The Agni Saga- Part II
Side note: You don't need to have read the previous chapters to understand what will go on from here, but of course they will play a part in future chapters. So read them if you're intrigued by this :D
Prelude
‘Tell me… where can I find him?’
‘The culinary district. He’s been known to serve the best ramen.’
‘You better be right. I don’t like taking multiple trips.’
‘Just ask for Shirobi Atense; you won’t have to wait.’
The sound of water speeding through the small creeks always seemed to delight Reina. Rubbing her eyes, she woke up to the sunlight gently caressing her brown hair. She walked out and started getting ready for the day- kneading the dough, cleaning the mats, polishing the counter and finally turning the sign to open the ramen distillery. She let out a sigh, and waited for her first customer.
Somber piano on the radio and a lazy morning didn’t seem to faze Reina’s motivation to keep making more noodles. She knew that someone would come along eventually, and she was right- the first customer of the day was an accountant who lived a few blocks away and worked at the village’s arena.
‘Ah, welcome Higeshi-san. The usual?’ Reina asked with a pleasant smile.
‘That's right, Reina’ replied Aizawa Higeshi'
‘You never lose that smile of yours, do you? It has been 7 months since you started, and I’ve never seen you in a bad mood’
‘I guess things have been good for me since I quit being a shinobi’
‘Yes, a shinobi lifestyle doesn’t suit everyone’
Reina knew that all too well. After all, she had moved to the Kazangakure with Akaihono to train to be the best user of ninja tools and ended up messing up worse than she could imagine.
Reina always believed that being a shinobi was a given, she assumed that she would rise up and become the kage. She had never even considered the possibility of her messing up as badly as she did.
‘Here we are. Enjoy!’ she delivered the ramen.
As she turned back to work, Reina heard a loud crash outside. After sharing a look with Higeshi, she headed out to see what the commotion was.
The vegetable vendor Takaoki-san was on the ground, potatoes all around. He had a foot on his throat.
‘Who is Shirobi Atense here?’ asked the buff brute who had put Takaoi-san on his back.
‘Tell us where to find him and we won’t break your neck’ said the hooded man who had his foot on Takaoi-san.
‘Let us head back in. We do not want any trouble’ Reina whispered to her customer as she swallowed in her shame and fear.
Reina felt eyes on her as she headed inside.
‘I swear, I have no idea who that is!’ Takaoi-san replied.
‘Yaa-chan, I’m going to ask other people. You take care of little Mr. Vegetable here’
The hooded man followed Reina into the shop.
‘Hello, little lady’
‘W..welcome. Would you like a bowl of our finest ramen?’ Reina asked, nervously.
The hooded man smiled.
‘Nice try. Unfortunately, I am an impatient man. Tell me where I can find Shirobi Atense’
‘I haven’t heard of that name, I apologize’ Reina lied
‘Don’t fuck with me, you little bitch. I could kill the both of you and burn down this little distillery without a second thought. Now tell me. Where can I find Shirobi Atense?’
With her hands shivering Reina started to sweat, not knowing what to do. She heard another loud crash. The man pulled his hood down in surprise, revealing his short white Mohawk, and a violent scar down the back of his skull.
‘Yaa-chan, is everything alright?’
‘Oh of course. Everything is lit as fuck, boy.’
Confused, the man stepped outside and within seconds, Reina heard him fall. He had fallen to the ground, face first. Reina was relieved, but weary still. She peered outside her window. The Atense gang were facing off against “Yaa-chan”. With one eye closed and bleeding, the brute was in obvious pain as he stood against three men.
The one on the far left was wiping his kunai.
The one in the middle had a cigarette in his mouth,
And the last one was pulling his kunai out from the throat of the man with the white colored Mohawk.
The dark skinned man-killer stared into Reina’s red eyes with a pair of his own as he pulled his kunai out of the man with the mohawk. He turned around and flung his kunai at Yaa-chan swiftly, with no effort. It was too fast to evade, but Yaa-chan had managed to save his other eye at the cost of his fist.
The one on the far left leapt through the air, landing on Yaa-chan’s shoulders and bitch-slapped him. They continued to attack him till he fell to his knees as blood and tears covered his face.
The man in the middle finally spoke.
‘Scurry back and tell your piece of shit boss how badly you were beaten. Shirobi Atense doesn’t spare his precious time on fools’
After letting out a puff of smoke, he put out his cigarette on Yaa-chan’s remaining eye, and walked over to Takoi-san. He bowed and apologized for the mess. He turned around and looked at Reina with disappointment before he leapt into the air along with the other two.
----The End----
Chapter 2
Gebai
Act: 1
Scene 1
A rustic, old shop, with used ninja tools hung on the walls and
chemicals offered for sale. The shopkeeper, a handsome, tall, sleek man with
class. He uses his handkerchief to wipe a glass tumbler. The door opens
and the shopkeeper recognizes the customer. Putting the glass down and
straightning his clothes, he greets the customer.
GEBAI <loud, enthusiastic>
Ah! Welcome! It has been far too long.
Shady hooded man
Hello, Gebai. Good to see you, what have you got for us today?
GEBAI
Of course sir, come along. I have mustered up the finest meat you can hope to find around these parts
Shady hooded man
I would hope so. After last time, it was a pain to get permission to fund your little 'project'. I'd expect only top notch results
GEBAI
*bows*
I am grateful. I assure you: you will find the product to your liking. Right this way.
Gebai leads the man through the door behind the counter and
the screams of several women are heard, along with loud thuds.
The dark passageway is covered in blood, and the ground with scattered hay.
Shady hooded man
How have you managed to silence these screams? I couldn't hear anything outside. Much better than last time.
GEBAI
Thank you, but it came at a cost. Those pigs from last time came in handy. Shame we couldn't find a buyer.
*gesturing*
Ah, right in here..
Gebai leads the figure to a steel barred door which opens with a loud creak.
Several half-naked women cower in fear at the sight of their visitors.
---------------
29
It had been quite some time since Shirobi Atense had walked inside the mansion. Waiting on a tree for 7 hours straight was not an activity that 29 enjoyed. Lifting his ANBU mask, he wiped his eyes in frustration. He hadn't been able to listen in on his target, so he decided waiting for an opportunity to follow his objective and find his safe house.
29 had been behind Atense for the past few months. Spotting Atense on his way to the ANBU base was his golden opportunity to get to the missions outside the village. The Atense mission was an open one, and to have had no other ANBU shinobi spot Atense was like a gift meant for 29. If only he could pinpoint the nature of Atense's visit to the Hidden Snow embassy, he would be able to sabotage his plans and get placed in the team of his choice. If this meant waiting for long hours, it was worth it.
Finally, someone came out of the big white and blue coloured building. Swiftly pulling his mask down, 29 was ready to move. Atense looked
around in suspicion, before he disappeared.
'FUCK' 29 exclaimed, as he spotted Atense running across the roofs. 'How did he get so far away?' he thought as he was ninja-jumped across the buildings to catch up to Atense. Stealth was no longer viable, and he had to force Atense to spit out the details. 29 gathered more chakra to his knees and feet, and landed on the same building as Atense.
Chasing Atense, 29 unsheathed his katana, and slashed at his objective only to be greeted with a puff of smoke.
'FUCK ME!'
Putting his sword back, 29 sureyed his surroundings and saw no traces of a huge man with long dark blue hair. He smacked his lips in disappointment and headed back to the ANBU base.
Well, the man had been avoiding top level ANBU shinobi for over a decade now, and 29 wasn't completely sure that it was Atense anyway. But, he still had to report what had happened. Afterall, he had been missing for over 8 hours without checking in.
Reina
'Oh yeah!'
Funky jazz music and fancy people dancing around the bar was so familiar. In the spirit of the historical day, Reina got drunk and started dancing with Akaihono. The wooden floor creaked at their strong thuds and the entire bar was cheering for the two of them.
A few hours of joyous and fast paced dancing had gone by in what seemed to Reina like minutes. The gleeful hours of no worries broke when Akaihono lifted Reina up in the air, when she realized that the bar had no roof. She noticed the pitch black eptiness stretching far and wide, and she reached out to Akaihono as she was coming down, only to realize that there was no one there to help her.
Falling on the floor, Reina had broken her arm. When she lifted her head and looked up, there was no music, and no people around her. She wasn't drunk anymore, and she didn't feel the wood beneath her feet groan and creak.
She saw the emptiness engulfing the entire room, coming closer to eat her whole. Reina ran, and kept running. She could see no destination, but the ground beneath her feet was still sturdy, so she kept running away. The emptiness eventually caught up with her, as she realized what was going on.
When Reina finally opened her eyes, she realized that she was seated in a dark room. What had happened? How had she ended up wherever this was? She remembered one of those guys- Agami had been in her store. Reina felt up her face with her palms, and realized that she wasn't tied up. The room was still pitch dark, nothing to see. As she waved her hands around, she felt a table and cups with what she assumed was sake.
Her vision had never become dull. She could see her nose and the rest of her body just fine; the surroundings had become pitch black, but that was changing. Slowly, the table and the cups became clearer. When she looked around, she was seated next to a bunch of girls, Agami and one of the men from yesterday.
'ol- so shall we start?' said Agami. She realized now that she hadn't been hearing anything either. Genjutsu. Fuck.
Gebai
Act: 1
Scene 2
A dark passageway, girls- naked and cowering in fear; Gebai
in conversation with the Shady hooded man
Gebai
Excellent; I'll have them delivered by tomorrow. Transportation will be done during the night, obviously; I could use some security though. You never know who is going to turn up and mess up our plans.
Shady hooded man
Of course; I'll see to it that you have five men to do with as you please. I am impressed, Gebai. Funding you next time will not be a problem, as long as you deliver as expected.
Gebai
*bows*
Well then, it has been a pleasure. Let me lead you outside.
Gebai leads the man outside after which he re-enters and snaps his fingers
Swiftly, a white haired teenager appears, bowing.
Gebai
Send the ones in #5 outside the village. *pause* Go with them. I don't trust this.
Teenager
Yes sir. Will I be meeting with the representatives of the Hidden snow?
Gebai
Hush
*looks outside the window with an evil smile*
You never know who is listening.
*bends down to teenager's ear and breathes very heavily as he smells*
<whispers>
Mmm... give your contact the letter on my table.
<normally>
So, what's on the schedule for next week?
Teenager
There was a hawk, sir. Kiroshi-sama has sent word that he might visit next week if things go well.
------------------
Hearing the name Kiroshi filled Gebai with so much excitement that he couldn't contain his grin. Finally, he could be himself. He had to start preparing. Oh, what would he wear? Violet always seemed to increase Kiroshi's heart rate.
IF things go well
There was a chance he wouldn't come. Gebai smacked his lips in frustration, but was still excited. He had prepare the shop. No, not the shop. He should take Kiroshi out this time.
'Leave me be' he said to Inoshi 'I've things to do'
Kiroshi
Kiroshi had just sent word to Gebai about the possibility of meeting him. Smiling, he jumped down to the road, and starting walking back to the bar. As he crossed the street, he noticed something off. He couldn't tell exactly what was wrong. It was not anywhere nearby, but somewhere noticable, there was a huge outburst of chakra. It wasn't just one person emitting such power. He felt multiple Jouin level chakra users nearby.
Kiroshi crossed the road whilst trying to pinpoint the location of this outburst.
'Oi Kiroshi!' Saburo shouted 'They're attacking! I'm just about to inform your team. You better get to the culinary district as soon as possible. They're wrecking everything in sight. Something you idiots did really pissed them off'
'But the chakra originated from the opposite direction' he thought to himself as he broke into the bar to get his team. 'What are we to do with the girl? It is possible that the Kimai had come to retrieve a clansman? No, she didn't look like she was from the city.'
As he approached their booth, Kiroshi announced to his team:
'There's trouble at the culinary district. We better check it out' Eyeing the girl, he pulled a kunai from his pouch and shot out of the bar, headed toward the culinary district with his team like last time.
'What the fuck is going on? What was with that huge chakra?' He thought aloud as he scaled the buildings.
----------THE END-------------