The Shinobi's Path [Shinobigami RP] [CLOSED]

[Rien]

Introduction
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[SIZE=14.6667px]A normal day in Japan, or at least that is what it seems like. Friend and foe pass by each other daily, unbeknownst to each. The year is 2016, modern day. While the population is almost entirely Japanese, there are many of which they consider “gaijin” or foreigners in the country. They are not rare or unique, however there is a normal social stigma that surrounds them. Typically, the foreigners do not interfere with the Japanese’ social and political structure.[/SIZE]


[SIZE=14.6667px]There are six major shinobi clans. Every other clan falls under the umbrella of these 6, however a long standing feud resides between the 6, but not for triviality. The cyclical competition between the six clans were encouraged and remain for the sake of balance, started by the first Shinobigami. Each clan has their own goal, their own alliances, and their own enemies. Each has their own counterparts in each country. Each are known to the higher echelons of all countries, however to the populace, they remain but a myth.[/SIZE]



[SIZE=14.6667px]Today, the Shinobigami is thought to be a myth and legend, but even then, the shinobi still believe he exists. Many are seeking to become the next Shinobigami, the incarnate of the new “God of Shinobis” however few know where to start. In this story, a group of different shinobi will come together, due to circumstances that have yet to occur. Several of these people will need to forego their clan affiliations in order to work together and take out this new threat that has decided to set foot within Japan.[/SIZE]

 

[Rien]

Ring ring. The sound of bells rang as the door opened. “Maido!” he shouted aloud to the person who entered. It was a foreigner who he had never seen before and he nodded as they made eye contact. He had brought a two other men with him. All of them were foreigners. They sat in front of him at the bar, still chatting with each other. The bartender lifted his head slowly, while cleaning a glass with a white cloth and finally asked: “What would you like to have to drink?” he asked the men who had just entered his bar  in Japanese, but the men did not answer him. After a while, he asked them again, but this time in English. “What would you like to drink?” he said, his voice rising in volume slightly and his rhythm speeding up slightly. Clearly, he wasn’t very patient, but the bartender calmed himself down. He breathed out slowly, trying to calm himself.


The man who was closest to him finally looked up at the bartender. “I’d like a pour of your finest Japanese whiskey, neat” he said. The bartender nodded. The other two agreed in unison and asked for the same. The bartender set three whiskey glasses on the bar top and flipped his bottle of whiskey from the top shelf onto his elbow. He pushed it up into the air and juggled it while simultaneously pouring the whiskey into each of the glasses when the bottle came down to its lowest point and then pushing it back up again. After pouring all three glasses, he flipped the bottle one last time, catching it, and setting it back on the top shelf. “Enjoy!” he said enthusiastically. The bartender didn’t break a sweat. He grabbed another dirty glass and began cleaning it. “So what brings you into town?” he asked the man closest to him. He looked up and laughed. “Business trip… we’re just here looking for some key items and information… nothing too difficult,” he said.


The bartender nodded. “Sounds interesting… I hope you find what you’re looking for,” he said to him. The bartender looked up and noticed the man’s holster. It was evident that these three were here for a reason. They hadn’t even touched their drink since getting it. All of it was a bit suspicious. The bartender looked back down casually at the glass he was cleaning, picking up the next glass. While he wasn’t a xenophobic person, he was definitely suspicious of these three men. They were looking for things and they had guns. As being part of the Hirasaka Agency, he had to find out a bit more. The country’s welfare was of their interest, despite the bartender’s raison d’etre of caring for himself only. He was still employed and trained by the agency, so he had a bit of loyalty to them. He could at least make their presence known to the agency, but knowing them, they already knew they were in town.


“Anything in particular you’re looking for?” he asked, trying to get as much information as he could. “I may be able to point you in the right direction,” he gave him a smile. The man finally took a small sip from his cup, but it was inconsequential. The people here knew something about this place, about him. Or at least that was the thought. He would have to remain careful. It wasn’t good to act without knowing everything. They couldn’t know that he, Hamada, Ban, was part of the Hirasaka Agency, could they? No, it was unlikely. The bartender was lazy, didn’t care much for his position as a shinobi, but he was cautious. Not being cautious made things complicated, and thus made him less likely able to maintain his laziness.


He cooled himself mentally and waited for the man’s reply. “Ah, nothing of particular note. There were some legends of an ancient artifact being uncovered in Japan. Legend says that there are some magical properties about it. Unfortunately, no one really knows where it is, well allegedly.  There are rumors that ninjas still exist,” he said to Ban, “and there’s probably one in here right now.”  Ban’s eyes closed slightly and blinked at him, trying to see if he was serious. He let out a hearty laugh and shook his head, holding back the tears that were about to erupt from his eyes. “Ninjas? In this day and age? Sir, you must be joking,” Ban said to him convincingly. The man drinking laughed as well. “I know… hard to believe right? That there are people here who do things in the shadows… I mean who do they think they are, Masons?”









 





While he attempted to maintain control of the situation, it was clear that they were after one of the relics. These treasures were still being sought after by the 6 clans, and now foreigners were attempting to lay claim to them. At this very moment, it would be wise to dispatch of them quickly, as there were no one else in the room, but the time wasn’t right. He couldn’t think of a good opportunity to take them out, but his bar was still considered a public area. He had an inkling of how much information they knew. He hoped that they did not know his identity, but as it is now, he would still be cautious.

 

[kaleidoscopeuser]

Ring Ring. Two bell rings signaled the appearance of another customer at the bar. It was a local this time, a male wearing long sleeves and a vest. He wasn't a regular customer at the bar but Yuu would usually head here if he wanted a drink before going home. Like today, as he needed to unwind after treating the nth kid who had injured themselves while misusing their ninpo. Being a school doctor in a school of specials was always tiring mentally if not physically. Thus alcohol to relax the mind tonight. 


The bar was already occupied by the time Yuu had entered the bar, but there were still a couple of seats he could stay him while still being at respectful distance. Yuu greeted the bartender with a polite smile and nod of the head. He had never been frequent enough at the bar to befriend the bartender but Yuu at least knew Ban's name. "Whisky please." Yuu ordered as he sat on one of the bar stools. Seeing as he was hungry as well, Yuu looked over the menu. "And one of the Specials. Thanks." Yuu loosened his cuffs and rolled up his sleeves allowing his arms to breath once more. He didn't have to look professional here even if people from work happened to here as well. They would either be fellow colleagues who would welcome the time to loosen up; or students who really had no business being in a bar. 


Yuu scouted his surroundings as was habit of ninja. He may not be an active field agent but there were still people who possibly wanted him gone. Granted, he was probably really low on the priority list of fugitives as evidenced by the almost no activity after him for a long time already, Aside from the bartender, their were three other people in the almost deserted bar. Foreigners so they were wouldn't be after him. Hiring others to hunt would be a waste of resources. With the exits well known already and no possible immediate threat visible, Yuu could relax tonight.


How wrong he was. 

Spoiler

Appearance: Shinra Kishitani from Durara

 

[Sho Ise]

It was midday when- wait, no. Shit.


A loud clatter echoed from some doors further in the bar as a figure no more than fifty-two inches or exactly hundred and thirty centimeters tall emerged from the temporarily closed-off washrooms. Her blue-tipped black hair was tucked under a cap; she wore a plain white shirt under overalls, had a mop in one hand and a bucket of cleaning materials in the other, and the most contemptuous look was etched upon her face as she stared at the bartender.


"ダメだ。。。" she muttered under her breath as she momentarily thought of complaining about toilet-cleaning duty, but Sho quickly realized that it was pointless because she'd done the work already.


From where she was earlier, the girl could hear a bit of the conversation and the familiar, yet very unpleasant, 英語 words reached her ears.


"ほー くそ外人！" Sho spat out straight-up insults with a smile on her face and her voice sounded welcoming; the rest, she said in accented English, "I hope you enjoy the food and drinks!"


She smiled in a sickeningly sweet manner too which got people's attention sometimes. Her motto in dealing with the shit people of the shithole where she worked part-time? 'The customer is always right.'- until she clocks out, that is. Aside from the filthy foreigners, the usual loser was in the bar too. Sho momentarily flipped the bird at him with a wide smile on her face, for no good reason really, while the bartender and the English-speaking fools were busy with whatever fools do.


Sho was a ninja like some of the people in the bar, as everyone posting in this thread would know OOC. But like the rest of her clan, The Lost Ones, she pretty much didn't give a flying frog about how the world worked. Yes I am censoring myself. National security is threatened? Apocalypse is around the corner? Who gives a shit? Probably the knight and the nerd, but not Sho. All she wanted was money and explosions.


Five minutes til clock out.

 

[ishi_kudo]

"You'd better get the stuff that I need or I will shovel Aunt Yukari's muffins down your throat!" A perky tone would invade the bar's airspace as soon as the door opened. Ishi was once again on his phone, threatening one of his suppliers with his aunt's toxic pastries. With the latter being renowned for her horrible cooking skills, it was a perfect tool to threaten someone to do his bidding.


 


The young Hasuba ninja had a long day. Earlier this morning, he attended a cosplay event where he sported a maid outfit. Ishi has an androgynous appearance, so he was able to pull it off. Fooled a lot of guys too. Exhausted from the photoshoots and phone number requests from everyone, he decided to take a break. So he ended up here.


 


At first glance, people would think that Ishi was just one of those people who loved anime and wearing costumes. But underneath his colorful clothes was a self-obsessed shinobi. He didn't care much about his clan's mission of uniting all ninja clans under their banner. Though he was quite interested in learning all the secrets from other clans.


 


"One soda please!" Ishi ordered as he occupied one of the chairs near the counter. He didn't even look at the bartender as he was busy texting someone. He looked too preoccupied to care about the people inside the bar.

 

[Joe King]

(OOC: Sorry this is the pilot post, imagine rolling 2d6 on a charm check and landing on a 2. Yeah. Needless to say, his social check didn’t bring much up. XD)


Being seen as a Gajin was both a blessing and a curse in a society like this. On one hand the local's reception was less then receptive, the presence of such wasn't as much shunned but ignored, with the odd glance to evaluate this alien curiosity. More so now as he strode through the streets alone, those gazes always seemed to seek some imagined fault or slight. After all he looked the part with suit pants, slick ginger hair complimented by a distasteful pink and sliver tie and a creased white short tainted with the slightest hint of yellow around the pits and the rough stubble left untamed, all signs of an uncouth westerner that they expected, an easy wage and a whore house to crash into for some easy, uncommitted fun in the neon lit downtown.


The advantage was none would ever suspect his true nature; as the elders had drilled into him warfare was a battlefield fought with deception and fewer thing were more deceptive then a ninja of white. From this the man drew strength from the quiet disapproval as his long stride carried him with purpose, his eyes of grass flicked to meet those gazes with an easy going, proud smile his stride carried him to his destination, a bar awash with soft blue’s and reds of the neutral lighting. After all, the inferior ideology of the Samurai had denied use of such a tool and paid for that stubbornness with blood.


Dingding. The heavy door’s swung open as he strides carried him to the bar counter, his free hand gently rubbed his chin as his critical gaze evaluated the present patrons, nearest escape routes and object placement. Infiltration was the most dangerous part of any operation, the price of failure? He had to be prepared to kill everyone in the bar and by his estimation a thousand anorexic wombats would likely be a greater challenge, place was quiet with a few bartenders and a few more. and as he sat at the main counter next to the white business man, his gaze cut out behind them to linger on the other patrons a moment longer. As luck would have it, the term “magical artefact” graced his attention and, he cut in, taking great care to be loud as possible, aided by sake on his breath gave the reek of an drunk tourist.


“Ahahah really now? I thought those were the same magic voodoo that portrayed anyone with a wink in their eyes as a master of kung fu or something. So, what does the artefact do? Summon big frogs or somethin’, or maybe even make my wife beautiful!” The comment drew laughter from the elderly man, no younger than 50 seasons, yet from the glint in his eyes wasn’t entirely convinced.


“You are?” The Ninja “Oh, I’m Joseph King, Just a curious P.E teacher though sometimes I like ta call myself King Joseph. Please ‘tender Matini please, shaken not stirred they say! Ahhahah!”


With that he turned to his right and cast a glance at the quant little maid lass just across to his right, a little maid sipping soda, abruptly he turned his attention to her with a that same confident grin. His mission had been to deliver a message to a barkeep, but this beauty of the world deserved a wonderful song first and since discovering the internet less than a year ago he chose one of the most popular, unfortunately.


“My lady, I noticed that you are but a rose in a nest of thorns, allow me to sing a song that gives rise to but a little of your beauty…” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPYwcTDVRAg&index=25&list=UUORIeT1hk6tYBuntEXsguLg Watch it, in it’s entirety. Do it or I will never forgive you.


(Summery: Joe King enters thread, tries to chirp in on the convo with limited success and while ease dropping decides to charm Kudo, who is a guy. With that song, yeah.

 

[Rien]

The fact that the three foreigners here did not drink much of their alcoholic beverages should have been a signal to the bartender, but the bartender continued to do his normal activities as such. He poured a glass of whiskey for the first entrant, and then quickly made a special for him. His part-timer was being as rude as ever. He apologized to the man who was somewhat of a regular.


“Sho, you know the rules,” he said to her, reprimanding her of her rude behavior. How was he able to survive having her work for him for all this time? It was amazing that she hadn’t been fired yet. Or maybe he was just a masochist. Well, one of the RPers would agree with the masochistic part, but that’s beside the point. Just as the bartender was about to give the soda to the annoying customer who wanted soda (I mean really, who orders soda at a bar?) the three men stood suddenly and took out their guns and aimed it all at different people. One of the guns was trained on the bartender himself, another on the guy who ordered two drinks, and the PE teacher who was asking for a martini.


“Whoa whoa whoa… what’s with all the fuss?” the bartender held the bottle up in his hands as he attempted to look as if he was surrendering. “I mean, come on, we’re all just trying to enjoy a drink,” he said inching backwards.


“That would be all well and good, if you weren’t a ninja,” the man replied. The bartender gave a look of surprise, trying to feign that he had no idea what he was talking about. Thankfully, he was good at bluffing, enough to fake it, but unfortunately, it seemed it would not work. They were confident about their information, and denying even more would not help. “Now, now… I don’t know what you want me to do or what you think I know, but obviously pointing a gun at me won’t do anything, don’t you think? And pointing them at my customers even moreso. I mean, it’s one thing to accuse me of being a ninja, but everyone else? I can juggle bottles, which I can see why you would assume such things, but really, I’m not a ninja,” he said, at least attempting to keep them from doing anything rash. He was hoping someone would do something to distract them for a split second.


If anyone would attempt to escape through the front or back doors, there was a man outside of them ready to pounce, so should they attempt to, they would be caught by surprise.

 

[ishi_kudo]

A hand.


Ishi, while still texting, raised his gloved right hand and pointed it at the singing guy, and then to the other armed men who didn't dare to point a gun at him. The teen was obviously asking them to stop or pause for a moment. He was almost done with the message he was typing earlier.


Though seemingly preoccupied, Ishi was well aware of the situation. Acting like he didn't care was either they were not worth his time or he was too confident about his shinobi skills. Or both. Regardless, the 'lass' was intentionally distracting them to buy time. Hopefully, his misplaced antics would be enough get what he needed. Or what the others needed.


 A split second.


'Hold up! Let me finish my text first!' Ishi said to them, still pointing and waiving his right hand at them.

 

[Joe King]

The P.E. teacher stiffened, his gaze flicked up to the mirror as he slowly raised his hands;  three other foreigners with guns, one directed at him, Joseph’s name had spread that far already in the west or was he mistaken for the gentleman? Time for questions wasn’t now. Surprisingly The gentleman (Quest Giver) seemed undeterred by the situation though at least calmer then the assailants that were twitchy with adrenalin, perhaps first mission or repurposed US soldiers? The guns were a problem though as even the green grass could cut the lawn.


食品ニップル


The curse was muttered under his breath; as a wizard once said things were never easy. Joe chanced another glance at the mirror, the idiot hadn’t shot yet so clearly he wasn’t entirely certain of the targets identity and couldn’t be further then two strides away so with just the smallest distraction-


'Hold up! Let me finish my text first!”


The gunman started to twist with a verbal threat building in his throat, he would never finish his sentence. With a speed that seemed unnatural to a 1.75 meter of man giant, he moved.


-Become a Leaf on the wind.-


Joe turned with a sudden twist to hook the suitcase on his foot and grasped the spare handle as he launched it at the furthest asslant, the [SIZE=10.5pt] [/SIZE][SIZE=10.5pt]wakizashi[/SIZE] freed from its hidden sheath with a sharp tug. Joseph’s first motion was a singular stride that carried him within breathing distance of the first gunman as his momentum contributed strength to the first downward blow, the gunman was quick despite the surprise and held up a combat knife, a futile defence both the blade and shoulder were cut, though it was but a flesh wound.


-Too shallow.-


With a sharp lunge to the side he danced around the barrel of the pistol as it opened fire, the shot hitting a particularly expensive vintage of whisky, in return Joe’s blade cut twice, the first sliced off the favoured hand (RIP Waifu) the second cut down into the thigh that toppled him, supported only when Joseph embraced the man as the remaining two assailants wheeled around and opened fire, the fire blasted both men down, sending tables, unoccupied drink’s flying.


Only then did the briefcase fall and cracked open, punctured by several rounds. Paperwork flew everywhere, weapons of various shapes and sizes clattered along the ground, and a bom-


WAIT WHAT?!


It was a simple lump of A C4, a little dial ticking down from 30, the opening of the case triggered it.


29.


28.


Feeling Lucky yet? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NT9X8LF1wZU

 

[kaleidoscopeuser]

The night was looking to be routine. Get drinks from bartender, hired help is still flippant, and some guy starts singing (although earlier and less drunk than usual). So it was a mild surprise when Yuu found a gun pointed at him just as he finished the whisky. The special would have to wait then. "Easy there." Yuu suggested to the man pointing a pistol at him.


Yuu tried to look as unthreating as possible, hopeful that they were just acting on assumptions and not hard facts. Internally, Yuu's mind was running on overdrive to process the information from the scene. The people didn't look like the usual hunters that would go after him. Based on their scent, they were definitely human and they looked foreign. Plus they referred to two other people as ninja. Maybe it was because the two started talking about ninja's? If so, then why was he included in gun-pointing?


The stand-off was broken when someone had the balls (or ovaries?) to tell the men off. Then all hell broke lose.


When the gunman, previously focused Yuu, turned around and open fire, Yuu took the opportunity to kick the man behind the knee. The man spun from the blow and Yuu followed a series of jabs with his pointer and middle fingers extended. The man seemingly stiffened and fell to the floor paralyzed; the gun previously in his hand clattered onto the ground. A briefcase fell on the floor near him as its contents spilled everywhere revealing the bomb inside.


28 seconds... plenty of time.


Well probably not enough time to diffuse the bomb but enough to get the thing away. Assuming the other guy was taken care of already, Yuu carefully picked the bomb, closed the case and proceeded to the front door. Outside the bar was relatively empty except for a lone person dressed like the 3 assailants in the bar. Even the scent matched so Yuu was about 93% sure this guys was with them. "Uh, this belonged to your 3 friends inside." Without waiting for a reply, Yuu tossed the closed briefcase at the guy and calmly closed the door as the briefcase was caught. He walked back to the bar; actually, he went behind the bar, grabbed his leftover drink and crouched behind the counter.

 

[Sho Ise]

The ruby-eyed Lost One stared unblinkingly at her employer when he reprimanded her. Then the bucket was once again put down as Sho bend her fingers leaving only the middle one pointing upwards. This time, it was aimed at the bartender; still with a smile on her face of course, otherwise she would have been rude!


Shortly after, a preoccupied lady in a maid outfit walked in as Sho ducked into a narrow storage room to put away the cleaning implements. The bar's part-timer then heard an obnoxious voice from someone else who'd just entered the establishment. Some guy whose name sounded like a foreigner's... when Sho finally took a look at him, eew. Yet another filthy gaijin.


Two minutes until clock out.


Guns pulled, words flew, shots fired. Oh, and amidst that, a text message was being composed. Sho's hands weren't full but she just put them in her pockets as she watched the big foreigner whose name was a joke pull some Schwarzenegger-esque crap. It looked cool until the sheer force of gunshots threw him over to some tables. The part-timer glanced over to her boss.


"シフトは終わりましたね、失せろよ　[My shift's up, so piss off]," she shrugged, referring to the mess.


The dweeb wasn't half bad either. He took out one of the remaining gunmen and the WTF A BOMB?! fell on the floor, very quickly the wimpy-looking dude tossed it out of the bar and into the welcoming arms of someone outside. People ducked for cover including the remaining gunman, except for Sho who just disappeared into thin air and went to god knows where. The explosion from outside blew the bar's door in and with the blast of debris came innards and a severed hand.


"YOU'LL NEVER TAKE ME ALIVE!" the last not-quite-incapacitated thug emerged from the rubble and overturned tables, his gun pointed towards the bar as both his hands tightly gripped the weapon.


He opened fire, although unsure whether the bartender or the dweeb were still there. That's what cannon fodder does anyway.


"了解 [Roger that]," Sho appeared beside the man.


Before she could turn to him, the part-timer pulled her right hand out of her pocket and she made an arched downward motion towards the floor in front of the gunman. His armed hands dropped to the floor, severed from their owner by a great sword that seemed to have materialized from nowhere. The blade, sharp and heavy, buried itself onto the bar's floor. The man's wound was too clean for blood to spill all over, but once he was over the shock he would begin to palpitate and the force of his heart beats would send blood flying through severed veins and arteries in his arms.


"名前は？[Your name is?]" the red-eyed one cooly asked the shocked man.


"I... don't understand-" he began to tremble.


"Geh... your name? What is?" Sho was slightly annoyed that she had to speak 英語 again, "End who sent you?"


He was unarmed (hahaha lol) and surrounded by debris, pieces of his companion, other homies probably dead or dying or just useless.


"Answer quickly or I'll cut your dick off and feed it to you fresh."


Whoa. Perfect English! 10/10!

 

[Rien]

Do people not know how to read the mood anymore? And he ordered a soda… A SODA! AT A BAR! You’d think that he’d think of a way to be a bit more, what’s the word, tactful. Thankfully, it was enough of a distraction to the guards where they got annoyed at him too and also gave their entire attention to him. The singing PE teacher quickly dispatched of him, only to realize that he had just let loose a C4.


“My oh my, a bomb… how original,” the bartender said almost monotonously. The man who ordered two drinks dispatched of another quickly, but instead of attempting to diffuse the bomb, he threw it outside. “Hey, wait… that’s a C4, that’s not going to….” Oh boy. The bartender quickly ducked behind the bar and shook his head. “I hope you can pay for the damages,” he said to no one in particular.


As soon as the rubble and smoke cleared, and a dismembered body awaited them outside, there was another dismembered body on the floor. He looked at Sho and shook his head. “This was supposed to be a friendly establishment,” he sighed aloud. The bartender went towards the hostage that Sho had taken and grabbed at his groin. He then, almost instantly, removed a testicle from his body and stuffed it into the man’s mouth. “That is for ruining my bar,” he said to him. He didn’t care if he was in pain or if he was suffering. No, these men had destroyed his store. Thankfully, the government would pay for all of this damage, since it was ninja related, but still, this was his home.


“There’s one more out in the back… I’ll be right back,” he said.


The bartender exited via the back door and grabbed the last man and slapped him around a few times after disarming him before throwing him into the bar floor. He then pointed at the man he had stuffed a testicle in and asked: “Do you really want to end up like him?” he asked in English. The man shook his head hard and finally the bartender asked him: “first of all, how do you know our identities... second of all, who sent you?” He asked the man, but he was unwilling to answer at first, so Ban rubbed the man’s thighs, almost seductively. “Now, do I need to threaten you a bit more?” he asked.


“We’re just looking for information! We knew a few of you were ninja because of some leaked information. It seems we were just in the right place at the right time to have caught several more of you!” he said, trying to preserve his manhood.


“And who sent you?” he asked. Unwillingly, the man finally named a group. “Freemasons…” he said. The bartender immediately slammed his head into the floor and knocked him out. He sighed and looked at everyone. “Welp, I know that are probably all from different clans, but this is a problem that spans beyond just our individual clans. I suggest we work together to figure out how to deal with these Freemasons. A temporary alliance of some sort?” he asked. He then looked at his phone and then sighed.


“I guess we’ll have to get approval… Join us if you want revenge on these people for ruining your day… I think we can find some way to pay them back for the explosive welcome they gave us,” he said to them.


He pulled out his phone and called the Hirasaka Agency and attempted to get in contact with his boss.

 

[Joe King]

“When winter comes, the bear seeks solace in cave to preserve it’s strength. You should consider the same when the time comes.”


The setting was on top of a temple in Vietnam, a secretive stronghold established after the vicious contest between the North and West, Both America and Russia’s stars have since faded in the stalemate that followed but the scars of that immortal clash still lingered today. He had been but a boy then, the master that sat before him had aged long before his years, burn marks had long eradicated any hair his head could have bore and a shoulder and leg had lost to slaying the Soviet, their medicine and doping programs combined with demonic powers had made their special forces into physical monsters; four elders went to fight the shamigami; one lost but a eye, the second lost almost everything, that was fortunate compared to the fate of the last two.




“Elder, with all due respect this advice is bearly necessary; we wear clothes and put on heating during the winter, or migrate. I am Joseph King, descended from some of the mightiest Oni Hunters history has told of, I won’t allow the Oni any compromise.”


“And that is why you are a student and not a master, you are much too literal, much too proud of what you have and not what you could be. There will be a time where you will seek shelter from the hail of gunfire and when you do, I hope you remember how much of a foolish twit you were to think otherwise. After all we have merely concentrated the blood line of the strong to be just that; our strength is but a bastion that we build upon in times of peace so it may hold firm during time of war. Though you might scorn the modern firearm, even a novice can cripple a master with the correct tool. It is as the saying goes; if bull comes toward you-


“-Chuck someone else in the way.”


*THWACK*


The cane sent stars dancing through his eyes; despite being in the dusk of his life; his stranger hand was still a danger hand.


“You don’t meet the bull head on at all you cloat. I swear, you buggers of this generation have only inherited the strength, but none of the wit, in my day we took it in turns to engage in combat honourably…“


“Perhaps that’s why so many of you di-


*THWACK*


(Back to the present)


-You snide bastard, you always found a way to be right, though I was also right about the bull!-


Joseph lay underneath another man amongst the scattered tables and cowering bystanders, usually he wasn’t into holding onto another stiff but he had to admit that it worked. The gunman’s bullet proof vest and body had taken the worst punishment, leaving but a tingling pain in his stomach from one clean puncture. “Well, sorry ta love and leave ya bud.” Having counted up to five three, he rolled the corpse off him and rose to a crouch to clock the last guy advancing on the counter, yelling in the mongrel trading language of the west. The ninja smiled as he prepared to become the wind, oh he would enact such brutal vengeance on th-


Then the small woman materialised a badass sword and disarmed him. Joseph blinked once, his eyes hadn’t deceived him, the battle had started and ended within a handful of seconds, a gigantic sword had dissected the last hope of the invasion team, now menaced with eyes of sparkling red. Joseph’s throat tightened as he glanced down at the washiwaski and suddenly rather inadequate, like men comparing swords during a bathroom break.  Most men required years of dedicated training to wield a leviathan class blade like that, unless-


-She… An Oni, here? How didn’t I notice until now?-


To be fair, most people probably don’t look at anyone who isn’t the bartender properly. Even now, the handsome bartender who delivered service with a smile was introducing the hARMless merc to the benefits of seafood. Joe broke into a cold sweat; one Chunnin wasn’t unusual for a member of The Hirasaka Agency, bars like this was often implicated in blackmailing of several lesser elders, but FOUR?!


-By Kami, to think there were that many Chunin here! The intel was off; still, no one knows why I was here. I can still act nat-


Oh right, the deadman switch had gone off, the one he was meant to set off whenever he was in serious danger to inform the elders if he had been defeated. He sighed deeply as his palm met forehead. Now the masters would know about his failure..


“バーガー乳首!  There goes the results I was meant to be checking.”


He sighed and thoughtfully scratched his chin, a simple mission to silence an over curious artefact hunter had had failed catastrophically. The elders had always said that the ninja world was ever exposed; those that did had no choice but to commit 切腹 (Seppuku) then be captured. he turned his blade on himself-


“Freemasons…”


Joe’s eyes widened, the largest secret society in the world! If he caught someone from there would be great chance of redemption!  His blade punctured his wound to dig out the bullet, with a wiggle wiggle pop and a clatter, there was fresh blood splatter (hey I am a poet), his now completely ruined sleeves converted into make shift bandages. Dying was his least favourite thing to do, thus any way of maintaining that status quo was great! Wound secured the foreign ninja rose and strode over to the bartender, an impassive eyebrow arched with curiosity.


“…. And you knocked him out before you knew where he came from? Interesting interrogation technique, perhaps I’ve lived away Japan for too long. In either case it seems our objectives are the same for the time being bartender, AND YOU.”


“You, have a lot to answer for, I guess knowledge of that trinket must be an impressive enough artefact to warrant a four man kill team to ruin my SHIRT, so I will ask you once, politely. Where is this artefact stored? You better not hold anything back from me, or I will send you after them after them.”


(Insert old man response here, is there a particular angle you want me to take this artefact business? All that I know is that he’s voiced by Morgan Freeman, his delicious accent makes even reading phone dictionaries sound incredible.) “I know is that it is currently being held at the Blue Dragon villa at the edge of town. Yacuza turf. The masons are keeping it there until it can be shipped out, if it is shipped out it will likely remain out of our reach.” “Thank you. I will be back if it isn’t how you say it is.”


With that he took a bar mat, scribbled a cell number onto it and passed it to the maid. “I will change into something more comfortable, I will meet you all there. It would be best not to follow me.” Joeseph turned to the door, paused, and turned again”


“Oh, and Red Eyes, good job with the floor, did I mention it matched the colour of your eyes? It does. Very tasteful.”


And with that the ninja strolled out of the door, rounded into an alley and pounced up onto the roof top and was away into the night.


I have no song muse for this one.

 

[ishi_kudo]

As soon as the first gunshot was made, Ishi had already backed off, moving away from the ensuing 'ruckus'. The maid costume he was wearing was fairly new and cost him quite some yen to get it tailored so getting it stained with dirt and blood was the last thing he wanted to happen.


 


Giving the ongoing fight a quick glance, Ishi realized that some of them were agile enough to react to the situation. Shinobi-class to be exact. Learning this fact, the teen carefully turned on the video function of his phone to record the whole ordeal. He was planning to get this uploaded on Twitter.


 


One by one, the foreigners went down. Then a bomb came into his view. It was time for him to go. Sadly, he realized that he moved into a spot where in escaping unscathed would be impossible.


 


'Well, fuck...'


 


Dropping his phone to free up his hands, the Hasuba chuunin reached out to his Pikachu backpack and searched for one of his ninja tools; a rabbit plushie.


 


Do not get fooled by its cute appearance. Despite its blank eyes and toothy grin, it was no ordinary plushie. By breaking its neck, the doll released a myriad of mannequins. The cascading wooden dolls were fast enough to separate the teen from the explosion.


 


'BOOM!!!'


 


Dirt and rubbles flew as dust temporarily filled the bar's airspace. The bomb, as Ishi expected, was quite strong. This could have been fatal to him if he didn't drop his phone and-


 


"My phone!" Ishi screamed internally before kneeling on the floor to look for his phone.


 


While he was looking for his phone, the others had started interrogating the remaining assailant. Though quite concerned about his device, the teen was still listening to their conversation, absorbing as many information as he can. When the Freemasons were mentioned, he paused for a moment. The attack on this bar was not your ordinary 'behind-the-scenes-shinobi-war'. It was more than that. Something diabolical was being machinated by someone.


 


Soon after, an unlikely alliance was being forged, or at least being 'forced' by the bartender. Ishi would have gladly said no, but seeing that his phone was damaged beyond repair and the fact that his maid outfit was dirtied AND his identity was compromised, he took the bar mat from the singing man and decided to cooperate. For the meantime.


 


"Alright. Anyone else who wanted to give their number, fake or not?" Ishi asked the remaining bunch. Though he wanted to leave as soon as possible to avoid being interrogated by the local police, he stayed for the meantime and waited for the others' responses.

 

[kaleidoscopeuser]

Yuu took a sip of the special just as the bomb exploded. It was still a lot stronger than he expected and gave a certain kick. Oh, and the bomb was strong as well. Throwing the bomb wasn't the best way to handle it, as evidenced by the hole in the front entrance; but Yuu wasn't a bomb defusal expert and he didn't know what the skill sets of anyone around him were. At least the owner, Hamada if he remembered correctly, wasn't directly blaming him for the damages. He'ld hate to be that guy being fed soup number 5, without the soup. 


Despite surviving the initial attack, things seemed to go from bad to worse. There was an intelligence leak, which in all honesty wasn't that surprising for their line of work, but it just had to be Freemasons. Large and powerful, it was exactly the kind of group you wouldn't want searching for you if you were trying to stay hidden. Thus it wasn't out of the norm for someone to suggest a truce between rival Nippon clans. It was just that serious a threat. Yuu couldn't refuse at he was in the best position from his clan to deal with this mess. Though it he wished it was an actual intelligence specialist who had to handle this cluster-f. So much for rest night.


It was a good thing Yuu kept of the guys alive. The rest were going through the survivors very quickly, and messily; nevermind he was responsible for blowing up one of them. They had a location and target. Only one thing left to do. Yuu pulled out a phone and dialed a number.


"Hello? Yeah it's me. Something came up..."


Once he was done with the call, Yuu put away his phone and addressed the bartender. "Looks like I'm in." A bartender, doctor, vulgar part-timer, female? cosplayer and returning tourist? Yuu couldn't really describe the last guy. "It'll be interesting working with you all." Sorry gender-vague maido, no number to give.

 

[Sho Ise]

Sho rolled her eyes when was reprimanded yet again. Hey if the dude wanted to step in the spotlight, all he had to do was shoo her away. Or pay her. The latter would have been preferable, actually. The part-timer pulled her sword aside when the bar owner reached for the unarmed (lol!) man. Hey, nothing to see here kids. Look away!


The Lost One, not really caring about the mess or whatever happened after, was about to step out when Ban headed to check on the last of the unfortunate noobs. But then something really interesting happened. Unnecessary recaps aside, Sho put her great sword back where it was hidden and she took out her mobile phone instead. The camera flashed just as the bar owner was being intimate with the person who was being questioned.


Save. Tag Ban. Share to Public.


Phone disappeared with a flick  of her wrist, something that wasn't all that surprising to anyone who knew about the advancements in ninja technology. In response to the maid asking for numbers, Sho only gave a guttural growl as an answer kind of like a wild animal displeased at what it saw. At least no harsh words came out. Joe was not as fortunate- because he started it! Calling Sho "Red Eyes"... her eyes are not red! They're carmine! And she's not a demon- she's just high dammit!


"じゃあねよー、くそったれ！[See you later, assh☆le!]" the part-timer cheerfully waved away the foreign-ish man.


Does she have to work with ANY of these clowns? Pfft. Hells no. Freemasons? So what. She had a show to catch: the eleventieth episode of Season Ninety-twelfth of Super Kawaii Pom-pom Nyankyunchan.


"ワイフちゃんのタイムだぁぁぁ～！バイバイ！[Waifu time! Bye bye!]" Sho hopped and skipped towards the exit.


If unhindered, she would head home to hug a massive Nyankyunchan dakimakura while shouting at her TV whenever the magical girl transforms. But not before she shot a murderous glance at the dweeb who threw the bomb out the door. Sure it wasn't his bomb and he was just doing his best to avoid death, but do you think Sho would care about that?! 'The dweeb ruined the bar where she worked' was her oversimplification.

 

[Rien]

Ban shook his head at Joe. “Freemasons are from the Americas and Europe. They’re a well-known group, and this grunt probably doesn’t know enough that’s worth our time,” he said to him. Many things were already general knowledge, especially about the freemasons. The shinobi were just as much a secret society as they were, and consequently, they were both invisible hands moving the country.


Ban then looked towards Joe as he was asking about the artifact. “Information about any artifact regarding the Shinobigami is a largely kept secret. There are only myths that would be able to tell us any inkling of where to start looking, but other than that, we will do what the war-council of the Shinobi will say. I have a feeling we’ll all have to be present for that,” he said to each of them.


“Your heads of clans will tell you where to meet. The council will convene in a few hours,” he said to them.


To the man who ordered a soda, he threw a burner phone at him. “Here, use this to contact your head. He should give you instructions soon.” Ban then looked at the man who ordered two drinks. “You’re free to stick around with me, I’ll be getting some equipment from the back room, but other than that, I will head to the meeting place directly,” he said to him.


Thankfully, for Ban, Sho’s attempt to try and sabotage him would be met with a lot of resistance, since the shinobi were good at keeping things underwraps, and the Hirosaka Agency specialized in keeping things unknown. While she was able to post the picture of Ban, his face was immediately censored and the tag of Ban was removed.


Before Sho could leave however, Ban grabbed her by the collar to stop her from leaving and gave her a suit case of money. “You’re being hired to do some work… your clan is working with mine,” he said to her. If she did not comply, she would get a rude call from her so-called leader, but nothing would be able to stop her from leaving altogether. Mercenaries were allowed to choose if they wanted to work for their employer or not. Ban then added: “You’ll be able to get revenge on the people who ruined your end of shift,” he said to her enticingly.


With that, Ban went back behind the bar and pressed a few buttons. The shelves of alcohol began to open inwards and another room was behind it. In it was several ninja gear and equipment for himself. He took his blade and dawned his sneak suit that would allow him to infiltrate if necessary. Over it, he would wear his formal Hirosaka Agency clothes that showed he was an official member. Since they were all about to go to a summit, it was best to be dressed appropriately for such.

 

[kaleidoscopeuser]

Yuu shook his head, turning down Ban's offer. "I have my own preparations to do." He explained as Yuu left. He caught the sight of Ban reprimanding his waitress, which looked similar to all the times he had to reprimand his own students. Minus the bribing with cash part. He didn't stay around anymore to see if their party would stay the same size of 6. There was still the possibility different people would be assigned instead of those involved in the bar.


A quick ninja travel later, Yuu was back at his place of employment: Otogi Private Academy. The school hospital was conveniently still open, allowing him access the network. Fast-forward one secret entrance, annoyed handler, armory check and another ninja travel, Yuu was at [classified] where the shinobi council would convene. To Yuu's knowledge, such a thing rarely happened due to whole rival clan thing. Such cases, such as now, was serious enough that old rivalries would be put on hold till the threat was gone. Though Yuu was still wary of any hunters after him. Shinobi Alliances were notoriously fragile things.


Decked in his own shinobi gear, styled after the Academy's own uniforms, Yuu went to the audience section for his clan to see how the meeting would turn out. People from the rest of the clans were in their own separate sections which made finding the rest of the "Bar Bombing Incident" Shinobi hard to spot right now. Everyone's focus was at the leaders' meeting anyway.

 

[ishi_kudo]

Ishi simply rolled his eyes and snorted as everyone left in the ruined bar decided that he was not trust worthy to keep their numbers. Well, it was something to be expected. Each one of them were part of a different shinobi clan after all. Each one of them have the rights to not trust anyone in this room.


The teen caught Ban's phone with his left hand, but he didn't bother using it. Instead, he moved closer at the gaping hole created by the explosion earlier before reaching out a hidden button at the back of his right ear. For a moment or two, the Hasuba ninja became still and silent, like a mannequin at a department store. It was a side effect whenever he was connected to his clan's secret network.


CS-Hatter v5 requesting access...


Verifying Identity...


Identity Verified...


Establishing secured connection...


Secured connection established...


"Welcome to Hasuba network, Ishi. Please state your business so that we can route you to the right department." An automated voice echoed in his head.


"Freemasons." Ishi replied to the IVR. As expected, the system took a moment to process the word he just uttered. It was, after all, a highly confidential name.


"Thank you for using the Hasuba network. The Queen has been notified of your inquiry. You are being summoned to have tea with her. Please do not delay. This connection will cease after 5 seconds."


Before he could respond and object, he was cut off from the connection. Great. The last thing that he wanted to do was to meet with the Queen. With the unfolding events, his hectic, 'normal human' schedule would be surely ruined. All he could do was to let out a heavy sigh.


"I have to go." Ishi waved the phone at Ban. "I'll be keeping this for the meantime, if you don't mind." With that said, he would give one final look at Yuu and Sho before leaving.

 

[Sho Ise]

With thoughts of her waifu Nyankyunchan in Sho's mind, most of what was mentioned around her seemed gibberish until...


"お金～[Money~]" the part-timer twirled once, eyes sparkling.


The magical girl could wait. She would understand, right? Money made the world go 'rooooooound-


かわいい～かわいい～かわいいガール～！


-rang Sho's ringtone from within one of her weapon seals. The song was Kawaii Girl**, the opening of Super Kawaii Pom-pom Nyankyunchan's first season. And second season. Up to the current season, actually.


The Lost One pulled the phone out of wherever, put it up to her ear and... she sang along. The song ended but she never answered the call. Sho nonchalantly put the suitcase of money somewhere on her person just as the phone rang again. This time, she picked it up. A lot of screaming, cursing and explosions could be heard from the other end; Sho actually put the call on loudspeaker.


Sho's contact, probably her superior but I doubt she would refer to him as that, angrily told her pretty much what Ban already said. He then berated Sho for letting the first call go unanswered and warned her that it would be the last time that she could disres-


-bleep. Call ended.


Fast forward to the meeting because I don't feel like typing a lot and Sho's personality makes it difficult to not be banned. Since it was some formal thing of sorts, Sho of course wore a loose, low necked sheer white shirt and red hot pants. Everyone around her took their proper places and whatever but she didn't really feel like going through groups of people, so the Lost One stopped beside a row of seats and pulled out a wardrobe*** from her seals. She then perched atop the tall wooden furniture piece and waited for the meeting to begin.


Perfect.


** This is an actual song by an actual J-pop group (-ish?) called Super Dolls. It makes little sense if the audience cannot understand Japanese. It makes far less than little sense if the audience can understand Japanese. Disclaimer: I cannot guarantee that your mental health will remain intact when you listen to this.


*** Lion and Witch sold separately.

 

[Joe King]

                                                                                                                               (BTW Joeseph had taken 3 damage the last combat, one from Bloody desperation, two from the gunmen. I heal two wounds for going back to safe house.)


The full moon of the night's sky was a thing of beauty not often appreciated at street level, down there the gentle rays were drowned out by the sharp brightness of street lights, three, five stories up above the world of ordinary folk however became a world of a silvery purity, Joseph sailed over the skyline with precise parkcore as every step and leap served to reach a precise point in the most efficient way possible, unhindered despite the injury by his side. 5 months had barely changed the landscape and despite being reassigned frequently his heart raced in this environment, Japan was where he had been born and returned to in his late teens to make the sky his ally/. At the peak of his stride he froze in the of the roof and gazed out behind him, a gargoyle for hireable to decorate one house for just $2 for 15 second. Then the shadow was away again, freezing several times dropped down a narrow alley in a bunch of single flat apartments, his feet burnt rubber as he slid down legs sprayed to land softly in the valley. He padded his hair gently and gave content smile before he slowly strolled, the few inhabitants in this neighbourhood paid much heed to the bloodied white man that paused before a flat door; it was a fairly rough neighbourhood so most people were preoccupied with something or other during that period. Almost as if bloodied foreigners were a common occurrence in this slummy district, and even as he fumbled through his pockets no one paid much heed to the soft curses that trickled from his throat.


“Oh right, keys were in the case. Bollocks.”


He sighed as he plucked a small metallic earring from his right ear, unfolded it into a lock pick and, after a little fiddling and a couple more less sensitive curses, he paused, adjusting his posture for better leverage he found the sweet spot and open the pea-


JESUS DWARF YOUR PICKING A LOCK NOT WRITING AN EROTICA.


Ok, it sodding opens.


The apartment was a sparsely adorned place, stock kitchen, the living space was as plane was could be, with the bed shoved to one side of the room, a bare floor with boring thick mat over the floor. Joseph sighed as he and got a shower from a similarly plain bathroom and sowed his wound up with a sowing kit, knocking back strong painkillers to ease the worst of the pain. Then, after talking a moment to check himself in the mirror, especially the hair “Ah this adhesive is good stuff.”, he causally strolled naked into the living area and opened the wardrobe. Suits, a lot of suits and equally tasteless ties, with only one causal item standing out, blood red robes This was removed and; with a little effort the back panel of the wardrobe exposing the real treasure trove; a rack of weapons.


“Pretty lively for dead man, I kept telling you not carry deadman switches into town.” Joe cocked an eyebrow as he dried his hair, a 50 something lady with greyed hair and features that could be mistaken for any old lady. People posted on assignments usually had a in-between to report and receive assignments from in town and she was no exception, mostly made up of the Kurama Shin who either didn’t make the proper standard taken grievous injury or had simply grown old, she was of the former but a good enough operative of 30 something years that he simply called Mom (that and he honestly couldn’t be bothered remembering names of characters that would appear in a singular panel. XD). Any report passed to her would be forwarded her contacts who would then report counsel elders, known as the shogun collective of which the clan leader was one. Considering the Shin’s role was to monitor and censor anything or anyone related to the Shinobigami that included postings aboard to track down loose ends, this modular structure was efficient.


Often information about incidents came through other feelers, so Needless to say, a lot of little feelers caught wind of that incident. So he talked; I mean, it had to be pretty creepy if she had to watch him dress. “Well mom, three gunmen, I felt I was justified triggering it.” “Little Joseph, what would you have done if it went off in the bar?” “If it did, I would’ve been already dead it would have killed my targeted and I likely wouldn’t give a shit either way.” He gave a shrug of indifference as he dressed and tied his belt tight. “If I was still alive I could have diffused it in two seconds, funnily enough I know the codes, just it had been moved.” “So what happened?”




The ninja frown darkened as he donned a robes for a moment he considered lying but then mothers either found out anyway or made it up, “The free masons are here. An artefact was detained by them; I don’t know how they got it but it seemed important enough for them want to silence the source. A meetings been called to figure out .”


She fell silent as he continued to work silently, attaching a satchel around his back, a couple blades at his hip knife on each arm, the last large object he picked up a gigantic umbrella that he hoisted on his shoulder. Lastly he palmed a little red mask baring the face of an Oni and examined it with an absent smile; demon hunters of old wore the skins of defeated into battle for extra protection though in these more hygienic times these masks. For a moment Joseph rocked his head side to side as he contemplated an idea he began to walk toward the front door with a heavy stride. “I’m going for a long walk. Could you be a love and tell school I won’t be teaching tomorrow? Make up something fun, dog ate the exam sheets, too hammered.”


Only his way was blocked, for the first time his eyes glanced down his nose with a slight kink in his brow. “What, no, you know the proper procedure Joseph, in clashes of national interest we have form the ancient convenient to protect our motherland. This is much beyond just our clan.” Joseph’s lip twitched, this time irritation “I disagree, our clan alone was entrusted with keeping the Shinobigami from returning to this world and for that time we murdered every rogue Oni, every petty minor god and every seeker of that ritual, what have the others done? Played a game of thrones and circle fucked each other in the arse for countless decades. Probably the only reason they want in is to seize a powerful artefact for themselves and I’m not going to give them that opportunity. Move.” He took a single step forwards,


“Joseph, you – Look , I’m sure there’s some that agree with that but now isn’t-”


The protest was silenced as the brutish blunt tip of the umbrella pressed against her throat as he forced her back, the slight grin and all but vanished from his features to be replaced by a face of silent fury as he extended his muscular arm out his advanced forced mom to stubble backwards. Of course he didn’t hit her in the face as that was sexist, yet strangely enough the mass murder of males on TV was ok and dandy in this world? Bullshit, but unless he wanted the feminist brigade to pull this production, even pissed off egotistical bastards needed to follow those rules.



“That look in your eyes suggests you don’t approve of me. I see that expression in thousands of worms every single day. But do you know why that doesn’t at all phrase me?” The man paused to listen to a reply that never came, “A King doesn’t need approval, so let the other glorious clans to play housemaid in the Shin’s wake, about time they did some real fucking work. Goodnight mom.”  A rough shove Joseph lobbed her backwards against the railing with a crack, by the time she came to the doorway was long vacant.


----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


”Hmmm, no obvious structural strengths, no weaknesses either, the right number of coffee machines… This place is too ordinary 


Joseph sat on top of a construction site with a microscope. However whichever way at the proposed complex was examined it looked like a simple skyscraper jaunting out of suburbia, square and anglar rimmed with bright red neon lights. it looked easy with the see through windows yet the 40 something story building was taller than the in progress building he was on. Despite the ease of the construction something made him feel uneasy; either because it gave him flashbacks of a diehard movie a shoeless guy took on terrorists but otherwise it a feeling he was missing something. Gangstas generally couldn't afford buildings like this, so could the Amercian have been pulling his leg? Joeseph sighed; he wasn't going to get any more information like this, a cavity search was in order and because this post has gone on enough, Joe rose to his feet-


“Not often I meet companeh on a moonlit stroll lika tis. Anothvar cosplayer? ‘Ow fancy.”


Joe’s eyes widened, suddenly aware of the shadow that stretched out behind him cast out by a neon billboard. How did he get tailed? A sharp voice stopped him from turning. One that sounded a mixture of pissed and sco- wait, kinda the same thing.


“Ah ah fella, dun’t ya be turnin’ around whity, or I’ll fac’ fook ya like the 4th of july, oar somethin’. I’ve gotta some questions ya will answer, please be a luv ‘n’ dun’t waste mah time.”


TO BE CONTINUED


----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


In the meantime the [SIZE=10pt]Kurama Shin Clan[/SIZE][SIZE=10pt] [/SIZE]was in attendance; 5 were dressed in ceremonial war gear of the samurai, fully masked and covered and silent, their only role was the protection of the clan. that stood silent sentinel around the elders, of which there was four in attendance. The clan leader, a one eyed man whom time largely seemed to ignore despite his greyed hair, his robes opened to show off the powerful body of the Japanese national as his form slouched back in the chair, despite the quiet chat he was having with his mistress his singular hard black eye always looked the crowd. Among the various historians and the like, it was quite clear the chunnin Joseph wasn't present, though one of the staff present looked visibly shaken by the choice of action her charge had taken.


(Summery: Joeseph is an arsehole and decides to try and beat the clan's to the punch; encounters complication. This totally isn't a ill conceived action that will bite him in the arse. In all seriousness though I will take a note out of your guys books and never talk pollitics again. XD)

 

[Rien]

(OOC: Last names will be said first for a more “authentic” take on writing? Is it even authentic? I think it is…


Take control of your conversations with your leaders/representatives to your characters. The overall discussion will lead to your joining the task force.)


The six heads of factions had finally come. While The Lost Ones had no leader, they had elected a person to represent them and their stance on the situation. It was dire, as a foreign entity was about to take part in the bid for the Shinobigami artifacts. Information was rarely shared between the Six when it came to the artifacts, but they also liked to keep the competition in-house. Foreign interest made domestic interest a combined effort. A single moderator stood in the center in what was a hexagon of clan leaders/representatives.


Hitori Kuroshio was the CEO of Yata Heavy Industries and also the head of the Hasuba Ninja Army. The man looked intimidating with his three-piece custom-tailored suit and silk tie, accompanied by his personal assistant. Hitori looked at his phone, continuously texting and keeping up with his emails, waiting for the meeting to start.


Mitsuyoshi Yagyu was also present. He was the head of the Kurama Shin Clan. He seemed strong, but humble. His demeanor was not imposing nor was it threatening. Rather, he seemed rather calm. His katana was held in his hand, but backwards, showing his peaceful attitude of the summit of leaders. He sat down, and his assistant was behind him as well, but it was more his best student than assistant. He seemed to care for the leader more than the leader himself.


The Lost Ones had no real leader, however for this summit, they had elected a representative to attend and would make the decision for the faction. The name she gave was Akira. Anonymous as anonymous could get. She had a sense of mystery around her and did not seem phased by the fact that she was in company of the greatest members of the other factions. Akira had many things under her sleeves, but she kept them hidden. She knew the rules of the summit, and hopefully would not start any trouble.


Hirasaka Ubume entered the room, in her own custom-tailored suit. She had an air of dominance and intelligence. Her glasses added to her demeanor and her eyes were ever watchful, looking for any bit of blackmail she could use, at least when the time was right. She sat down with elegance, and it could only be thought that she was royalty when she walked and interacted with anyone. She was accompanied by several handmaidens, who kept her informed of her information network.


Rokaku Arthur Masashige was a man of small stature, however don’t let that fool you. He was important, he was crafty, and he was also half-Japanese. His other half was of English descent. His blue eyes gave away that he was not completely Japanese, but he seemed skilled and he seemed perceptive. Behind him was his “vice-principal” who was also in charge of managing things while he was away.


Lastly was Yatonokami Torihiko, but unfortunately he was not present. It made sense. To be present was to acknowledge the existence of his faction. Missing, he was simply still a possibility, however the information network of the HIrasaka as well as the Otogi were quite accurate, and they had good sources that they existed and were guised as a cult. It was good they were not present, as they were the ones who were pushing for the return of the Shinobigami. It was something that would best be avoided at the time being.


Ban stood behind his faction leader and treated her with respect. “Hiraska-san… I do hope that the discussion goes well. This is a matter that I believe should be dealt with as the whole of Japan, instead of separate factions. After such matters are dealt with, we can decide how to continue,” he said. The miko nodded her head and looked towards Ban. “I know, Ban. We have little power in terms of strength. We rely on information, and I already have some insight as to their moves. I’m more interested as to how they got our information, and how I did not know that they had arrived… Ban, I’ll be leaving you as our representative of the task force, as you are the most up to date and aware of the situation. Do not mess this up,” she said cooly. Ban nodded and stepped back, while still bowed. The meeting would start soon and each of the leaders would discuss of what should be done.


The tensions were high. Many factions were enemies of another and mostly did not get along, however this was going to be a peaceful meeting. While atmosphere was fragile, each leader knew how to deal with each other without stepping on each others’ toes. They knew the stakes at hand, should they not work together for Japan. There would be chaos should the Americans and the English accomplished their goals and summoned the Shinobigami for themselves. Each of the leaders continued to discuss, for hours, as to what should be done. Finally, an agreement had come to terms, and that would be the task force would go forth and seek the shinobigami items, but each would be divvyed up between each clan. The first would go to the Hasuba. The second to the Kurama Shin. The third to the Lost Ones. The fourth to the Hirasaka. The fourth to the Otogi, and it would continue backwards until all pieces were collected. This would ensure that the Shinobigami was not summoned, and that each clan had no hold over any other.


Finally, the group was settled and ready to depart.


Ban went towards the middle as Hirasaka Ubume had called his name as the representative of the task force. He was not the weakest, nor was he the strongest, but he was resourceful. He had certain skills not many could boast of. He stood at the center, and awaited to see the rest of his teammates.

 

[Sho Ise]

At first she was not there, and then she was there. Akira had emerged from Sho's wardrobe. But ssh! You weren't supposed to notice that. Referred to as "she" or "her" because English is such a gender-specific language, in vernacular Akira was only ever referred to as "that person". Sure, she seemed to be female but her body was hidden under layers upon layers of robes and cloth so neither breasts nor curves could be seen. When addressing those from the other clans, Akira spoke with polite "watashi" and "anata" but whenever she turned to her own clan members, Akira spat out rough "ore" and "omae".


Sho looked on at the meeting with her carmine eyes, only partially interested. The girl cringed as she remembered that call from before... from the Moonflower clanhead. VOMIT-WORTHY NAME. Who kills people for money and then names their clan with the word "flower"?! Was it some kind of poetic nonsense? She heard that it was, something about beauty in death, how human lives were as fragile as flowers.


H.U.R.L.


The part-timer shuddered as she felt a bit of stomach acid rise up her throat. Ugh. She was one of them but she hated that name and would rather not have anything to do with it. But money was life and maybe this assignment was her ticket to an immense amount of it. Well, she let the witch out of the wardrobe, now where was the lion? Somewhere in the audience, she reckoned. That Hibashira dude of Number 9 who wanted to make a peaceful village and whatnot. Peace was not Sho's thing but he was useful, to say the least. Iori-kun was sensible enough to speak with and was not as loud or obnoxious as Manrikichi, the head of [vomit]Moonflower[/vomit]. The third sub-clan leader, Jacques the Monkey, was not someone that Sho ever bothered with. Gaijin, half, mudblood... eew.


The clan leaders did as clan leaders do while Sho sat on her wardrobe not really giving a f*ck. Until Akira waved for her to come over, that is. She was to be formally introduced as a member of the task force. Wow, she sure was dressed for the occasion! The little one hopped off of her wardrobe, tucked the furniture away (somehow, because ninja hax) and then she skipped down the steps all the way to the gathered leaders.


"こちらはショウさんです～[This is Sho~]" Akira introduced Sho to those around them. Politely.


"Yo!" Sho greeted the leaders and other members of the group with her right hand's middle finger.


Akira gave Sho a quick backhand slap right across her face.


"すみません！ちょっとまってください～[I'm sorry! Please give us a moment.]" the Lost Ones' leader bowed deeply towards her fellow leaders and then she took Sho aside and faced away from the group, "お前を殺す、馬鹿野郎 [I'm going to kill you, fool]"


Sho sighed and rolled her eyes. The slap still stung but the part-timer did not rub the pain away. Instead she just stuck her tongue to her cheek from the inside. Like a defeated child who was scolded by her parent, Sho turned to the group that she flipped off earlier and she bowed apologetically with a very tiny 失礼しました [I'm sorry for my rudeness] thrown in. Sho was at the wrong place at the wrong time so there was little choice but to send her off. Surely, if Akira could assign someone else, she would have done so because that would be more sensible... right?

 

[kaleidoscopeuser]

"Well look at that, the 'Stray' is at this spot." Yuu inwardly cringed at the sound of the voice, but like any trained shinobi kept a stoic outward appearance. "But I suppose you would have stayed in the proper area if any of them bothered to show up. Almost makes me sympathize why you left. Almost." The owner of the voice being Shiyo Ai, Guidance Counselor of Otogi and co-clan member of Yuu. With perfect looks, Ai would have been the kind women Yuu would have chased after, her obsession with harassing him made any attraction disappear within 5 minutes of knowing her. 


"Ai. Always a pleasure." The sarcasm was pretty obvious. A predatory grin showed on Ai's face, showing her amusement at his reactions. "A little bunny, and by bunny i mean one of the nurses, told me your part of the reason this whole shindig is happening. Mind telling me what happened?" Her charming tones didn't work on Yuu as he just adjusted his glasses and listened to the gathering of leaders below.


As far as clan summits went, this was very tame. No one had crushed a table or threatened to sue someone just yet. Nothing like a common enemy to bring warring clans together. This was probably the first time a joint task force had ever been created. That group would have to be able to look past any clan issues as well as any arguments for leadership. He'ld hate to have to be in a group like that-"Sagitsuki Yuu"-Moon dammit!


There was only a chuckle to break the professional silence as Ai shoved Yuu to get moving. He sent a glare at her which she answered with a finger. With no choice on the matter, Yuu stepped on the stage and stood beside the two other questionable teammates. This was going to be a long RP.

 

[ishi_kudo]

Hitori Kuroshio.


A personality the 'Queen' chose whenever there was a gathering like this. Well, it had been a while since the pragmatic head of the Hasuba Ninja Army took this form. And truth be told, being Hitori was its least preferred appearance. But considering the gravity of the recent events, it had to wear this empty shell once more. It was quite fitting in this oddly convention really. By being Hitori Kuroshio, the 'Queen' was able to play the intimidating act.


Though seemingly immersed in reading and replying to his e-mails and text messages, 'Hitori' was still aware of his surroundings. A 'man' of his stature has its enemies. So was the faction that he was representing. This may be a peaceful meeting at the beginning, but it could become bloody and twisted in the end.


"How's our business at sector 21, Saya?" Hitori asked hi personal assistant, his eyes were still gazing at the device on his hands.


"I received reports that the initial set of tests yielded favorable results." Saya, a voluptuous woman sporting blonde locks and red suit, replied plainly. "Final testing will be done this coming Friday. I believe we have that scheduled on your calendar." She added.


"Perfect." Hitori smiled, fingers still busy with his phone. Quite a busy man he was. But he immediately stopped whatever he was doing when the meeting started. This whole mess piqued his interests.


===


And so the discussion on how to deal with the Freemasons started. It was quite intense, if one was to listen to the arguments of each clan heads. Each brought up ideas on how to manage this coming threat. Soon enough, it was decided that a task force comprised of their chosen representatives would be sent out on a mission to retrieve the Shinobigami items.


Each faction had called out their chosen representatives. And when it was the Hasuba's turn, Hitori leaned towards Saya and whispered to her. Surprised with his choice, the assistant simply smiled and spoke in behalf of Hitori.


"Kudo, Ishi"


Amidst tbe crowd, brunette with tall and fit frame stood up and approached the center. It was a young man wearing a black and white traditional kimono. His appearance was quite different from the time when he was at Ban's bar. So it wouldn't be a surprise if the others won't recognize him. But for him to take a different look of that level in a short amount of time was beyond logic.