Ep.12 Azuki's Sudden Passing : Embrace Death

Mission 1:

Azuki  lost focus as the languid water and suds drenched his hands. The soft stain of red flowing down the drain of the sink. He felt distant. His sight fleeting,blurry and wavering.Again and again his blood soaked with the blood of others. He cranked his neck to see Kimiko one of the captured enemies of the invasion. All four arms bound along with the sealing juts used to keep her at bay.  Even with the new realization and revitalization  of his spirit he felt no remorse. A killer at heart of course he felt nothing.

In total ,they had suffered no major losses.The system did as intended, prevailing with less then eighty casualties. With a seamless retaliation Kurogane's forces were slaughtered one like one. A flash of warmth snatched his focus back to reality. That was right he had access to his Atman. It fully dispelled the negative chakra plaguing his soul. Junko's affection and friendship had simply smothered the curse. Stirring the power within himself until it grew along with his will and strength. The cognitive dissonance dispersed like a elusive fog. His mind felt free to wonder and ponder the new information. He shut the water off and peered inside the cell with a sigh. He was given the information required after only forty minutes of interrogation. "Rusty..." He muttered on his breath. He stormed out leaving the Kage Tower until it became a object in the distance. It had only been 16 hours since the attack, a high alert order still active.

Luckily after a forty minute discussion with Kimiko he was given several reference points. A list of names and choke points within the village. Kurogane was taking advantage of allowing every stray and bandit within the village. It was becoming a weakness at this point with the ease of access. It was worthless to bring up, yet it still twisted a knot in his stomach. He knew better than to waste his time on fruitless matters. This would have to be a matter discussed with a meeting. He was the only chancellor left and Junko along with Nori... whatever the fuck her name was. The bodyguard she had hired and some of the trusted shinobi. "Such a shit show." He had been more verbal now than ever. Learning to accept there was nothing wrong with self expression. In the coming days he would continue to explore himself.

It wasn't just the curse he had limited himself too. It wasn't all an excuse, he wasn't  running away from his emotions. He truly could not feel what was muddled. Drowned beneath the surface of only rage and blood lust. Of course he was divided in his spirit. But it was not all for naught. He looked over his equipment wearing the majority of it on his person. Armour, sealing bracers, even utility ware along with an assortment of weapons. The rest he hid in Junko's Office inside of a scroll. His invention or so he deemed Phase 0 was attached at his hip. First he would patrol the village from end to end while rendering aide when possible. Or so he thought until thunder and storms were birthed by the dark cloudy sky.

WC:537

Azuki turned on his heel after walking away from the tower. A tugging urge encroached his soul compelling him to turn back. Kimiko was too valuable a hostage. Even with the overwhelming security he was inclined to be safe. He shifted and tugged at the equipment he wore. It had been years since he last wore armor. He typically wore only clothes as to drag down his speed in combat. Yet as of late the benefits were akin to boons. Not only did he second and tertiary layers of defense; he now had jutsu to use in conjunction. A powerful defense went hand in hand with overwhelming offense.

Upon returning to the entrance of the tower he peered across the building. His head followed a strange meticulous pattern sweeping over all in his sight. Up and down left and right, once completed he continue walking and repeat. He was able to scan the entirety of the building. He skirted around the entire building with no noticeable changes in the environment. With a sudden leap he vaulted 30m into the air and stood on the side of the Kage Tower. Applying his chakra to his feet he knelt before closing his eyes. Holding the seal of confrontation he expanded his senses.

All within 10 was revealed to him. Repeating much of the same process completing a secondary sweep of the area. Due to the undisturbed paranoia he extended the search inside. With his active sensory range of 5m simply exploring the halls was enough. That was until he reached large open spaces within the building. Every so often he opted to stop and use the full 10m. Tedious and tranquil, but it made him comfortable taking the time to do this.

Eventually he would find himself back near the holding cell keeping Kimiko. He explored the room finding no traps or weakpoints. The two guards were able to give testify within their 30 minute log book. He had only left for roughly 30 minutes to search the building.  But written clear as day were no mentions of anything unusual. "Open the cell." He ordered as walked towards Kimiko. He examined the fuin seal and chakra webbing which still kept her bonded. He placed a palm on her forehead sensing her chakra was indeed sealed.

The inside of the cell was clean despite trash like her deserving less. "Lucky your medical ninjutsu saved you." He spat turning to leave the cell. " Keep yourself on guard at all times. Her chakra is weak but she survived our duel with immense healing. Don't let your guard down and check for spiders. She uses them as summons." He said with gentle but firm tone. He had killed enough unsuspecting guards in his lifetime. Every infiltration he succeeded in was due to negligence.

Lastly he made his way towards Junko's office. He went to knock but his brow felled, he hesitated. He activated his sensory noticing the lack of presence. Nothing out of the ordinary either chakra wise. There was still more to be done today. He had the entire village to check, it was going to be a long day.

WC:525 TWC:1,062

With the entirety of HQ cleared Azuki was backed on the beaten path. His new destination was the village market district. He sighed taking in the destruction around him. The attack overall did a number on the infrastructure and integrity of the village. However everyone was hard at work rebuilding. Which was why patrol was more necessary than anything. Rampant carnage always had stealing and looting tailing behind it. His eyes darting left and right assessing all that he could.  

He noticed the lack of shinobi in the area considering the residential districts were prioritized. His head snapped to an alley way with some Missing NInja hassling a young couple. He kept his footsteps silent shifting weight from foot to foot. "You can play fucking stupid or hand over what you have." The tallest man would say. He was big but lean making his that much more underwhelming. The couple cowered with the woman standing on business. "Piss off, some  big oaf can't make demands of us!" She growled as her partner grabbed and shielded her.

Azuki appeared as if out of thin air grabbing the wrist of the large man. "And who the hell might you be." Azuki glared with evil in his eyes ignoring the other two goons. In reality those words pissed him off due to internal turmoil. Hell he didn't have a real answer, there was no sense of self other than official titles. He squeezed followed by a crunch making the tall bandit kneel and squeal like a pig. "Do you want to die?" He asked them a soft smile forming on his face. He used his free hand to signal the couple to leave. They would only get in his way.

He waited until they left when one of the trio of idiots tried to run. Azuki flicked his wrist sending forth the chakra wire. It snatched the ankle's of the man but he didn't pull it taught. "Sit boy." He yanked his foot back letting the man crash face first into the ground. "Be honest do you think I have to time for this." The man fought tooth and nail to get away. But he was took weak to fight against the power of his wire.

"Please...please mercy please." The tall man pleaded his voice quivering and trembling. Azuki blinked profusely before he chuckled. "Explain  this to me, why do people do the things they do, I'll wait." He snapped at the man bound in wire. "I need a chair posture up." Azuki kicked him with a sigh as he got on all fours.  He crushed the tall man's arm with a clean break before sitting. " It just does not make any semblance of sense. I mean you choose to this in a village with 96% activity. I mean quite literally the majority of our forces are all within the village. A shinobi village at that." He pondered the more he thought about the idea.

"Like are you just stupid, your mother dropped you on the head. What led you to believe that dumb, dumby, and dumbass had a chance?" Azuki waited perplexed at the mutual complexion. They all exchanged glances through a moment of silence. He shook his head wrapping the other two by the ankles dragging all three with him. He would continue down the center of the road drawing wandering eyes as he went.Unfortunately the market square was use to seing Azuki kill and hunt missing ninja on the regular.Especially the spectacle that landed him in the hospital. He was far stronger than he was then. Such carelessness was beneath him.

WC:601 TWC: 1,663

Due to his usual tenacious shenanigans, most of the civilians didn't bat an eye. It was as if the bandits dragging behind him were invisible or simply just trash to tag along. Azuki waved back to those halting their work to say hi. "Lord Azuki." He peered towards the voice that called out to him. His eyes perked up despite his relaxed expression. "Ms. Oba, are you ok?" He exclaimed with warmth as he walked towards her, with a gentle bow to pay respect to his elder. He dragged the whining bandits to the side so as not to clutter the road.

"Yes, yes... our dear shinobi protected our shop. We were lucky to avoid much of the damage." Ms. Oba ran one of the few weapon shops in the village. She was a blacksmith by trade, as was her lineage. Azuki didn't sense another presence nearby, prompting his next question. "Raion and Kuze..." He paused, a tinge of concern painted over his face. She held up a hand as if to pause the growing concern.

"Oh ho, don't fret, Lord Azuki. Those two are down at the square serving out rations. Shall we eat, young Lord?" She took some wobbly steps forward and latched on to him. Without a word, he began to walk alongside her. The three goons still dragged behind as decoration. Looking down at Ms. Oba, he wondered if he could ask for insight. Who else to ask but his elders? Even while cursed, it was not as if he had an aversion to asking for aid, at least in the form of information and understanding things that were foreign to him.

He melted into a latent, sullen state, bearing the front of shame. "Ms. Oba, may I ask you for some advice? I've never had anyone to ponder things with before. My master, before he died, only ingrained into me the essence of combat. My life trifled with adversity and struggle; I've never been able to understand myself." He choked on the onrushing thoughts that bubbled to the surface. "I understand this persona I am, what fabrications make up my core. I've been constrained to violence for the sake of others."

He didn't fully let his guard down as his eyes still scanned the streets. "Essentially, I've only done things for others, yet never for myself. I have power and courage but no will." Ms. Oba chuckled at the dilemma, making Azuki smirk in response. He knew it wasn't condescending and came from a place of good faith. "Almost everyone shall get lost on the path of life, young man. Such is the way of the human experience. The simple solution is to try new things. Explore and try new experiences and find out for yourself. You don't know until you know." She chimed with a warm smile. "When it comes to relationships and people, you have to meet people and determine how interactions make you feel. Only then will you know." Azuki mulled over the words of his elder again. He would do so with no bias. After dropping Ms. Oba off at the meal station, Azuki went off to jail the missing nin and turn in a report. He had much else to work on.

WC:542 TWC:2,205

Claiming Rewards:  Ryo     2000+ 3000= 5000 total Ryo,    AP :10

2,205 WC 25% Discount

Damage Reduction Shield 1313 WC B Rank
Chakra Aneshesia 392 375 WC
Basic Medical Nin  17/500 WC

5 Stats  Vigor to Chakra   500 WC

95Vigor   30 Chakra

Azuki Shinoda wrote:

WC:542 TWC:2,205

Claiming Rewards:  Ryo     2000+ 3000= 5000 total Ryo,    AP :10

2,205 WC 25% Discount

Damage Reduction Shield 1313 WC B Rank
Chakra Aneshesia 392 375 WC
Basic Medical Nin  17/500 WC

5 Stats  Vigor to Chakra   500 WC

95Vigor   30 Chakra

Approved