The Thief and The Many Faced Man [Ciel]

The day was just about to end, the ever bright sun sat low at an angle, and along with the lit lanterns the town below kept its orange hue. The more the sun started to decline, the more shady figures revealed themselves. Yes, this was the infamous Black Market, but it was also a city of thieves and at no surprise to most, it wasn't much different from Tanzaku Town. The only difference was that the people over in Tanzaku mostly wore fancy suits, here, in the black market, people weren't scared to show who they really were. It was made up of criminals and corrupt shinobi who could no longer return back to their home land, who now live of fulfilling contracts. To most that live within the confines of the major villages, they see them more as loose dogs, doomed people who are forced to live a life of shame and poverty. But in reality, that's just ignorance talking. In the black market, you are what you want to be, with no one forcing u to be any other. You do whatever it takes to put food in your belly, or you ponder miserably at what life would have been like if things hadn't gone the way they did.

Along the side walk, a young man ideally walks with his head tilted down. He is seen wearing a white sleeveless shirt, blue jeans, and black sneakers which of course reveal his toes.  His long brown hair swayed with each step, as he scans the people ahead of him. His brown eyes full of were covered with his simple onyx sun glasses. The many pass him, unaware of his motive. Both his hands, which resided in both his front pockets, twitched every time he passed someone. He was waiting for the right moment, the right prey.  To him, this was a hunt, his own personal "contract". He passed many interesting figures, mercenaries, gang members, all types of dangerous people you could imagine. It made the desperate young man wonder how such a place managed to survive. A person like him wouldn't understand, not yet. He was still pretty new to this mobile market. But nevertheless, he made this place his own person stomping grounds. He glances over towards the green pole, a familiar landmark as this would be the fifth time he’d seen it today.

Moment later, he noticed from afar a familiar heavily coated man. He squints behind the black shades, selecting this one as his target. The selected target rose from his seat, and pays the waitress with a generous tip; he flirts a bit, saying that he owns some lavish company. All of it really was irrelevant, what matter was the cash money he had placed back in his pocket.  Our thief didn’t want to pass around the building again, fearing  he would lose his prey, so, while the businessman flirted with the waitress, he abruptly stops dead in his tracks and looks out across the street, seeing the carriages roll by. For now, he waits, waiting for the opportune moment to secure the cash and make way back to his home.

“Come on, just how long are you going to stand there”, he says to himself. He had put in an considerable amount of time into this hunt.

Have you ever been a young child?
Wait, that question is simply terrible.
Ok, try two: are you still a young child?
Yes. That's much better.
Also if you answered yes to the second question, please do not learn anything from the tale about to be told.

There once was a boy name Ciel
He had a true hatred of veal-

No, no. That does not rhyme. That will not do at all.

There once was a boy named Ciel
He was from the seventh depth of hell-

No, no. Too... hyperbolic? Yes, much too hyperbolic.

There once was a boy na-

No, this format simply is not working. Perhaps another method?

Like all people who live into adulthood, Ciel Duchamp was once a child. His childhood was wrought with many... difficulties. See, Ciel was not a nice child. Quite the opposite, even. Though he did not bully, he was still... it is hard to describe, actually.-

Yes, this is much better. Now where was the story? Ah yes.

Saying that Ciel did not bully other children is truly a lie. He most certainly did. But it was not like most bullying. It was... different. Who he bullied was far from consistent. Similarly, who he treated well was equally varied. Some times, he would torment another child one day, and then bring them cake and joke with them the next. Or vice versa. And sometimes it was not even a day apart, but mere hours.

The boy was very personable. Adults lover him. This was, in no small part, due to him bullying "behind closed doors", for lack of a better word. His teachers never saw Ciel tormenting another child. Then never saw him with a stolen knife behind the schoolhouse. Never saw him hold down a child and just stare at them blankly. As far as the teachers knew, he was the ideal student.

And of course the ideal student must have been a good learner! Ciel had that in absolute spades. His mother knew only the basics of his bloodline. She herself did not possess it, and it honestly surprised some people that Ciel so easily came into using it, being a generation separated from the nearest full blood, and his mother being pure blooded of another sort. Even such, with what little Ciel's mother had been told about it by her husband before he left, she was able to guide Ciel's learning.

It was about the body, his body. Some of it was simply biology, though it was far from simple, especially for a boy so young. And yet it came naturally to him, as it did to many Hiyu. It seems that having an incredible degree of control over something offers back an incredible ability to understand it. It just sort of made sense. Maybe it was something built into the bloodline. Cells are complex. Super, super, super complex. No one really knew exactly how they worked. They are so tiny, and yet so much goes on in them. So many failsafes. It is like every possible function of a cell is withing a try/catch statement. Try doing something. If it works, AWESOME! If it does not? Better do something else to fix it! Did that something else fail too? On to plan C!

Ciel did not know all those things. He had a desire, and his body just kind of.. fulfilled it. Something within him made these incredibly complicated requests fulfillable with little more than a show of power and a small idea.

Perhaps you remember how earlier it was mentioned that Ciel could one day torment a child and the next bring them cake and joke with them. Perhaps you thought that odd, but chocked it up to bribing with sweets.
It gets much weirder.
Ciel did not need bribes to get his victims to enjoy his presence. Even while he tormented them, the other children liked Ciel. Of course, that was more a matter of them not changing previous opinions of him. Very rarely did someone think about Ciel as he tormented them.

That is also quite weird, is it not? Seems more like someone to think directly of their tormentor while it goes on.

The quick among you may have already figured this out. Ciel's incredibly well accepted double nature and his quickness at picking up and using his bloodline were not unrelated. No, see, Ciel's victims never knew it was Ciel tormenting them. It was always "someone else". Sometimes it was "another classmate". Someone that Ciel had decided to dislike that day and wanted to get in trouble. More often than not, however, it was simply "someone else". They would never give their name, nor a reason for the torment. Rarely would they even talk. Just... stare. Annoy. Spit. Hit.

Ciel's favorite was to ping someone on the ground and just stare at them, his face completely blank. He enjoyed the reactions of his victims. Here was this unknown person, directly above them. They were unable to move, but he was. And yet he was there, staring. Not doing anything. Showing no emotion.

It would be creepy, would it not? You would try to shift around, but you could not. Perhaps the first emotions were anger. "What the fuck!?" they might have shouted, if they knew what 'fuck' meant and how to use it.  And yet Ciel would simply stand there watching them. He would say nothing. He would not hurt them. Then, after a few minutes, he would get up and sprint away. He would leave sooner if they started crying. Crying was boring. Their emotions never changed after they started crying. More interesting was those who bargained, or those who kept yelling. Though, the latter were annoying. They drew the most attention, and forced Ciel to flee early. It would not do to be caught, no, not at all.

But Ciel's favorite part of these was interacting with them the following day. They would always talk about it. It was weird. They always said that. It was always weird. It always made them feel uncomfortable. Sometimes that was all they said. Others would go over it in extreme detail. Most of them started adding details. Each telling was different. Sometimes Ciel had been beaten up, according to them. They had socked him right in the jaw, then kneed him in the gut, and thrown him into a trash can. Ciel always responded with amazement. Which was not totally wrong. He was always impressed with the storytelling power of people. He loved stories.

Maybe the only reason he did this was to hear the stories, along with all their fiction, the next day. With the wide variety of children he could torment, combined with their different friend groups, exemplified by their own personalities, the number of different possible stories wa truly enormous! The most boring ones were obviously the ones that remained silent, but sometimes he could coax them out. Often, it involved finding someone more willing to speak of the experience to do such around them. There would be a flicker of recognition, and they would suddenly agree with everything the other said. Truly interesting.

Hopefully this has not been made to seem that this was a daily occurence. It was actually quite rare. It is not like there was an unlimited supply of other children. He had to space them out. They had to mostly forgetten the last person before he would move on to the next. It was safe. And, if he managed it right, he could hear his victim speak without a previous victim. He could hear the first version before it is tainted by others. And then he could see how they told it with others, especially those who had experienced it. He could see them talking a secret language. Those that bragged about themselves would realize "that person knows..." and feel shame. And their heads would drop.

Ciel loved it.






But stories of days long past do not truly matter any more, do they? Right now, there is a taller man walking down a sidewalk. He is approaching a small cafe with outdoor seating. Of course, like many a place, they have just placed their seating haphazardly around the sidewalk. It was not well placed. So perhaps this incidental, accidental collision was predestined.

Except it is not a taller man. Normally, they would be a taller man. Now, however, they are a just mildly shorter woman. This is not the only oddity about them currently, however. His skin is a bright, pale color. Her skin, however, is a dark brown. Not quite black, though that would certainly be how many would describe it. His eyes are normally a weird purple. Her eyes are a bright golden. His hair is normally long and wild, with a similar coloring to his eyes. Her hair is short, a very close shave, but the curliness it boasts is obvious even when so short. It is also a bright, baby blue. The man has no purpose for makeup, but the woman's lips seem to be absolutely coated, and the same color as her hair.

Where had this woman come from? Where was our taller man? Bah, details say! Let us just continue the story!

The woman will now be our center of attention as she walks down the street. Her head is buried in a book, one "The Melankholia Project". Her right arm holds it up in the middle of the pages while her left hangs at her side, the thumb resting in her pocket.

There is another man on the sidewalk. He wears a long coat. Wait, another man? No, a man. Yes, singular.

There is another woman on the sidewalk. She is a bit on the shorter side, possessing a lithe build. There is an apron across her front, in addition to the long navy blue dress. She seems to be in a very awkward situation, judging by the look upon her face, and the position of her hand behind her head, as she holds the serving tray across the front of her chest. Of course, our heroine does not see this, as she is much too involved in her book.

But the present is boring, the past is fun! But what about the present in the past? Yes!

Our heroine was previously walking along the sidewalk, approaching the previously mentioend individuals.

That is simply too formal... A new attempt then.

Our heroine walked along the sidewalk, approaching the man and woman. They were wandering much too closely towards a table. Could they have possibly noticed it in time to avoid an unfortunate stumble?

Of course not! This story would be boring if that happened! No, our heroine ran knee first into the low table. She tripped, barely avoiding dropping her book, as she stumbled forwards. Her left side slid alongside the right side of the cloaked man before she finally fell to the ground.

"Itetete" she said, pushing off the ground. The man merely looked at her, then turned around and began walking away. The waitress tried to flee into the building now, but the man was simply repositioning to continue his conversation with her.

Our heroine was now pushing her way off the ground, and making sure she had not lost her place in the book.

A well eyed observer may notice a quick flash of paper being deposited into her pocket as she dusted herself. Then she would continue walking. Around a corner, our woman would cease to exist! In her place stood...

Wait it was the man all along? This script is shit!

The man that was supposed to be the main character the whole time! He quickly turned around, and hid the book under his clothing. He would talk past the pair, his hands in his pockets, softly whistling a tune. It was around this time that the cloaked "gentleman" would attempt to proposition the woman is a slightly more... capitalist manner. Which of course he could not do without his mo-

Wait, she was a pickpocket? So the fall was not accidental? Dear god, you all are terrible at this. I quit!

[[
2032 words
Requesting mid-topic approval of http://naruto-role-play-rpg.forumotion.com/t24379-koudo-henge-no-jutsu-hiyu-clan training and 10 stats
32 excess words remain
Also spent 10 AP
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Approved

His moment was nearing, he felt it. The heart within his chest begun to beat rapidly, the anticipation, the anxiety, it gave him the feeling of being alive. But no, he simply did not choose the life solely for simple adrenaline rushes; he did so to put some food on the table. Setsuna didn't exactly come into this world with a silver spoon last he checked. The privileged, they never need to do anything, it's just want want want. That is what Setsuna wanted, a kind of lifestyle where he could want to sleep the day away, want to eat expensive food, want to never have to need again. However, that time was ways away, but Setsuna was a visionary, he would do whatever it took to reach that goal. For now, it's the basic simple task, pickpocket from the rich, or break into vendor lock boxes. Who knows? Later on Setsuna could be leading heists that payout the big scores.

And now, it was time. He sees a dark skinned girl ambling along the path. Setsuna, tilts his head down slightly, the shades slide just a bit, to allow his bare light hazel eyes to squint, taking in the features of the woman he was about to trail. He figures he would make the lift right after she crosses the coated man's frame. "tisk tisk tisk", he says, while making his away across the street, avoiding any obstacles that got in his way. While, at the same time, maintaining a, inconspicuously facade. He feels that his plan was sound, inching his way towards the other side of the street. However, plans do suffer from..., variables from time to time.

Reaching the other side of the side walk, Setsuna, now on the same side of the dark skinned woman. A situation occurred. Setsuna witness the act of the girl falling..., including the "pull". Setsuna was at a lost, competition. Like he admitted early, he was still new to this town, which meant he was unaware of the other players.

He clenches both his fists, 'Unbelievable’. Some girl managed to beat him to his mark, and making a successful grab too. If Setsuna was being fair, that was a something he would have done as well. Well, something similar to that at least. The classic drop and pop move, it really on relied on speed of hand, much like many other trades of a thief, including misdirection. Throw misdirection into the mix, and you could basically control the environment without brute force. The more Setsuna gave more thought into this, the more he started to admir-... no. Setsuna was still angry with the fact that he was robbed. Which was why Setuna manage to reach over to the blue lipped gem as she was dusting herself, he simply pasts the waitress and the man. Setsuna is now seen walking side by side, him being more so behind her slightly.

“Nice pull… I was planning to lift it the moment you passed him. But…, I guess the early bird gets the worm. Right?”, he spoke softly. His teeth held tight together when he spoke, still agitated a bit.  He says while nearing the corner up ahead. The mark ways behind.

What... Um, sorry, what do we do now?

Whadayya mean whaddawe do? We continue!

But um.. see, the, um, narrator, yeah the narrator, he went and um... Quit.

Who needs a narrator?

We- um.. we do, sir.

Then you narrate!

But sir, I've never narrated before!

It's all in the script! Just read the damn thing!

But sir, we, sorry, no, he, broke the script! I can't just keep reading it!

Well then make something up! You're a writer ain'tcha? Get your creative on!

I don't think that will wo-

Of course it will! Now hop to it!

Yes, sir.

So, Ciel, um, was stopped by the new person and, wait no, they're not Ciel right now. Um, the name is here somewhere.. It's.. um... No that's not right. Jon is someone else... Rin? Or maybe Ren. I think it's Ren. Yeah, her name is Ren. I think.

So, Ren was stopped by the new person and... Um...

Do we have a name for the new person?

Setsuna.

Isn't that a girl's name?

Seems to be unisex.

You sure it's not a girls name?

Mostly?

So, Ren was stopped by the new person... Setsuna... and, um, he, er, she, rather, she turned to face.. him.. Yeah, and um...

Can... can we take like... twenty so I can at least prewrite this?

We're live dumbass!

I, um, oh. Yeah. Right. Ok.

So, Cie- erm, Ren, turned to Setsuna and smiled. "Were you wanting to claim that prize?" she asked, voice almost, um, giddy. "How... interesting."

Does... does that fit the character?

I think? Close enough. We're live, just roll with it.

Oh, um, yeah, right, ok. - Cie-, erm, Ren is.... trying not to be bored, right?

Yah.

Ok, um, I- I think I've got an idea. Ok, I've got this. Yeah.

So, Ren was like, "How... interesting," and she turned to fa- no, she was already facing Setsuna, so um, she tilted her head to the side, her smile growing huge, almost as if her mouth were too big. Then the features upon her face shifted. They took on a... startled, no, scared, yes, scared, look, as if Ren were screaming. And then she did. Scream, that is. She screamed. Then began swatting at the man, while pulling the small wad of cash out of her pocket and tossing it to the floor behind Setsuna. Her goal was not to harm Setsuna, merely draw attention as she began yelling "pickpocket!"

One can only imagine what the man speaking with the waitress would think when a women yelled pickpocket and he found his cash to be missing barely even a moment later.

Hey! The writer's back from lunch!

Thank god! Can they, um, take over for me?

No idea, let me find out! Keep the plot going in the meantime!

The meaningless slaps connected with Setsuna, probably, um, more due to a state of, like, confusion or, um, surprise, yeah, surprise, than an inability to dodge. So when the, um, the...

What was that man wearing?

I don't know, just call him the perv! He was hitting on a young chick at his age, so it's apt.

Um... ok?

So, the, um, the perv turned towards the pair of people, having, um, heard the-

ALRIGHT SHUT UP I'M TAKING OVER AND SAVING THIS DAMN OPERATION.

OH THANK GOD HERE TAKE IT!

Ren was surprised how simple it had been. She just faked a reaction, and got heard. Her screams led to the man looking towards the two strangers. It was upon seeing the stack of cash upon the ground, and determining that his was missing, which all happened very quickly, that he immediately started running for the pair. Or rather, for Setsuna. Ren smiled inwardly, but outwardly still showed the same "frightened" expressions and movements. She began running away from Setsuna, rushing for the corner, purposedly stumbling upon her own feet as she ran. She began trying to surpress her chakra, though that was something she had not quite figured out just yet, no matter which form she was in. Not that her form actually affected how she went about surpressing her chakra, just that that statement felt relevant.

Her goal was to get around the corner and change forms, and then just keep walking away, not turning around. Perhaps she would succeed this time?

[Going to be calling an exit within my next post if allowed to 48 hour. Gonna let Ganki handle that NPC however he desires later if that happens.]

[exit claimed]

710 word count in 2 most recent posts.

32 excess words from first post.

Claiming 742 words towards chakra suppression.

And 3 stats. Slapping takes effort, yaknow?

Can't approve the suppression, but you do get approved for the stats.

k T_T