Let us Dance in the Moon Light

Remika, distracted by the motions of the person in the distance, wouldn’t see the actions of the others, not even noticing the fact that the two other females had came close enough to her for her attention to be caught; it wasn’t until Bali spoke up, offering for them to attempt to catch the person she had seen, “I think so.” Remika nodded, taking off at full speed, her hands waving seals as she moved, her body flickering in a straight line, her field of vision focusing on the closest pin point where she had watched the figure enter into the newest of the houses, Remika would land only a few feet from the house, only slightly crouched in positioning, her eyes watching closely as the figure came flying out of the house and barrelling towards the next target, however Remika was laying in wait just out of view, she would lunge towards her prey, a predator in the night waiting for her meal, her actions were primal,

Any bystander watching would see graceful movements, almost as if she missed her target, but her left hand would swing upwards, catching the back of the figures collar, grabbing a hold of the fabric quickly enough for her to use the momentum to fling the figure towards the closest ally way, sending them flying through the air both in shock and horror, her redden orbs glowing with excitement as she continued her movements, bringing herself closer to the figure, her claws extending outwards as she rushed towards them once again, this time digging her claws into the figures shoulder, the rough smell of iron rang through the air as she fought the urge to bite into the neck of the poor soul she had finally entangled with, using her continuous momentum as her way to fling the figure into the alleyway.

Her eyes continued to burn a hole into the figure, their face obscured by a black mask, their height being far more than Remika, but nowhere near enough to be a problem for the pure blood Kyuketsuki to through around like a rag doll. Remika closed the distance quickly, her voice lower, no longer melodic like it normally was, but rather a horse guttural sound that escaped her lips, her fangs fully out; as she did speak, “Where….Are…You hiding your spoils, thief?” Remika stood still, only being a few feet away from the figures position; still laid on the ground, staring at the Duchess of Blood, fear strewn across their dull grey eyes, panic formed in them, the beat of their heart had increased tenfold from Remika’s actions, it wasn’t often that the pureblood used her abilities, or even bothered to get her hands dirty, but Remika wanted to deal with this situation quickly and swiftly as possible.

However the figure didn’t respond… This enraged the woman, her hatred of having to get her hands dirty with such minuscule work, to the blatant lack of regard for its own life with the lack of response. “Do you not worry for your life?” She questioned the figure that still remained silent… She could still hear the heartbeat, but it wasn’t directly in front of her anymore, which made no sense as the figure remained in front of her… Her eyes narrowing as she swung her right hand, hitting the object in front of her; watching as it puffed up in smoke… Whoever was stealing was skilled in the art of deception… More than she was prepared to like in the current moment, at least. “Cute tricks… But I know something you don’t know.” The sing-songy guttural tone of Remika’s voice rang out, she might not visually be able to see the figure anymore, but she was certainly able to pin point them based off of the sound of their heart beat.

“Fast or slow, tricks or not… The thing in your chest, that pounds like the beating of drums is how I’ll find you.” The pureblood stated, her eyes scanning the alleyway, she knew the distance sound from the beating that the figure was more than close enough to her, only a few feet away, trying to find a way to scurry past her without being seen – Remika locked on to a dumpster, large enough to conceal the figure from her sight, but not large enough to effectively hide it from her grasp.

Remi moved quickly, the silence in her steps would give her the advantage she was looking for, as she quickly grabbed a hold of the collar of the creature once again, pinning it down, her claws and hand wrapped around its throat, the black mask quickly being torn off to reveal the face of a middle aged woman, hair unkempt, a bewildered look on her face as the tears began to stream down it, Remika’s own face still that of horror – Remi would allow her features to dissipate, her fangs and claws retracting as she continued to hold the woman down. “Do you think crying is going to help your situation, peasant?” Remika inquired, but was meant with nothing but silent tears.

The woman cried out, loudly this time for a male, Remika assumed it had to have been her husband, an accomplish in the thief’s, that would explain the speed of which she assumed the figure was moving, there had been two of them all along… And from the sound of it, not too far off, the others had gotten the other one already. “My friends already caught him… And I’ve got you. I wonder which one of you will break easier?” Remika inquired moving her hand down to the woman’s arm, grabbing her wrist tightly as she reefed the limb upwards, pushing it past the point it would bend naturally, but not enough to break it yet. “You’re choices here are simple. Return what you’ve stolen. Have your husband do the same, and I’ll allow you to keep your life, and your arm.” Remika stated, her eyes staring down at the woman who laughed towards the Duchess.

A loud, wet ‘SPAT’, rang through the air as the woman on the ground spit in Remika’s face… The audacity of creatures so much weaker then herself… Remika would quickly press down, the sound of the woman’s arm snapping in the air was almost as joyful as the screams of pain and horror that followed it brought Remika the most joy; the smile that creeped along the Duchess’s face as she was the now useless limb fall to the ground, broken and battered. “You’ve got far more limbs, and this time…” Remika reached down to touch her other arm, “I think I’ll savor this one… Breaking each finger… Then your wrist… Then your elbow before finally your shoulder…” Remika whispered, letting the hand caress her face as her creeped her own fingers up the arm towards its hand. “Oh could you imagine how much fun it would be for us to play for just a little?” Remika huffed out, her sheepish grin growing ever wider as she found the excitement building up.

“FINE! STOP! I’LL GIV E IT BACK… I’LL GIVE IT ALL BACK!” The woman cried, causing Remika to pout just slightly. “That’s certainly what I wanted… But not I don’t get to have fun.” A soft sigh as she got up off the woman, grabbed her collar to drag her upwards. “Time to get you back to your husband… You give back what you’ve taken, then you go get your arm fixed… If you do this in any other way, I’ll find out… And it will be your throat I come for next.” Remika stated, blankly and without emotion, as she pushed the woman out into the street.

The woman would take off towards her husband once they found sights of each other, the grimace on the man’s face towards the woman’s condition was enough to make Remika aware they would listen to their warnings at the very least.

Before Remika could state anything, Iscarot would return to the group, his voice booming as it did, alerting the group to the incoming blizzard and missing husband. This would cause Remika to groan ever so slightly, “It’s always something here isn’t it?” She questioned, before agreeing to the request of assistance in retrieving the missing husband. Sight would be useless for the others in the group, but for Remika, she didn’t have to rely on sight, but rather the sound of beating hearts in a close range distance. “Let us prepare for our mission then.” Remika would state, nodding, “If we are required to travel into the blizzard we should know of what is in the surrounding area, should we need to seek shelter of any kind.” Remika stated, placing her thumb and index finger on her chin as she thought, her tongue pressing against the roof of her mouth as she thought carefully about their course of action that would need to be taken.

Remika glanced around, noticing a strangely dressed man, in what appeared to be a uniform, although it didn’t look like a normal uniform, she gathered that as much, he had to be some type of authority figure within this strange village. Remika would quickly approach them, inquiring about the outside of the village, and the surrounding area, as well as the missing person they were heading out to find. Even though the man advised against it, Remika explained that they were highly skilled shinobi of villages around the world, and could easily handle the situation… That was when the man’s facial expressions changed, “Well… If that’s the case, I can give you a map… And directions… But I also need your help too then.” He stated, explaining that there had been a recent band of robbers going around the wealthy sector of the village, the same homes that could be located just on the outskirts surrounding the village, he circled a specific part of the map, to a large house, stating that he thought they would go to this one next; as it matched the line of actions that they already had taken.

Remika nodded, listening, taking the map and the information, having already agreed to it, she returned to the group with the information, informing them of the secondary task, and the line of houses that they could use for cover should they need it, as well as the group of robbers. “I think we can certainly manage these tasks together, even if it seems a lot, we could even split up to accomplish them if we choose to… But I think it be smarter for us to stay together, especially with the blizzard coming.” Remika noted towards the others, her eyes glancing towards Bali and Rin, before falling back on Iscarot.

“Within the right area,” Remika pulled open the map, as she kneeled down, using her knees to keep it propped open enough for all the others to see, her finger scanning along it, pointing out the house where they suspected the next hit, “If we follow the larger round about to bring us here, we have a decent chance of running into the missing husband… At least I hope.” She stumbled for a moment, she couldn’t understand why he had taken off, knowing the town was blocking the area off because of a blizzard… She certainly hoped that his taking off didn’t give him involvement with the thief’s they needed to catch… It would certainly make things rather awkward… Though she would keep these thoughts to herself for the time being, she didn’t want to damper the mood any more than it already was.

Once it was completely agreed upon, Remika would head out towards the section they already begun to close off due to the storm, hearing the warning of people, the ‘it isn’t safe out there’, ‘there is a storm coming’, all falling on deaf ears, as she had no interest in the pity cries of sane people not wanting to put themselves as risk…

She wasn’t sure what it was... If it could have been the screams that wind proceeded as it flew by them as they walked towards what could very well be impending doom.. Or perhaps it was something else, something deeper and darker hiding out in the tree line that risked the excitement that came to Remika... She couldn’t be to sure... She never could be. She still didn’t entirely trust the land she found herself within... She knew that at the end of the day, she had a mission and a mission that would be carried out with the utmost grace as possible... Even if the people who walked with her didn’t know she was a Kage... even if they didn’t know she was a Noblesse... A Kyuketsuki of the purest bloods... She knew. And that was all that mattered to the Duchess of Blood...

Remika gave a soft sigh, knowing as they inched ever so closer to the end of the road, where the road block began, as the snow picked up ever more fierce than it had before, that most of them would be entering the blizzard blind, the possibility of death via hypothermia was more than possible...  At least for them, not her... Something would need to be alive to be killed by means that were so frivolous. Remika knew, however, that she would need to play her abilities smart, using them only when they needed them the most... Her ability to sense heart beats... Her hearing... her eye sight... Everything about the woman was more superior to the others, but the heart beats... That was her bread and butter... Should she ever loose her eyes... Lose her ability to hear...

She could always sense.

And thus she did, as the bodies of villagers walked past the rag tag group, their beating hearts went with them, silencing the surroundings save for the four individuals that stood around her her. The three within her group, and the final guard that watched the group approach. Something told Remika that this one wouldn’t give them much of a fight, his already slowing blood flow from the coldness of the air, and the decrease in his once steady heart beat made it rather obvious he needed to be relieved and sent packing. “Your Captain sent us. You need to go and report that we’ve made it and sent you off.” Remika stated as she passed by him, he went to go and argue with her, but was greeted with one of the most dirties side eyes, her crimson red orbs staring at him as if she could rip out his throat and eat it right there...

The look may mislead in the fact that she wouldn’t actually do it... As she would quite, in fact rip him limb from limb to feast as she was meant to... But restraint was something that she needed to use dearly in this case. The man would simply nod, giving up before taking off towards the center of the town, her eyes shutting for the first time as she stretched her arms out wide, slowly releasing her chakra from her body, the snow white chakra that radiated off of her would quickly begin to seep downwards spreading out as she searched for signs of life... Any other kind of life. She knew it wasn’t far enough away to make it impossible to reach, the faint sound of thumping... But the moment they’d move, she would quickly loose her spot, almost as if her chakra had been sent flying back towards her. “This way...” She would mutter, heading towards the left, she could feel a heart beating in this specific direction, but she wasn’t able to pinpoint an exact location... They were simple to far away... To many variables that could happen... She needed to think not only of herself in this situation but the group that was with her.

A soft sigh, as the snow crunched under neither of the feet of the group, Remika moved swiftly, making sure to stay within a sight able distance for those behind her as she moved closer towards the beating hearts in the distance, each movement she made towards them, it felt as if they were moving further from her, at a rather quickened speed... She of course couldn’t tell exactly what was happening, but by the actions and sounds of the inconsistent beats, at least two of them were either in trouble or in a fight... Or some kind of issue was happening up ahead, Remika knew that an average middle age man, around the age of 31-40 years old, which was in fact the description of the husband that they had to look for would have a normal beat per minute of around 78.5, however, the heart rate of what she would now call as heart one, stayed in a consistent range of 128 to 142, making Remika think that either this person was scared to death, had recently been beaten up but was still conscious enough to know their surroundings and to be scared about it, or was currently fighting due to the fluctuation of the beats, the others however, heart beat two, as she would refer to it as, compared to the others within the group, who had a consistent average rate of around 81.6 beats per minute, this gave Remika the idea that they were perhaps early twenties, late teens... But heart two, it middle out at a rate of 110, steadily, with little to no fluctuation in its beats... This would give Remika the idea that this heart beat... Would be the one either in the altercation with heart one, or at the very least be in charge of what is happening, thus causing the stress on the heart to increase the beats. She gathered enough that heart two had to be around 21 to 30 years old, but that he wasn’t the boss, since the lack of elevation in the other hearts, made it clear enough they didn’t fear or worry about heart one or two.

Remika found herself chewing slightly on her bottom lip as she remained focused on the beating hearts in front of her and not those surrounding her... Unsure of any conversations that were being had around her at the time, she would completely interrupt anything being spoken about. “We’re getting close... I suspect the building and the missing husband is tied together.” She would state, the wind around them whipping against bodies harsher than it had before, the low visibility was more than apparent when Remika came to a complete halt, crouching down as she attempted to focus her eyesight on the buildings in front of her. She knew by the steady pace of heart beats, along with the increased beats from the others that were grouped up with heart one and two, that they’ve entered a building or location, where the real boss was, the increased beats, ever subtle in change, were more than enough to show that someone with real power laid behind walls of stone. Remika had always enjoyed how fear interacted with the human heart, it was something else, when someone found themselves scared or terrified, the reaction and sway that could be made, the increase of beats, the sweaty palms of nervous men and women... It was all so much for them to bear, but for someone like Remika, someone who hadn’t known fear for a long time... Had she ever known fear? Could a creature like the pure blood Kyuketsuki know fear? Yes, she had... Thousands of years ago, Remika had experienced fear, fear for the unknown, fear for the murder of her parents... She knew what fear was... She didn’t like it. At least not in herself, but since the first time she had felt fear, fear was something she continuously used for her advantage.

She would place her hands into the snow, letting her chakra flow across the ground, searching for traps, searching for a path for them to use to make it across and into the building without notifying anyone else that they had arrived. As the chakra flew across the short span of land and stone and concrete, searching, writhing across snow and mortar, she found her path, it would take them across the court yard, on to the side of the house, over top of the frozen pool... That part could be dangerous if the ice wasn’t frozen enough, but she figured that most of them were shinobi and capable of walking across water if the need for it a raised...With a soft smirk, she realized that they would need to scale the building in the harsh wind, open the window on the third floor, slip in without a sound and descend upon them quickly and without mercy.

Almost as simple and easy of a mission, but it held many complications and unknowns inside of it... She could determine that there was a total of 17 people inside of the building, but she couldn’t determine how strong they were, what abilities they held... She couldn’t determine if they had weapons, as they certainly had traps down... “Listen here.” Remika announced as she turned back, cutting off her ties to the chakra that she allowed to move across the land and building as she began to explain to them what she had sense, the amount of people, the path they would need to take and the unknown pieces that she couldn’t give them.

“I know it doesn’t sound like a simple mission... At least not anymore. But I’m almost positive that one of those bodies inside of the building is the missing husband. I’m also positive the boss of this whole operation is inside of there as well. I don’t think this is a hit house... I think the police had it wrong... I think this is their base.”

Remika wasn’t completely sure of it, it would be strange for robbers to booby-trap the place they were robbing, considering the snowstorm and perfect cover they would have... But based on the surroundings, there was no other heart beats save for those of the three around her... She knew that either if there was more to this group, that they were not within the wealthy sector of the village, which she didn’t think was the case, she figured at most, everyone involved in the little ring of bandits were within that building. Remi would turn to look towards the building, “And if you all are ready.. Or if you want to plan for something... Let us do it now... Otherwise... Let us begin.” Remika stated, eagerly waiting to get inside and tear the people inside of it apart... The wonder and awe of the whole situation was something that the woman simply couldn’t wait much longer for.

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Post Word Count

3816

Total Word Count

6,543

Needed Word Count

6,543 / 12,250

Tagged

@Iscarot Ushitora
@Rin Togakawa
@Baliquis

Mid Thread Claim

Ryo 200,000 + (28 Missions x 15,000 Kage Bonus = 420,000) 520,000
AP 510 x 2 = 1025 (Maxes Remika out. with some change)
Tickets 19,250
Others

• 2x Full Dice (d10)
• 1x Crescent Dice (d6)
• 2x Blank Dice (d4)
• Access to a unique boss event during the next event
• 1x “Golden Ticket” (allows entry into the LE raffle)

[Will wait until thread is completely finished before claiming jutsu, mostly cuz I'm lazy and this was already written for me haha]