Lines of Loyalty

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Dahlia
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Lines of Loyalty

Post by Dahlia » Fri Aug 05, 2016 3:47 pm

Ai had made her way to the meeting point several hours early, a healthy dose of paranoia fueling the decision. Also a desire to be able to take a nice, slow walk through the markets before arriving at the warehouse. It was soothing to fade into the crowds and watch the people of the village going about their lives, unaware of her intentions for the day or how it affected them. That peace of mind in the masses was her biggest motivation after all. She turned the corner sharply out of the flowing crowds to slip into the alleys that lead to the meeting place.

However quaint and well kept the shops looked from the front, the alleys hidden behind them were just as dingy and molded as one would expect. The smell of garbage and mildew caused her to briefly scrunch her nose before she walked into the warehouse without another moment of hesitation. The place was empty for the most part, littered with dust and cobwebs, and containing a singular large room with a smaller interconnected back storage area. Thankfully with no doors or windows in the latter for her to worry about. The wood was damp and weak in both the walls and the floor, making the floors and front door creak beautifully.

Ai placed herself near the entry of the back room facing the door. A good twenty-five feet between her and the door she created a false relaxation in her posture and crossed her arms. A position she knew she could easily maneuver them out of to begin forming hand seals. She leaned against the wall behind her and awaited her teammates for this assignment.

Ishiguro Zipo and Ishiguro Souma. A set of brothers, which was interesting in itself, with a powerful skill set and some useful experience in the necessary fields. She had yet to work with either directly, but their reputation was enough for her to have heard a few things. Souma was the biggest risk going into this from what she could tell with his...history. The meeting was in part for Ai to make her own observation on her potential team members as well as debrief them like they'd been told. She assumed they had at least some idea of the classified nature of the assignment. A scroll with a meeting place, minimal details on the mission aside from 'high risk infiltration assignment' and other simarly vague information.

One thing was certain about this, the result would be interesting. Regardless of what direction things took a turn in. Ai smirked, whether in anticipation or as part of the persona she aimed to put out, even she wasn't quite sure.

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Willoria
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Lines of Loyalty

Post by Willoria » Sun Aug 07, 2016 12:26 pm

Souma wasn't exactly put at ease by the instructions he received. The man might have been fresh back into the field, but he knew a highly secretive mission when he received one. He hoped that there would be more details available once he arrived, and he was certain that would be the case. Of course first he'd gone by the shop to make sure the young woman he'd hired to take care of things in his absence would be there. He also had to make sure the equipment he used for his work was turned off properly and couldn't be turned back on without his involvement. He had not trained anyone else in the glass work or the silver work and so he didn't want anyone messing with it. The girl, Aiko, came highly recommended from other shop owners, she was known to watch and run shops minimally while their owners went on shinobi missions and she was very good at what she did. But Souma of course still wasn't going to take any chances.

It was only once he was certain she had settled into place that Souma left, scratching the back of his neck in some small show of nervousness. The scroll had at least let him know who to look for, and his brother being there was a source of his nerves. Souma may have been the older brother in many respects but the pair were quite opposite of one another. Zippo could be seen as proud at his best, and Souma had tried to quit feeding his ego some time ago. When the pair were together it wasn't much of an issue, the ego hardly appeared but going on mission together was different entirely, and so Souma wasn't exactly certain what to expect. He wasn't sure to this day if the reason his brother was so different around him was because he was relaxed or did he really treat Souma differently because of his late wife? Did he view his elder brother as weak?

Souma did what he could to push those worries aside, running a hand through his hand as he arrived at the meeting place and stepped through the door, not entirely sure what to expect.
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zippo
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Lines of Loyalty

Post by zippo » Wed Aug 10, 2016 11:04 am

Fading from black to clarity, was a scene. In this scene revealed Mikuyo, laying on the ground. In first-person perspective was Zippo, looking at her from above, legs resting over her abdomen. Right into her chest was a blade, Zippo's blade. Thumping inside of his chest in frustration were his lungs.

He couldn't believe what he was doing, and his vision was starting to blur due to a gathering of tears. What made it worse? Mikuyo's arms were beginning to stretch, shaky and weak in their attempt to embrace her murderous lover. As soon as her palm delicately embraced his hip, his voiced uttered her name: "Mikuyo"

Immediately, as if a camera could simulate the surprise by zooming back from his face, his eyes started to open. Wide, breath bating, mind in true clarity. He was aware that the experience was only a dream, but beads of sweat over his forehead made it evident that the experience felt more than real.

Confined within his realm, head resting against a cold, reflective surface surrounded by golden vapor, Zippo took another breath before sitting up. He still couldn't believe what he did, although the dream depicted reality, it wasn't too far from the truth. Luckily, real Mikuyo survived in the real world. The girl in his dream didn't look so good.

No matter, he knew what today meant. He needed to get on with the mission he was assigned to. In his hand was a scroll, in its contents read the initiative and who're with him on the mission: Ai and Souma. It's been a while since he was on a mission with his older brother. With the two working together, nothing could go wrong... on the outside.

Zippo still had feelings for his brother's own feelings, near equivalent to his very own. The man faced a similar level of sorrow recently. His attitude was quite different from how things were. It went to a level where Zippo would leave the field clear for Souma, not to show that he was weak, but to show that Zippo still had compassion in his sorrows for losing his wife. Zippo's sister-in-law.

Even though he was broken inside putting Mikuyo into a coma, he knew he'd be in a much worse shape if the trick from the enemy's Genjutsu led him to murderer his own girlfriend. The thought of such a fate made him momentarily melancholy before his body sank into the atmosphere, transporting his body through space and time into what looked like a particular area inside Lightning Country.

Located at their rendezvous point, he saw Souma's back enter the place. Zippo noticed that he had arrived on time. With that, he too pressed the door open, and out of habit since childhood: he opened it with his fist.

As usual, he hid his emotions with an grin of arrogance. He wanted to say: 'I see you two look sleepy.' But then realized Souma's personal situation, and dropped the ball. He maintained his grin, but changed his mind on what to say:

"Yo."

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