Moonlit Saviour

Spoiler:

“Remember me you white haired fuck?!” Snarled a mid twenties man at the head of a group of five individuals who stood in the road, blocking Valen’s path. It was later in the evening, the sun slowly finishing off it’s final descent toward the horizon. A layer of snow covered almost everything but a clear path could be seen where the road was. Nearby other folk that lived in the town looked to see what was causing the commotion before hastily making an exit from the area. Leaving the six foot, white haired, tan skinned man to deal with the men who had blocked his path. The lead man, the one who spoke had a couple of inches on him in height, although he was the tallest of the group. He looked across at Valen from a few feet away with an angry gleam in his eye, the snarl still marring what might be handsome features. The other four men all wore cloaks with hoods up, knives and truncheons in hand as they flanked the man, ready to move in to ‘teach the white haired fuck’ a lesson.

‘Oh, so we’re doing this then?’ Thought Valen as he raised an inquisitive eyebrow at the group. The man had been a patron at a local bar who had been a tad bit too ‘determined’ to hook up with a girl he was sitting next to. Valen wasn’t even drinking, he was in there to meet with a client. Apparently, a group of families were looking for someone to rescue a group of civilians from the clutches a local gang of thugs. The families had all pitched in a reward and Valen had accepted. He plenty of money at the moment, almost all of it from when he withdrew a large sum from the Hoshigakure treasury and made off with it. Leaving enough for the village to get by. However sitting on his laurels while he spent it wouldn’t do him any favors. So he took the job when it was offered. He was actually on his way out to perform said contract, after preparing for a couple of days with scouting, and reconnaissance. Of course, then the man that Valen had ‘blocked’ decided to show.

‘You could obliterate them all in an instant and move on you know.’ The voice of the Gobi, his only real conversation most times, said within the depths of his mind.  His tone of voice making his thoughts on that matter somewhat obvious. He clearly wanted Valen to do just that. ‘If I go around killing random people who piss me off I’ll quickly become known. Something I would rather avoid if possible Gobi.’ The teen would think back as the man leading the group against him bristled in rage at Valen’s casual demeanor. In his mind, he was supposed to shake with fear, beg for forgiveness, and then take the beating like a good little ‘punk’. Of course, that wasn’t quiiite what Valen had in mind. “I’m afraid not, am I supposed to?” Valen would say, further angering the man. The dark haired leader of the little group of thugs would stutter out a few obscenities, before pointing toward him. “Get him and I’ll pay you after!” He cried to which the four thugs at his flanks would charge forward, weapons poised to attack.

The set up was two knives and two truncheons, all swinging at the rather annoyed man wildly. “Very well then.” He would say as the fastest reached him, one of the knife users. He thrust his blade forward, trying to stab Valen in the in his lower torso. The sword wielder wouldn’t even draw his blade as he caught the wrist of the man and twisted it, using the thugs own moment to spin him around in Valen’s grip before the taller male kicked the thug forward hard. The man would fly at his comrades, colliding with them almost immediately due to their close proximity. The impact itself would be quite spectacular, given the force the teen had put into the kick. The group would fall over in an unceremonious heap on the ground and a few voices of anger and pain would make themselves heard with a groan at having the weight of their comrades literally thrown on top of them and having the first one collide with them at bone shattering force. The single man who was still standing, the one who had spoken before had dropped to his knees at this point at the simply way in which his hired thugs had been brushed aside. Valen would begin to walk, carefully stepping over the civilian ‘muscle’ and placed a hand on the man’s shoulder as he walked by. “A bit of advice, next time you want to hire someone to handle some punk, either get a lot more men, or hire an actual shinobi. You never know who in the hell you’re going to end up running into in the encounter.” The white haired man would say before simply leaving both the small town, and the man whom had tried to have him killed behind.

'Why didn't you kill him? He'll only causing problems later on you know’ The Gobi would ask him in his mind. Valen would merely give the equivalent of a mental shrug. 'Why bother? I doubt he'll be stupid enough to try it again. I dislike killing civilians for being idiots and he's no exception. Besides, we have bigger fish to fry today Gobi.’ The ashen haired Shinobi would reply within his mind. It had been a fair question granted. Those who were embarrassed twice would undoubtedly try a third time. It didn't help that the four men he had brought with him this time wore matching cloaks. Some kind of organized group in the area? Or was it just their way of avoiding attention? If the latter then it hardly mattered. They were taken down without a fuss and he doubted those four would agree to be hired by that man again. There was simply too much of a chance they'd be killed for it and one had no need for money if they were dead. If it was the former however, and the four men were part of a large group. Then a whole slew of questions come into play. Were they 'big fish’ in the group? Did they have more and potential much more skilled men in the group? Would they come back in bigger numbers in order to try to kill him again? If he were a betting man, he'd put money on the answer to those questions being 'No, Yes, and Yes’ in order. Mainly because he wasn't a fucking optimist, but in reality he simply doubted that any group would send their better members out to beat down on ‘some punk’ in town. That just wasn't the way those group operated. So he would either need to find out about the group and handle them, or leave town and move on. He was actually in favor of the latter. It was time to move on anyway and he probably would after he finished this mission.

He had specifically timed his departure so that with a moderate pace he could be at the hideout of the gang well after dark. While he didn’t truly need his targets to have impaired vision for him to sneak around them like a ghost, one should never ignore an opportunity to increase one’s chances. Or simply to make the whole thing easier on themselves. Ignoring such things was wasteful in his opinion. So he’d use the cover of night to assist in this regard, it would allow him to save chakra in case he needed for some unseen reason. On him he wore his usual armor although it’s appearance was that of a tight black undershirt, and black pants. His trademark red cloak was on as well hiding the majority of his body from view. His sword, Seraphim, was belted at his waist and his weapons pouches were in their normal location on the back of his belt. He moved at a normal pace, not really putting much effort of being unseen. During this part of the plan it was required that he not be hard to find and he had noted at least a few people taking note of the direction he left in when he exited the town. The normal hideout for the gang he was going to be ousting was about two hours west at a fast run for him. He however had left to the east. He knew at least a few people could’ve heard of him being hired to help the families. So he had initially declined the offer when they presented it to him. He then broke into the house of the one who seemed to be organizing the attempts to hire people in the middle of the night and discussed actual details with the man. He had been scared out of his mind, assuming that Valen had come to kill him. However he quickly calmed down after the shinobi explained his reasoning. If he had accepted the contract publically, in the middle of a crowded tavern, word would get back to the gang. Potentially putting their families lives in danger. So he spoke to him privately, accepting the contract before leaving and putting the man’s mind at ease.

Over the course of the following days Valen would go through town, leaving through the west gate and coming back with some kind of hunted carcass he had taken out and sold to various people within the town. The hide to a tanner, any horns or hooves to a general trader who could undoubtedly conjure some bullshit ‘enchantment’ on the items to sell to gullible customers. The meat to the tavern, and moving down the line. In all reality he simply left, got into the tree cover and then stealthily traveled to the gangs hideout to stake it out. He knew the general layout of the place, knew the rotations of what passed as ‘guards’ for the gang in question and knew the best way in and out. With luck, he could pull off getting in and out without anyone even knowing the wiser. For example, he learned that the gang’s hideout was a run down tower, used in defense of the area in years long past. Large stones quarried with the use of tools and stacked together utilizing mortar, a combination of lime, soil, and water, to keep it all together. However the tower had a back way in, a passage that Valen could only surmise was used to flank an attacking force. Or send any civilian staff away in the case of eventual invasion and slaughter. It was this secondary passage that the ashen haired shinobi intended to utilize for his efforts of slipping in, finding the families kidnapped, and slipping right the hell back out, hopefully without ever getting caught. It was getting dark at this point, the last remnants of the sun’s light fading over the horizon and the multitude distant fires of stars coming into sight across the night sky. It was a beautiful sight to the man, and one he cherished as at least something that would always remain constant in his life.

The road to the tower began to turn sharply to the left now, meaning it was time for him to get off the road and take to the trees. He’d been moving at a decent pace for awhile now and the tower would be almost a mile down after that turn in the road. He’d need to get into the cover of the trees to avoid any patrols on the road. The snow capped fir’s would hide him well with the darkness of night acting to conceal him even deeper amongst them. He’d take to the branches, leaping from branch to branch with an eerie silence. Any of the gang members in the woods would miss him entirely up above the ground. His steps were sure and his soundless movements disturbed no snow as he made his way toward the tower. As he continued, about a half mile out from the tower he stopped suddenly, his movements poised to drop and strike with lethal precision as two guards moved through the wooded area. Their boots crunching snow beneath their feet as they moved. “I hate this damn woods. You can’t see worth shit and they’re creepy as hell.” One said. Valen looked down and noticed that both looked remarkably similar. Both wore black leather armor, a black bandanna around their faces and had shaved heads. ‘Similar appearances makes it harder to identify any for small time infractions. They’re organized.’ Valen would think as the second man replied. “Tell me about it, it’s not like we’re going to find anyone anyway, no one’s stupid enough to attack us. But orders are orders. At least we’ll make a tidy profit off selling those townsfolk to slavery.” He would say, the smirk on his face as he said the last evident based on his tone. “Shame we can’t have any fun with em, but the boss is right. Undamaged goods fetch a higher price. If they aren’t broken when they’re bought then the buyer can break them in whatever way they feel is necessary to keep them intact for their ‘new lives’." The first would say back, chuckling darkly as he said the last two words.

‘Slavers then.’ Valen thought as he waited for the two to move on before he continued on. He could’ve most likely kept going and the two thugs never would’ve known he was there. However there was no reason to take chances. Clearly the family members were undamaged and still there. This gave him time to work, which was all he could have asked for. A presence would make itself known within his mind, the Gobi stirring in order to speak to him. ‘So, do you intend to eliminate them?’ The beast would ask in curiosity, his tone neutral, as if it truly did simply want to know for it’s idle amusement. ‘I suppose it depends on what I find. I might discourage them from continuing with operations, but I doubt I’ll slaughter them. After all, my first priority is to the families.’ Valen would say in response as he cleared the distance to the tower and began to travel around it about a hundred meters out from the main entrance. His tree cover ended at that point, so he kept himself within it in order to make sure he wasn’t seen. Besides, the entrance about that far out on the back side of the tower anyway. The entire place had been excavated and a series of tunnels crisscrossed beneath the tower. A fall back plan to confuse and disorient enemies and give any staff a chance to lose any pursuers. Ambush points could be set up at certain points to force those giving chase to go slow and be careful. Giving those trying to flee that much more time. At least, that’s what he’d heard from the innkeeper in town, when he mentioned the tower under a disguise. It was the perfect kind of place for him to sneak through, with plenty of halls to move down in order to avoid a patrol if any were to be found down there. It was at this point that he found the spot he was looking for. ‘Thirty degrees to the right of the front gates position, one hundred meters from the back wall.’ He though as he reached the designated point and dropped down. He landed in front of a snow drift and he’d raise an eyebrow at it as he noticed minute signs of what seemed to be a large shape beneath it. Silently drawing Seraphim he’d step to the side of the snow pile and swing the blade, creating a slipstream that struck the snowdrift and scattered it everywhere. Beneath it lay a large stone tunnel with a metal gate just large enough for a person to move through. He looked toward the tower to see if he had raised an suspicion, however the impact of the wind on the snow muffled any noise and he was still within the cover of the fir trees.

Moving toward the gate he’d reach into his weapons pouch and remove a kunai and a cloth. He’d proceed to hold onto the top hinge with the cloth, to muffle any screeches from rust over the years and use the kunai to remove the bolt holding the hinge together. He couldn’t just open the door with only one hinge covered after all, so he’d have to remove them to avoid unnecessary noise. Repeating the process for the bottom hinge the red cloaked rogue would slowly, and carefully, pull the gate off, making sure to not make any undue noise as he did so. He’d then set it on the ground standing up, move to the other side of it, and pull it back into place. He’d forgo replacing the hinges though. It would appear to anyone at a glance that the gate was where it was meant to be. He wouldn’t be able to hide the fact that the snowdrift was gone, but some things couldn’t be helped. Besides this was the exit for the kidnapped family members. He could expect them to knock down a gate, he could not expect them to move a snow drift. So this would be the best he could do. He would take a moment to ensure that he hadn’t left any tracks in the snow, his steps light and careful to make sure such a damning piece of evidence to his proximity was not to be found. He’d then turn into the tunnel, his eyes giving him perfect vision in the space and allowing him to move with impunity through it’s darkness. He’d dash through the tunnels, keeping his feet light, and he hearing sharp. He still had a few things he needed to do before he could make his way into the tower proper to stage his rescue operation.

Moving through the darkness he’d begin to map the halls and paths, eventually realizing that the slaver’s didn’t use the tunnels at all. Giving him freedom of movement within them to continue his business. He’d eventually find the stairway up toward the tower proper and grin. It had almost come together now. He knew the path out through the tunnels now and merely needed to mark it for the escapees in case he couldn’t lead them out personally. Using a kunai, he’d etch and arrow into the intersections near the ceiling, the location being easy to miss if someone wasn’t looking for some sort of sign. He’d move through the corridors, back toward to exit, making sure to mark the direction one needed to go at each intersection that ended in a two way turn. At each point where it was a four way intersection he’d make the arrow in the ceiling above the direct middle of the halls. Easily pointing out the route for anyone who knew to look up. Once he reached the metal gate he’d ensure that there had been no disturbances in the snow just outside. When he found none, he knew it was safe to continue. He’d double check to make sure the gate hadn’t frozen to the metal support it had been built into, nodding in satisfaction when he confirmed it had not. Then he would proceed back through the tunnels. Moving through them at a much faster pace now that he knew exactly where he was going. He’d reach the stairway and take them slowly, making sure to not stumble over any potentially fallen rocks or knock off any chipped steps. He’d reach the door at the top, a seal entrance. This made things rather complicated as he didn’t know what in the hell was on the other side. He moved silently to the door and placed his ear upon it, controlling his breathing and making sure he made no noise as he listened to get an idea of what was going on beyond the wooden doorway.

He heard, nothing at first, but as he listened closer he could make out the steady, rhythmic sound of breathing, as well as someone sobbing. Another person was muttering ‘we’re all gonna die’ under his breath and he could definitely hear the sound of a flickering torch. He blinked in surprise, were the kidnapped family members kept in a pen with the doorway as the back wall? He blinked in surprise for a moment before really considering it. The door was barricaded on his side, a large wooden bar dropped down into catches on either side of the door. So no one would be opening it from the other side. Even if they did, the tunnels were a maze of twists and turns and a disoriented and panicked prisoner would have a difficult time indeed navigating the corridors. He nodded his head in understanding, the pen was probably the lowest point in in the tower itself, down some kind of basement. The door was against some kind of back wall, or it might even be hidden on the other side so that the slaver’s didn’t even know it was there. He considered these thoughts as he listened for any kind of guard. He didn’t hear anyone, but it was never a bad thing to wait when you had the time. The night was still relatively young, even considering the time he spent mapping out the catacombs beneath the tower. So he’d settle in and wait, sitting down quietly and leaning the back of his head against the door to listen as he shut his eyes. He hadn’t killed any patrols, and the area around the gate had been devoid of footprints, so it wasn’t patrolled. That meant no one would be late checking in, no one would be missing. It was just a normal night for the slaver’s as far as they were concerned. Giving him plenty of time to be patient.

About fifteen minutes later his decision paid off. He heard the harsh stomps of boots on stone stairs and a heard a voice call “Don’t get too comfortable folks, we’ll have you all a nice buyer soon and then you’ll be in for a real treat.” The man would say before moving off, his steps disappearing into the distance. That confirmed it for Valen, if a guard came by it would be extremely odd for them not to acknowledge any stationed sentry. A check up on any changes if needed or even a ‘hello’ or something. The fact that there was none of that normal back and forth meant that the prisoners were kept alone. Normally, he’d wait for the next guard to come by to make sure he had enough time before one was scheduled. Waiting for a full rotation was after all, standard practice. However the fifteen minutes he’d waited for the man to come down had already told him that it would take at least that long. He really didn’t think it would take fifteen minutes to finish this, hell he was sure of it. So after making sure that even his enhanced senses couldn’t hear the guards steps anymore, Valen would lift the heavy wooden beam out of the latches, setting it aside. It would be useful to block the door with again when they left after all. He’d then proceed to tap twice on the door, making sure to do so just loud enough that anyone near the door would have an idea of what was happening so they could move. Now came the risky part, he couldn’t see any hinge on his side, so he had to hope the door didn’t make too much noise when he opened it. He wasn’t currently in the mood for a blood bath.

He’d knock once more, hoping someone would push on the other side, since the doorway was almost seamless on his end. It would make it difficult to open and it would have to open toward him for the wooden beam to have had any effect at all. Within a moment the door began to open toward him, as expected. He stepped back, activating his eyes and keeping his hand on the hilt of Seraphim as the doorway slowly eased open, a minor creak echoing down the corridor and drawing a wince from Valen. If the noise carried then things would get a lot more frantic in a hurry. Still nothing he couldn’t handle, but not something he wanted to deal with when he had the lives of who knew how many slaves under his care. The door would finish opening and a well muscled man about Valen’s height would be on the other end. His eyes wary and untrusting of the newcomer. The man had obviously been underfed, but not detrimentally so, clearly the patrol he’d overheard talking about making sure the slaves weren’t ‘broken’ hadn’t been far off the mark. This man could work, as soon as you got him whipped enough to do so. Valen would take his hand away from Seraphim and hold it up in a placating gesture. “I’m here to free you all, I was hired by your families to get you all out of here.” He would say, whispering to keep the sound down. “We have to hurry, the door creaked and if the slavers hear it..” He would begin, to which the man would shake his head. “There’s another door upstairs, it leads farther up the tower. They didn’t hear that minor creak, promise.” The man would say, prompting a nod from Valen. “Get the others, and the torch, I can see in the dark but you can’t.” The ex kage would say, prompting the man to nod before turning around and quietly rounding everyone up. Valen estimated about twenty people were coming out. He’d nod his head when they were all in the tunnel, satisfied and about to prompt everyone to follow him when one of them stopped him.

“Wait!” a young woman exclaimed as loud as she dared while still maintaining a whisper “There’s one more. She wasn’t meant to be sold, they keep her for their own sick pleasure. She’s been here longer than us but they shove her into the pen with us at times because it’s a good place to keep her. She’s upstairs with the rest of those monsters now, suffering god only knows what.” The woman would say, her voice nearly frantic. Valen could see that the woman clearly knew what was almost in store for her, and to see and hear someone else go through it probably drove her somewhat crazy. “They made us watch sometimes” The man that had opened the door said quietly, "Dragged her down and took turns beating her amongst other things in front of us. We couldn’t do anything, it was their way of ‘preparing us’.” The man would say behind gritted teeth. Valen’s nostrils would flare in anger at the information. If the woman had been here before any of them then she wasn’t a part of his mission. However he wouldn’t just leave someone behind to such suffering. The ashen haired man would give a single curt nod before speaking to the man “These tunnels go all the way outside and a hundred meters back from the tower. The entrance is in the cover of the fir trees. It’s a maze down here, but if you use the torch to check the tops of the walls, near the ceilings, of any two way intersection you’ll find an arrow, follow it. When it comes to the four way intersections, the arrow is on the ceiling in the middle of the intersection itself. The gate at the end isn’t attached, it’ll push right off, try to set it down gently to make sure there’s no noise. Otherwise, bar this door when I go back in.” The slave’s saviour would say, prompting the man to nod. Valen would proceed to step into the doorway, and he’d hear the wooden beam fall into the latch on the other side.

It appeared to be a seamless stone wall on this side, utterly nondescript. It would seem like a good place for anyone to store a prisoner. Which suited Valen just fine, as it meant the guard would have no idea what in the hell happened to his charges. The former kage would move to the walls and climb up them, moving toward the ceiling just over the door up above. It was there that would wait. Ten minutes ticked by before the door opened once more, the guard from before closing it as he moved. Valen would silently maneuver himself above the guard on the ceiling, keeping pace with him until the man reached a point where he could see that the prisoners were missing. “What the?!” The guard would start, before a kunai would find its way into his skull from above. The knife would impact the man’s skull with a sickening ‘thunk’, killing him instantly and without a cry for help to boot. Valen would drop down, recovering his kunai, flinging the crimson blood and gray brain matter off the blade before putting it back into his weapon pouch before moving to the door and listening through the barrier. It was much louder on the other side, men could be heard jeering and laughing, the sound of drink mugs clattering onto tables could be heard and through it all Valen could make out the pained, gagged, cries of a woman. The ex kage had had enough at that point, and he disguised himself as the guard he had killed before opening the door and stepping through, mimicking the same stride and posture as the man before. He might be a stoic, but he was still an experienced shinobi damnit.

The scene on the other side would cause Valen to see red. Nine men, undoubtedly it was only those that were off duty within the tower at the time and not out on patrol or guarding other key parts of the tower were in the room. All of which were knocking back mugs of some kind of beverage, undoubtedly alcoholic. The women he’d heard would be gagged and fighting the chains she was stuck to, alone, naked, and afraid. The men would turn to Valen as his anger peaked, reaching a plateau he hadn’t reached before as the voice of Kokuo echoed in his head ‘Kill them, kill them all.’ He would hear as a golden shroud would coalesce around the man, his disguise dropping to show his true form before five tail sprouted from his cloak and reached out, but it wasn’t just one tail for five different men, no, all five of them went toward a single man, lifting him up by wrapping around the now screaming man’s limbs as the other threw knives, at him, or swung swords, knives, and truncheons at the tails holding their comrade. None of it made a difference. No one without shinobi training of some kind could break through the cloaks protective properties. With a sickening wrench Valen tore each limb out from the man, using the dismembered articles, as improvised weapons against his own comrades. He’d shove an arm into the chest of another slaver, forcing through the chest cavity with the sheer force of the impact. Blood flew everywhere, pouring out of the limbless man like a faucet as he screamed his last moment in life before Valen used the tail wrapped around his neck to rip his head off and and use it as a bludgeon for another nearby slaver. The limbless, headless upper body of the slaver fell to the ground, a bloody sack of meat on the floor as the head he liberated from him was used to smash in the skull of another. The brain matter locked within would splatter from the force of the impact, spreading out behind the man in a sickening fan like pattern on the ground.

That was three, now it was time for the other six. Knowing what they did to the woman, Valen would utilize one of the limbs to rip another of the man’s tool off before using two more to wrench open the same mans mouth with a sickening crack before shoving the previously mentioned tool down the man’s throat and tossing the corpse aside. The next five would be made to suffer. Downgrading the cloak to the second level, the golden form around him would become a sinister blood red, his eyes becoming start white as the cloak began to slowly burn anything it came into contact with. He’d utilize one limb for each slaver now, reaching out and grabbing them, wrapping their entire body into the tails. With twenty meters on each tail to work with such a feat was easy enough. The screams that could be heard from within would sound like a symphony of justice for the enraged ex kage and an orchestra of revenge for the brownish, purple haired woman who was watching it all unfold with disturbing fascination. Slowly, over the course of minutes, mainly due to Valen easing back on the power of the cloak to ensure the suffering of the slavers was absolute, he would slowly uncoil his tails to show that absolutely nothing remained. The slavers all burned away into little more than a memory. After this was done the Jinchuriki would let his power recede, his anger sated at now before he moved toward the woman on the dirty mattress. The woman didn’t seem to fear him, and instead looked at him with something akin to admiration. A look that Valen himself was not prepared for. He’d draw his blade and cut the chains off of the woman with two precise cuts on the cuffs themselves. He’d then take his cloak off and hand it to her, giving her something to cover herself with. “I’m sorry for what’s happened to you.” He would say simply, his voice soft, gentle, laced with concern for the woman who had just dealt with a traumatizing experience for god knew how long. “You saved my life..” She would say simply before nodding as if deciding something. “So now it is yours, I’ll stay by your side my lord. I’ll protect you when needed, have your back when no one else will, and fight by your will and your will alone. I swear my life to you.” She would say causing Valen’s eyes to widen in surprise and shock. “I didn’t intend for that, you don’t have to do anything like that. I can take you home and you can continue your life where you left off.” He would say, trying to convince her against the choice she had made. The red eyed woman would shake her head in the negative before speaking “I didn’t come from the local town. My family was murdered, I have no life to go back to. So I wish to give the life I have now to you. Because it was given to me, by you.” She would say, a tone of finality to the statement. This would cause Valen to sigh in resignation. “Well I can’t say I was expecting to get a bodyguard when I took this mission. Alright, what’s your name? I’m Valen, Valen Akari. For the record, the power you say me using on those men is one of my deepest secrets. I don’t want it spread around.” He would say, in a tone that allowed for no argument. The woman would nod in understand. “I understand Lord Valen, and my name is Evelynn, Evelynn Cerathi.” She would say, prompting a nod from her newly named ‘lord’.

He would sigh once more in resignation before looking her up and down. “Well we can’t have you running around like that.” He would say, prompting her to nod before she moved toward the most ‘human’ looking corpse in the room. The one who had been killed by the head of his ally. The only ‘damage’ he had taken was the blow to the head so his clothes were technically serviceable if one didn’t mind the brain matter. The man had been slightly below average in height, and so his clothing fit Evelynn perfectly. She was able to obtain a white tee shirt, and black shinobi style pants from the man. She would then proceed to form a tiger seal and utilize the chakra cleanse technique. Something that prompted a raised eyebrow from Valen. “You have shinobi training?” He would ask curiously, prompting her to nod “A bit yes, but not enough to have saved me from this situation. Can you train me?” She would ask, hope rising in her voice. The ashen haired warrior would nod in acceptance “If you’re going to protect me you’re going to have to protect yourself somewhat, so of course.” He would say simply, prompting her to smile at him in gratitude. “I intend to destroy this tower before I leave but first, loot it of any money that might be left behind.” He would say, moving to begin doing so himself as well. “Yessir!” She would call, moving to begin fulfilling her orders at once. It wasn’t long before they gathered what money was in the tower. Any patrols that had been out had yet to return. This prompted Valen to infer that it was a full on night shift. Which suited him perfectly. “Let’s go, we’ll move through the tunnels I came in from to make sure there are no prisoners still down there before moving a safe distance away. Then I’ll remove this god forsaken place from the landscape.” He would say, prompting her to nod as they moved downstairs. A quick slash with his sword would open the doorway once more, the stone and wooden beam not even a contest for the blade at his side.

They would move through the tunnels now, carefully making sure no one was within. Eventually they’d reach the gate where they’d run into the man from before. The same one who had opened the door and led the prisoners out. “Everyone out?” Valen would ask in curiosity, prompting the man to nod. “They’ve all gone back to town, a few ambushed a patrol on the way to clear the path for the others. There aren’t anymore on this side.” He would say, prompting Valen to nod. “Go on ahead and leave, we’re going to wait here for a few to make sure no one ends up on your trail.” The swordsman would say, to which the man would nod before heading off. The jinchuriki would wait until he could no longer hear the crunch of the man’s footfalls upon the snow, or see him whatsoever through the tree’s before turning to the tower a hundred meters away and forming the cloak once more. The blood red shroud would coalesce upon his skin as a great beam of chakra would form in front of his gaping maw. The the beam would release, launching the bijudama at the tower. The impact would be spectacular as the stone construct was obliterated in an instant, the sound of the destruction deafening to those around. Valen would proceed to release the cloak once more before turning to Evelynn who seemed to take it all in stride. Clearly she was one to take things in stride. He would take a moment to consider things, it had been a while since he had contacted Hikari. His new companion reminded him of her, if only due to the striking differences between the two. He took a moment, staring at the now destroyed tower in the distance as he reached up and touched his telepathy seal, activating it. ‘Hikari? Are you there? It’s been a while since we’ve spoken, did you ever find my letter? What’s happened in Hoshigakure? If you’ve even returned yet? I’m worried about you Hik, if you can hear me, please, respond.’ He would send to the woman that had taken his heart before he had realized it had happened. Memories flooded his mind for a moment, vivid flashes of various meetings, at the library, in the training field where she saved Akemi, when he confessed, when he took down the Gobi, and more. The memories brought a warm feeling to his heart, but the moment was gone as quickly as it had come, it was time to move on. Turning toward his new companion he’s give her a small smile “Shall we be off then?” He would ask, lifting a hand up and raising an eyebrow in curiosity. “Yes, we shall.” She would say, a small smile on her lips as she took his hand, prompting him to teleport them away from the area in a brilliant flash of light.

[Exit]

WC: 6849

Claims: Mission rewards (So 2500 ryo) 2250 words to switch Ninjutsu to my main spec using the max stat discount, then 1500 words for Spirit Gun and another 2250 for Super Spirit Gun The final 849 goes toward Nature Chakra Proficiency putting me at 849/1500

Approved

As the seconds turned into minutes, and minutes turned into hours, Hikari attempted to reach out to her Kage a few more times, but with no response. The blonde wracked her brain as to what could of possibly been the cause of this could Hikari have just imagined it? No, even if her mind had played a cruel trick on her and forced the maiden to hear the voice of what she hopes to be her savior, she had reached out with her own telepathy seal to get no response. The seal was still completely operational, so why hadn’t she gotten a response back from Valen?

Before the kunochi could give any sort of response, she heard something from off in the far distance. Echoing through the long stone made corridor on the outside of her cell, one could hear the sound of footsteps approaching. It wasn’t time already again, was it? Hikari hadn’t had the opportunity to sleep since her last session with the Church’s interrogator, and didn’t know if she could take any more without a repose of some sort.

It took about two minutes more before the slender and pale inquisitor got door of Hikari’s jail cell, flanked with his two Queensmen buddies that would help him with his ‘sessions’.

“Hey there, honey.” The Inquisitor would say, a soft but sick smile covered the man’s face as he spoke. Even more than the physical pain the prisoner was forced to go through, the way that the power’s captor treated her like he actually cared for the girl and all these horrible things that was happening was Hikari’s fault.

The deputy kage would feel a lump in her throat as the two guards would step in the room to grab the fuinjutsu expert and take her off to who knows where.

[Exit]

TWC: 1050

All words to Vim Aeris

Approved Hikari