paixaorpg | Of Ninjas and Underhanded Tactics

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Of Ninjas and Underhanded Tactics

Character(s): Sephiroth, Konan, Zetsu
Content: A meeting that changes everything
Setting: Near Niflheim gate
Time: Late afternoon
Warnings: The beginnings of subterfuge. =D

All was not well within the city. That much was obvious to anyone who read the message boards or the journals.

It was a clear day, not an unusual occurrence in Paixao. The sun smiled overhead as it always did, and what few clouds there were, were the white and fluffy variety. Entirely normal... for Paixao.

The people, however, were anything but. The formerly bright and happy people were anything but, it seemed, and they had every right to be frightened or angry. Someone had killed their mayor, after all. All the evidence pointed to Organization XIII. All of it, from murder to subterfuge to kidnapping and torture. All for no readily apparent reason.

Sephiroth stood about a block from the gate, leaning against a light post as he observed the comings and goings, trying to figure out the best way of breaching that gate, preferably one that would not leave a crowd of dead bodies in his wake.

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Konan was on the move.

Having temporarily removed her Akatsuki robe in favor of a white dress, she was planning on doing a bit of exploration, and perhaps trying to gather information from the visitors here. The citizens were of little use, it seemed.

She decided the best place to start would be at one of the gates, and so, bringing Zetsu along for company, and because between the two of them they were very unlikely to miss any bit of information, she moved quickly, scanning the crowd for anyone interesting.

The tall, silver-haired man certainly caught her attention. She watched him a moment, curiously, and then approached him. Certainly this was no citizen.

"Hello," she said with a small smile. "Are you waiting for someone?"

The unrest of the city's inhabitants--citizens and visitors alike, it seemed--around them was palpable, a sharp, stirring scent that hung in the air and made his nerves all but quiver with anticipation of action. This barely repressed collective urge for something to happen made him only too glad to accompany Konan in her explorations--something he certainly would have done anyway, simply out of duty and respect. After all, she was his superior, he was one of the Akatsuki held most accountable for knowledge acquisition, and he had been here for quite some time. It was the sort of job his livelihood and usefulness depended on, even in a place as strange as this.

They worked well together as a team, admittedly partially because of their unique spying talents, but especially since they both understood the value of personal discretion. While Konan could make due with a simple clothing change, no amount of wardrobe tweaking could hide who Zetsu was. Therefore he had simply decided to adopt a new persona while out and about, a tough but reasonably friendly looking man of solid height and frame, looking rather curiously like a more militaristically-inclined version of Asuma. Or at least--that would be so, if Asuma had decided to have kanji tattooed up the length of the outsides of his arms, stop smoking, and affect a quite generic jounin's outfit.

Zetsu followed Konan, slightly beside and behind her as he was wont to do; the plant-nin swept (invisibly) Byakugan-enhanced eyes over Sephiroth to see what he could glean from the examination, still finding it slightly odd to not have to use his sight to look around and through leaves enclosing him and sharply limiting his field of vision. An easy half-smile rested on his lips despite his slightly martial bearing, and he nodded to Sephiroth as they approached, content to let Konan speak for them both for the moment. After all, she was the one who gained more from being kind than he did--he was quite effective in just assuming a more typical role and allowing himself to be used as he was needed, guided by others to achieve a maximum effect for them all.

Sephiroth saw the two approaching, the woman in her dress and the man in his odd uniform. The former was a shapely young lady of indeterminate age, the latter a rugged looking older man, and they obviously knew one another. Perhaps the man was her bodyguard. Perhaps it was the other way around; Sephiroth was not unfamiliar with the gait of martially inclined people, and both of these had the posture and walk of trained fighters.

His initial observations made, Sephiroth returned the same small smile alongside a polite nod. "No. Simply observing, for the moment. It's obvious the two of you are not natives; what brings you to the gate today?" It wasn't unusual to find people trying to leave the city, for whatever reason. After all, wasn't that why he was here? These two, though he had never seen them, could have such a plan. The man was certainly dressed for a hard trek. The woman, however... A quandary, one that had him wondering.

"Knowing the terrain is always useful," Konan replied truthfully; there was no need to lie about it. "I have not been here long, but it seems there are many interesting people around these gates."

And, if her instincts were right, she had certainly found someone interesting. He had the look of one who was not unfamiliar with battle, and he seemed to have some level of control when it came to expressing oneself properly.

He could prove useful.

Zetsu offered another nod, this time in response to Konan's comments; he had little else to say about the matter, though had Konan expressed her thoughts, he would have agreed with her. He respected her opinions, naturally--she was the second-in-command, after all, and he was nothing if not loyal. Besides that, he trusted her instincts. She was far sharper than almost anyone gave her credit for, and that fact alone made him glad to be on her good side.He took up a relaxed but alert position where he'd stopped, arms casually crossed and fingers roving seemingly by habit. Not over his scars, even--he sported one or two on his face, but there were far more on his arms, like any experienced, close-quarters knife-fighter--, but tracing the lines of the characters that happened to be tattooed on closest to where his hands rested. Let the leaders talk, and he would listen--this silver-haired man had an unmistakable air of authority about him.

"Moreso than usual today," he offered with a slight smile. "Perhaps I can be of some assistance? I've been here a while, and I know most of the city well enough to point out some nice places. And some not-so-nice places."

The woman had a good poker face, he had to give her that. Just the right balance of polite and inquisitive, with a nice side helping of truthfulness. The paper flower in her hair was an odd touch, true, but it wasn't unbecoming. Sephiroth found himself quite liking her, as such things went.

The gentleman, however, was a different story. He had the posture and carriage of a military man, and the scars to prove it, but his fidgeting bore the hallmarks of a nervous twitch. Very attentive, though; maybe he was her partner in more ways than one? It would explain his nervousness, though there was no reason for jealousy if such was the case.

Just goes to show that even a veteran player can miss a few tricks.

"There are always places like that," Konan said with a smile. "Any assistance you could provide would be helpful."

She affected a level of innocence that was a trademark in her dealings with others. If she was underestimated, all the better for her. She preferred working with the element of surprise on her side.

Zetsu turned his gaze a bit more fully upon Sephiroth as he spoke, mild interest evident at his comments upon knowing places nice and not-so-nice. He said nothing, however--it wasn't his place to, after all. He would just let them talk however they would, and see what knowledge he might glean from being an outside observer.

"I'd be happy to show you and your friend around," Sephiroth acknowledged with a nod and a very slight smile. "Anyplace you would prefer, offhand, or would you prefer to just wander about?"

Sephiroth was not fooled by the affectation of innocence, but at least he did not call her on it. If she wanted to play the damsel, he could oblige with the knight - provided her friend didn't beat him to the role.

That friend was a bit of a quandary; he had yet to speak, his bearing was military, and he apparently deferred to the woman in everything. Interesting; perhaps she was, literally, his master? That presented a bit of an odd image, but it wasn't unheard of.

"Perhaps we should start with introductions?" he suggested, finally breaking that last layer of formality. "My name is Sephiroth."

She nodded to him in something of a bow. "I am Hana, and this is Mokuhi Katai, my bodyguard."

Or something like that. Konan moved smoothly over both fake names as if they really were their names; she had an even voice which was useful in such situations; it made her a spectacular liar.

Zetsu offered a small smile of his own, both at the offer of a tour--hah, as if he hadn't seen the entire city already--and the introductions. He waited, of course, for Konan to speak first, and didn't bat an eyelash at being introduced and spoken for; indeed, his expression didn't really shift at all. Rather, he simply bowed once his name was put out there, a small incline from the waist that was deeper and more respectful than Konan's, though certainly not anywhere near as deep as he could have gone. After all, Sephiroth was a stranger, so there was really no need to offer more than a bare formality.

Again he stayed silent, straightening and resuming his previous position as he regarded his companions. Now that the introductions were through, he presumed they were going on that tour? Or did they intend to talk more?

Even if they had intended to speak more, they'd find that they weren't quite as alone as they'd thought. Admittedly, Sinspawn hardly made for the best additions to a conversation, but it cared less about that than about the fact that the there were three people simply standing there.

Admittedly, its arrival was hardly going to be a secret - it was far too large for stealth to be any sort of option - but really who needed stealth when all you were interested in was the death of those who stood in your way.

People like these, for instance.

The first sign that something was amiss was the sudden desertion of the street. The second was the shaking of the ground, and the third was the gigantic shadow that loomed over the three of them.

Sephiroth slowly, calmly turned to face the source of the shadow, and found himself looking at what had to be the -biggest- damn centipede he'd ever seen. Thing had to be the size of the Midgard Serpent, and just judging by that, he knew they were in trouble. Some of his best troops had gone up against that thing, to no avail.

Then again, his best troops weren't Sephiroth.

"Unless the two of you have experience in fighting monsters like this," he said calmly, stepping forward, "I would suggest that you stand back."

With Masamune held in an overhand ready position, he faced the behemoth of a centipede with a calm that was entirely too creepy to have been normal.

Konan was not one to stand back. She did not have conventional weapons, and did not wish to reveal her powers just yet; they were useful for her work, but moreso if they went unrealized. So she felt in her supply for the colored paper, and formed them into dark grey kunai, pulling them from her pockets. They were indistinguishable from one made of metal, and she preferred it that way.

Her stance moved instantly into a more reactive, fighting posture; she would be best off keeping her distance, as she did not know how much power the beast held, but it was certainly large enough to be worrying.

"There are many strange things here," Konan commented, as if this was only a minor annoyance.

Zetsu nodded in agreement with Konan as he looked up at the monstrous insect; somehow, he could tell in his gut that any attempt to communicate would go unanswered. This was not a summon, or a natural beast--there would be no point, he highly doubted that it would listen to him. Rather than immediately reaching for his own weapons, he simply began to form hand seals; after all, he seemed destined to play a supporting role, even and especially in this guise. With that thought in mind, he completed the jutsu.

The ground trembled again, though this time not because of the sin-beast; huge, thick vines tore themselves from the ground, all studded with wickedly sharp thorns about as long as a standard kunai. They burst out in a roughly parallel line surrounding the centipede, and immediately moved, snakelike, to wrap themselves around the beast and plunge their thorns in deep so he could sap away its energy even as it was restrained from attacking them. Let Konan and Sephiroth do the work and get the glory; he would help make it easier and more possible. But in the meantime, he could at least help make sure they got hurt as little as possible; he felt in his own weapon pouch, drawing out a pair of explosive-tagged kunai, and flung them with expert aim; with luck, each would bury themselves in one of the monster's huge eyes and explode, blinding it.

If the Sinspawn had had the capability to think rationally, its thoughts might have resembled Konan's comment - most of the people it had crosses paths with so far had run when they saw it coming and those who didn't weren't usually long for this world. These three looked far more like they could hold there own.

Not that it was terribly bothered by the fact, of course. It just meant that it would have to work a little harder, rearing up the upper third or so of its body even as the vines erupted from the ground, pinning the rest of it to the ground. And while it had little idea that the kunai were intended to explode, it didn't much like the fact they were headed for its eyes, batting them out of their intended trajectory with one of its antennae. Where they landed wasn't important.

Sephiroth smiled a private little smile, more of a half-smirk really, as the others went to work. Knife fighters, one of them good at throwing, the other (so far) apparently a close-range type. And the guy - Mokuhi - was capable of controlling plants somehow, as well. An interesting magic; he'd have to ask about it later.

Right now, he was too busy leading in on the attack.

A ball of flame easily the size of a man led the way, followed closely by the person who had thrown it; Sephiroth moved with speed that rendered him almost invisible, the first and most telling evidence of his passing the large gash opened in the monster's side and the ringing of a well-honed blade against chitinous armor. The fireball, though it had been a feint, was no less dangerous for that; it was still heading directly for the monster.

The rain falling through the shattered dome felt somehow appropriate, a backdrop that gave the whole thing that extra little feeling of realism, a connection that he sometimes found absent in this place.

It was indeed sturdy, but it didn't seem particularly clever, so that would be its downfall. That and that going up against the angel of a God such as Pein was never something one should take lightly. So, her hands moving swiftly through handseals, she felt her feet loosen slightly. It wasn't enough to be noticed, but the soles of her sandals had turned to paper. A few wing-shaped additions enabled her to leap high and take off. It was not as impressive or as maneuverable as her normal wings were, but it would provide her with a better angle.

Again her iron-hard paper kunai were shot at the beast, and she flitted quickly to one side, sending streams of kunai at the monster as if they poured out of her sleeve.

Because they did.

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Of Ninjas and Underhanded Tactics

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