Where the Road Takes Us

It seemed she had caught the blue haired male and the puppet master in her shadow, even managing to slice the puppets into harmless little pieces. She wasn't able to trap them in time, however, to stop the almost completely harmless attack by the blue haired man. Luckily enough, the attack was slow and didn't take much effort for to intercept. With not even a hint of concern, Alice caught the kunai knife harmlessly by its handle and let the wind style technique hit its mark. Nothing happened of course, the arrow simply dispersing upon contact and restoring an extremely small amount of energy to the Nara girl.

Choosing to ignore it, she instead looked directly at the puppet master kid, with his hand outstretched, and placed the stolen bag of ryo into it. It was at that moment that the missing member of this little game managed to get himself stuck in the Imitation Field as well. Only a hand and his head were visible, the rest of him undoubtedly still below ground. It was obvious his intention was to drag Alice underneath and trap her there, a good plan if she hadn't already had her own jutsu active. "I'm gonna assume you didn't hear the conversation we just had, so before I release you I'll say it again. I never really wanted to rob or kill any of you. If I had, there wouldn't have been anything you could have done. No. I just wanted to test the three of you and see how capable you were. I must say, I've been impressed. I offered it to the other two, and now you as well. Join me. I can help you with your goals and offer you protection. You only have to agree to work under me. Is that acceptable?"

He agreed without much, if any, hesitation. They had all seen Alice's strength. Now that the matter had been settled, she would finally release her jutsu and allow the trio to move again and shake the puppet master's hand, placing an extremely small seal on his palm that no one should have noticed. Assuming the grey brute removed himself from underneath the ground, and the blue haired male came down from the tree, Alice would get down to business. "You can call me Alice," she began, "I don't think I caught any of your names." She waited for them to each introduce themselves, offering a handshake as they did. The only reason for the handshake was so that she could place a mark seal on the two remaining members, though it would look odd if she didn't shake the puppet master's hand again as well, so she did. Assuming all of this went through, she would continue.

"I was on my way to Konohagakure no Sato in Fire Country when I stumbled upon you three. After that, I plan on travelling to Kumogakure no Sato in Lightning Country. I have my own reasons for going to both places, but I've heard rumors a small number of Leaf shinobi are going to be escorting a very rich fuedal lord across their borders. I'd like your help in robbing them. I can get us there immediately, if you let me use my space-time techniques. If you really are going to join me, get together what you need, recover your lost chakra and we will move out tonight."

If they listened and agreed, she would walk back with them to the camp where the meat was probably burnt to hell by now, and wait for them to get ready.

Roku was either a much faster walker than he was aware of or his opponent had actually been very much closer than he had seen her to be if he was in genuine danger of anything aside from the paralyzing feeling that overwhelmed him. Twas irrelevant regardless.

Being completely and utterly stuck wth no control over himself, even for a brief period that lacked much threat, however, was incredibly relevant. It instantaneously became his least favorite of every feeling he had ever encountered.

"Roku," he would answer in response to her name being given. Although his expression did not change in the least, his hesitation to shake her hand a second time made clear he was suspicious. Obviously, the gesture was reciprocated nonetheless, niceties being a given among acquaintances. This was going to be strange. Maybe too much time spent alone had done it, but being around people who weren't blatantly hostile was odd. Then again, each of them was a target only some moments before. That could just as quickly caused the discomfort that had nestled itself snugly in the recesses of his torso. Briefly, the other two members of the group who had yet to be properly analyzed were the attractions of his attention; the grayish man set him more at ease because of a simple vibe, a type of person that was seldom too complicated and therefore rather frequently a boon to attentive minds. The other one was slightly more complicated to figure out, but he seemed unaccustomed to his surroundings. No, not unaccustomed so much as uncomfortable, and who could blame him? It was not a frightfully delightful circumstance.

The young shinobi listened acutely to every word from each person.

Although in his life he had stolen many things from many people, the task set before Roku by his new leader (the mere thought of the word made the boy shift from foot to foot, squirmy with the idea of being commanded at all) was a one much more difficult than any other he had undertaken. It was like being a two bit petty thief with eyes set on a bank. A healthy dose of fear mingled with some greed and overlaid with ambitious desire. Again, dying would not be conducive to success, but his certain growth would be the textbook definition of the word.

And he would follow to the camp, as well, thinking about how to refill his depleted energy stores before they left. It was still rather early, but sleeping felt unnecessary and unsafe. And the food they had at present would not be sufficient for a day of waiting fir the sake of recovery. "There is another, larger animal laying dead back there," Roku suggested, pointing back in the direction he had originally approached from. It was far too heavy for him to move, but it would be sonething to eat in any case. "I need food, a brief rest, and I will be prepared enough for this... undertaking. Although," he hesitated to finish his sentence, the very nature of his request foreign to him since the death of his only guardians, "that technique you used would be a valuable addition to my arsenal." Though it was a simple declaration directed toward Taishi, it ended with what would be barely recognizable as a raise in pitch, almost a question.

Yes, this was quite strange indeed. Parties were not familiar, and his one trick did not often entertain them. Asking anything from anyone was especially peculiar. And being around these people in particular would continue providing him with a reason to be nervous. This could dissipate at some point, but Roku honestly felt more comfortable afraid now.

Fear keeps you fast, it keeps you aware, it keeps you moving. It keeps you alive.

Ryal raised an eyebrow when the ground around their attacker started to rise in a few places. What is he planning? The blue haired male thought while also figuring that his partner hadn't heard what the girl just said. "Welcome to the club." Ryal said to the grey-ish male when his head popped out of the ground and he spoke. Should he be able to move his neck or use his peripheral vision to locate the source of the familiar voice he'd see Ryal posed against the tree. After being filled in the brute would agree to work with the girl and she would release them from her jutsu per his request. After return the stolen Ryo to the tree boy the girl would shake the hand he extended to her. There was a build up of chakra in her hand that was transferred to his but even with his elevated position Ryal was unable to see that she'd placed a seal on the boy. When his feet touched the ground Ryal would fold his arms and lean against the same tree he was just frozen against. Being more suspicious of this dark haired girl out in the wild than he was of Brooke because this one didn't have a handler, Ryal would tell her his name was R. Since his partner had to "dig" himself out of the ground it would make more sense for her to try to tag Ryal while he did that.

Though if she did decide to tag Taishi before him the golden eyed god would ask, "What are you doing with your chakra?" Very precise so that she couldn't be smart and say "It's called a handshake." or something else along those lines. He'd only let her tag him if she explained, his knowledge of jutsu wasn't complete but he'd at least know if she was lying about the effects of a low-level jutsu. Even if she went into explaining her plan before what she was doing with their hands Ryal wouldn't let it happen until he got the jutsu/skill explanation. Though when they did get to her plan Ryal would sigh at the backpedaling especially because both of her destinations were in the opposite direction of where the two males planned to go. The Shinkou would've said, "Been there, done that." but he'd already reached his limit of being a pain. Also when the girl mentioned she knew space-time ninjutsu he couldn't help but want to use her for that first-hand knowledge. He would then nod to the little bitch's boss's order, while he didn't have anything to gather the blue haired male would walk back to camp with his partner. Once there he'd pull their breakfast out of the spacial tear he threw it in in case the tree boy was a distraction and someone was after their meal. So much for leftovers. He thought to himself knowing that those two would be following them.

However, the tree boy spoke up about there being another dead animal in the vicinity. It had to be pulling the cart they heard crash earlier, he could go clean and cook that on his own Ryal didn't care. And this Alice character likely wouldn't either being that she had marked him already.

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Taishi would finish pulling himself out of the ground, happy to be able to freely move his body again. He did not enjoy the sensation of not being in control of his own body at all, but hopefully he wouldn’t have to worry too much about such things in the immediate future. Names, well he didn’t know the name of the kid, and Ryal’s name was his own to give out. “I’m Taishi, a wandering warrior. You sure have an interesting way of introducing yourself, Alice.” Taishi would put his knife away and then dust the dirt and debris off of his clothes. Taishi would listen, hearing the kid call himself Roku. It may be his name, or an alias, but Taishi didn’t care either way. He’ll call people whatever they want to be called. He would also note that Ryal only called himself R. It would seem as though Taishi wasn’t the only person the man was secretive with, but Taishi would keep it in mind when he would address his partner in the future. It wasn’t his place to put the man’s name out there. When offered a handshake Taishi had no reason not to accept it. It she wanted him dead she could have killed him when he was trapped by that shadow.
 
Taishi would take note of the places she said she was heading towards. Konoha, huh? “Aren’t there a bunch of Mist ninja around Konoha right now? Heard there was some sort of attack. You really want to get caught up in that mess?” This girl seemed a bit on the crazy side of things. Kiri was a notoriously dangerous village, and she was willing to move on a mark in Fire country? She had some balls it seemed, that much was for sure. Well Taishi didn’t have any desire to throw his life away at the hands of a Mist shinobi, but they now had a significant boost in both numbers and capability. Perhaps they could make it out of there without drawing the attention of Kiri, and the money for a mark like this had to be an absolute ton. Probably worth the risk, so long as they were smart about it and didn’t take any extra unneeded ones.
 
Taishi wasn’t one to really mind this arrangement. He would be “serving under” another, but that didn’t mean all that much. If the money flowing in was right, he really wouldn’t have any issue with it. Plus, having someone around that was better trained than they were would likely prove to be good for improving all of their skillsets.
 
Taishi would walk back to their campsite. The meat was pretty badly burned, and the man looked rather disappointed. Luckily there was more to cook up and eat, plus Roku said there was another large animal nearby if they needed more food. Taishi wasn’t one to turn down a meal, so if he was brought the animal he would gladly prepare it and cook it up. Cutting off another few steaks from the meat of the animal, Taishi would begin to use the heated rock to cook up some breakfast for everyone.
 
Roku would speak up, mentioning that he would love to add the Hiding like a Mole technique to his arsenal. Taishi had no reason to withhold the information from the boy. “You just focus your chakra into the nearby ground. Let it flow into the earth beneath your feet and allow it to push you. I’m not really great at explaining this kinda stuff.” Taishi would say, making an effort to try and explain what seemed to basically come naturally to him. Earth Style was just something that he picked up on naturally, though he really couldn’t explain why. The brutish man would keep an eye on the steaks cooking while trying to explain to the boy how best to try and utilize the technique. He probably wasn’t the best teacher, but he was better than nothing it seemed.

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Alice shook Taishi's hand next, also placing a mark seal with the contact they made. This one remarked on her manner of introduction, no doubt referring to the short battle that had just ended. It caused her to laugh, her voice almost sing-song and her laughter enticing. "I did the same thing to my student, Brooke, before I took her under my wing. I like to know who I surround myself with, and I find the best way to do that is challenge them in some way. I left her with my friend, Ryu, though for the time being. This way I know she'll be safe." It was an honest answer. They had already agreed to work with her, so there was no reason she should keep that information from them.

"And you," she said to the one who called himself 'R', "have good eyes. That will definitely come in handy." Alice punctuated her sentence with a smile, having lowered her mask to reveal the lower half of her face. "I've already memorized all of your chakra signatures, so I can open a portal directly to any of you anytime I choose. What I'm doing now, is a low level fuinjutsu technique that anyone can learn. All it does is mark you, but when used with other techniques I'll be able to summon you to me at any time or track your movements if I want. Keep in mind, this is more for your benefit than mine." Again, her answer was true. She chose to keep no information from them in answering these questions. They had a rocky and questionable introduction, and now that they were partners she needed to gain their trust. "I've already marked Roku and Taishi, but now that you know what I was doing, I'll give you a choice whether you allow me to mark you as well."

She knew that marking the other two against their will and without their knowledge could cause whatever trust might be there to be strained. Even though she couldn't remove the seals she had already placed, she could at least give R the chance to refuse. Whatever he did decide, Alice would either mark him or not and then make her way toward the camp with the rest of them.

On the way, she would answer Taishi's other query. "I've heard the same, but I'm confident we can get in and out without raising an alarm. As long as you all follow the plan, that is. Keep in mind however, that even though you guys agreed to work under me, I won't order you to do anything. I'm asking for your help with this, not ordering you. Whoever does decide to come with me, will receive 25% of the take. Anyone who doesn't want to take part will get 10. So, even if I have to take care of this on my own, you'll each get 10% of whatever the take is. Keep that in mind before you decide to join me."

By the time they reached the campsite, all of this would have been said and hopefully Alice would soon know what they decided. Still, other matters needed her attention. The food had been burnt, though R had brought out some extra meat to cook. It didn't look like it was nearly enough to fill them up. Luckily, Roku had mentioned there being a larger animal back in the direction he had come from. It was probably where she had heard that crash come from. Maybe it was an ox or horse? Something large enough to pull a wagon or a carriage. It was a good idea, and Alice had no objections to it. "I'll go with Roku to get this other animal he mentioned for us to cook. Hopefully you guys come to a decision by the time we get back. Roku. Let's go."

If there were no objections, or nothing happened to change these actions, Alice and Roku would begin to walk over to where the animal was. Once they were out of earshot, Alice would address her partner. "So tell me, Roku, how many hearts do you have in your possession?" The question was made in such a way that the puppet master would no doubt know Alice knew exactly how his strange tendrils worked.

Yes, it was definitely the solitude that had warped Roku's mind and perception with regards to all other people. This became evident to the boy when every thought passing through his head was very analytical and suspicious while simultaneously rather benign. 

R, as he had introduced himself, was surprisingly prominent. His eyes were odd and he called out the newly found leader of the group rather quickly on her technique. That was a remarkable little trick, both the seal that was described as well as the man's ability to see chakra. However, what gave that particular companion a specially conspicuous place in Roku's thoughts was his air of some, though inferior compared to Alice,  condescension, and to a lesser extent, his distrustful manner. It was understandable, but the way those golden hues looked at the younger ninja set him on edge. Frustrating, this one was. 

Taishi, however, was quite the opposite in certain ways. It had already seemed clear that the grayish brute was a fairly simple and clear cut being but further interaction only solidified this point; his introduction seemed like the same one announced to every other person who had asked his name and profession, and immediately after that, the man quickly and concisely expressed the single basic thought of his assailant turned ally that had formed. Roku found himself inclined to agree that she was a bit peculiar, but of course, she was already growing a large metaphorical file in the little ninja's mind. When they had made their way back to the campsite, Taishi also made an effort to describe the jutsu so that Roku could understand and utilize the technique. It was a clear sign he was more trusting than his companion, and his willingness to share the knowledge was a delightful way to earn a couple points with the adolescent. 

Roku realized that although his brain operated on a higher level than any of his peers that he had interacted with, he was now operating within a team of fully grown adults. Actually...

The last person to cross the examination table hidden within the boy's cranium was Alice, the most powerful by far but also younger than the other two by what may have been a fair margin; Roku was fairly bad at judging such things, but it certainly seemed like the case. She did indeed have a strange introductory process, and her actions with the seal being completely unnoticeable save for by one companion's exceptional eyes made her seem very sketchy. But on the other side of the coin, the initial battle was a test of their skills, and the jutsu snuck unto them was an additional boon, at least, as it was explained. There was a lot to cover about this particular specimen. Speed, which was one of his absolute favorite things, seemed to be her specialty. Although it was not the most easily determined thing, it was reasonable to infer that space time was a familiar field for her because of what had been demonstrated in their spar. The sword and the ease with which it was held, like an extension of her arm, told tales of lives taken. His own was nearly added onto the list, and even though it did not necessarily dictate skill with all bladed weapons, kenjutsu was on the list of dedicated skills he could imagine. The paralyzing jutsu was completely unheard of, however, and greatly disturbing. Finally, she had to possess some experience with water, ninjutsu, and fuuinjutsu. Her personality was playful and malicious, but that left a burning void of information in Roku's mind. 

What was behind that eye that seemed so familiar? 

Roku thanked Taishi for the dispersal of his knowledge, and, presuming he was given the seals requisite to perform the jutsu within the explanation, would begin practicing it immediately. It was short lived, however, because the dead food he had mentioned was now a task to be tended to, and the boy would silently start off toward the location of the deceased animal. The cart would be further along the road, the ox that had pulled it into position as a distraction having likely left when the cart crashed. But he had still slaughtered one, and that was his destination. 

Only a moment into their walk, Alice would ask him something that did not surprise the Tau but did catch him off guard. "Only my own. I intended on acquiring another today, but that venture was... sidetracked." It would likely have been no real challenge to take his newly acquired companions heart, but now there was some sad moral imperative dictating that it was "wrong."

When they arrived at the dead animal, barely old enough to be cold, he looked at his new leader. The boy would help as directed but it was clear he knew he could not maneuver it on his own, and he lacked a blade. 

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After pulling himself out of the ground Taishi would give his name and agreed to join the girl. You could probably offer the guy free food, clothes, and a place to sleep and he'd do just about anything. Ryal thought with a smirk about how easy going his partner was. He also accepted the girl's handshake before an explanation for the chakra exchange that happened when she shook the tree boy's hand. Ryal simply shrugged against the tree, as stated before he would land on his feet when she ended the jutsu. The blue haired male raised an eyebrow when the girl mentioned that she had a student named Brooke, she then went on to mention Ryu, the blond that was traveling with the child. By now he wouldn't be surprised if there was a whole hidden village ran and occupied my children and preteens. After responding to Taishi she turned her attention to Ryal, choosing to remove her mask when answering him. Is that supposed to be a sign of good nature? He thought but his face wouldn't show it. Regardless he knew that she wasn't lying about the jutsu unless of course, she made edits to this technique to make it her own that she wasn't mentioning. If that were the case they'd find out soon enough but of course, he was tired of being skeptical so he extended his hand for the girl to shake.

After doing that his eyes would cease being red, reverting to their natural gold color and the four of them would head back to Ryal and Taishi's campsite. Along the way, Alice would reply to Taishi asking if she wanted to get mixed up with Kiri ninja. She was confident that with their help she'd be able to get in and out without raising any alarms. Interestingly enough she said that she would pay them even if they don't help in her mission, of course, Ryal wasn't concerned about money for now. He still had a fair amount left over from turning in the trinket so he'd be ok for a while. Upon arrival at the site, they all could see the burnt meat that they'd been smelling on the way over. Ryal removed the rest of the animal from his spacial tear but they all knew that there was barely enough to go around so the tree boy Roku spoke up saying that he knew where they could get more. Yet before he left to retrieve it he asked Taishi about his earth jutsu that allowed him to go underground. His friendly partner gave the best explanation of the technique that he could. Then Alice would offer to join Roku in the retrieval of the additional meat, leaving Ryal and his partner alone once again. The boy thanked Taishi for sharing his knowledge and once they were out of earshot Ryal would ask the grey-ish brute, "So what do you think of all of this?" Being only the two of them he should feel more comfortable saying what was really on his mind if it betrayed what he'd presented to the others.

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Alice would explain all of the key components of her little plan. Well, mostly the details regarding how they would be splitting the spoils of their efforts. The split seemed fair, even more so than he honestly expected from the newcomer. An even split, with a ten percent share going to even those that don’t get involved? Yeah, that would be more than adequate for his needs. “Hell that sounds good to me, so long as we don’t bring the wrath of the bloody mist down on our heads like you say. I’m in.” Taishi wasn’t the best trained, especially compared to someone as capable as Alice seemed to be, but having the numbers advantage could go a long way in their success in this endeavor. Hopefully he wouldn’t meet his end, but such was the risk one needed to take in order to become great.
 
Taishi would watch as the two newer companions would make their way towards the dead beast of burden near the road. Once they were out of the immediate area and likely out of earshot, Ryal would ask Taishi about his thoughts on all of this. The man would flip the meat on the makeshift range while speaking, not particularly loudly, but not a whisper either. “Honestly, I don’t know how much trust we can safely put into them. Everything they are saying sounds well and good, and Alice seems to be more than fair with her arrangements for splitting any money they find. While she could have killed us before, she may see us as valuable, but expendable resources. Following her is a risk, but if she is true to her word and this isn’t just some sort of ploy it could work out well for us.” Taishi would take a deep breath in through his nose, smelling the cooking meat and allowing his senses a delight before asking his partner what his thoughts were, “How about you? What do you think about this arrangement?”
 
Taishi would watch for the newcomers, making sure to signal to Ryal with a clear look in case their discussion was no longer private. The greyish brute would wait for the response from Ryal. While he was on board with this, if Ryal were not the man would probably reconsider his position. While it may be a good opportunity, the Golden eyed shinobi was a friend and good drinking buddy. He doubted that the "kids" they were going to be working with would fall into the same category.

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So, he only had his own heart. It seemed Roku was less skilled than Alice had thought, or he hadn't yet had an opportunity to find one he needed. Either way, she would help him to attain new hearts at some point. For now, though, she needed to get the food back to the camp and prepare for her ambush. "Only your own, huh? Well. As long as you work under me, I'll help you get what you need." She left it at that, hoping the boy noticed her body language and left the conversation there.

Soon they reached the dead animal, still giving off heat. It must not have been dead long. When they arrived, Roku seemed to look at Alice for direction, as if he couldn't possibly move the beast on his own. The thought made her smirk a little. "Well, what are you waiting for? I know you can easily move this animal on your own. For one, those black tendrils of yours would make doing it child's play." She would wait to see if the puppetmaster figured out what she meant. He could be quite dangerous with the right training. If he managed to get it together and figure out how to move the soon-to-be-food on his own, they would then walk back to the camp together. When they arrived, it would be time to hear everyone's answer as to the ambush.

"So," she began, looking at each of her three new comrades in turn, "who's going to come with me for this ambush? I need to know now, so I can come up with a strategy."

Well, given what she knew about his Earth Grudge Fear, it was easily predicted that her knowledge encompassed the particulars of its powers, but there was a reason he didn't volunteer it immediately. 

"I do get tired of that pretty fast sometimes."

The effort it took, the strain on his body from utilizing the ability was a rather unpleasant experience after a little bit of prolonged usage. Roku was not particularly good at fighting for long spans of time and the little talent was a somewhat strenuous but incredibly advantageous thing. The battle earlier had already put him on the tired side of his personal spectrum, and although it was possible, the boy was averse to hauling it himself. 

It was essentially laziness. 

Before a reply could reach his ears, outstretched fingers would be releasing the pitch tentacles from his body to pierce the beast of burden and raise it just a few inches. Roku would start to walk quickly, his hand slightly trembling from the weight, and the smallest roll of his eyes just obscured by tinted glasses. 

When they returned, Roku would proffer the animal near the cooking space toward Taishi. From that point it was back to a game of observation, although he would certainly nod and raise his hand slightly when Alice asked the question. Though it had to be dangerous, rather dangerous, he needed the money for further exploits with his craft, and in order to progress as a ninja regardless. And through whatever he listened to, the young puppeteer's mind worked away at his next creation. 

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