level with the man. The priest smiled sympathetically, almost apologetically and placed a hand on the man's shoulder. He flinched and Vaneda's smile grew.

"Okay... I promise..." Vaneda said with a warm, glowing grin before quickly grabbing the cowering merc's windpipe and crushing it in his fingers. As the man choked, The blood-splattered priest leaned in close to the man's ear. "Not...." He whispered sadistically before pushing the dying fool back against the crate wall and standing up to see the civilians just standing their dumbly like the sheep Vaneda was supposed to be guarding. He took one step towards them and he could see the woman's chest begin to rise as she took a deep breath. In an instant, Vaneda was beside her, a blood-soaked elbow on her shoulder.

"If you scream, You'll live to regret it!" The blood-drenched anbu said as pleasantly as one would note the weather. Her face somehow became whiter than it already was, but she did not scream. She quaked silently. The male civilian, seeing his compatriot in distress swallowed a massive lump in his throat and turned to face him.

"D-don't hurt her!" He exclaimed through an obvious stutter. Vaneda's eyes rolled to gaze at him, displeased with his bravado. Perhaps even bored by it. He tsked his tongue at the guy's nerve and gave his a distasteful look.

"I really don't think you can stop me..." Vaneda noted honestly. Slowly, he placed his bloody hands on either side of the woman's head, her lower lip quivering almost as much as the rest of her. "You see... Vaneda said, gently pushing the woman's neck to one side. "Just one little twist and she as well as the baby are lost... Just one little twist..." The priest's arms seemed to tense, as if he was preparing to snap the woman's neck. The male civilian saw this and rage replaced the fear that had swelled in his eyes. He let out a growl and threw a fist at Vaneda's face, colliding with his forehead. 1... 2.... 3.... seconds later and nothing happened. The man's arm laxed as his rage gave way to confusion. Vaneda took one hand off the woman's head to brush his hand away, a large grin on his face.

"Okay... I see... You first then..." The white-haired priest grinned and tossed the woman aside, sending her skidding into the pool of her the merc's blood. He approached the man, now completely frozen. Without word or ceremony, Vaneda simply cocked a fist back and smashed it into the man's nose, smashing that whole center of his face into his brain. He slammed into the ground, cracking his head on the earth below, arguably more dead than his colleagues. And so, there was one. The woman didn't even move from the blood-pool in which she lay. GOOD! That made it easier. He walked up to her and slowly crouched down in front of her. Those eyes of hers weren't even focused. He sighed softly and drew his katana, placing the point against her throat and pushed. She fell without a sound into the blood pool leaving Vaneda alone with nothing but the chilled air around him and the faint smell of rot.

Mortarion watched in silent pleasure as the men descended on Vaneda without pause. He could tell by their attack patterns and weapons used that they had no real plan for what would come next after the initial swing of the sword. This was the reason why mercenaries were good in groups for fodder or swarming tactics where thought was thrown out the window. When it came to actually combating with thought they lacked everything sorely and it showed here and now.

With each failed attack that they tossed haphazardly he noted that his Anbu would dodge with ease. Vaneda was taking each attack and allowing it to enter his field of reaction ever so slightly to allow the facade of a close miss. The male was playing with his food to say the least and as one moved in it was already over for him. The males heart was removed in an instant and then there was one less to worry about. The kage rated the attack for its quickness and effectiveness at finishing off a victim flawlessly, out of ten Vaneda had scored an eight. He knew he had the upper hand and could afford to play around a tad however sometimes those luxuries wouldn't be afforded to him.

The next to fall went by even quicker this time he had effectively removed the attackers head from his shoulders cleanly and without pause. Using the environment to his advantage even by tossing the still beatings heart blood towards the male to halt and blind him. Vaneda had made sure that he held the higher ground the entire interaction and executed it flawlessly. Mortarion rated this kill a solid ten as his smile deepened at how the Jashinist could flip flop so easily between sides of a coin.

The plague prince mused that he couldn't actually call anything a "side" of Vaneda, it was all him and he devoted himself to occupying both spaces at once. He was genuine in all things he did and said which allowed him to be so confusing to others looking it at times even confusing the Raikage himself when he attempted to read in on his intentions. It was all the more reason to make Vaneda one of his elite as it allowed him to not only keep the male close but also learn from him just as he was sure Vaneda was learning as well.

Soon it was down to just two and the anticipation of what was going to happen tensed the Kages muscles as his bulky frame somehow remained still and silent in the rafters looking down. The male attempted to protect or at least it seemed like he tried to protect the woman's life by throwing his own away. It was a chivalrous move albeit unwarranted and in the grand scheme of things would still lead to the same outcome. Sure enough after the strike landed a counter attack had killed the attacker instantly. The kill was rated an five for allowing himself to be hit in any circumstance, the blood lust was getting to Vaneda it would seem on the outside and he could feel it rising in his own body as well.

Onve it came time for the main event his frame moved forward and leaned into the shadows of the ceiling to be closer to the action. His Anbu was moving in and he wore his intentions on his sleeve Mortarion didn't need his mangekyo to see into the future of this woman. The kages filter let out a plume of purple smoke once more as he sighed slightly disappointed with his Anbu. He was going to have to reveal himself to prevent what would be the end of a life that needn't end in this manner.

Silence, the manreaper soared through the air downwards at high velocity cracking the ground beneath it. The blade dripped with a virulent green toxin that eroded the ground it touched as it stood upright erected between Vaneda and his target. In that moment Mortarion allowed his full chakra to seep into the warehouse and his display of power kicked in giving off the visage and feeling of ones own body continuously rotting away only to regenerate and start the process over again. His frame fell from the rafters yet there was no sound from his armor instead it came across as a desecnt to the earth like a fallen angel as his halo of red orbs circled him.

The woman passed out from the potency of the chakra in the area and it's effects on her body from the trauma she had already experienced. He payed the woman no mind, she was in no immediate danger anymore. His ever glowing sharingan remained on Vaneda as his steps ushered him closer to his subbordinate. The lords voice spoke with authority through his rebreather and each word let a plume of smoke into the air as he conversed with the male.

"Vaneda....I'm conflicted with you at the moment. On one hand you've done your job very well although you did drag it out a bit for your own gain. Though I guess if you don't enjoy your job then why do it, no? However, the death of this woman...why do you feel it is the right choice?"


The Kage would stalk Vaneda's eyes for any sign of falsifying information or attempting to hide something away as he waited for an answer.

Before Vaneda could pierce the woman's throat with his katana, a shadowy presence descended from the rafters above, landing between him and his victim. Ah, he knew this form. It fell with a sort of grace only death itself could possess, despite being a massive and powerful creature. From it's sheer presence, the woman fell unconcious, her body lying half-covered in the pool the dark, shadow-of-a-being stood in. Vaneda bowed his head before the being, recognizing it as the Raikage himself. He raised his gaze as his master spoke, peering into those spinning sanguine orbs that was his sharingan.

Immediately, his first statement was a tad disheartening, hearing that his lord was, in fact, conflicted. If he was watching throughout the entire spectacle, he must have witnessed his toying of his victims and if he saw that... not sticking souley to his duty... he could only assume this was what the Raikage was conflicted over. His master's presence alone was humbling enough, but his confliction? It was just a tad disheartening. At first, his master began with something close to a commendation, saying that he did his job well, though he drug it out for his own personal gain. Yes, this was true. Partially. Vaneda drug out the fight so he could be the wild dancer among bloody corpses, so he could kill like the Jashin he was meant to be, to bring pain of all kinds to the painless, to suffer the suffering. He had to make it slow, long, agonizing and horrendus. Every drop of blood on the outside, all bones shattered, all while they slowly died at his feet. This is what Jashin would praise him for! He was his priest, his emessary! He brought agonizing death to those who deserved his god's embrace like those meat bags behind the Raikage. Vaneda WOULD have taken it finger by finger, skin-slab by skin-slab, tear by tear, but he served another master as well, one that commended efficiency and brutality over prolonged agony and cruelty. Henceforth, this display was his first real mishmash of serving both at once, Killing and torturing those physically and psychologically for his god, and ending others quickly and without hesitation. He loved his job under them both, feeling that He was serving a god on earth and one in a domain.

However, the Raikage's question confused him. Why was slaying the woman the right thing? Well... It was obvious, was it not? She was among those that would undermine The Raikage's authority. His mission was to wipe them off the face of the earth and, considering that her face was one that needed erasing for simply being among them... well... it seemed to be a 3 step process. Does he have other plans for her? Torture? Does he get a hand in that? The idea was... intriguing...

"There were 5 of these... beings, given my information I had received. When I entered after them in this warehouse, the woman was the 5th member. According to instructions, I was to eliminate all members of this underground movement of theirs, including her. Whether or not she's pregnant is not a deterrent, nor is it the fact she's a woman. She was among those that would undermine your authority and were a potential threat to your hold on this place. With the knowledge I have and with my instructions in mind, it only makes sense that she should die with the rest of them. I can't allow her a chance to recover and start this over with the potential of her succeeding."

Time passed at a slower rate than normal as Mortarion leaned hi head on Silence as it dripped it's poison. He ran his right armored hand against the blade and a sizzling sound could be heard as the acid worked to eat away the metal. His gaze stayed locked with his Anbu and just for the time being they were both in their own plane of existence measuring each others weight in their own way. He still carried an aversion to being bowed to, he was just a man and nothing more however he knew it still needed to be done as was a custom to some.

As he listened to the males answer he made a mental observation on how his answer was border lining what his own would have been not too long ago. He had the same ideals that if there was a problem then it needed to be snuffed out right away without remorse. There was no room for what ifs and possibilities of different scenarios. If he were the demon he used to be or simply just a younger version of himself he would have even joined in on the spectacle that he had witnessed.

Sadly those days had come and gone, he had learned valuable lessons of what exactly the word moderation and control in all things. Well he hadn't learned it more like it was still being engraved in him. The more he thought on it the answer became clear that he was the one who would have to show his people what it truly meant for them to be what new Kumogakure was turning to be. Once Vaneda finished speaking Mortarion knelled to the floor next to the unconscious woman before speaking.

"I don't fault your logic....in fact I agree with it completely. Everything must be dealt with in certainties and absolutes. You carry that knowledge well for someone of your age, better to kill the entire garden than have one weed is what I figure."

His voice was grave and deep as his attention turned from Vaneda to the woman. His left hand found it's way to her head lifting it up and laying it atop his knee propping her body into a sitting position. He looked her over once with a uncaring gaze as his right hand glowed slightly green before he laid it on her body healing her wounds and any inconsistencies that she would have suffered. As he did this his gaze took back Vaneda in its sights as he beckoned him to kneel beside him. His eyes said this was not a suggestion but more a command as he waited for the Anbu to approach. 

Once Vaneda got close enough to be next to the kage and woman Mortarion would speak softly almost as a whisper. He wanted his words to be hard to hear so it would force the male to listen harder and understand the words deeper than he would have if they were spoken plainly. His rebreather clicked as he spoke attempting to filter and carry his voice at the same time.

"So, Vaneda, tell me. In our absoloute world with the rules that must be followed strictly or you face erasure. In the world that I plan to make with you and Kumogakure as the forefront of the new era. With the ideals and the vision that I have, and that you have, I want you to answer me just one question."


Before he asked his Anbu he would reach for the males hand drawing it in before placing it on the womans belly waiting for the movement to come from the life that was inside it. He wanted his operative to be able to fully understand the scope of what was going to transpire if he hadn't arrived. To the kage this was a grave offense and if he had learned of it, he would have stripped Vaneda of his rank and title. Though with all things Mortarion strove to not only learn but also teach his ways to others. While Vaneda felt the kicks and movements of the child not yet born Mortarion would look to his Anbu's eyes to see if he truly grasped the lesson and he would ask the question.

"If we deal in punishing the evil and destroying it completely to make it in our image and ensure the world runs as we see it, tell me Vaneda, which rule has this citizen broken..?"

At the Raikage's unspoken request, he knelt down besides the body of the sleeping woman, a confused look on his face as he watched his lord heal wounds. Why would he heal her immediately after commending his logic and, not only that, but saying that he had planned to make him and Kumogakure the forefront of his plans. In Vaneda's mind, the woman deserved a one-way trip to Jashin's void, but he held his fanaticism in silently in check. Slightly roughly and with a hand colder than the the maw of the void, The raikage took Vaneda's blood-drenched wrist in his hand and pressed it against the woman's belly, smearing sanguine across her front. Not only that, but he felt a pulsing beneath her flesh, something beating on her swollen belly's walls. Her baby. Vaneda came to the realization faster than his master could explain it to him and, to his surprise, he didn't feel the least bit guilty. He may have lost himself in that moment of pure red joy, but, as he explained a moment ago, he felt that the woman should still die. She betrayed the village and those within it, but her unborn infant had not. Slaying her would be justice, but ending her child? That was murder, and not even the sacrificial kind. Yes... such a death would disgrace not one, but both of his masters. Vaneda was quiet for a moment after the ghastly Kage asked his question, his tongue unable to form words. He had come THIS close to disgracing his god on earth and his god in the void. What a mistake.... With the wrath of one of them, he was going to learn the full extents of the word "immortality" but both? That would have just been funny to watch were it anyone else. For him? It would probably be the slowest, most humiliating death a Jashin Priest could suffer.

"It has broken no rule." Vaneda said finally, hand still stuck to the woman's unconscious belly. He looked over at his master's ever-rotating sharingan. The eyes stared darkly back at him, the look of someone who took this sort of mistake as much of an affront to a personal attack; A look Vaneda respected to the highest degree. "If I had killed her the way she is, the infant would have died as well. I would have been killing an innocent. That would not be acceptable." Vaneda spoke with a professionalism that contrasted heavily with the... *ahem*... "Artwork that was being made just a moment ago. The good Kage was a hard person to read, but a reasonable person to understand. He was consistent. If there was a reason to appreciate this man's rule, it was that you knew who you were talking to. Right now, Vaneda was talking to a mentor in death.

With Vaneda's understanding of the situation Mortarion let his hand go and laid the woman beack to the ground her body now healed. Standing back to his full height he pulled Silence from the ground attaching the weapon to it's back latch once again. The lesson was well received and there was not much else for him to do here. Looking back at his Anbu he would speak once more.

"You've done well here today, do not take my harshness as punishing. We all are constantly learning, we must see the whole picture before we can begin to pick it apart. I want this area cleaned, then demolished immediately so no one else might use this as a gathering. A report of this incident should find it's way to my desk with a full rundown by tomorrow."

Turning to walk back into the darkness of the warehouse he would give Vaneda one more task before vanishing.

"This woman is now your charge, what happens to her, happens to you until this child is born. Once she has fulfilled that role she will be executed for her crimes. The child will go into adoption. I'm placing you as his guardian from a distance, you will know this child's life and periodically report it to me."

With that he was gone and left his Anbu to his own thoughts.

(Exit)

"It will be done." Vaneda concluded, watching his master disappear before his eyes. Once he was alone, Vaneda pondered how in bloody hell was he supposed to watch over a little infant child whilst doing his mission as well as keeping his relationships on the up-and-up with both of his masters? It seemed another task to add on the pile, perhaps the straw that broke the camel's back. Jokes on that analogy though, because Vaneda can function with a broken back! Feh. He'd find some way to make this work. He looked around the warehouse, wondering how he  was going to dismantle this place before the day's end.

(EXIT)
WC: 4094
Claiming: 20 stats Xb