Night. The moon shone a brief light revealing the form of a shadow moving through shadows. It was a mansion with walls patrolled by chuunin skilled in sensory techniques, yet the shadow slipped passed them un-noticed. Behind the first, a head touched the back of his head. A soft sigh escaped his lips and fell into a stupor. She sat him on a chair and made him comfortable. As the shadow entered the building, the lights on the lanterns began to be snuffed out, one by one, in passing. It seemed like this formless shapeless creature passed by and the life and light within the manor were sucked out. The shadow continued to move from room to room until the door of a bedroom was reached. Within the chamber was a man sleeping soundly in a canopy bed. The shadow moved to the side of the bed and with a single jutsu the man was bound before he knew what was happening.
’What is!? What?!’ He came to at the sudden stimulation. He looked into the shadow. It was the form and silhouette of a woman. Her smile showed teeth, but otherwise, no features were visible on her person. ’Y-you?’ Recognition filled the man’s features like a glass being filled with water. ’It can’t be, you are supposed to be.’ A Kunai was suddenly at his throat, and a finger pressed to the lips of the shadow. She placed her hands upon his head and his eyes rolled back as she began to search his mind for what she was looking for. Yes… there it was. She pulled it out of him. The man was left a mindless doll. She tucked him back into bed and released the jutsu that had restrained him. She admired her work before putting a pillow over his face. It was almost boring how he didn’t fight back. Yes, once he was dead, she put the pillow back in place. She did all of this with the expertise of an artist. No one would ever know that she had ever been there in the first place.
She made her escape from the manner and as she moved past the sensor shinobi she blew lightly on his ear. He began to stir, wiping at his ear as if an insect. The shadow smiled as she melted into the night. The Sensor shinobi got to his feet and stretched. He cursed himself for falling asleep resumed his patrol and reactivated his jutsu. Blissfully unaware of what was stolen that night.
The next day, Nakano found herself working in the morgue. It was a job that few desired, and even fewer could stomach. Call it a bless or a curse, but working with dead bodies did not bother her in the least. Additionally as she had already received some medical training she was already prepared for this. She wasn’t a medical shinobi, but her qualities enabled her to work in the hospital, and so here she was in the morgue. The doors down the hall slammed open with the squealing of a gurney on its way to the morgue. She put the body she had been working on away. She pulled off her gloves and washed her hands before moving towards the new arrival. One of the men approached her. “Got a fresh one for you. Found dead this morning.” He handed her the paperwork where she signed her name on behalf of the morgue. She paused when she noted that the Konoha Ninja Police had requested an autopsy as soon as possible. She glanced over at the dead man, and wondered who he had been in life or what had happened to him for this to trigger this type of urgency.
It wasn’t much later when the doctor was present and she came to assist him with the autopsy. Everything seemed to be in order for a death by natural causes, but there was something that had begun to bother Nakano about this corpse. There was blood under his fingernails. She glanced at the man’s thigh and found that it seemed he had scratched a word into his own skin. ’Memory…’ she said aloud. Doctor Kurosawa paused. ”Did you find something nurse?” Nakano looked up into the doctor’s expecting eyes. ’I did. He has had blood under his nails - likely his own judging by this damage here.’ She gestured and Dr. Kurosawa made his way towards her and took a closer look at the injury and nodded upon looking at the nails. ” You’re right… he scratched this in his leg. Look at the tissue here - this is fresh. He did this right before he died.”
They looked in silence at the wound, trying to make heads or tails of it. ’Maybe he wanted someone to remember him?’ Dr. Kurosawa mused. ’not an uncommon last request. Everything else is pointing to him having died of natural causes. I’ll put the estimated time of death on the paperwork. Go ahead and put this one back on ice.’ Nakano didn’t let her feelings betray her. As a person with no feelings except her own dark urges and smiled and did as the doctor had asked, but inside of her the Yamanaka programing was trigger. PROTECT KONOHA.
There was something wrong here, but Nakano needed to examine the body closer. Dr. Kurosawa was hiding something - and it didn’t make sense to dismiss the word or the fact that he had etched the word himself into his own leg right before he died. As Nakano stored the body there was one conclusion that was becoming more and more obvious. This was some kind of message. He had desperately scratched that into his own thigh to send a message to those who found him, and Dr. Kurosawa not only waived it, but intended to report that this had nothing to do with the death. She would need to sneak back in here on her own and get a closer look at the body.
+1 Speed
75 Hours to Midnight: Nakano
-
HotelBravo
- Posts: 397
- Joined: Thu Jul 07, 2022 11:12 pm
75 Hours to Midnight: Nakano
After a long shift working in the morgue, Nakano headed back home. She needed to wait until the Morgue would be at its slowest hours. Unfortunately, there was no such thing as being closed for the hospital, that is why Nakano had to plan around the security and wait for an opportunity around the time when the least amount of people would be there. Luck would still be a factor. There wasn’t much she could do if someone got themselves killed and their body needed to be stored while she was trying to perform an autopsy. She filled a kettle with water and began to boil it while her mind began to construct a plan of entry into the hospital. She couldn’t be sure about this, about her suspicions until she had a closer look at the body. She needed to make sure that she didn’t cause any undue alarm that would tip off Dr. Kurosawa. If this was some kind of conspiracy Dr. Kurosawa was in on it, but if it wasn’t then she was risking her life and career for nothing. She also knew that the ANBU had a specialist interest in her. They had kidnapped her once and brainwashed her. Despite knowing that they had down this to her - the effects of the mind alteration made it so she was completely indifferent to everything that had occurred, and didn’t blame them for altering her mind. Still, this did mean that she would need to lose her tail before she made an approach to the hospital.
The minutes passed by. The Kettle began to whistle, and so she picked it up from the stove.She scooped some coffee grain into a french press soon accompanied by the boiling water. She stirred it with a spoon and let it steep for a minute before putting the top back on and slowly pushing down the press to force the ground to the bottom of the press. Once done she poured it into a cup with accompanied by some cream that she mixed in with a spoon. The aroma of coffee began to fill her apartment, and she sat at a small coffee table looking out over the city as the sun began its journey below the horizon while she sipped on freshly brewed coffee and planned. ’I will need to make it look natural. If the ANBU think that I purposefully leave them behind it might get reported as me disobeying curfew and my other orders as well. Protecting Konoha is my number one priority, so despite the fact that I’m disobeying orders - I am feeling like this is the right thing to do. I have to confirm the threat. Right now, I’d be rather bored if it turns out to be nothing.’
As the last light of the sun sunk below the horizon, she finished her cup of french pressed coffee and stood. It was time to begin. She set the cup down and rose to her feet. She stretched and made sure to warm her muscles up for this attempt. She considered that she should really invest some time in learning the shadow clone technique that Takeshi had shown her. It was much more useful than just bedroom things - it’d be useful for something like throwing off her minders such as now. Instead Nakano did things the hard way. She dressed for a night out in a tiny black dress and went to seemingly enjoy herself among Konoha’s night life. As she mixed in with the crowd, she would wait for her opportunity. The moment the Anbu blinked she had instantly dawned a disguise and was going home for the night. She took the long way to the hospital just to be safe, and once here stuck to the shadows, not wanting anyone to associate her with having been here if her hypothesis ended up being wrong. She was disguised as a nurse and used the transformation technique to wear the face of one of the random woman she had seen at the bar she had been at.
She pulled the body from its slab and began to review the body once again. An independent autopsy. The nails with the blood. She took samples from him and from under the nails. She had to be sure he wrote that on his thigh. Memory… what could it mean? She looked to the corpse’s head. ”Why would you scratch memory into your own thigh?” She asked the corpse aloud as she began to examine his head for any type of injuries. There was some extremely subtle bruising on his head. There was trauma to the brain consisting of chakra damage from a jutsu. It was similar and yet different from the type of jutsu that the Yamanaka were known to keep in their repertoire. This could only mean one thing - someone had stolen a memory or all his memories, and before he lost it all he scratched it into his thigh. The killer likely eliminated him at that time. They killed him without leaving a trace of any type of damage. It was consistent with suffocation, which had been ruled by Kurosawa as Sleep Apnea caused breathing failure.
This was clearly a lie. Dr. Kurosawa was definitely lying about this. She returned the body to the slab and cleaned up around the morgue before she noted that there was an Anbu in the room with her. She gasped and then cursed when she realized that it was her tail. She hadn’t been so sneaky after all. She dropped the illusion. ”Shit you scared me.” The anbu didn’t move. She knew that she needed further training and needed more spacial awareness to get on their level. She cursed that she had been caught and looked back to the Anbu, wondering what he would say next.
”You tried to lose me at the bar and then you snuck down here. I was worried you were about to go back to bad habits, but you started doing an autopsy again. One that I believe you did earlier. I assume you had a good reason for this. So. What did you find?”
+1 Speed
The minutes passed by. The Kettle began to whistle, and so she picked it up from the stove.She scooped some coffee grain into a french press soon accompanied by the boiling water. She stirred it with a spoon and let it steep for a minute before putting the top back on and slowly pushing down the press to force the ground to the bottom of the press. Once done she poured it into a cup with accompanied by some cream that she mixed in with a spoon. The aroma of coffee began to fill her apartment, and she sat at a small coffee table looking out over the city as the sun began its journey below the horizon while she sipped on freshly brewed coffee and planned. ’I will need to make it look natural. If the ANBU think that I purposefully leave them behind it might get reported as me disobeying curfew and my other orders as well. Protecting Konoha is my number one priority, so despite the fact that I’m disobeying orders - I am feeling like this is the right thing to do. I have to confirm the threat. Right now, I’d be rather bored if it turns out to be nothing.’
As the last light of the sun sunk below the horizon, she finished her cup of french pressed coffee and stood. It was time to begin. She set the cup down and rose to her feet. She stretched and made sure to warm her muscles up for this attempt. She considered that she should really invest some time in learning the shadow clone technique that Takeshi had shown her. It was much more useful than just bedroom things - it’d be useful for something like throwing off her minders such as now. Instead Nakano did things the hard way. She dressed for a night out in a tiny black dress and went to seemingly enjoy herself among Konoha’s night life. As she mixed in with the crowd, she would wait for her opportunity. The moment the Anbu blinked she had instantly dawned a disguise and was going home for the night. She took the long way to the hospital just to be safe, and once here stuck to the shadows, not wanting anyone to associate her with having been here if her hypothesis ended up being wrong. She was disguised as a nurse and used the transformation technique to wear the face of one of the random woman she had seen at the bar she had been at.
She pulled the body from its slab and began to review the body once again. An independent autopsy. The nails with the blood. She took samples from him and from under the nails. She had to be sure he wrote that on his thigh. Memory… what could it mean? She looked to the corpse’s head. ”Why would you scratch memory into your own thigh?” She asked the corpse aloud as she began to examine his head for any type of injuries. There was some extremely subtle bruising on his head. There was trauma to the brain consisting of chakra damage from a jutsu. It was similar and yet different from the type of jutsu that the Yamanaka were known to keep in their repertoire. This could only mean one thing - someone had stolen a memory or all his memories, and before he lost it all he scratched it into his thigh. The killer likely eliminated him at that time. They killed him without leaving a trace of any type of damage. It was consistent with suffocation, which had been ruled by Kurosawa as Sleep Apnea caused breathing failure.
This was clearly a lie. Dr. Kurosawa was definitely lying about this. She returned the body to the slab and cleaned up around the morgue before she noted that there was an Anbu in the room with her. She gasped and then cursed when she realized that it was her tail. She hadn’t been so sneaky after all. She dropped the illusion. ”Shit you scared me.” The anbu didn’t move. She knew that she needed further training and needed more spacial awareness to get on their level. She cursed that she had been caught and looked back to the Anbu, wondering what he would say next.
”You tried to lose me at the bar and then you snuck down here. I was worried you were about to go back to bad habits, but you started doing an autopsy again. One that I believe you did earlier. I assume you had a good reason for this. So. What did you find?”
+1 Speed
-
HotelBravo
- Posts: 397
- Joined: Thu Jul 07, 2022 11:12 pm
75 Hours to Midnight: Nakano
Nakano felt a rush of anxiety as she faced the ANBU operative in the morgue. Her heart raced, and her mind raced even faster as she tried to come up with a plausible explanation. She couldn't reveal the truth about her suspicions and her unauthorized autopsy, especially to someone from the ANBU.
Gathering her composure, she decided to play it cool. "I apologize if it seemed suspicious," Nakano replied, her voice steady and her demeanor calm. "I thought I saw something unusual during my previous examination of the body, and I wanted to double-check. You know how thorough we have to be in our work."
The ANBU operative remained silent, his mask giving away nothing of his thoughts.
Nakano continued, "There was a word scratched into the victim's thigh—'memory.' It just struck me as odd, and I wanted to make sure there wasn't anything unusual about his death that we might have missed. But it seems like a straightforward case of sleep apnea, as Dr. Kurosawa concluded."
The ANBU operative seemed to consider her explanation for a moment before finally nodding. "I understand your dedication to your work, Nakano, but remember to follow the proper procedures. If you find anything unusual, report it to your superiors. We can't have medical staff going rogue, even for the sake of curiosity."
Nakano nodded, her relief hidden beneath her professional facade. "Of course, you're absolutely right. I won't let it happen again."
With that, the ANBU operative turned and silently left the morgue, leaving Nakano alone once more. She watched him go, her mind racing with the newfound knowledge she had uncovered. It was clear that something sinister was afoot, and she couldn't trust anyone but herself to get to the bottom of it.
As she cleaned up the morgue and prepared to leave, Nakano knew that she had to tread carefully. She couldn't risk drawing any more attention to herself, especially from the ANBU. But she was determined to uncover the truth about the stolen memories and the mysterious death that had led her down this path. It was a dangerous game, but Nakano was willing to play it to protect Konoha and unravel the web of lies that had been spun around her.
Under the cloak of darkness, Nakano silently infiltrated Hideo's workplace, determined to uncover any elusive clues that might shed light on his mysterious death and the enigmatic theft of his memories. She approached the nondescript office building with caution, scanning her surroundings for any potential threats or security measures that might be in place.
The exterior of the building bore no distinctive markings, blending seamlessly into the bustling streets of Konoha. Nakano knew that her infiltration had to be discreet and undetected, her shinobi training proving invaluable in such situations. Her keen senses were heightened, her steps light as she moved toward the office entrance.
Upon entering the building, Nakano found herself in a dimly lit lobby with a reception desk that had been abandoned for the night. The soft glow of emergency exit signs illuminated the corridor ahead, casting eerie shadows on the rows of closed office doors.
The layout of the office was a labyrinth of cubicles and private offices, with winding corridors that seemed to stretch endlessly. The faint hum of office machinery, still running in standby mode, provided a soothing backdrop to her clandestine mission.
Nakano navigated through the maze-like office space, each step carefully placed to avoid any creaky floorboards or potential hazards. She moved with the grace and precision of a seasoned shinobi, her senses attuned to the slightest hint of danger. Her goal was to locate Hideo's workspace and search for any personal belongings or documents that might hold the key to the mystery.
After a series of turns and careful maneuvers, Nakano finally found herself at a cubicle that seemed to match the description she had gathered. It was cluttered with office supplies, family photos, and a stack of files. The cubicle held an air of personalization, a stark contrast to the sterile and impersonal atmosphere of the office.
With a sense of urgency, Nakano began sifting through Hideo's belongings, her gloved hands deftly examining each item for any clues. She knew that time was of the essence, and her determination to uncover the truth only grew stronger with each passing moment.
The distant echo of her own breath filled her ears as she searched, and the subtle scent of paper and ink hung in the air. The soft glow of her flashlight danced across the papers and photos, revealing a life that had once thrived within these cubicle walls. Nakano's heart raced as she scanned the area, hoping to find something that would bring her one step closer to unraveling the mystery surrounding Hideo's death and the stolen memories.
-
As Nakano continued her meticulous search through Hideo's belongings, she could hear the hushed voices of the office cleaners, Hiroshi and Yuki, growing closer. Her heart quickened its pace, and adrenaline surged through her veins as she realized that she needed to find a hiding spot and fast. The shadows of the dimly lit office suddenly became her best allies.
With a swift, silent movement, Nakano's eyes scanned the room for a suitable hiding place. She knew that the potted plant she had been behind earlier wouldn't provide enough cover this time. Her gaze landed on a tall filing cabinet standing nearby, its dark metal frame blending into the surrounding darkness.
As Hiroshi and Yuki's voices grew nearer, Nakano made a split-second decision. She silently glided toward the filing cabinet, her movements precise and agile. Her gloved fingers barely made a sound as she slid open one of the drawers, creating just enough space for herself to conceal her presence.
With utmost care, she slipped into the narrow gap behind the filing cabinet, her body pressing against the cold metal. The tight space left her with only inches to spare on either side. She steadied her breathing, inwardly cursing the size of her chest as it squeezed against her lungs making it difficult and giving her a suffocation sensation. She slowed her breaths until it was almost imperceptible, as she listened to the approaching cleaners.
Hiroshi's gravelly voice came into focus as they drew near. "We've got to be extra thorough tonight, Yuki. An ANBU's watching, and they ain't leaving any stone unturned."
Yuki's hushed response was laced with curiosity. "An ANBU? What happened to the guy who used to sit here?"
Nakano strained to hear their conversation, her ears finely tuned to their every word. The tension in the air was palpable as she listened, knowing that her presence needed to remain undetected.
Hiroshi's reply confirmed her suspicions. "Hideo, that's his name. He died under some mysterious circumstances, and the ANBU's here to make sure there's nothing suspicious going on."
Nakano's heart raced, and her grip on the scroll in her hand tightened. This newfound information deepened the mystery, and she knew that the scroll she had taken might hold vital answers.
As Hiroshi and Yuki inched closer to Hideo's desk, Nakano seized the moment to escape from her concealed spot. With a silent exhale, she emerged from behind the filing cabinet, moving like a wraith through the dimly lit office. The scroll was her only lead, and she couldn't afford to lose it.
She cast a quick glance at Hiroshi and Yuki, who remained absorbed in their conversation. Every step she took had to be precise and soundless as she retreated to a hidden alcove. Her mind raced, calculating her next move and the risks involved. The scroll she had taken was undoubtedly significant, but it also made her a potential target.
Nakano knew that unraveling this mystery would be a treacherous journey, one where every move could be her last. She clutched the scroll tightly to her chest, her determination unwavering, as she sought a safe place to examine its contents and unlock the secrets it held.
wc : 1330
+ 1speed
Gathering her composure, she decided to play it cool. "I apologize if it seemed suspicious," Nakano replied, her voice steady and her demeanor calm. "I thought I saw something unusual during my previous examination of the body, and I wanted to double-check. You know how thorough we have to be in our work."
The ANBU operative remained silent, his mask giving away nothing of his thoughts.
Nakano continued, "There was a word scratched into the victim's thigh—'memory.' It just struck me as odd, and I wanted to make sure there wasn't anything unusual about his death that we might have missed. But it seems like a straightforward case of sleep apnea, as Dr. Kurosawa concluded."
The ANBU operative seemed to consider her explanation for a moment before finally nodding. "I understand your dedication to your work, Nakano, but remember to follow the proper procedures. If you find anything unusual, report it to your superiors. We can't have medical staff going rogue, even for the sake of curiosity."
Nakano nodded, her relief hidden beneath her professional facade. "Of course, you're absolutely right. I won't let it happen again."
With that, the ANBU operative turned and silently left the morgue, leaving Nakano alone once more. She watched him go, her mind racing with the newfound knowledge she had uncovered. It was clear that something sinister was afoot, and she couldn't trust anyone but herself to get to the bottom of it.
As she cleaned up the morgue and prepared to leave, Nakano knew that she had to tread carefully. She couldn't risk drawing any more attention to herself, especially from the ANBU. But she was determined to uncover the truth about the stolen memories and the mysterious death that had led her down this path. It was a dangerous game, but Nakano was willing to play it to protect Konoha and unravel the web of lies that had been spun around her.
Under the cloak of darkness, Nakano silently infiltrated Hideo's workplace, determined to uncover any elusive clues that might shed light on his mysterious death and the enigmatic theft of his memories. She approached the nondescript office building with caution, scanning her surroundings for any potential threats or security measures that might be in place.
The exterior of the building bore no distinctive markings, blending seamlessly into the bustling streets of Konoha. Nakano knew that her infiltration had to be discreet and undetected, her shinobi training proving invaluable in such situations. Her keen senses were heightened, her steps light as she moved toward the office entrance.
Upon entering the building, Nakano found herself in a dimly lit lobby with a reception desk that had been abandoned for the night. The soft glow of emergency exit signs illuminated the corridor ahead, casting eerie shadows on the rows of closed office doors.
The layout of the office was a labyrinth of cubicles and private offices, with winding corridors that seemed to stretch endlessly. The faint hum of office machinery, still running in standby mode, provided a soothing backdrop to her clandestine mission.
Nakano navigated through the maze-like office space, each step carefully placed to avoid any creaky floorboards or potential hazards. She moved with the grace and precision of a seasoned shinobi, her senses attuned to the slightest hint of danger. Her goal was to locate Hideo's workspace and search for any personal belongings or documents that might hold the key to the mystery.
After a series of turns and careful maneuvers, Nakano finally found herself at a cubicle that seemed to match the description she had gathered. It was cluttered with office supplies, family photos, and a stack of files. The cubicle held an air of personalization, a stark contrast to the sterile and impersonal atmosphere of the office.
With a sense of urgency, Nakano began sifting through Hideo's belongings, her gloved hands deftly examining each item for any clues. She knew that time was of the essence, and her determination to uncover the truth only grew stronger with each passing moment.
The distant echo of her own breath filled her ears as she searched, and the subtle scent of paper and ink hung in the air. The soft glow of her flashlight danced across the papers and photos, revealing a life that had once thrived within these cubicle walls. Nakano's heart raced as she scanned the area, hoping to find something that would bring her one step closer to unraveling the mystery surrounding Hideo's death and the stolen memories.
-
As Nakano continued her meticulous search through Hideo's belongings, she could hear the hushed voices of the office cleaners, Hiroshi and Yuki, growing closer. Her heart quickened its pace, and adrenaline surged through her veins as she realized that she needed to find a hiding spot and fast. The shadows of the dimly lit office suddenly became her best allies.
With a swift, silent movement, Nakano's eyes scanned the room for a suitable hiding place. She knew that the potted plant she had been behind earlier wouldn't provide enough cover this time. Her gaze landed on a tall filing cabinet standing nearby, its dark metal frame blending into the surrounding darkness.
As Hiroshi and Yuki's voices grew nearer, Nakano made a split-second decision. She silently glided toward the filing cabinet, her movements precise and agile. Her gloved fingers barely made a sound as she slid open one of the drawers, creating just enough space for herself to conceal her presence.
With utmost care, she slipped into the narrow gap behind the filing cabinet, her body pressing against the cold metal. The tight space left her with only inches to spare on either side. She steadied her breathing, inwardly cursing the size of her chest as it squeezed against her lungs making it difficult and giving her a suffocation sensation. She slowed her breaths until it was almost imperceptible, as she listened to the approaching cleaners.
Hiroshi's gravelly voice came into focus as they drew near. "We've got to be extra thorough tonight, Yuki. An ANBU's watching, and they ain't leaving any stone unturned."
Yuki's hushed response was laced with curiosity. "An ANBU? What happened to the guy who used to sit here?"
Nakano strained to hear their conversation, her ears finely tuned to their every word. The tension in the air was palpable as she listened, knowing that her presence needed to remain undetected.
Hiroshi's reply confirmed her suspicions. "Hideo, that's his name. He died under some mysterious circumstances, and the ANBU's here to make sure there's nothing suspicious going on."
Nakano's heart raced, and her grip on the scroll in her hand tightened. This newfound information deepened the mystery, and she knew that the scroll she had taken might hold vital answers.
As Hiroshi and Yuki inched closer to Hideo's desk, Nakano seized the moment to escape from her concealed spot. With a silent exhale, she emerged from behind the filing cabinet, moving like a wraith through the dimly lit office. The scroll was her only lead, and she couldn't afford to lose it.
She cast a quick glance at Hiroshi and Yuki, who remained absorbed in their conversation. Every step she took had to be precise and soundless as she retreated to a hidden alcove. Her mind raced, calculating her next move and the risks involved. The scroll she had taken was undoubtedly significant, but it also made her a potential target.
Nakano knew that unraveling this mystery would be a treacherous journey, one where every move could be her last. She clutched the scroll tightly to her chest, her determination unwavering, as she sought a safe place to examine its contents and unlock the secrets it held.
wc : 1330
+ 1speed