KageYuuki
(╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻
The wealthy silk merchant Kazushige Iori has requested the services of a member of the Uchiha Clan. You are to serve as a bodyguard for himself and his family while they're on vacation at Yuwaku Beach.
Side Story: the Client from Hell - Complete
- Thread starter KageYuuki
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KageYuuki
(╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻
Yuwaku Beach, a famous resort city on the southern coast of the Land of Fire and rightfully so. With its white sand beaches, crystal waters, and world-class restaurants, it attracts swarms of tourists from around the world nearly year round. Though with the sheer number of tourists coming and going trouble was bound to follow. Just over a year ago a squad from the Leaf had broken up a human trafficking ring operated by a city official.
Yuuki stood and stretched as the train slowly pulled into the station. He wasn’t here for something as exciting as that, nor was he in town for a nice vacation. The Uchiha had been sent to act as a bodyguard for a wealthy merchant and his family. A boring job, but at least he’d get to enjoy the city while working.
To no surprise the train station was packed, the sound of people trying to talk over one another made it hard to hear anything else. Yuuki didn’t linger, heading to the hotel to meet with the mission’s client Kazushige Iori.
The Hisegawa Resort was arguably the finest accommodation in Yuwaku, it was certainly the most expensive which to some people was what actually mattered. Since the Hotel owner’s role in busting a local ring of kidnappers the resort had enjoyed a long period of good publicity and was more prosperous than ever. The lobby had recently undergone some light renovations with new, marble tiling and luxurious, leather armchairs that had actually been handmade by a famous, local designer.
No one in the lobby seemed to really appreciate their surroundings. The crowd of families in brand name, summer tourist gear and business types in expensive suits seemed wholly absorbed in their conversations or other affairs.
“Mr… Uchiha?” The voice sounded harried and tired and its occupant looked slightly out of place in the expensive lobby. The man was wearing a suit, but a much cheaper one than was the norm and his large, unfashionable glasses and meek demeanor gave him the air of an assistant or staff person rather than appearing to be a guest.
“You... are him? I just have to confirm for… Oh, I’m Mr. Kazushige’s aide, my name is Atsushi, umm-”
Pulled from trying to take in his surroundings, Yuuki faced the rather meek looking man. “Yeah, that would be me.” He found himself idly wondering if this would have been one of the few missions it was actually a good idea to wear the clan’s emblem. Before remembering none of his shinobi gear bore the symbol. It almost felt odd wearing his headband while out of the village.
“Good, good, wonderful. Umm, is there some way you could positively prove your clan identity? It’s just Mr. Kazushige was very insistent on hiring an Uchiha and he can be very umm.. Particular when it comes to matters such as this,”
Yuuki raised an eyebrow, that was definitely a fact the mission’s description hadn’t mentioned. “Uhh yeah, sure.” The crimson hue of the sharingan overtook his dark eyes, “Any… particular reason he needed an Uchiha?”
“Ohh my! That is... A confronting hue. Wonderful, marvelous,” Atsushi took a handkerchief out from the breast of his suit and dabbed at his shining forehead. “Umm, so Mr. Kazushige is obviously terribly important and so.. Well, perhaps it’s best if he explains it all. I’ll take you up to his suite,”
Atsushi it turned out, was uncomfortable with silence so as he and Yuuko took an elevator up to the penthouse level he chattered on about Kazushige’s business in the silk market, including his most recent successes buying out a competitor and downsizing them massively to turn a better profit.
“After that Mr. Kazushige decided a vacation was in order- to spend more time with his family you see-” Atsushi said, as he led Yuuki down the hallway towards the family’s room, he was about to continue speaking when an angry voice cut him off
“NO, I SAID SELL! SELL! YOU INCOMPETENT FOOL! GET DOWN THERE AND CHANGE THE ORDER! CHASE DOWN THE MESSENGER BIRD IF YOU HAVE TO!”
The door to the room was flung open and another aide, this one female, scrambled out and rushed past Yuuki and Atsushi.
“DADDY I’M BORED!”
“I WANT TO GO SHOPPING!”
“I WANT TO GO TO AN AMUSEMENT PARK!"
A torrent of high pitched complaints followed the aide out from the now ominously open doorway. Yuuki stood there in silence for a long moment, not daring to venture inside just yet. From the sounds alone it was like the mission with Sachiko all over again. Easily the closest he and Hideki had ever come to abandoning a mission altogether.
Setting his jaw, the Uchiha finally ventured inside. “Mr. Iori, I take it?”
Inside the hotel room was an odd combination of opulent luxury and anarchic chaos. Sumptuous silk bedsheets had been ripped from two beds and trampled under foot, a sophisticated looking mini fridge had been left open, with a ransacked bowl of tiny candy bars lying upside, wrappers scattered around it. A black, leather couch was occupied by an elegant woman idly flicking through a magazine and next to her two children, a boy and a girl jumped up and down belting each other with pillows, their mouths smeared with chocolate.
In the corner of the room, a table of rich, brown mahogany had been taken over with various papers and other trappings of business and a tall man in a suit sat, studying them distractedly.
“So you’re finally here, three minutes late. Time is money kid, my money since I hired you. I need ya to get the brats out of my hair for a while, take ‘em somewhere, they got holiday money to spend,”
Yuuki blinked, trying to take in the mess. Then came the order, “Are… you mistaking me for someone else, perhaps?” It wasn’t like he’d even glanced at the Uchiha when they came in. “I’m Yuuki Uchiha, from the Hidden Leaf. You had contacted the village looking for a bodyguard while you were on vacation.”
“I know who ya are I fucking hired ya, didn’t I? And I hired you so you do what I need and right now I need my bodyguard to get my kids out of my here while I finalize this fucking merger!”
“Is this really a good idea?” Commented the woman who must have been his wife from the couch. “He’s rather scruffy looking, will it be a good look sending our darling little angels out with him?”
“I don’t... Look right now our ‘darling little angels’ are driving me INSANE! And I need to finish this merger or- what? You think vacations like this just grow on trees? No I work and I earn money and I pay for ‘em. Just like I fucking paid for you!” Kazushige said, jabbing a finger in Yuuki’s direction. “So get moving already!”
Yuuki took a slow breath, Kazushige would have saved far more money hiring a team of genin for the D Rank mission this was instead of shelling out for a chuunin on a B Rank. His lip twitched slightly, but he still relented, “very well.” A handsign and a clone formed, “but I’m leaving a clone here.” Sure, it couldn’t inform him of something going wrong, but it had enough chakra to summon quite a few blades. Stall an attacker should one appear.
He doubted one would.
The Uchiha turned towards the pair of…. Energetic kids, “Come on, you two.”
The two children took one of Yuuki’s hands each and began leading him back towards the elevator and down to the ground level, continuing their arguing all the while.
“WE’RE GOING SHOPPING!” Declared the girl hotly, pulling on Yuuki’s hand to the extent that it sent her two pigtail bouncing. “I want the new Yuwakuhime doll, the one with the new hat! And a new dress- and a pony- and-”
“NO WAY PONY’S ARE DUMB!” Yelled the boy, tugging on Yuuki’s other arm. “WE’RE GOING TO THE AMUSEMENT PARK! I WANNA RIDE THE GIANT ROLLERCOASTER AND PUNCH THE CLOWNS!”
Despite the kids’ tugging, Yuuki didn’t seem to move all that much. Though he could already feel the beginning of a headache. “It’s not that late in the day, we have time for both…” Maybe, not like he was given a timetable or anything.
“SHOPPING FIRST!”
“NO AMUSEMENT PARK FIRST!”
Despite Yuuki’s attempts at peacemaking the struggle continued unabated, the children seemingly unphased by the ineffectiveness of their tugging. He took a slow breath, the thought of using another clone crossed his mind, but they had no way of quickly relaying info back to him. It was already bad enough he had to leave a clone with the client. Maybe he should look into better clones later…
“Alright, look, why don’t we flip a coin?” Yuuki suggested after another round of fruitless tugging, “Heads we go to the mall first, tails it’s the park.”
“NO WAY!” said the boy vehemently. “Papa says compromises are for losers!”
“It’s even in his book, The Craft of the Deal," the girl chimed in. "‘It ain’t a good deal unless you’ve taken the other bastard for all he’s got,’” she said, in a reasonable approximation of her Father’s crude speech.
Yuuki raised an eyebrow, “So you’d rather one of you went completely unhappy instead of you both getting to do what you want?” He scoffed, “We could just as easily do neither option I suppose…”
“B-But Papa hired you!” said the boy, his voice quivering with indignation. “You gotta be nice to us!”
“I was hired to protect you, not to babysit. Now we could stand here arguing all day, or could go do the things you two want.”
Yuuki stood and stretched as the train slowly pulled into the station. He wasn’t here for something as exciting as that, nor was he in town for a nice vacation. The Uchiha had been sent to act as a bodyguard for a wealthy merchant and his family. A boring job, but at least he’d get to enjoy the city while working.
To no surprise the train station was packed, the sound of people trying to talk over one another made it hard to hear anything else. Yuuki didn’t linger, heading to the hotel to meet with the mission’s client Kazushige Iori.
The Hisegawa Resort was arguably the finest accommodation in Yuwaku, it was certainly the most expensive which to some people was what actually mattered. Since the Hotel owner’s role in busting a local ring of kidnappers the resort had enjoyed a long period of good publicity and was more prosperous than ever. The lobby had recently undergone some light renovations with new, marble tiling and luxurious, leather armchairs that had actually been handmade by a famous, local designer.
No one in the lobby seemed to really appreciate their surroundings. The crowd of families in brand name, summer tourist gear and business types in expensive suits seemed wholly absorbed in their conversations or other affairs.
“Mr… Uchiha?” The voice sounded harried and tired and its occupant looked slightly out of place in the expensive lobby. The man was wearing a suit, but a much cheaper one than was the norm and his large, unfashionable glasses and meek demeanor gave him the air of an assistant or staff person rather than appearing to be a guest.
“You... are him? I just have to confirm for… Oh, I’m Mr. Kazushige’s aide, my name is Atsushi, umm-”
Pulled from trying to take in his surroundings, Yuuki faced the rather meek looking man. “Yeah, that would be me.” He found himself idly wondering if this would have been one of the few missions it was actually a good idea to wear the clan’s emblem. Before remembering none of his shinobi gear bore the symbol. It almost felt odd wearing his headband while out of the village.
“Good, good, wonderful. Umm, is there some way you could positively prove your clan identity? It’s just Mr. Kazushige was very insistent on hiring an Uchiha and he can be very umm.. Particular when it comes to matters such as this,”
Yuuki raised an eyebrow, that was definitely a fact the mission’s description hadn’t mentioned. “Uhh yeah, sure.” The crimson hue of the sharingan overtook his dark eyes, “Any… particular reason he needed an Uchiha?”
“Ohh my! That is... A confronting hue. Wonderful, marvelous,” Atsushi took a handkerchief out from the breast of his suit and dabbed at his shining forehead. “Umm, so Mr. Kazushige is obviously terribly important and so.. Well, perhaps it’s best if he explains it all. I’ll take you up to his suite,”
Atsushi it turned out, was uncomfortable with silence so as he and Yuuko took an elevator up to the penthouse level he chattered on about Kazushige’s business in the silk market, including his most recent successes buying out a competitor and downsizing them massively to turn a better profit.
“After that Mr. Kazushige decided a vacation was in order- to spend more time with his family you see-” Atsushi said, as he led Yuuki down the hallway towards the family’s room, he was about to continue speaking when an angry voice cut him off
“NO, I SAID SELL! SELL! YOU INCOMPETENT FOOL! GET DOWN THERE AND CHANGE THE ORDER! CHASE DOWN THE MESSENGER BIRD IF YOU HAVE TO!”
The door to the room was flung open and another aide, this one female, scrambled out and rushed past Yuuki and Atsushi.
“DADDY I’M BORED!”
“I WANT TO GO SHOPPING!”
“I WANT TO GO TO AN AMUSEMENT PARK!"
A torrent of high pitched complaints followed the aide out from the now ominously open doorway. Yuuki stood there in silence for a long moment, not daring to venture inside just yet. From the sounds alone it was like the mission with Sachiko all over again. Easily the closest he and Hideki had ever come to abandoning a mission altogether.
Setting his jaw, the Uchiha finally ventured inside. “Mr. Iori, I take it?”
Inside the hotel room was an odd combination of opulent luxury and anarchic chaos. Sumptuous silk bedsheets had been ripped from two beds and trampled under foot, a sophisticated looking mini fridge had been left open, with a ransacked bowl of tiny candy bars lying upside, wrappers scattered around it. A black, leather couch was occupied by an elegant woman idly flicking through a magazine and next to her two children, a boy and a girl jumped up and down belting each other with pillows, their mouths smeared with chocolate.
In the corner of the room, a table of rich, brown mahogany had been taken over with various papers and other trappings of business and a tall man in a suit sat, studying them distractedly.
“So you’re finally here, three minutes late. Time is money kid, my money since I hired you. I need ya to get the brats out of my hair for a while, take ‘em somewhere, they got holiday money to spend,”
Yuuki blinked, trying to take in the mess. Then came the order, “Are… you mistaking me for someone else, perhaps?” It wasn’t like he’d even glanced at the Uchiha when they came in. “I’m Yuuki Uchiha, from the Hidden Leaf. You had contacted the village looking for a bodyguard while you were on vacation.”
“I know who ya are I fucking hired ya, didn’t I? And I hired you so you do what I need and right now I need my bodyguard to get my kids out of my here while I finalize this fucking merger!”
“Is this really a good idea?” Commented the woman who must have been his wife from the couch. “He’s rather scruffy looking, will it be a good look sending our darling little angels out with him?”
“I don’t... Look right now our ‘darling little angels’ are driving me INSANE! And I need to finish this merger or- what? You think vacations like this just grow on trees? No I work and I earn money and I pay for ‘em. Just like I fucking paid for you!” Kazushige said, jabbing a finger in Yuuki’s direction. “So get moving already!”
Yuuki took a slow breath, Kazushige would have saved far more money hiring a team of genin for the D Rank mission this was instead of shelling out for a chuunin on a B Rank. His lip twitched slightly, but he still relented, “very well.” A handsign and a clone formed, “but I’m leaving a clone here.” Sure, it couldn’t inform him of something going wrong, but it had enough chakra to summon quite a few blades. Stall an attacker should one appear.
He doubted one would.
The Uchiha turned towards the pair of…. Energetic kids, “Come on, you two.”
The two children took one of Yuuki’s hands each and began leading him back towards the elevator and down to the ground level, continuing their arguing all the while.
“WE’RE GOING SHOPPING!” Declared the girl hotly, pulling on Yuuki’s hand to the extent that it sent her two pigtail bouncing. “I want the new Yuwakuhime doll, the one with the new hat! And a new dress- and a pony- and-”
“NO WAY PONY’S ARE DUMB!” Yelled the boy, tugging on Yuuki’s other arm. “WE’RE GOING TO THE AMUSEMENT PARK! I WANNA RIDE THE GIANT ROLLERCOASTER AND PUNCH THE CLOWNS!”
Despite the kids’ tugging, Yuuki didn’t seem to move all that much. Though he could already feel the beginning of a headache. “It’s not that late in the day, we have time for both…” Maybe, not like he was given a timetable or anything.
“SHOPPING FIRST!”
“NO AMUSEMENT PARK FIRST!”
Despite Yuuki’s attempts at peacemaking the struggle continued unabated, the children seemingly unphased by the ineffectiveness of their tugging. He took a slow breath, the thought of using another clone crossed his mind, but they had no way of quickly relaying info back to him. It was already bad enough he had to leave a clone with the client. Maybe he should look into better clones later…
“Alright, look, why don’t we flip a coin?” Yuuki suggested after another round of fruitless tugging, “Heads we go to the mall first, tails it’s the park.”
“NO WAY!” said the boy vehemently. “Papa says compromises are for losers!”
“It’s even in his book, The Craft of the Deal," the girl chimed in. "‘It ain’t a good deal unless you’ve taken the other bastard for all he’s got,’” she said, in a reasonable approximation of her Father’s crude speech.
Yuuki raised an eyebrow, “So you’d rather one of you went completely unhappy instead of you both getting to do what you want?” He scoffed, “We could just as easily do neither option I suppose…”
“B-But Papa hired you!” said the boy, his voice quivering with indignation. “You gotta be nice to us!”
“I was hired to protect you, not to babysit. Now we could stand here arguing all day, or could go do the things you two want.”
KageYuuki
(╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻
After a tense coinflip and a fair bit of sulking from the loser, the trio arrived at Paradise Park, a combination water park and conventional theme park. The park was a kaleidoscope of color, sounds, and smells. Little wooden stalls painted brightly clashed with mascots in garish costumes, jaunty music blared out through loudspeakers and intermingled with thousands of chattering voices and a sickly sweet potpourri of cotton candy, caramel popcorn and other tooth annihilating treats ensnared the nostrils. In short, it may have very well been a paradise for children but it was an almost perfectly engineered hell for parents or anyone else who happened to have been roped into the role of guardian.
“HEY THERE KIDS WOULD YA LIKE A BALLOON?” Asked someone holding onto an enormous bunch of balloons almost as soon as Yuuki and the children entered the gates. The person was entirely obscured inside an enormous and probably sweltering white, rabbit costume but based on their cracking voice it was probably a teenager not much older than Yuuki.
“No I want all the balloons,” said the girl, who had eventually introduced herself as Ai. “Give me them,”
“Well uh it’s one balloon per guest little lady,” said the teenager in the rabbit costume, trying to keep his tone light.
“I DON'T CARE!” Shouted Ai, stomping a tiny foot. “I want them! I’ll buy them off you,” she said, rummaging in her shoulder bag and coming out with a handful of crisp, high denomination bills.
In truth, Yuuki had never visited an amusement park before. Sure, there were the festivals that happened in the Hidden Leaf and other places he’d visited, but rides had never really been a thing. The food at least seemed familiar, along with the games. He couldn’t help but chuckle at the ever-present signs banning the use of chakra with the sukui games.
Yuuki raised an eyebrow, tilting his head at Ai’s display. “And how do you expect to carry them all?” He scoffed, keeping his hands in his pockets, “there’s enough of them to make you float away.” Now that he thought about it, didn’t Hideki know a jutsu that could make someone lighter? Kinda wish I knew that right about now…
“Who cares balloons are dumb!” Said Yuuta, the boy, running up to kick the mascot in the shins. “Rabbits are dumb too!”
“YOU’RE DUMB!” screeched Ai, swinging her bag off her shoulder to pelt Yuuta with it while he landed a flurry of ineffectual punches on the beleaguered mascot.
It had only been an hour and already Yuuki felt his patience waning. How was he supposed to get through a week of this? I wish I was better at genjutsu… He quickly snatched the pair by the shoulder, pulling them back. “The two of you are making complete fools of yourselves, you know that?”
“See!?” Yuuta shot at Ai as he wriggled in Yuuki’s grasp. “You don’t even want balloons! You just buy all this stupid stuff cause it makes people pay attention to you!”
“He was talking to YOU, idiot!” Ai spat back, “You just break stuff and hurt people cause YOU want attention!”
“I’m talking to both of you,” Yuuki quietly hissed. While it answered a few questions, the new information did little to soothe his frustration. “Now come on, before you make an even bigger scene.”
Not having much choice in the matter as they couldn't free themselves from Yuuki's grip, the children allowed themselves to be lead away from the hapless greeter.
The trio wandered through the park for a while in relative silence as the children sulked. They passed more costumed employees putting on various shows, a few of the smaller rides like merry go rounds and bumper cars. Finally, the three of them ended up near the lineup for “The Bone Disassembler" The park’s headlining rollercoaster and Yuuta eyed Yuuki carefully.
“Huh,” the Uchiha glanced up at the ride’s starting hill. From what he’d heard about her, Mai would probably like this one. Katsumi would probably cry at the sight of it. Then again, she probably would have cried at the sight of the greeter too… Wonder what Nagisa would think of it? Hell, would he even enjoy it? He could basically fly…
Noticing he was being stared at, Yuuki looked over at Yuuta. “Hm?”
“C-can we still ride it?” Yuuta asked, averting his eyes hastily. “Even though we ‘caused a scene’?”
“It looks scary,” Ai said, looking uncertain.
Yuuki studied him for a moment, the sudden hesitation had definitely caught his attention. “Would be a waste of time to have come out here and then not try any of the rides. I’m not going to stop you if you want to ride it, but I won’t make you either.”
“C’mon it won’t be that scary,” Yuuta said reassuringly.
“If Daddy was here I wouldn't be scared,” Ai said, which caused them both to lapse into an awkward silence.
“Well… if we go on the rollercoaster, we can tell Dad all about it afterwards,” Yuuta said after a while, patting his sister on the shoulder. “I bet he’ll be super surprised!”
“...Okay,” Ai said after a moment, slipping her hand into her brother’s.
Yuuki watched the pair before quietly heaving a sigh, his hands back in his pockets. So they’re like me with dad…. Just… much, much worse. Not that he hadn’t done stupid stuff in the past to try and get recognition from his family, sensei, friends…
From Nagisa...
The line for the coaster took about twenty minutes, leaving plenty of time to study its layout. Like most coasters it began with a massive peak that would generate enough momentum to power it through the rest of the course. The long drop lead into a series of sharp, banking turns, then a corkscrew. After that the coaster actually dropped down through a tunnel that had been dug out for it, before rising back up to conclude with a series of dramatic, full loops.
Ai and Yuuta barely squeezed over the “you must be this tall to ride” sign so the three of them were bundled into a cart that began trundling its way up to the top of the peak. It was just before the coaster was about to pull over the crest when the object, thin, grey and flashing in the midday sun, came hurtling through the sky towards Yuuta’s head.
Yuuki snatched the ornamental knife from the air, the blade barely an inch from Yuuta’s face. His heart skipped, paper was wrapped around the weapon’s handle. An explosive tag?
No… no, his sharingan showed no chakra flowing through the slip of paper. Yuuki growled under his breath and sealed the knife away. A menacing aura seeped from the Uchiha as he glared in the direction the attack came from.
The ground below was swarming with people, but it wasn't clear which of them had thrown the knife, the perpetrator blending in with the crowd. Then the coaster started moving downhill to the delighted screams of the other passengers, making it impossible to keep an eye on the area.
“W-was that part of the ride?” Yuuta asked shakily.
“No,” Yuuki continued to watch the crowds with harsh red eyes. Quickly moving to a somewhat more sheltered area he unsealed the knife, pulling off the note to read it.
HOHOHO
If you foolish children want to see your father alive again, bring one million Ryo to the top of the rollercoaster at midnight tonight
HEHEHE
And come alone, or the deal’s off, we don’t wanna deal with any troublesome adults!
“Dammit,” he snarled, quickly weaving several handsigns before closing his eyes and focusing. He activated a tag that had been embedded in the paper clone left back at the hotel room.
Clairvoyance
Even through the narrow lense of Yuuki’s tag, it was plain the hotel room had been attacked. One of the glass doors had been shattered, the couch overturned. The twins’ mother was crying into her arms where Kazushige had been and the man himself was gone.
“You’re in danger,” was all Yuuki said before striking out at the siblings, sealing them away in the bands on his wrists. The shinobi himself soon vanishing in a flutter of papers. It wasn’t long before the numerous sheets flitted in through the shattered door, reforming back into Yuuki. “Mrs. Iori,” his voice was level as he took in his surroundings. Examining the damage more closely.
There wasn't too much information to glean from the battered room. The door had been kicked in and upon closer inspection the window had been smashed from the inside, the kidnappers had gone in quietly then chosen a dramatic exit over wrestling their victim down several flights of stairs or through an elevator. The only other item of interest was stuck to the wall where Yuuki’s clone had been standing. It was a little blob of something bright pink, sticky and sugary smelling.
“Mrs. Iori,” Yuuki repeated, moving closer to examine the blob still clinging to the wall. There were very faint traces of chakra on the blob, as though it might have once contained more chakra, but there was too little for any sort of technique to be active any more. “How many were there? What did they look like?” The paper clone may not have been overly powerful, but regular thugs wouldn’t have been able to dispatch it. If only the clone could have relayed what happened to it… Betting sensei knows a way to do that.
“There… there were two of them,” Mrs. Iori said shakily, dabbing at her eyes with a handkerchief. “At first they looked like hotel employees but then there was a puff of smoke and they turned into…. Clowns. One of them blew a… a bubble at the other you, the um clone and it exploded, the other grabbed my husband and they both leaped out the window,”
Clowns? The hell? Yuuki let out a frustrated sigh, running a hand through his hair. If only he had actually been there, chances are he could have stopped them. With a tap, he unsealed the twins, the pair able to have heard everything so far. “They’ve already demanded a ransom,” he held up the note thrown at Yuuta. “A million Ryo, even have the nerve to demand the kids deliver it.”
“MOM!” Yuuta and Ai shouted simultaneously, rushing over to hug their Mother, who embraced them back in turn.
“Wh- I can organize the ransom money -of course- whatever it takes to get my husband back… But the kids? They can’t- it’s not safe!”
“No, it isn’t.” He sighed, leaning against the back of the couch. They clearly had some kind of training as shinobi, there was a chance they could see through a transformation.
“We… We wanna save Daddy,” Ai said quietly, looking up from where she had buried her face in her Mother’s side.
“Y-Yeah! Even if it’s not safe!” Yuuta said, backing his sister up.
A deep frown crossed Yuuki’s features, he idly tossed a kunai in his hand in an attempt to think. “The kidnappers probably wouldn’t react well to them not going… ugh, what a damn mess.” Even with his eyes closed, he seemed to have little issue in catching the weapon without getting hurt. “Sending them might be our best option… I’ll be able to hide in the ransom money so they wouldn’t be going alone.”
“Isn’t there some other way?” asked Mrs Iori, her voice quavering.
“It’ll be okay Mom,” Yuuta said, with a false smile. “I wanted to punch a clown anyway remember?”
“HEY THERE KIDS WOULD YA LIKE A BALLOON?” Asked someone holding onto an enormous bunch of balloons almost as soon as Yuuki and the children entered the gates. The person was entirely obscured inside an enormous and probably sweltering white, rabbit costume but based on their cracking voice it was probably a teenager not much older than Yuuki.
“No I want all the balloons,” said the girl, who had eventually introduced herself as Ai. “Give me them,”
“Well uh it’s one balloon per guest little lady,” said the teenager in the rabbit costume, trying to keep his tone light.
“I DON'T CARE!” Shouted Ai, stomping a tiny foot. “I want them! I’ll buy them off you,” she said, rummaging in her shoulder bag and coming out with a handful of crisp, high denomination bills.
In truth, Yuuki had never visited an amusement park before. Sure, there were the festivals that happened in the Hidden Leaf and other places he’d visited, but rides had never really been a thing. The food at least seemed familiar, along with the games. He couldn’t help but chuckle at the ever-present signs banning the use of chakra with the sukui games.
Yuuki raised an eyebrow, tilting his head at Ai’s display. “And how do you expect to carry them all?” He scoffed, keeping his hands in his pockets, “there’s enough of them to make you float away.” Now that he thought about it, didn’t Hideki know a jutsu that could make someone lighter? Kinda wish I knew that right about now…
“Who cares balloons are dumb!” Said Yuuta, the boy, running up to kick the mascot in the shins. “Rabbits are dumb too!”
“YOU’RE DUMB!” screeched Ai, swinging her bag off her shoulder to pelt Yuuta with it while he landed a flurry of ineffectual punches on the beleaguered mascot.
It had only been an hour and already Yuuki felt his patience waning. How was he supposed to get through a week of this? I wish I was better at genjutsu… He quickly snatched the pair by the shoulder, pulling them back. “The two of you are making complete fools of yourselves, you know that?”
“See!?” Yuuta shot at Ai as he wriggled in Yuuki’s grasp. “You don’t even want balloons! You just buy all this stupid stuff cause it makes people pay attention to you!”
“He was talking to YOU, idiot!” Ai spat back, “You just break stuff and hurt people cause YOU want attention!”
“I’m talking to both of you,” Yuuki quietly hissed. While it answered a few questions, the new information did little to soothe his frustration. “Now come on, before you make an even bigger scene.”
Not having much choice in the matter as they couldn't free themselves from Yuuki's grip, the children allowed themselves to be lead away from the hapless greeter.
The trio wandered through the park for a while in relative silence as the children sulked. They passed more costumed employees putting on various shows, a few of the smaller rides like merry go rounds and bumper cars. Finally, the three of them ended up near the lineup for “The Bone Disassembler" The park’s headlining rollercoaster and Yuuta eyed Yuuki carefully.
“Huh,” the Uchiha glanced up at the ride’s starting hill. From what he’d heard about her, Mai would probably like this one. Katsumi would probably cry at the sight of it. Then again, she probably would have cried at the sight of the greeter too… Wonder what Nagisa would think of it? Hell, would he even enjoy it? He could basically fly…
Noticing he was being stared at, Yuuki looked over at Yuuta. “Hm?”
“C-can we still ride it?” Yuuta asked, averting his eyes hastily. “Even though we ‘caused a scene’?”
“It looks scary,” Ai said, looking uncertain.
Yuuki studied him for a moment, the sudden hesitation had definitely caught his attention. “Would be a waste of time to have come out here and then not try any of the rides. I’m not going to stop you if you want to ride it, but I won’t make you either.”
“C’mon it won’t be that scary,” Yuuta said reassuringly.
“If Daddy was here I wouldn't be scared,” Ai said, which caused them both to lapse into an awkward silence.
“Well… if we go on the rollercoaster, we can tell Dad all about it afterwards,” Yuuta said after a while, patting his sister on the shoulder. “I bet he’ll be super surprised!”
“...Okay,” Ai said after a moment, slipping her hand into her brother’s.
Yuuki watched the pair before quietly heaving a sigh, his hands back in his pockets. So they’re like me with dad…. Just… much, much worse. Not that he hadn’t done stupid stuff in the past to try and get recognition from his family, sensei, friends…
From Nagisa...
The line for the coaster took about twenty minutes, leaving plenty of time to study its layout. Like most coasters it began with a massive peak that would generate enough momentum to power it through the rest of the course. The long drop lead into a series of sharp, banking turns, then a corkscrew. After that the coaster actually dropped down through a tunnel that had been dug out for it, before rising back up to conclude with a series of dramatic, full loops.
Ai and Yuuta barely squeezed over the “you must be this tall to ride” sign so the three of them were bundled into a cart that began trundling its way up to the top of the peak. It was just before the coaster was about to pull over the crest when the object, thin, grey and flashing in the midday sun, came hurtling through the sky towards Yuuta’s head.
Yuuki snatched the ornamental knife from the air, the blade barely an inch from Yuuta’s face. His heart skipped, paper was wrapped around the weapon’s handle. An explosive tag?
No… no, his sharingan showed no chakra flowing through the slip of paper. Yuuki growled under his breath and sealed the knife away. A menacing aura seeped from the Uchiha as he glared in the direction the attack came from.
The ground below was swarming with people, but it wasn't clear which of them had thrown the knife, the perpetrator blending in with the crowd. Then the coaster started moving downhill to the delighted screams of the other passengers, making it impossible to keep an eye on the area.
“W-was that part of the ride?” Yuuta asked shakily.
“No,” Yuuki continued to watch the crowds with harsh red eyes. Quickly moving to a somewhat more sheltered area he unsealed the knife, pulling off the note to read it.
HOHOHO
If you foolish children want to see your father alive again, bring one million Ryo to the top of the rollercoaster at midnight tonight
HEHEHE
And come alone, or the deal’s off, we don’t wanna deal with any troublesome adults!
“Dammit,” he snarled, quickly weaving several handsigns before closing his eyes and focusing. He activated a tag that had been embedded in the paper clone left back at the hotel room.
Clairvoyance
Even through the narrow lense of Yuuki’s tag, it was plain the hotel room had been attacked. One of the glass doors had been shattered, the couch overturned. The twins’ mother was crying into her arms where Kazushige had been and the man himself was gone.
“You’re in danger,” was all Yuuki said before striking out at the siblings, sealing them away in the bands on his wrists. The shinobi himself soon vanishing in a flutter of papers. It wasn’t long before the numerous sheets flitted in through the shattered door, reforming back into Yuuki. “Mrs. Iori,” his voice was level as he took in his surroundings. Examining the damage more closely.
There wasn't too much information to glean from the battered room. The door had been kicked in and upon closer inspection the window had been smashed from the inside, the kidnappers had gone in quietly then chosen a dramatic exit over wrestling their victim down several flights of stairs or through an elevator. The only other item of interest was stuck to the wall where Yuuki’s clone had been standing. It was a little blob of something bright pink, sticky and sugary smelling.
“Mrs. Iori,” Yuuki repeated, moving closer to examine the blob still clinging to the wall. There were very faint traces of chakra on the blob, as though it might have once contained more chakra, but there was too little for any sort of technique to be active any more. “How many were there? What did they look like?” The paper clone may not have been overly powerful, but regular thugs wouldn’t have been able to dispatch it. If only the clone could have relayed what happened to it… Betting sensei knows a way to do that.
“There… there were two of them,” Mrs. Iori said shakily, dabbing at her eyes with a handkerchief. “At first they looked like hotel employees but then there was a puff of smoke and they turned into…. Clowns. One of them blew a… a bubble at the other you, the um clone and it exploded, the other grabbed my husband and they both leaped out the window,”
Clowns? The hell? Yuuki let out a frustrated sigh, running a hand through his hair. If only he had actually been there, chances are he could have stopped them. With a tap, he unsealed the twins, the pair able to have heard everything so far. “They’ve already demanded a ransom,” he held up the note thrown at Yuuta. “A million Ryo, even have the nerve to demand the kids deliver it.”
“MOM!” Yuuta and Ai shouted simultaneously, rushing over to hug their Mother, who embraced them back in turn.
“Wh- I can organize the ransom money -of course- whatever it takes to get my husband back… But the kids? They can’t- it’s not safe!”
“No, it isn’t.” He sighed, leaning against the back of the couch. They clearly had some kind of training as shinobi, there was a chance they could see through a transformation.
“We… We wanna save Daddy,” Ai said quietly, looking up from where she had buried her face in her Mother’s side.
“Y-Yeah! Even if it’s not safe!” Yuuta said, backing his sister up.
A deep frown crossed Yuuki’s features, he idly tossed a kunai in his hand in an attempt to think. “The kidnappers probably wouldn’t react well to them not going… ugh, what a damn mess.” Even with his eyes closed, he seemed to have little issue in catching the weapon without getting hurt. “Sending them might be our best option… I’ll be able to hide in the ransom money so they wouldn’t be going alone.”
“Isn’t there some other way?” asked Mrs Iori, her voice quavering.
“It’ll be okay Mom,” Yuuta said, with a false smile. “I wanted to punch a clown anyway remember?”
KageYuuki
(╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻
Paradise Park looked very different at night. The moonlight cast a pale, sinister pall over the formerly bright and happy colors, the plastic decorations and statues cast bizarre, sinister shadows. Yuuta and Ai made their way slowly into the park, their hands clasped together over the handle of an expensive, leather briefcase.
“Where do we go?” murmured Ai nervously, then she started as a floor light near them suddenly flickered on. Seconds later another light further away flickered on as well, then a third until a path deeper into the park was completely and obviously illuminated. After exchanging a nervous glance, the twins steeled their nerves and continued on, towards the roller coaster they had ridden earlier that day.
The rollercoaster loomed over the rest of the park like a shadowy leviathan, as the twins approached, however, a series of spotlights lit up, illuminating it with beams of yellow light. The beams of light converged on the apex of the coaster, revealing three figures, with one kneeling on the rails and struggling vainly.
“HEHEHEHEHE So glad you could make it kiddies,” said one of the standing figures, cackling into a loudspeaker he was holding.
“HOHOHOHOHO Welcome back to Paradise Park!” said the other. It was difficult to totally make out the details of the two figures, but they seemed to be dressed in shimmery, baggy clothes and pointed hats.
“All you have to do to get your dear old dad back is ride the coaster up here, hehehe”
“As long as you have our modest fee you’ll all be free to leave in one piece! Hohoho,”
With no other choice, the twins boarded the coaster, the heavy safety bar coming down and locking them into their seats automatically. With a groan the coaster kicked into action, slowly carrying the twins and their precious cargo up to the top of the ride.
“Kids! What are you doing here?!” Kazushige asked in disbelief, as the coaster finally slowed to a halt next to him and the kidnappers. Kazushige had some bruises and cuts and looked haggard, but appeared to have no serious injuries.
“We came to save you Dad!” Yuuta said, provoking an open-mouthed stare from his Father.
“Hehehehe such a touching family reunion,” said one of the kidnappers. Up close it was obvious Mrs. Iori’s description of the kidnappers as clowns was not entirely inaccurate. They were both dressed in baggy overalls, one wearing green over red and the other wearing red over green, their faces were both painted white, with splashes of bright red over the eyes and mouth that turned their expressions into sinister, grinning rictuses.
“I-it’s right here in the bag,” Yuuta said shakily, lifting the briefcase up and out of the coaster.
Yuuki waited for one of the kidnappers to start reaching for the briefcase before making his move. In a puff of smoke and a flurry of papers, he appeared with two clones. The first sealed the twins once more before tearing off, the second clone dove for Kazushige as the real Yuuki struck at the attackers. Flames glowed in his palms, vaguely forming the shape of kanji.
Fire Release: Branding Style: Seal of the Spider Bite
“Hoho treachery!” the two kidnappers leaped backwards to avoid Yuuki’s strike, backflipping away seemingly into thin air until clown in green overalls wove some hand seals.
Bubblegum Ninjutsu
From the clown’s mouth emerged several brightly colored orbs, chewing gum by the looks of it, that floated in midair. The two kidnappers landed on a bubble each while others of varying size and color simply floated around, obscuring the space between Yuuki and the clowns.
The other clown reached into his sleeves, producing a handful of ornate knives matching the one that had been thrown at Yuuta. The knives hovered in midair for an instant before they flew simultaneously at Yuuki, his clones and the Ioris.
Manipulating Attack Blades
Yuuki studied the sudden wave of bubbles, This must have been what they used to kill that first clone. He was silently thankful for the sharingan’s perception, snapping out shuriken to intercept the knives headed his way. Summoning another two handfuls of shuriken, he started to work through a series of handsigns.
Having formed wings to aid in their escape, the fleeing clones used the strengthened paper to bat away the incoming projectiles. “Annoying bastards,” one muttered before giving a sharp beat of his wings, flinging a storm of paper shuriken.
Paper Drizzle
Both clones dove then, looking to get as much distance between them and the battle as they could.
The real Yuuki finished his own handsigns, releasing the shuriken towards both clowns. The air in front of the weapons seemed to distort slightly.
Temporal Shredders
The clown in green overalls waved a hand and two of the larger bubbles moved to intercept the paper shurikens and Yuuki’s temporal shredders. The shredders passed straight through the bubble, twisting it unnaturally and causing it to pop so that the clowns were forced to jump to new bubbles.
However, the paper shurikens impacted with the other bubble, passing through one wall of the bubble and bouncing harmlessly against the reverse so that they were trapped inside the bubble.
Inhaling Bubble Technique
“Hehehehe did you know this Uchiha boy? It’s bad news if you swallow bubblegum, but bubblegum has no trouble swallowing you!” cackled the green overall clown, weaving some more handseals. The bubble containing Yuuki’s shurikens shuddered and then violently launched them back at him in a rapid-fire stream.
Meanwhile, the red overall wearing clown leaped from bubble to bubble to flank around to the left, drawing two more knives and launching himself at Yuuki with a double slash timed a beat after the paper shuriken attack to make it more difficult to dodge both.
Why the hell does everyone call me that…? Yuuki groaned, watching his own shuriken get thrown back at him. With the use of kai, he released his jutsu on the paper shuriken, while it did nothing for their speed they weren’t going to hit nearly as hard.
He sped through another series of handsigns, waiting for the second attacker to get nearly in arm’s reach before taking a breath.
Fire Release: Grand Fireball
The red clown seemed certain to be incinerated but at a gesture from his ally, another bubble sped over to his location and absorbed him, yanking him out of the path of the fireball.
Inhaling Bubble Technique
The bubble was too slow to prevent the red clown taking some damage but it pulled him away in time to prevent him taking a direct hit, before spitting him downwards towards the frame of the coaster where he could find a solid footing.
“Hohohoho, little slow on the cover there brother,” said the red clown with a note of tension straining his jovial tone. The fireball had burned his makeup away and left his face burned a bright red that almost matched his overalls.
“Hehehe, I’m doing my best here, it would certainly be easier if a certain someone didn’t rush headlong into danger, brother,” said the green clown, sounding peeved, he waved his hands and a flurry of bubbles rushed towards Yuuki while the red clown leaped upwards through the coaster’s frame to come up behind Yuuki.
“Tch,” Yuuki scowled at the pair, he knew it wasn’t going to be so easy, but he was still hoping for a little more than minor burns. He watched the new bubbles closely, the patterns of chakra slightly different in each. Don’t know what that third one does, but it can’t be good.
He wove a few handsigns, Yuuki seemingly burst into a large cloud of papers. Preventing his opponents from seeing himself or each other.
Genjutsu: Paper Storm
From the cloud, Yuuki lunged towards the red clown once more, his hands alight with flames as they had been during his first attack. Another Yuuki emerged from the cloud as well, this one moving for the green clown. A few sheets of paper seemed to flake off his body as he moved from safe bubble to safe bubble.
The red clown caught in mid-leap as he was didn’t have any means to avoid Yuuki, so instead, he put his heels together, loosening one show and then launching it at Yuuki with a kicking motion, aiming it towards his eyes to obscure the chunin’s vision
Bakezori
During this momentary distraction, the clown readied his two knives, aiming a thrust at Yuuki’s burning hand to catch it before it could reach his skin and the other for Yuuki’s midsection.
Meanwhile, the green clown looked a little alarmed as the papery Yuuki closed in on him, although he tried to cover it.
“You dare tread on my bubbles? You merely adopted the gum! I was born in it! Molded by it!” He screeched, weaving handseals as Yuuki closed and blowing another bubble with his mouth, keeping it attached to himself as it grew so that it stood between him and Yuuki
“Man, you’ve really got a few screws loose…” Yuuki flung a few kunai at the bubble, detonating the explosive tags tied to them.
“Gah!” Meanwhile, the other clown’s strikes hit home, Yuuki’s face twisting in pain. Though the wounds weren’t bleeding. “You’re… really annoying…” His body started to smolder as he went to grab the clown.
Heavenly Punishment
The red clown was caught up in the clone’s self-destruction, the explosion throwing his charred body towards the ground with a sickening thud. Likewise, the green clown fared poorly as well, his bubble absorbed Yuuki’s kunais, but then they detonated, the force of their explosion burst his absorbing bubble and threw him off his platform, leaving him too stunned to do much to break his fall as he too hit the ground.
Yuuki rubbed the back of his neck, hovering in the air still. Bubble ended up weaker than I thought… But the kids weren’t hurt and Kazushige didn’t seem to be seriously injured either. Floating back to the ground, Yuuki knelt beside the green clown’s body, searching for any clue on who hired them.
Inside one of the clown’s many pockets was a slightly crumpled note.
Hohohoho!
I told you infiltrating the hotel by working there would be a good idea! While I was finishing up my rounds I spotted a shinobi from the Leaf! An Uchiha no less. The guest who hired him must have some serious dough! Even better, later I saw the Uchiha leave with some snot-nosed brat! The fool who hired him must be completely unguarded except for perhaps a clone now! We’ll run in there and snatch him! Then make those brats deliver the ransom so we don’t have to deal with that shinobi. We really need to figure out a better way to communicate while we’re on the job though, I’m starting to worry that passing these notes detailing our plans in explicit detail to each other might be a little incriminating.
“I was such a fool,” said Kazushige bitterly, having made his way over to where Yuuki was to read over his shoulder. He looked a little unsteady on his feet, but Yuuta and Ai were supporting him, each with one of his arms over their shoulders “I hired you to show off my wealth and then ended up putting myself and my family in danger,”
Yuuki sighed and stood. With the two corpses burned and practically splattered on the pavement, it wasn’t exactly a pretty sight. “Well, I wouldn’t call it a job well done, but everyone’s still in one piece. I’ll have some clones clean up this mess here, let’s get you back to the hotel and see to those injuries.” Kazushige certainly wasn’t the best client he’d ever worked with, but maybe the man would finally start on a new path.
“Thanks, I need to cancel some appointments,” Kazushige said shakily, pulling his two children tighter towards him in a loose hug. “We’re gonna spend the rest of our vacation together and under your watchful eye I think. Hell, after all this we could probably do with another one,”
“Where do we go?” murmured Ai nervously, then she started as a floor light near them suddenly flickered on. Seconds later another light further away flickered on as well, then a third until a path deeper into the park was completely and obviously illuminated. After exchanging a nervous glance, the twins steeled their nerves and continued on, towards the roller coaster they had ridden earlier that day.
The rollercoaster loomed over the rest of the park like a shadowy leviathan, as the twins approached, however, a series of spotlights lit up, illuminating it with beams of yellow light. The beams of light converged on the apex of the coaster, revealing three figures, with one kneeling on the rails and struggling vainly.
“HEHEHEHEHE So glad you could make it kiddies,” said one of the standing figures, cackling into a loudspeaker he was holding.
“HOHOHOHOHO Welcome back to Paradise Park!” said the other. It was difficult to totally make out the details of the two figures, but they seemed to be dressed in shimmery, baggy clothes and pointed hats.
“All you have to do to get your dear old dad back is ride the coaster up here, hehehe”
“As long as you have our modest fee you’ll all be free to leave in one piece! Hohoho,”
With no other choice, the twins boarded the coaster, the heavy safety bar coming down and locking them into their seats automatically. With a groan the coaster kicked into action, slowly carrying the twins and their precious cargo up to the top of the ride.
“Kids! What are you doing here?!” Kazushige asked in disbelief, as the coaster finally slowed to a halt next to him and the kidnappers. Kazushige had some bruises and cuts and looked haggard, but appeared to have no serious injuries.
“We came to save you Dad!” Yuuta said, provoking an open-mouthed stare from his Father.
“Hehehehe such a touching family reunion,” said one of the kidnappers. Up close it was obvious Mrs. Iori’s description of the kidnappers as clowns was not entirely inaccurate. They were both dressed in baggy overalls, one wearing green over red and the other wearing red over green, their faces were both painted white, with splashes of bright red over the eyes and mouth that turned their expressions into sinister, grinning rictuses.
“I-it’s right here in the bag,” Yuuta said shakily, lifting the briefcase up and out of the coaster.
Yuuki waited for one of the kidnappers to start reaching for the briefcase before making his move. In a puff of smoke and a flurry of papers, he appeared with two clones. The first sealed the twins once more before tearing off, the second clone dove for Kazushige as the real Yuuki struck at the attackers. Flames glowed in his palms, vaguely forming the shape of kanji.
Fire Release: Branding Style: Seal of the Spider Bite
“Hoho treachery!” the two kidnappers leaped backwards to avoid Yuuki’s strike, backflipping away seemingly into thin air until clown in green overalls wove some hand seals.
Bubblegum Ninjutsu
From the clown’s mouth emerged several brightly colored orbs, chewing gum by the looks of it, that floated in midair. The two kidnappers landed on a bubble each while others of varying size and color simply floated around, obscuring the space between Yuuki and the clowns.
The other clown reached into his sleeves, producing a handful of ornate knives matching the one that had been thrown at Yuuta. The knives hovered in midair for an instant before they flew simultaneously at Yuuki, his clones and the Ioris.
Manipulating Attack Blades
Yuuki studied the sudden wave of bubbles, This must have been what they used to kill that first clone. He was silently thankful for the sharingan’s perception, snapping out shuriken to intercept the knives headed his way. Summoning another two handfuls of shuriken, he started to work through a series of handsigns.
Having formed wings to aid in their escape, the fleeing clones used the strengthened paper to bat away the incoming projectiles. “Annoying bastards,” one muttered before giving a sharp beat of his wings, flinging a storm of paper shuriken.
Paper Drizzle
Both clones dove then, looking to get as much distance between them and the battle as they could.
The real Yuuki finished his own handsigns, releasing the shuriken towards both clowns. The air in front of the weapons seemed to distort slightly.
Temporal Shredders
The clown in green overalls waved a hand and two of the larger bubbles moved to intercept the paper shurikens and Yuuki’s temporal shredders. The shredders passed straight through the bubble, twisting it unnaturally and causing it to pop so that the clowns were forced to jump to new bubbles.
However, the paper shurikens impacted with the other bubble, passing through one wall of the bubble and bouncing harmlessly against the reverse so that they were trapped inside the bubble.
Inhaling Bubble Technique
“Hehehehe did you know this Uchiha boy? It’s bad news if you swallow bubblegum, but bubblegum has no trouble swallowing you!” cackled the green overall clown, weaving some more handseals. The bubble containing Yuuki’s shurikens shuddered and then violently launched them back at him in a rapid-fire stream.
Meanwhile, the red overall wearing clown leaped from bubble to bubble to flank around to the left, drawing two more knives and launching himself at Yuuki with a double slash timed a beat after the paper shuriken attack to make it more difficult to dodge both.
Why the hell does everyone call me that…? Yuuki groaned, watching his own shuriken get thrown back at him. With the use of kai, he released his jutsu on the paper shuriken, while it did nothing for their speed they weren’t going to hit nearly as hard.
He sped through another series of handsigns, waiting for the second attacker to get nearly in arm’s reach before taking a breath.
Fire Release: Grand Fireball
The red clown seemed certain to be incinerated but at a gesture from his ally, another bubble sped over to his location and absorbed him, yanking him out of the path of the fireball.
Inhaling Bubble Technique
The bubble was too slow to prevent the red clown taking some damage but it pulled him away in time to prevent him taking a direct hit, before spitting him downwards towards the frame of the coaster where he could find a solid footing.
“Hohohoho, little slow on the cover there brother,” said the red clown with a note of tension straining his jovial tone. The fireball had burned his makeup away and left his face burned a bright red that almost matched his overalls.
“Hehehe, I’m doing my best here, it would certainly be easier if a certain someone didn’t rush headlong into danger, brother,” said the green clown, sounding peeved, he waved his hands and a flurry of bubbles rushed towards Yuuki while the red clown leaped upwards through the coaster’s frame to come up behind Yuuki.
“Tch,” Yuuki scowled at the pair, he knew it wasn’t going to be so easy, but he was still hoping for a little more than minor burns. He watched the new bubbles closely, the patterns of chakra slightly different in each. Don’t know what that third one does, but it can’t be good.
He wove a few handsigns, Yuuki seemingly burst into a large cloud of papers. Preventing his opponents from seeing himself or each other.
Genjutsu: Paper Storm
From the cloud, Yuuki lunged towards the red clown once more, his hands alight with flames as they had been during his first attack. Another Yuuki emerged from the cloud as well, this one moving for the green clown. A few sheets of paper seemed to flake off his body as he moved from safe bubble to safe bubble.
The red clown caught in mid-leap as he was didn’t have any means to avoid Yuuki, so instead, he put his heels together, loosening one show and then launching it at Yuuki with a kicking motion, aiming it towards his eyes to obscure the chunin’s vision
Bakezori
During this momentary distraction, the clown readied his two knives, aiming a thrust at Yuuki’s burning hand to catch it before it could reach his skin and the other for Yuuki’s midsection.
Meanwhile, the green clown looked a little alarmed as the papery Yuuki closed in on him, although he tried to cover it.
“You dare tread on my bubbles? You merely adopted the gum! I was born in it! Molded by it!” He screeched, weaving handseals as Yuuki closed and blowing another bubble with his mouth, keeping it attached to himself as it grew so that it stood between him and Yuuki
“Man, you’ve really got a few screws loose…” Yuuki flung a few kunai at the bubble, detonating the explosive tags tied to them.
“Gah!” Meanwhile, the other clown’s strikes hit home, Yuuki’s face twisting in pain. Though the wounds weren’t bleeding. “You’re… really annoying…” His body started to smolder as he went to grab the clown.
Heavenly Punishment
The red clown was caught up in the clone’s self-destruction, the explosion throwing his charred body towards the ground with a sickening thud. Likewise, the green clown fared poorly as well, his bubble absorbed Yuuki’s kunais, but then they detonated, the force of their explosion burst his absorbing bubble and threw him off his platform, leaving him too stunned to do much to break his fall as he too hit the ground.
Yuuki rubbed the back of his neck, hovering in the air still. Bubble ended up weaker than I thought… But the kids weren’t hurt and Kazushige didn’t seem to be seriously injured either. Floating back to the ground, Yuuki knelt beside the green clown’s body, searching for any clue on who hired them.
Inside one of the clown’s many pockets was a slightly crumpled note.
Hohohoho!
I told you infiltrating the hotel by working there would be a good idea! While I was finishing up my rounds I spotted a shinobi from the Leaf! An Uchiha no less. The guest who hired him must have some serious dough! Even better, later I saw the Uchiha leave with some snot-nosed brat! The fool who hired him must be completely unguarded except for perhaps a clone now! We’ll run in there and snatch him! Then make those brats deliver the ransom so we don’t have to deal with that shinobi. We really need to figure out a better way to communicate while we’re on the job though, I’m starting to worry that passing these notes detailing our plans in explicit detail to each other might be a little incriminating.
“I was such a fool,” said Kazushige bitterly, having made his way over to where Yuuki was to read over his shoulder. He looked a little unsteady on his feet, but Yuuta and Ai were supporting him, each with one of his arms over their shoulders “I hired you to show off my wealth and then ended up putting myself and my family in danger,”
Yuuki sighed and stood. With the two corpses burned and practically splattered on the pavement, it wasn’t exactly a pretty sight. “Well, I wouldn’t call it a job well done, but everyone’s still in one piece. I’ll have some clones clean up this mess here, let’s get you back to the hotel and see to those injuries.” Kazushige certainly wasn’t the best client he’d ever worked with, but maybe the man would finally start on a new path.
“Thanks, I need to cancel some appointments,” Kazushige said shakily, pulling his two children tighter towards him in a loose hug. “We’re gonna spend the rest of our vacation together and under your watchful eye I think. Hell, after all this we could probably do with another one,”