Night Of The Ironborn (Observation, Open)

From the shore, Kaito had made his way back into the village, having offered his reliable tanto to Okami. In a fevered dream he had of a fight against a faceless puppeteer, he had dreamed of the tanto, and save for the fact that he died in the dream, he knew it would be useful just as soon as Kaito became more powerful. ”I’m about as powerful as dry grass.” Nonetheless, he needed to see what was happening on the outside of the village. As he passed by the village ninja shop, he noticed it was still open, in spite of the rage outside. He went in and asked the owner why he stayed. Strength is the way of the Kumogakure, he said, and if someone out there is strong enough to lop my head off of my shoulders, they’ll be welcome to it. He added he would like to see them try, too. It inspired Kaito; he meant to go watch what was happening, but dying empty handed seemed ridiculous now, in retrospective. He handed the ryo to the keeper and took two blades, a meter long katana and a less than half meter wakizashi. He put the to his belt, adjusting the blades for easy draw and use.

Kaito got to the top of the walls, now observing the toxic bog every Cloud villager grew in. On the battlefield, you could already see corpses, and someone carrying away the mangled body of the boy kage. Kaito clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth, saddened. The boy was just that, a boy, but he had effectively conquered his place at the top of the village hierarchy. ”Power comes in many shapes and forms. Sometimes that shape is a giant in dark armor, sometimes it’s an innocent looking boy.” The Raikage hat stood on the floor, at the feet of someone who seemed to be asking questions to the small crowd of people in front of him. ”I guess that’s who the hat belongs to now.” Something was not right though… it felt as though the new contender, among the corpses, was waiting for something more. And something more showed up.

From one of the corpses a massive surge of chakra came up; one didn’t need to be chakra sensitive to feel the air tightening and the pit of their stomach sinking; one might not be able to know what was happening, but the body’s natural instincts knew. Something Kaito never thought he would see slithered its way into existence and into the field of view. A tailed beast jinchuuriki had died on these fields, apparently, because a tailed beast morphed into view, and Kaito’s face paled immediately. ”I bought these swords to die fighting, but, would I even be able to approach that thing before it crushed me?” Kaito counted the tails. One, two, three… four… five, and six. The Six Tailed Beast. Kaito didn’t know which was worse. The tailed beast… or the fact this new contender was likely the responsible party for killing his kage and a jinchuuriki.

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Observation topic for the Night Of The Ironborn topic.
WC: 521

The tension was high, you could practically cut it through the air of the night. The six tails gazed at what one could almost safely assume to be the murderer of its host, but its intentions were nebulous and indecipherable. Was it going to run away from the field of battle? Would it go on a rampage into the Kumogakure, or focus the brunt of its attack on the last man standing? Would the last man standing let it go if that was its wish, or would it face it to try and seal it within himself, and just wreak havoc with the ensuing fight?

Movement to his side made his head move towards the source, and he saw his younger twin sister walking towards him in the ramparts of the village walls. Kaito thought it rather weird, since he didn’t have a twin sister, or even a sister. However, her red hair was rather similar to his in color, except maybe a shade livelier. Uzukatis… or whatever is their name.” The name was Uzumaki but Kaito didn’t memorize the name, he only ever heard it a few times. She handed him a flask of something, and Kaito wasn’t about to deny it. He picked it up and brought it to his lips, drinking a generous gulp of the fiery liquid.

“If we have to die, it might as well be with a good taste in the mouth. Thanks”, he thanked her and handed her the flask back. He didn’t feel like dying next to a stranger, though. “Name’s Kaito.” As he breathed, he could feel the whiskey working its wonders through his system and his lungs, and maybe it would be what he would need to jump into the fray. Better to die with weapon in hand rather than standing still. ”If I’m even able to fight, or draw a weapon.”

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WC: 312

Kaito nodded his head in agreement with the girl; he too could think of better tastes. His mind eloped away into his kitchen, and the former cook thought of a rich fillet mignon, craftily separated from the rest of the tenderloin as the speartip most prized meat cut, at room temperature and well dried, rubbed generously with rock salt and crushed peppers, then seared in a cast iron pan for a couple of minutes on each side, basted with rosemary and garlic flavoured butters, rested for ten minutes to keep the juices within and finish cooking, sliced against the grain of the meat and kept tender, served with roasted vegetables… now that's flavor.

The cook turned warrior was uncertain whether he would be able to taste anything of the sort again, or if he'd die with the flavor of whiskey in his mouth. "Not the worst of flavors either." Kaito heard the girl's name; both red heads, both had names starting on K… now all it needed was for her to be a disgraced restaurant owner and the coincidences would be creepy enough. "Personally I'd loved to have met at a bar or in a kitchen, but we don't always get to choose what happens, only how we deal with it." That being said, Kaito started feeling apprehensive of his calm. Was he ready for death and accepted it, welcomed it even, as an old family friend finally coming to pick him up from his sleepover in this passing world, or did he just not understand the gravity of the situation?

He looked at the giant slug. It did feel like a dream, but he could feel the mass of chakra. Kira advised not to do anything stupid, and Kaito nodded once again. "I can't promise anything. I'm brave, to be sure, but not very intelligent." What else would you call someone who put all his eggs in the same basket while dealing with loan sharks. The burnt remnants of his restaurant would've answered that with taunting silence.

Alas, the warrior at the center of Kumogakure's attention recognized the beast's presence, and walked towards it. A battlecry filled the air, not a challenge -- a demand, a contractual obligation signed by his life and to be written off by one of their deaths. A warrior's death, yes, Kaito thought, the sentiment resonating within him and reverberating throughout his being, the air around suddenly electrifying and washing over him in religious bliss. What good is it to grow old and frail, lying in a hospital bed surrounded by strange faces, why not die in the glory of battle, your body at its peak performing form, your name to be uttered in reverence for years -- nay, aeons to come! Kaito's breath picked up, his pulse accelerating, his pupils dialated and his mouth became dry; all his senses had been awakened and readied for battle, and now he crossed his arms, unable to join this fight between behemoths. Had there ever been written a sadder story than the warrior who couldn't?

"Well, looks like we're about to find out how dire the circumstances of our meeting truly can be."

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WC: 527