Stood before a bed, a young boy no older than eight his form bony and lithe. Stooped over so that his shoulders hunched forwards, his form raised to his tip toes. The sickening green glow of a healer’s touch illuminating the dark room, jittery enough to cast the rooms shadows into a ghastly dance amongst the few flickering candles…

Her body would shake violently, each gasp for breath dragging the wet rag like bag that were covering her head and face, to slap against her mouth causing her to choke, each breath too short yet sweet causing her chest to heave in the process. Another bucket of water, or at least that’s what she would tell herself it was, time and time again. The stench of it; stale and putrid… it’s scent, horridly familiar yet she couldn’t quite place the smell. Again, her body shook. Cold yet terribly hot, her sweat mixing with the, ‘hopeful’ water. Like a puppet, the binds on her wrists would drag her arms from one position to the next, only slacking for a mere second, yet she knew they had taken safety precautions after the last time. She had found that many here were well trained in the art of kugutsu. It being safe to say even without her weaponry she could cause damage, such they could not afford to endure again. Her body like a rag doll would follow her arms lean until upright, peeling from the hard bench that she had been held against. Gentle, an abstract concept in a place such as this. Her knees would crash to the ground almost buckling her, if it were not for the now taught ropes that held to arms outstretched either side of her. Her head would tilt forwards causing the bag to sag, clumps of blood matted lilac strands clinging to her face. Her mouth would remain hanging open as each laboured breath filled her struggling lungs.

One step… two steps closer. The door would creak open, swinging slowly until banging lightly against the wall. The door would rattle just enough to disturb the dust allowing it to shower down before floating about the already stuffy room. That smell, that awfully sickeningly sweet smell, but… what was it? Another step closer…

Her head would raise as her back arched. A strangled and choked whimper would sound muffled through the bad over her head as it stuck to her mouth upon her inhale. Her hands would shift just enough so that her hands could grip around the bindings. She knew what was coming but… when had she passed out? It couldn’t have been for much longer than a moment or two… the whooshing sound of what she would guess to be bamboo, the sound far more preferable from the gagging and choking sound she made, such muting the sound of the flesh on her back split and squelch. Her mouth would clamp shut, breathing deeply through her nose as she ground her teeth. She would make no more noise for then, not willingly so at least. ‘What was it that they had asked again?’ her mind would swim, sluggish and clouded. ‘Not that it matters.’ The sound of shuffling steps would catch her attentions causing her head to turn in the direction of the noise, least her hearing betrayed her. Her head would snap back downwards under the force of a heavy, hard and blunt hit. Once her high cheekbones had been called a blessing, a sign of supposed beauty, coveted by many both old and young. Now a bane as it made it that bit easier for the hit to split the flesh of an older wound simply reopening it.

The boy was shaking… no. crying, the boy was crying. Drawn forwards by a weight in the chest, another step closer, a hand reaching out for a boy. The hand of a mere child’s, another step closer. The scent almost suffocating with each inhale clogging the lungs, filled the room like a humid smog hanging thickly enough in the air that it could almost be tasted…

Dragged back awake as her body became ridged, twitching and flinching a few times before hanging slack, the bindings now being the only things keeping her lithe body upright. Each short-struggled breath came like a knife in her ribs. Feeling the bag be tugged from her head she would blink slowly as her eyes adjusted to the light of the room. Drenched not just with the putrid water but now in a cold sweat of her own. Slowly she would shift in an attempt to straighten herself again only for another bout of electricity to flow into her system, crackling along the puddle that had been created earlier. Each jolt that licked its way through her would cause her body to contort as it flinched before becoming ridged again before feeling the release. For a moment she would struggle to compose herself before picking her blurred gaze up from the sandy stoned floor locking her gaze with one of the offenders, she had seen him many times before, yet it was his limp that gave her pleasure. Pleasure knowing that he might never rid himself of it and she were to blame. “Since you look cognitive again, tell us what you know… or else you’ll have to endure more.” The touch of agitation heavy in every note of his voice. Her body would remain slumped, but she would use what little strength was left with her to give a light shrug, as she did the binding would be tugged tight causing her to wince silently, yet she could not stop the expression from crossing her pale features. “You were apart of the squad travelling with the Tsuchikage, we know that you have information and we want it” She would simply stare up at him, knowing such would only cause him further distress. For such another current of electricity would dance itself along the puddles to fill in along her veins, longer this time than she had remembered having such treatment done. Once it had stopped her body would convulse struggling to hold back the wave of nausea. Then what to her seemed quite sudden her body would drop against the hard ground only such forcing her stomach to churn further as the bile found its from her, burning her throat on its way past, spraying along the sandals of those closest. The uproar caused would earn her another hard hit, this time to the ribs before feeling the bindings dragging her back.

Another step closer to the boy, the child’s hand would curl, gripping his forearm, closest to the young boy’s elbow. Another step to draw level with him before peering down. A middle-aged man in dire disrepair. Sickness had soaked him, welts and boils littering his clammy flesh, open sores and discoloured flesh. The stench was closer now, intoxicating. Each wound oozing as the mixture of blood and puss stained the bedding and his clothing. Coughing and spluttering the man would convulse…

Waking with a start, the room dark and freezing everything bone dry. Her heterochromia orbs would pass over the room looking for water as her tongue grazed over her bloody chapped lips, feeling the flakes f dry blood dislodge in the process. How long had it been since they had been in. her stomach would growl, yet that bothered her far less than how parched she were. A shiver would crawl up along her spine causing her body to spasm from each tinge of pain that showed itself more with movement. Occasionally it would seem like days of silence bar muttering on the outside of the heavy wooden door. The corridor, she had caught glimpses as people entered almost seemed deserted, growing quieter and quieter as time passed. Did this mean that they were leaving? Her miss matched orbs would close as she listened soaking in the cold of the ground as she remained still. Slowly her breathing would become more even as she slipped into an unpleasant slumber.

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Word count: 1354

Sunagakure was alive with the sounds of machinery and crews working to rebuild the village. Cranes and other heavy machinery were at work to clear rubble and help reassemble the pieces of architecture. Leading the effort was Iwagakure. While other villages were more adamant about establishing order and zones within the village, Iwagakure was helping the current residents and eager volunteers that had came back to their homes rebuild. Heading this effort was the Tsuchikage Harichimo Kazako. Every day of the effort we was out and working with the crews to ensure their safety and the progress of the efforts. Some days were easy and went off without a hitch as they reassembled homes, other days were plagued with breakdowns or threats from occupying gangs. But so far they had succeeded in rebuilding most of the residential districts and soon they would move on to clearing rubble from the more important areas of the village. Today the crews were tasked with clearing out rubble from a local temple on the edge of the village walls in order for the new governing power to decide what would be placed there.

The job had been going smoothly as Harichimo stood under the main tent across the street from the site in order to supervise. The machine they used to lift rubble from the site was running hot and seemed to want to stutter throughout its first few tasks of the job. Harichimo would wear a hooded tan robe with the Iwagakure symbol embroidered on his front left and largely on the back. His clothes underneath a very light beige top and baggy pants over his boots. He would sip from his canteen as most of the crew watched the machine struggle to pull on a piece of rubble. The machine wanted to quit but shouts from the crew told the driver to push harder until a metallic snap would ring out and the engine of the machine would whirl before slowly dying. Harichimo would shake his head before capping off the canteen and walking out to see what had happened. "That didn't sound good one bit. Can you see what's wrong and how long will this one be out of service for?" He would ask the driver as they got out and looked over the engine. The driver would shake his head before addressing Harichimo. "Looks like she finally had enough. We got a snapped belt and looks like sand in some of the filters. I wouldn't be surprised if she has a leak somewhere from how hot she is running. I will give it a look but I would say she will be down for about two or three hours depending how fast I get it done." Harichimo would nod and look back towards the crew. "Alright everyone this machine will be down for a bit just stay hydrated and give him a hand if you can. Otherwise keep an eye out for trouble and start smashing some of the rubble by hand to carry out ourselves." The crew seemed to understand that routine and would disperse themselves as Harichimo would walk over to a table on the edge of the tent that had a map of the village and markings to represent their progress on the rebuilding effort.



Harichimo would look over and plot what their next tasks would be for the coming weeks. He had circled major building and areas hit hardest during the attack that would be their next major jobs. As he looked over the map he felt two small tugs on the back of his robe. He would turn around and see some resident children, one little boy and an older girl, had walked into the camp carrying a box and another object. The girl would speak first 'Excuse me sir. We found these things on the other side of the wall and thought these might belong to you since some symbols match the one on your back there." Harichimo would smile and take each object in a hand and speak to them as he placed them on the table. "Well let's see what you have found." He looked first at the box which seemed to have some fancy engraving on it but he would put that down to look over what seemed like a headband except for the symbol on the front seemed to be encrusted in rust or sand. Harichimo would begin to work the material away with his thumb before seeing the dull engraving of Iwagakure. It made his eyes grow wide as he thought why an Iwagakure headband would have made its way out here and stay out in the elements as long as this one may have been. He would put the headband down and start to work some of the material off to reveal symbols of the village and a symbol of the last tsuchikage. It made Harichimo's heart skip a beat to have found this box and headband. Harichimo would keep the same tone and turn back to the kids. "Can you point me to where about you found these two items?" The girl would point over to a section of the wall that had been completely torn down and now was an entry point the size of two or three doors across. Harichimo would thank the two children and send them off to play again as he looked back to the objects and called for one of his site foremen. After a minute a bigger burly man with join him at the table and Harichimo would give him instructions. "Keep the men busy something just came up and I will have to go for a little walk." The man would nod and return to the crew as Harichimo would put the headband into the box which was empty and carry it with him as he walked to the spot the children had pointed out.

Harichimo would look around the site and see the small holes in the ground that the kids had dug but he could not tell physically anything with sand not being a terrain that holds secrets. Harichimo would focus some chakra and activate the ANBU sensory technique. He would be able to tell and trace some of the most recent activity and footsteps through this choke point. As the jutsu activated he could see it reveal faint trails that went off in different directions from the entrance. But he could see more went down a faint path behind the buildings and rubble. It was his only hunch that someone had taken these items and planned to sell them to a gang that resides in the alleyways or he finally had a clue to where his friend and the previous Tsuchikage might have gone. He would follow the trail that led him down turn after turn and soon to what he assumed would be an abandoned warehouse. He walked to the end of the alleyway as he saw one of the front doors swing open. He would quickly duck behind some rubble and peek over to see who or what was leaving. He could see one man geared to the teeth with weapons and tools, another man in fancy robes, and two more that dressed plain as if they were underlings. He could hear the two important men talk among themselves. "Have you gotten any word out of that girl yet?" "Not yet sir but she seems on the verge of breaking. Give it another day or two and she will either break from the lack of food and water or her will to press on will shatter like a pane of glass from her punishments" "Good, good. The sooner we can get information on the whereabouts of the Tsuchikage or whoever has him. The sooner we can become filthy rich."



That was enough for Harichimo. He would stand up from his spot and pull the hood more to cover his eyes as he walked towards the men who seemed to take notice of him as he emerged from the alley. "Is that another of your men?" 'No he isn't. Hey you! You need to get out of here unless you want trouble to fall upon yourself and everyone you ever associated with." Harichimo would keep walking towards the two and push the two men aside from the door and reach fro the handle. He heard a sword unsheathe and heard the man threaten. "I guess you just wanted to die today didn't you?" The man would swing the sword and Harichimo would be quick to duck under and pull his knuckle duster from the its holder to go over his left fist. With all the power in his legs Harichimo would stand back up and uppercut the sword wielder to make them land flat on their back in a knockout punch. "Now you open this door. Someone in there has information I need or has someone that belongs to me." 'You are out of your mind if you think I am going to let you in after you just assaulted on of my men." Harichimo would grab the man's collar with his right hand as the two plain dressed men ran off down the alley he had arrived from. 'Wrong answer." Harichimo would throw the man into the rusty door with all of his might. The man had enough momentum to breach the door which fell flat with a loud metallic thud and the man slid across the floor of the warehouse. It seemed to cause a commotion as voices from inside seemed to call for help or to run away from whatever had entered their home.

1620

Her whole body would jerk forcing her back to consciousness from her light slumber. Her heterochromia orbs would cut straight to the door as she remained prone on the ground allowing the length of her form catch the sensation of vibrations from the ground, the echoes and remnants out the outside world. What was that noise…

Yet from a single sound more seemed to erupt, footsteps and voices more alert than she had heard in a long, long time. A smirk would crawl along her features, such action tugging on the scarring and wounds of her lips and cheeks creasing them leading to a gruesome grin as a thought crossed her mind. ‘panic... they’re panicking.’ And panic had indeed seemed to flood through as footsteps grew closer. She would not waste this opportunity no matter the sauce of it, she had a job to do after all. Swivelling her body as that she lay on her right hip before sitting to her rump as much as her bindings would allow. With her rump and lower back against the ground as her back arched, her stomach muscles straining to keep the position, her legs bent so that her right heel touched to her rump as her other sat just a foot away as she waited.

Her wait would be short lived as, she had anticipated, the door to the room that held her burst open. As they opened her bindings would spring to life snapping tight once again as though to restrain her as they usually did, this time however they would simply slide her along the ground a few feet before fighting her form upwards, shifting her freely into a crouch as the doors slammed shut. Two men clad in plain tan clothing stood before her with their backs to her. They were... hiding. Just what had entered this place? The two before her argued amongst themselves in a heated whisper, talking quickly about some attack to the higher ups and how they may be punished if caught, unawares of her presence it would seem, that or they were confident that she could not act against them. She would take this advantage and show them how wrong a room they had picked to hide. ‘the enemy of my enemy is my friend... right?’ though she were still bound, her position gave her the leeway of movements in her legs. For such she would twist her body, allowing her arms to strain as she drew her right foot under her before sliding downwards only to sweep her left leg around with all the force she could muster, sweeping the two off of their feet, quite literally. As the two landed in a crash to the ground she would drag her left leg back before using her position to drive her knee over to connect it to the bloke’s face. Anger and detest would snap into life, like an angry fire raging through her veins. In the shock of the moment the unharmed male would watch in horror as his friend let out a stomach wrenching gurgle. Taeru would only persist this time aiming her hit for the male’s throat as he pushed against the ground to flee from her, his bloody face stricken with a kind of surprised fear. Yet, with force her knee would run true to its course, feeling his windpipe crush under her. The male a mess on the ground would choke spluttering blood up like a fountain into the air to shower back down against his face.

They say that the human instincts function on a fight or flight mechanism when face with that which causes them fear, having said that, the remaining male had evidently chosen flight. His friend not yet dead as gargling noises still churned into the air. He would yank at the door as she remained crouched over the drying before slumping, her first soft landing in a very long time, so much so that a pleased sigh would find its way past her lip’s, yet she did not have the time to enjoy the comfort. Her calculating gaze would shift over the male’s form, seeking out anything and everything she could use.

Spotting a kuni protruding from the male’s pouch, her rump would graze up from the man’s stomach to his chest before turning slightly to give herself room yet careful as the rope bindings cut into her wrists with each of her movements. Drawing her feet up she would place her left heel against the male’s symphysis pubis as her right shifted to the pouch, with ease she would slip her petite hallux into the kuni’s loop before withdrawing it from the pouch with seeming ease. She would shuffle back down to his stomach keeping her foot up as to not drop the weapon before drawing her knee to her bust. She would raise her foot high enough so that she could grasp the kuni. Rotating her hand enough so that she could press the rope before etching away at it. As the bindings gave way her body would slack with them. She would inhale deeply before shifting to stand.

She had taken too long it would seem as the door way crowded with back up or what she would think to be back up. Whatever the panic was, someone had seemed to be getting their staff in order. Clamping the kuni between her teeth her hands would raise to flicker through the signs ‘i, ushi and tori’ and too her surprise she would witness a new set of panic flitter through the group. Silently she would step away to the left of the room as they filtered in. Her gaze would shift to her left hand, more specifically to the stump where her pinkie finger had once resided, though just as a sigh of relief rose to her chest at the fact that she could still form the correct signs for her jutsu whist missing the digit, out of the corner of her eye she would only just catch the movement. One of the group, a rather pretty female, had snapped out of the genjutsu and had moved just in time to assist the male before her out of the jutsu. She would launch herself forwards taking grip of the kuni again in which she had freed herself before ducking and slashing up along the female’s ribs, along with snatching up a familiar item from the women’s belt as the woman attempted to draw her arm down to protect herself after freeing the male. The female would let out an ungodly screech as she clutched her ribs dropping to one side. She was only just in time to snap the tessen Tetsu open to protect her side and hip from the brunt of the hit to her side from the male, yet the hit would still send her crashing out of the room and skidding down the hall way. Leaving the three to file out of the room the female being the first closely followed by the other two. The male that had delivered the kick would curl his arm around the female that were clearly fuming as her pretty face contorted into something quite ugly, spitting her words like venom, “that bitch cut me and stole my fan!” as she pointed. Taeru would turn to sit of her rump only to let out a hoarse cackle before tucking her feet closer as she, for the first time in a long time, pumped her chakra into her weapon, her facial feature would shift back into their normal hard setting locking on the sights of the advancing male as the other two hung back. She was ready and this time she would not fail.

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Word count:1304.
Total word count:2658.

Harichimo knew he was about to poke the hornet's nest with his actions but the prospect of finding what he as after was all the motivation he needed. He would step over the first man who now lay on his side clutching his shoulder. Groans of pain and shots of help rang from the doorway and would be like a call for any underlings to try meet the assailant head on. Once Harichimo stepped inside he saw that most of the open area had been separated and cut off with walls of all different material. The walls seemed flimsy enough and not well constructed at that. Pinholes of natural light from above and lamps on the other sides of the walls lit his path into the warehouse. He could see above what would have been an old walkway that workers would have used to navigate the upper floor of the warehouse. He could hear someone yelling commands for people to head to his location in the warehouse but Harichimo could not see where the person was for now. He would just step forward and follow the walls until he came across another door that seemed just as flimsy as the last one. Voices from the other side seemed to gather and order for people to be ready for him to enter. Harichimo was more then ready as he made his chakra come forth. He made it flow into his arms and legs and intertwine with his muscles in preparation for the upcoming assault. He had hoped to perfect his new jutsu through practice but now was as good as time as any. Once he felt his new power take hold of his arms he was ready to announce his presence to the whole building. Harichimo would approach the door and deliver a swift jab to the dead center of the door to send it flying into two unfortunate lackeys who ended up knocked out and under the door. Harichimo would stand in the door frame and overlook the new situation.

Two men dressed in black robes, not as fancy as the man at the door but still more innate then any else he had seen so far, along with their regiments of six plain dressed men and women minus the two that had just been taken out by the door. Harichimo would pull the hood from his head and let out a firm command. "Your group has something that belongs to me. This will be your one chance to get out of here unscathed. Lead me to where you are holding prisoners and you can all walk away the same you walked in this morning." The two men in black would look at each other and seemingly laugh off his warning. After hearing their leads laugh the six underlings would join in the chorus then one of the robed men would speak. "You don't seem to understand your predicament. We have you outnumbered and more are just going to come up here. You will be overwhelmed and then we will beat you into a submissive little pile until you learn your place. And then sold off to the highest bidder." Harichimo would step out of the door way and into the light more to show who they were really dealing with. The symbols of Iwagakure shined bright on his beige robe and seemed to blind some of the men and women. "And you don't seem to understand who you are dealing with. I am Lord Tsuchikage and I demand you return to me who you have taken from my village ranks." The robed men seemed in disarray at the statement but then grins soon replaced them. "If that is true men then get him. We will be in for twice the amount of money. Take this one alive and down to the torture room. We will get the location of the other one out of this one!" With the command given the six underlings would rush at Harichimo holding rusty kunai and some makeshift weapons.



The first two yelled as they readied to strike at him but Harichimo was faster. With fluid motion Harichimo would use his taijutsu prowess to land punches to the chests of the first two and his jutsu's full power would come forth. Their yelling would be cut short with gurgled grunts as they fell flat. Harichimo would then step forward and land jabs on the last four to leave them in heaps on the ground. Harichimo would end with grabbing the collar of one of the robed men and ending face to face while his other fist floated inches away from the face of the other. The free one would break away and flee out the way Harichimo had come, leaving his comrade to face him. "Point me where to go now and you can run away after him." The man trembled and would point to some stairs that led down deeper to the depths of the warehouse. Harichimo would let the man go to run off after his buddy. He would walk to the stairs that seemed to carry the smell of blood and other unpleasant odors. He would pull up a face cover to try and save his sense of smell as he descended to the depths of the warehouse prison he assumed. He heard some shouts down from some corridors and thought it would be his best bet to see where they came from. 

916/2536

It would seem that from one commotion or another, it had alerted the entire floor to mobilize, yet the noise of movement seemed to come from just one room, only then for the door one down on Taeru’s left-hand side burst open hard enough for the door to slam against the wall, rattling and kicking up dust and sand in its movement. It would seem that the entire contents of the room would spill forth into the corridor, almost blocking the three from view.  Her eye would widen as she watched them face her, yet such was not with fear.  at that moment in time, the corridor felt crowded yet her facial features would remain in a Cheshire like grin, the noise, the voices... so much shouting, it all became muffled to her ears. Though her body felt weak, she felt more power than she had in a long, long time. This was further than she had previously gotten on her escape attempts. Her head would tilt to one side ever so slightly allowing her lank hair to fan out away from her features, her gaze set intently on the huddle of bodies.  The chakra that flowed into Tetsu, a thick ominous green, would set like hot coal along the mesh of the weapon. The mass of people’s attention on her as they attacked, She would simply swipe her tessen diagonally upwards sending forth a This cloud of ash and with it filling the contents of the open space with a mass of screams and the scent of burning flesh. She would wait as some stumbled from the burning cloud of ash, half blinded and disorientated. A shock they clearly hadn’t prepared for.  She would stand, her bare feet making little sound as she dipped in and out, ducking and weaving as the enemy found some stance to fight back having spent less time in the space of her jutsu, leaving their friends to struggle. He would take her time to nip at chunks of flesh with the kuni before slashing deeper with Tatsu.  

As the bodies hit the ground her own form would sway, like dancing she would venture forth, their screams and shouts or groans of those trapped without a visible way out, like a rhythm for her damaged movement, stiff and in comparison, to her usual grace replaced by a stammered movement. Like a child learning to walk, she would stumble to find a grace that she had once almost perfected.  Her left side showing a profound weakness to that of her right side. Each chance she would take out those that came to the cusp of her jutsu, watching it fade quicker than she remembered, knowing that she may not have pumped enough chakra into the jutsu to make it last.  

Those that she had not been able to take out would struggle with their vision long enough for her to dispose of them at various points down the short corridor.  The scent of burning flesh now filling the air, almost masking the other putrid scents that had previously stained the area.  She watched the body of an enemy drop to the ground, still somewhat euphoric and caught off guard her face and chest would connect to the wall stumbling over the cadaver causing her own body to crumple, her left side unable to keep her weight long enough to regain her balance. Looking up just in time for her to roll out of the way of another hit she would roll between the male’s legs before slashing, quick and hard. The male would stumble before dropping forwards onto his hands and knees, yet his feet would remain flat on the ground, the unexpected movement parting the flesh, his achilleas heels damaged beyond repair, he would no longer be able to use what was once his greatest weapons. Now his turn to unleash a screech of shock mixed pain.  

Her eyes would close for but a moment, a futile attempt at taking a breath only for her head to snap to the side making a sickening sound as her mouth filled quickly with blood that in the hit quickly escaped her lips to spry along the dirty ground.  Her head would roll back to look up at the pretty female this time raising her foot to stomp. Taeru would shield her face using her forearm and Tetsu before pushing up to unbalance the women, giving Taeru the chance to scramble and thrust upwards at a diagonal angle so that as she stood she could strike back only for her own form to recoil as pain drove through her form, reducing her to a crouch again as the pretty female stumbled back. It would seem that at the very bock the female had been protected by the screaming male. Further inspection would show that the male who's achilleas heals she had just ruined had used his own body and that of the others to protect the pretty female, for the most part, from Taeru’s jutsu.  

A spasm would wreak havoc along her form dropping her from her crouch to her knees only to take a force filled knee to the underside of her chin, raising her form up some before sending her skidding backwards, only thankfully landing in a heap against one of the cadavers littering the corridor. Sprawled against the corpse with blurred and specked vision her head would rise again, her impaired vision watching the blurred vision of the female stride up to her on when the woman foot applied pressure against Taeru’s left calf did she snap more towards her senses letting out a yelp in protest, her torso would raise only for the women to take seat on Taeru’s hips to keep her down. The women would grasp Taeru’s jaw roughly as she drew her own face closer, “I’m going to kill you, I told you I would, didn’t I? Just like I told you I'd take away your beauty.  You’re a fucking mess.“ The women’s free hand would slip from her belt line and raise to show Taeru, that she held what had been Taeru’s own weapon; Ripa tsume.  The very same weapon that had etched chunks out of her flesh on many occasions since being dragged down into this hellish pit. “Now that no one will stop me, maybe I’ll take your eye this time.” Just as the tip of the blade neared her eye, her gaze would focus beyond the women to the male crawling to prop himself against the wall.  “LOOK AT ME! I wa-” the female had tightened her grip, her thumb finding its way partially into the hollow of her cheek, so thin it threatened to break through as it had done before, yet Taeru would not give her the chance to finish her words as she slashed diagonally upwards and back down like opening and closing her tessen ensuring the deepest gash she could give, the incision starting at the cusp of the women’s jawline where her lobe connected and across the women’s cheek and bridge of her nose, effectively cutting to the bone of the jaw through the thin layer of muscle.  with another ungodly screech, the women would lean away grasping at her own face, Taeru would buck her hips to dislodge the female before grasping her hand that held Ripa tsume and squeezing hard enough for the woman’s grip to loosen. Taeru would push forward to her knees as she retched the weapon away yet taking another sickening boot directly to her chest would wind her, sending her back against the body.  

Pure hatred seemed to drip from the woman’s glair, still gripping at her face, her words coming with a struggle and a slur, “IM GONNA KILL YOU, YOU BITCH.” Like a mirror image, they would launch at one another whilst attempting to stand to get the upper hand. Taking a sharp hit to her shoulder Taeru would strike with Ripa tsume, striking this time beneath the female’s jawline against aiming to damage the muscle, her actions only just quick enough to twist, cutting the flesh again so that it almost mirrored the slash to the other side, his time rendering the female’s jaw, for the most part, useless. For her troubles Taeru would take another hit to the ribs in the process yet they would stumble away from one another both leaning against the opposite walls watching the other as they caught their breath. Taeru's hand, still gripping the curved blade, would rise to press to the ribs of the same side, applying pressure. Thinking that she had the upper hand and could take advantage, the female would launch to strike at Taeru. Taeru would strike upwards with Ripa tsume as she thrust Tatsu; Ripa tsume would finish the job in slicing to give the female almost identical slash wounds about the muscles of her jaw allow it now to hang slack as Tatsu sunk just under an inch into a gap in the women’s ribs. The female would drop back and to her rump, clutching at her jaw as she struggled.  Taeru would lean down, having left Tatsu wedged in the other's ribs, would grasp the women’s ankle as the women kicked out to attempt to protect herself, Taeru’s form would shake with the movement as she held the female’s ankle tightly. Her brow would crease as she placed the curved blade to the back of the female’s knee before pressing and allowing the female to do the damage as she attempted to pull her leg free. Another gargled screech would leave the once pretty women.  

Taeru would straighten up to look about the dimly lit corridor, gods did it stink. She would turn to look back at the mess of the female as she tugged the tessen from her own ribs. Then her gaze would shift to the male, the fear now in his eyes as he watched her.  Sighing she would turn away from the two before trailing her way through the bodies on the ground, opening each door. Each room similar to the one she had been held in, some empty some... not so, yet all devoid of life. Only when she peered into the room from which the main bulk of the mess now in the corridor had erupted did her features twist into a smile. Water, god was she thirsty.  ‘When was the last time I had clean water like this?' She would step from the room, the bucket hoisted to her lips as she gulped the water down, not a care for how much splashed down her chin and chest in the process. Only when needing to take a breath did she draw the bucket away from her lips, gasping for breath. Like bliss for a moment. She would raise the bucket upwards further before emptying the rest of the contents over her face and hair letting it rinse away at least some of the grime. So, caught up in the glee f finding water and the simple noise of it as it drenched the thin fabric she wore, that the sound of a door opening at the top of the stairs, didn’t reach her ears.  

As she placed the bucket down beside the door her attention would turn back to the female whimpering and clutching both her face and the back of her knee. Taeru would reach to grasp a fist full of the female’s hair forcing her up from the ground, dropping Ripa tsume to the ground the female would grasp at Taeru wrist struggling and slipping as her blood coated hands remained too sleek.  Tearu would force the females head back as she placed her left foot against the others collarbone, the tarnish gold band around her ankle rattling in the process. She would reach to take hold of the female’s slack jaw, yet her attention was not with the struggling women in her grasp but with the male, making sure his horror-stricken face watched. “Please, please don’t, please.” ‘Begging?’ Her brow would arch, watching him struggle as he crawled closer to them. Taeru would wait until the male was close enough to almost touch the female before continuing. She would give a rough tug once hearing the crunch and the gagged cry before ripping her arm away, taking with the movement the female's jaw. The sounds again muffling the sound of incoming footsteps. With her ripping movement, Taeru would release the jaw throwing it blindly behind her allowing it to hit the wall somewhere at the stairs end of the corridor.  

Her attention with the male, intent. His whole form seemed to shake, yet he still held enough strength and panic to crawl back away from her as she released the female, allowing the body to slump to the floor, gargling still as she began to bleed out. She would lean to retrieve her blade from the ground as she spoke, “I have questions for you. Your little girlfriend here, I know wouldn’t give me the information I need, but you... you value your life do you not?” she would step slowly watching him crawl towards the very room in which she had been held captive, poetic almost that she might start in there. “You will tell what happened to the rest of my team, where are they?” Her heavily accented voice would come harsh from her throat as though she hadn’t uttered a word in what could have easily been a year.

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Word count: 2288.
Total word count: 4946.

She wouldn’t bother to close the door to the room as she followed the male inside, nor would it take very long to seep all of the information from him that she needed, wanted and more. Standing she would step from the room; the pitter-pattering sound of her steps through the bloody puddles echoing as she left the room, his tongue in her hand and her mind swimming with the information given, leaving his somewhat dissected from behind. Absentmindedly she would slip the males jacket about her from before crouching down beside the female, her body now unmistakably dead and cold to the touch. Rummaging about the once pretty females form she would withdraw not only a set of keys but her other tessen.  Now with both Tatsu and Amai accompanying Ripa tsume, the keys and the male’s tongue, she would raise. Gripping the jacket around her thinly clothed form, she would step slowly through the carnage of her own creation. Her form slowly beginning to shake as she reached the stairs. Her breathing becoming laboured as her chest tightened. Her grip would tighten as she headed up the stairs using her arm as a shield from the invading light. When was the last time she had seen the light?  

The sounds of footsteps thundering towards her would cause her form to flinch as she reached the top of the stairs yet she would continue forwards, moving towards the footsteps before being surrounded. Raising her head to look about the faces of those that now surrounded her, the flood of relief would fuel the growing light-headed sensation,  causing her form to sway on the spot for a moment. Shinobi bearing the symbol of Iwagakure no Sato. She would step forwards, such unexpected by those that surrounded her causing the group flinching back almost in unison, whether it be from the sight of her mutilated form, the stench that rose from her or the uncertainty of whether she would attack it mattered not. She would continue, hope filling her chest as she stepped towards the male so clearly in charge, baring a medical band about his right bicep. Two of the shinobi would step to shield him from her advance, however, he would pause them letting her pass them and as she did so she would place the tongue in the hand of the one that had turned to protest such foolishness. Her left hand would reach out to the medic before her, “The Tsuchikage... is he safe? I need to tell him... I need to apologise.” yet her form would crumple to the ground, the impact only stemmed as the male controlled her fall, lowering to his own knees. Consciousness failing her, when had tears started to leak from her? The mumble of voices fading yet the doctor's voice seemed to sing above the others “Carry her, be careful.” yet she had no strength left to fight as multiple hands groped at her form, yet as she rose she felt as though her body had begun to float, raising upwards into the light.

Later...

Closing the flap to the tent in which they had stored her the doctor would step quickly through the camp, avoiding as many people as possible, his destination so very clear in his curious mind. How had she come by so many horrific wounds? How come some were already healed and others so bare to the elements, how had an infection not taken hold on the clearly withered form? How had she come out alive? The doctor would step back into the warehouse his footing hasty as he approached the stairs. Taking a deep settling breath as he covered his mouth and nose with a cloth he would descend, he needed to see, needed to know... before she reawoke. Yet the sight that met his eyes drew bile into his mouth he would continue stepping through the masses of fly-ridden corpses until he reached the cell at the end. The miss shaped form of a male, limbs missing, strewed across the room, an eye gouged out, disembowelled and his mouth filled to bursting his pieces of himself. The doctor’s stomach contents emptied in the doorway as he crouched down attempting to gain his bearings once more. Queezy he would stagger back to the stairs before scrambling to the warehouse up top, as though staying there he might become trapped amongst the decay and bloodshed.  

Returning to her tent he would sit beside her bed, his hands still shaking as the images of the basement level and the cell stuck in the forefront of his mind. How could he explain this? How would she explain this?  

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Word count: 786.
Total word count: 5732.

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