[Yamamoto Shosuke]

It seemed like Azarea's suspicions had been right - From what she was saying, it was radiantly clear that this girl's daughter had been taking. But more than that, it was the way that she had said it that struck him off guard.

She 'didn't think they'd take them like the others'.

She seemed almost normalised, nonchalant, about the other girls, their abduction was such a routine fact of life that it was only that someone outside of their usual net had been taken that was so shocking.

His free hand that wasn't on her shoulder moved to gently place itself on her hand that held him, as if comforting her, letting her know it was alright. That he was here now.

"I can't promise you anything - I would like to, but nobody should lie to you right now. Not after what you've already lost." He said, his voice soft, as if trying to mute the blow a little. After all, how was he supposed to be making big promises and grandstanding after what had already happened? It wouldn't be honest, and if anything, it might push them away.

Instead, his words were quiet, understated, sincere. That honesty might do a great deal in endearing them to their hosts, rather than letting them think of them as 'the people who came too late'

"But still, I swear that my companion and I will do everything in our power to get your baby back. Unharmed." he said, before adding. "No. I mean, we're going to do everything we can to get everyone back unharmed the people that these monsters have stolen from you.

I can't guarantee results, all I can tell you is that we will give everything we have to make sure this happens. That's the least we can do, as your nation's Shinobi."

Shinobi... Many people would say that you were only a Shinobi once you passed your Chuunin exams, once you were a confirmed soldier for your village. But the actual nature of the rank didn't matter now, what mattered was the symbol it represented. Protectors, defenders of the nation, those who would risk their own lives to safeguard other people. They weren't just servants of the Daimyo, weren't complicit in their crimes against common decency. They served the people.

"That said, in order to do that? We need all the information you can spare. Everything at all, from their numbers, to where they come from. If you don't know their hideout, just give us a direction. The more information you are able to give us, the better chance we have of making sure that everyone involved gets out okay."

411 words | Aburame Azarea

SPOILER: Click to show

Jutsus Used: None

[Aburame Azarea]

The Devil That You Forgot

Questions

"Thank you. Thankyouthankyouthankyou." The woman sobbed out clinging to Shosuke like a life line as she cried finding the strength once more for tears after her heart had begun to shrivel and dry with pain. Beside him Azarea watched on her eyes gleaming with her own unshed tears as she gives Shosuke a respectful nod. She might have been skilled in combat, but a medics abilities to endear themselves with others could never be underestimated.

"I'll see this man respectfully buried. Can you speak with the residents here? I'll see if there's any clues on the outskirts of the village." Azarea requested voice soft as carefully she lifted the man out of the mud. The weight of a lifeless shell difficult to carry, but the solemnness of her duty steadied the woman's steps as she lingers to hear Shosuke's reply before moving to carry out her grim task.

"They... I don't know their full numbers. They always send five men... men down to the village." The woman rasped out tears beading across their lashes even as the little girl watching on grew bold at Shosuke's statement. Her jaw gritting with the righteous fury of a child. "There's ten that bully us! I counted! Mommy taught me to count! They always come in different groups, but I counted them! There's no nose man and scar eye man, and the mean lady with the missing teeth and~" The child rambled out proud of her ability to do math and angry at the injustice as her parents quickly hush her.

"Please forgive her Shinobi-san. The... the men come every full moon. At first... at first they told our sons and daughters they had work. Good work for them. One of the boys went and came back and said everything was ok and we believed him, but then the others went and... and they didn't come back." One of the girl's parents, her mother with limp brown hair and soulful pale blue eyes explained through cracked lips.

"Then they stopped asking people to go with them. Then they just started taking people. We... we tried to report it, but the Ashigaru didn't listen. Said it wasn't uncommon for bandits to threaten a town or for a few folks to go missing in the stormy months. No matter how... how many times we told them they didn't go missing they were taken they just didn't listen." The Mother explains as the woman in Shosuke's arms lets out a sob.

"T-Tachi had the idea. He had the idea to request help for bandits like they said from Kumo. Thought... thought if we acted like it was just routine problems the village would send someone, but... someone must have let slip what... what he'd done and..." The woman started sobbing again between her harsh short breaths thin frame shaking.

"They came for Tachi and little Midori last night. We... I saw their lantern light going up the north ridge." The Father of the little girl explains this time from where the small family was peering out the window at him with hard, but hopeful faces.

SPOILER: Click to show

Justu Goes Here

流人

                           Made by Keen of FBNRP | Word Count: 518 | Yamamoto Shosuke

[Yamamoto Shosuke]

The crying woman grabbed onto Shosuke and began crying into his robes. A normal member of Kumo might have flinched back, unfamiliar with this raw, violent outburst of ugly emotionality, but not Sho. Sho was one of the few people who could say that they had done this before, that they had been the shoulder for someone to cry on. it happened all the time with having to give patients' families the bad news. He could endure it, even if it made his heart ache uncomfortably.

His hand went around her back, slowly patting it, as if telling her to let it all out. It was the least he could do to make up for the mistake of being late. His eyes meanwhile shot up to Azarea's own, giving her a simple nod. However, what she would be surprised to find was that his eyes were dry. He had been around far too much death for him to be so moved by such things, he hurt more for the people left behind than for the guy in Azarea's arms.

"Ten people?" He asked, his tone patient whilst his mind incredulous. This village wasn't big, but it had to have more than ten men. If they had fought back at the beginning, if they had resisted, then this never would have happened. But no, that wasn't an option, even back then. Not with the clear signs of starvation before this trouble even began.

Still, this wasn't an army, this was barely even a full squad. If they lacked jutsu, if they relied on raw strength and weapons, then this would be easy.

Well, easy for them at least. Definitely not easy for these poor bastards.

Moving to stand up the moment that he was no longer needed by the mother, Sho walked over and ruffled the little girl's hair encouragingly. It was good to see one so morally indignant, even after all this time. It was good for the generation to learn to fight, to resent those who would oppress them, to stand up for themselves and to stay strong.

"There's nothing to forgive - It's good for the young ones to be this spirited, especially at times like this. It is only through people like your daughter that this nation has any chance of getting better." Crouching down to her head height, he shot her his best smile.

"Don't worry, kid. We'll take care of all those mean bullies and make sure they never pick on anyone else again. That's what we Shinobi do."

Turning back to the mother, he spoke clearly. "Tell me - Do you think the boy was complicit in their scheme? Or do you think he was tricked into thinking it was more harmless than it was? I doubt its anything as invasive as a genjutsu, but people can do anything if they're desperate enough. Does he make their eleventh, or is he just as much of a victim as the rest of you?"

It was hard to ask for an unbiased answer from someone who was clearly so emotionally charged, but at the same time if he didn't at least try to get information they may end up making a mistake. If they were too soft on someone who had betrayed these people, they might get hurt again when he returned. If he murdered someone who made an earnest mistake, then that was even worse.

Finally, having acquired all the information he could, he stood tall and gave the entire crowd a proclamation. "Alright - Once we're done here, we'll go North and find those bastards who took your kids. If we find any of them, I'll treat them medically and then bring them back here where its safe. If they're already gone, we'll look for any clues where they've been taken."

He wanted to promise to take down the Ashigaru, to kick their asses until they started doing the bare minimum of their jobs, but he didn't want to start a war. That said...

"When we return, I would like each of your names on a piece of paper so I can write you "medical insurance". Any of you who need a free check-up can come see me personally. And if part of that check-up includes dealing with a more walking, talking symptom than just a busted ankle? Well, that's all part of my duty as a medic."

It was a gamble; Azarea had told him they couldn't do anything more than what they had been paid for, but Sho couldn't resist. Besides, this wasn't him doing a favour for random villagers, this was him "treating his patients". As far as paperwork went, there was no need to mention just how far that treatment would actually go.

743 words | Aburame Azarea

SPOILER: Click to show

Jutsus Used: None

[Aburame Azarea]

The Devil That You Forgot

Info Gathering

The Mother chewed thoughtfully on her lower lip her brow furrowed with concern, but Shosuke's words put them further at ease. The woman glancing back towards her husband who gives her a subtle nod as she straightens her shoulders to turn to face Shosuke once more. "All the men that come know how to use weapons. When... when Daisuke, that's the boys name, left he was just a farm hand. When he came back he knew how to use a blade and a little bit of the tricks you shinobi know and he was... he had these tattoos. I didn't see them well, but they weren't there before. I think... I think our village was a test for him." The Mother explains tears beading in her eyes as her husband helps the woman Shosuke was aiding into their home to care for her now that she's responding.

"Thank you for this Shinobi-san. We... we'll be certain to come visit." The woman assures him smiling softly as she pats the top of her daughters head. The kid clinging to her parents legs as she beams up at Shosuke with big admiring eyes. The man clearly having made an impression. "Shinobi are so cool~" The little girl murmurs blushing pink as she hides her face against her Mother's legs.

"Shosuke-san any news?" Azarea inquires as the woman returns her face solemn, but her duty to bury the man done.

SPOILER: Click to show

Justu Goes Here

流人

                           Made by Keen of FBNRP | Word Count: 237 | Yamamoto Shosuke

[Yamamoto Shosuke]

Well, that made an uncomfortable amount of sense.

Though Sho had never dealt with this kind of stuff on a personal basis before, he had read newspapers and journals which detailed scenarios similar to this. If they were to be believed, attacking your own people - whether they be your immediate family, or your friends, or your village - was often a loyalty test to some degree.

Proof that you were with the gang to your core, rather than planning to abandon them the first chance you got. It was a mix of burning bridges to ensure you were less likely to leave and proving just how dedicated you were to the cause.

The idea was sickening, to be honest. It was one thing to swap sides to increase your own odds of survival, when people got desperate they would often do anything to ensure they survived. But to betray your own, to hurt, to kill people you grew up with? The very notion made him tremble with anger.

"My last promise before we leave - If we find your Daisuke, if he's still alive? I'm bringing him back here. He was one of your own and he betrayed you. You should get to choose how to prosecute him for that."

Part of him told him that the moment they dragged him back there, the village would tear him apart limb from limb. But if that was their choice, then it was their right to do so. No court in the world would vote guilty against them for that.

As Azarea moved back towards the gathered group, Sho turned around and moved towards her, then moved past her towards the north. "I can tell you on the way. The longer we stay here, the less chance we have of rescuing the people who were taken. They said they were seen heading to the north, so that's the direction we need to move first."

There was something different about the way he spoke now. He wasn't ordering her around, but he also wasn't the nervous and insecure man that he had been on leaving the village. There was a quiet resolution to him that hadn't been there earlier.

No longer was he worried about failing the Chuunin exams or about failing to live up to his mother's dream, he was dealing with the here and now. In the here and now, these people needed their help, and they were able to do it.

Supposing Azarea went with him, he would begin to explain their situation from the moment that they were out of earshot of the villagers. He spared no detail, telling her everything - From the fact that she was right, that they were dealing with slavers, to the existence of this Daisuke. Every detail was described in frank honesty, as close as he could surmise it from the people at the village.

"Be honest with me Lady Azarea, what is the likelihood we'll find any of them? I made a promise to those people back there, and I'd hate to be proved a liar on my first mission."

514 words | Aburame Azarea

SPOILER: Click to show

Jutsus Used: None

[Aburame Azarea]

The Devil That You Forgot

Rescue

"Thank you," The woman murmured dipping her head in gratitude. Clinging to her leg her daughter watches on as her husband helps Shosuke's former patient to drink a few sips of water. The fate of the traitor was yet to be seen, but it certainly wouldn't likely be pleasant. Hell has many levels after all.

As Shosuke exits the house Azarea dips her head in understanding the two making for the northern face of the mountain following the trail Shosuke indicated as the red headed Kumo nin reached out resting a hand on her partner's shoulder as she focuses her chakra senses extending them to try to pick up on signs of the bandits. His question however gives her pause.

"I won't lie to you." Azarea murmurs hating the grim reality of the situation before them, "But at best we might recover the babe. The weather and winds are unforgiving this time of year so perhaps that little girl's sister and a few others might still be being held captive at the hideout, but no... we won't be able to save them all. At least not with this mission." She admitted expression pensive and furious at the injustice of it all.

"If we can capture their leader though we can likely interrogate him for the location of his ledgers and see if we can't track down who was sold where and when," Azarea explains as she cuts her eyes sideways towards Shosuke, "And... if any of the funds they've gathered so far were to go missing and show up attached to a few mission requests to track down and rescue the sold individuals..." The woman grins all teeth and malice. There was more then one way to skin a cat after all.

SA's

SPOILER: Click to show

Joō no Taikanshiki no Regaria [Queen's Coronation Regalia]
A mutated variant of the Aburame clans Yūdai no Omorejō ["Bewildering Grandeur of the Alpha"] resulting from the subsequent poisoning of Azarea's former Yūdai no Omorejō hive to prevent potential hijutsu theft. While the Joō no Taikanshiki no Regaria lacks the Yūdai no Omorejō size instead Azarea's hive has maintained the ability to produce alpha pheromones and commanding vibrations. Evolving instead to hyperspecialize in these two aspects allowing them to produce pheramones and vibrations strong enough to be detected by human hearing and sense of smell.

Reigning Chakra Control
Fine tuning her chakra control to a razor's edge Azarea is capable of performing delicate techniques with minimal to no wastage of chakra. Allowing her to conserve her reserves in prolonged combat and managed more finickity techniques and jutsu.

Kagura Mind's Eye
Born with a natural affinity towards sensing chakra like her Father before her Azarea has trained herself to become a capable sensory shinobi. Unlocking the Kagura's Mind's Eye, and with it, the ability to passively sense chakra signatures in the distance (when using the technique), thus allowing her to not only track, but also memorize a person's chakra signature, even if barely any chakra is being used. Due to her proficiency with this technique, Azarea can currently passively sense chakra up to 500 meters and actively at 2.5 kilometers.

Techniques

SPOILER: Click to show

JUTSU GOES HERE

流人

                           Made by Keen of FBNRP | Word Count: 292 | Yamamoto Shosuke

[Yamamoto Shosuke]

The truth was a bitter pill to swallow, acrider and more stringent than anything he had in his medical ward.

Sho had known the likelihood of being able to save those people was an extremely low one. It was the reason why he hadn't given them a promise that they would achieve miracles, only that they would do everything they could. Even so, there had been a part of Sho who had just been hoping they were hedging their bets, who hadn't quite accepted that it was hopeless, who still believed there was a chance. But if Azarea believed there wasn't, he would unfortunately have to defer to her experience.

"Save them all..." Sho murmured, the words lingering long and heavy on his tongue. There were few situations where you could save them all, Sho knew that much. It was a simple fact of reality, there were things beyond your control that you had no way of affecting. Some people died on the operating table, other people fell to their own addictions and became unrecognizable.

Still, it was hard to ever truly hear those words and accept them, because the moment you stopped trying to save them all was the moment you accepted your limitations.

The cruel truth of reality was that those who had accepted and internalized that they couldn't save them all would slowly and surely begin to stop trying to save anyone.

"Do you really think they'll have that level of paperwork?" Sho asked, his eyes glancing over to her position whilst they continued running, not stopping to take a breath.

"I get it, these people are advanced, they seem like pros, they know what they're doing. They were able to turn a member of that village against the rest of the village, and use him as a lure to pull everyone else in. But what guarantee do we have that they have a cheque book? That they have a ledger?"

It was true, in order to run a business properly you needed to keep track of everything, to have somewhere to put down the information so you can work it out, to keep everything noted and notated. But this wasn't an organization, this wasn't even a Yakuza, this was a group of thugs who made a living off of selling people.

Yes, they were an organized group, but that didn't mean they had all the same trappings of an organization. They could be making it up as they go along. In fact, that was somewhat what he was expecting.

"What do we do if all of the information is in their heads, Miss Azarea? We could torture it out of them, but you know as well as I that torture is ineffective, and they could give us false answers in order to try and make us leave them alone.

Even if we find a ledger, what are the chances that it's written in a language we understand? If they are smart enough to keep a ledger, who's to say they haven't encoded it or something?"

The change from how he had presented himself in the village was clear and apparent. From the brave and stoic faced "Hero" of the village, to this, this panicking, nervous, unsure-of-himself wreck. He was still moving, one of his hands moving to thumb a kunai on his belt as if ready to draw it at any moment, but his voice was unsure and stumbling.

His mind, intelligent and clever as it was, had become his worst enemy, its speed of thought now serving to provide a thousand problems a second.

Right now, more than anything else, he needed reassurance and support.

610 words | Aburame Azarea

SPOILER: Click to show

Jutsus Used: None

[Aburame Azarea]

The Devil That You Forgot

What-If

Azarea glances towards her trembling wreck of a partner and sees much of herself in his doubts. The what-if's the often plagued her as a mission leader. The questions that linger in her mind in the dark of the night. She'd asked not so different questions of Riku when she'd been delirious, sick, and scared. 'What if I end up crippled for life?', 'What if I can never use chakra again?', 'What if my chakra fails during a mission and I let my team down?', 'What if my hive dies?' Reaching out a hand to rest it on Shosuke's shoulder she tells him what her own Sensei had told her.

"Then we do the best we can Shosuke." She assured him giving his shoulder a firm reassuring squeeze, "We're only human. We save who we can and try to prevent a repeat of these tragedies for those we can't." Azarea murmurs as she finds what they are looking for. A small trail too worn to be trod only be the hooves of goats and... caught on a rock a piece of torn cloth.

"We're on the right track. The sun will be going down soon. It smells like snow. They'll need to move the people they've kidnapped soon if they want to get them to a harbor before it ices over or white's out. Keep an eye out for any sort of light. They must be holed up in a cave somewhere among these rocks. Probably the entrance of whatever passageway they've got dugout." She muses trusting Shosuke's eyes. He was a doctor after all. Details were part of his skillset and she suspects he'll spot the light as the shadows creep over them sooner then even herself.

SA's

SPOILER: Click to show

Joō no Taikanshiki no Regaria [Queen's Coronation Regalia]
A mutated variant of the Aburame clans Yūdai no Omorejō ["Bewildering Grandeur of the Alpha"] resulting from the subsequent poisoning of Azarea's former Yūdai no Omorejō hive to prevent potential hijutsu theft. While the Joō no Taikanshiki no Regaria lacks the Yūdai no Omorejō size instead Azarea's hive has maintained the ability to produce alpha pheromones and commanding vibrations. Evolving instead to hyperspecialize in these two aspects allowing them to produce pheramones and vibrations strong enough to be detected by human hearing and sense of smell.

Reigning Chakra Control
Fine tuning her chakra control to a razor's edge Azarea is capable of performing delicate techniques with minimal to no wastage of chakra. Allowing her to conserve her reserves in prolonged combat and managed more finickity techniques and jutsu.

Kagura Mind's Eye
Born with a natural affinity towards sensing chakra like her Father before her Azarea has trained herself to become a capable sensory shinobi. Unlocking the Kagura's Mind's Eye, and with it, the ability to passively sense chakra signatures in the distance (when using the technique), thus allowing her to not only track, but also memorize a person's chakra signature, even if barely any chakra is being used. Due to her proficiency with this technique, Azarea can currently passively sense chakra up to 500 meters and actively at 2.5 kilometers.

Techniques

SPOILER: Click to show

JUTSU GOES HERE

流人

                           Made by Keen of FBNRP | Word Count:288  | Yamamoto Shosuke

[Yamamoto Shosuke]

If she felt the same what-ifs that he did right now, she wasn't showing them. But one supposed that kind of thing only came with time. After all, this was his first mission, and he had clearly been thrust in right at the deep end.

It was unclear how long she had been doing this, but it was clearly longer than him. She was considered and well-maintained and she was holding it together, and he on the other hand was feeling the weight and restraint of duty for the first time.

Only human. The word echoed around Sho's brain, unable to find a good spot. It felt wrong, heavy in the mouth. Only human. Only. That was the key word, the word that he couldn't quite wrestle with, at least not right now. If a person had made this horror, surely a human should be able to undo it?

But, he supposed, there were things that humans couldn't do. Once a cake was baked, you couldn't unbake it, and when you burned charcoal, you couldn't unburn it. Some changes remained forever, for good or bad.

It just felt wrong as a doctor to acknowledge your own limitations.

"... Fine." Was all he managed to get out in the end.

As they took the small, travelled road, the pair seemed to bunker in for a short while. This area was supposed to overlook the campsite, give them a place to rest and recuperate for a while. However, there was something that he was curious about as he was guided into their little hide - it smelled like snow?

His eyes shot up into the skies and he could see no clouds, and though they were at a rather high altitude they were still in the middle of Autumn. If he had to guess, it wouldn't snow for another few months. And even if it did, how did one smell snow exactly? It was just frozen water; he'd never noticed it having a smell.

But perhaps those were just the observations of a human, compared to someone with the microscopic senses of a bug. When you were capable of perceiving the world on that small of a scale, perhaps there were things that you noticed that other people didn't.

Regardless, the two battened down for a while, Sho remaining almost completely silent as he did so, his eyes too focused on their target to focus on anything else, his head all but empty as he sat down and waited. This was a meditative technique that he had learned long ago, to get away the voices in his head that questioned his decisions and said he had failed his patients when he couldn't save them.

He needed it now, or else he would be defeated before the light even showed itself.

... Wait, light?

Sho's eyes blinked beneath his glasses, taking them off and rubbing them before putting them back in place. Yes, there was a light. It was distant, so distant it was barely visible, but he noticed it regardless.

Giving Azarea a nudge, he moved to fall back a little, making sure to blend into the nearby brush. He didn't know how Azarea wanted to play it, but if he could get the jump on them, he figured this would be the best way to proceed. 

552 words | Aburame Azarea

SPOILER: Click to show

Jutsus Used: None

[Aburame Azarea]

The Devil That You Forgot

Planning Phase

As Shosuke nudges her Azarea following where the man is looking giving him an incline of her head to acknowledges she sees the light and not just the figurative one. "All right here's an idea. I'm going to slip in there and get between the bandits and their captives and raise a wall so they can't turn on or kill them. Can you move towards the front of the cave and when you hear me shout charge in? We'll catch them between the two of us in a pincer maneuver." Azarea explains as she glances towards the medic scarlet eyes searching his face.

"Any suggestions, comments, complaints?" She inquires with a tilt of her head and a small worried frown. "I know you didn't explicitly state you are a combat expert, but do you think you'll be all right with their attention split between us?" Azarea inquires not wanting to underestimate of over estimate Shosuke's skills. She suspected with the bandits disorientated he should be fine, but she didn't want to proceed without being certain he was confident going in. Uncertainty killed more shinobi then anything else. Better a bad decision you service then no decision that costs you precious seconds that might have prevented your death.

SA's

SPOILER: Click to show

Joō no Taikanshiki no Regaria [Queen's Coronation Regalia]
A mutated variant of the Aburame clans Yūdai no Omorejō ["Bewildering Grandeur of the Alpha"] resulting from the subsequent poisoning of Azarea's former Yūdai no Omorejō hive to prevent potential hijutsu theft. While the Joō no Taikanshiki no Regaria lacks the Yūdai no Omorejō size instead Azarea's hive has maintained the ability to produce alpha pheromones and commanding vibrations. Evolving instead to hyperspecialize in these two aspects allowing them to produce pheramones and vibrations strong enough to be detected by human hearing and sense of smell.

Reigning Chakra Control
Fine tuning her chakra control to a razor's edge Azarea is capable of performing delicate techniques with minimal to no wastage of chakra. Allowing her to conserve her reserves in prolonged combat and managed more finickity techniques and jutsu.

Kagura Mind's Eye
Born with a natural affinity towards sensing chakra like her Father before her Azarea has trained herself to become a capable sensory shinobi. Unlocking the Kagura's Mind's Eye, and with it, the ability to passively sense chakra signatures in the distance (when using the technique), thus allowing her to not only track, but also memorize a person's chakra signature, even if barely any chakra is being used. Due to her proficiency with this technique, Azarea can currently passively sense chakra up to 500 meters and actively at 2.5 kilometers.

Techniques

SPOILER: Click to show

JUTSU GOES HERE

流人

                           Made by Keen of FBNRP | Word Count: 207 | Yamamoto Shosuke

[Yamamoto Shosuke]

For some reason, despite his earlier worrying and self-doubt, the moment that she gave him her plan, he simply nodded. He had a job; his duty was standing there right in front of him.

As strange as it sounded, it was almost as if he was back in the hospital ward, preparing to operate on a patient. No matter how much worrying or stewing on subjects there had been before the operation, that all went away the moment that he had something that he could do, some way to change the outcome, some way to help.

This quietude of mind came along with a quieting of his mouth, simply shaking her head as she asked if he had any concerns, any doubts, anything that might stop them from moving in. In fact, it was almost as if his entire body had gone still, even his body language quieting down to a point where it was nigh impossible to read him.

Was he nervous? Did he have doubts?

It was hard to know, but the Kikaichi would be able to sense a lowered heartbeat, almost bizarrely slow and ordered, his body heat and every mannerism subtle.

Once she had made her way into the cave, he would move to follow up behind her as requested. Watching her disappear inside, he would give her about thirty seconds to get into position before acting on his side of the plan. Though he had poor low-light vision, he would take the short amount of time needed for his eyes to adjust as he waited for the signal, ready at the slightest indication that she was ready.

When she shouted, if she shouted, Sho would almost casually walk into the open, his hands forming together into hand-signs. There was no big speech, no declaration of intent, not even any gazes of hatred. His body language remained understated and unreadable as he instead moved to get the job done as coldly and cleanly as possible.

As he finished his signs, a green moss like substance would flood the area around him, forming over the ground like lichen, before enormous tendrils ripped out of the new substance, forming enormous arms without hands, tunnels shooting up to the ceiling of the cave before bending back down and shooting towards his opponents as if threatening to rip them apart.

Each one, should it grab a bandit, would begin to coil around them like a boa constrictor, moving to crush the life out from them without pity or remorse. Coldly, efficiently, they would simply break bodies and let them drop to the floor in a puddle of broken bones and hemorrhaged bodies.

All the while, the only sound that could be heard from the would-be Doctor was the slow, steady, uninterrupted sound of breathing.

464 words | Aburame Azarea

SPOILER: Click to show

Jutsus Used
NAME: Budō o sasu [Strangling Vines]
RANK: C
CHAKRA USAGE: Low
CLASSIFICATION: Ninjutsu
ELEMENT: Mokuton
HANDSEALS: six
TRIGGER: N/A
DESCRIPTION: Once the shinobi completes the handseals vines grow up from the ground within thirty feet winding their way up trees or ledges to drape down and spreading over the likes of a building in a lattice like pattern. From then on the plants will appear to simply be normal dormant vines, but will attempt to entangle and strangle anyone that touches them or comes within their reach of five feet who is not their original caster or designated by their caster. This justu was often left behind as a trap by the Senju or cast over their homes or outposts to prevent intrusion.

[Aburame Azarea]

The Devil That You Forgot

Attack

Seeing the look of certainty on Shosuke's face Azarea nods and forms the seals flickering out of sight as her genjutsu blankets her. The young woman slipping into the cave entrance as her eyes adjust to the light. The first thing she hears is the cry of a young baby and one of the thugs yelling "Shut that kids trap or I'll shut it forever!" at a girl who couldn't be much older then thirteen who appeared ragged and dirty having not been bathed in days as she clutches the little babe close to her chest and trembles in the large iron cage set against the back wall. She and the child are the lone occupants much to Azarea's sorrow, but thankfully they are set near the back of the tunnel/cave. With the eight thugs instead huddled up around a fire warming their hands. They were dressed like Yaks only heightening her suspicions.

Placing herself between the group and the cage Azarea dropped her genjutsu letting out a "Now Shosuke!" As she slammed her hands down on the floor forming a wall between the captured civilians and the thugs to prevent them from killing their hostages or the girl and baby being caught in the crossfire. Right as the other Kumo nin waded in and turned the cavern into a murderous jungle. Azarea having the good sense to stay away and back as she snared a few with her glare. Her genjutsu rendering them motionless and easy picking for Shosuke with them caught between them.

"Shosuke don't kill them all yet. We need their leader." She coaxes noting how the man had gone into 'work mode' as she often categorized such states of mind.

SA's

SPOILER: Click to show

Joō no Taikanshiki no Regaria [Queen's Coronation Regalia]
A mutated variant of the Aburame clans Yūdai no Omorejō ["Bewildering Grandeur of the Alpha"] resulting from the subsequent poisoning of Azarea's former Yūdai no Omorejō hive to prevent potential hijutsu theft. While the Joō no Taikanshiki no Regaria lacks the Yūdai no Omorejō size instead Azarea's hive has maintained the ability to produce alpha pheromones and commanding vibrations. Evolving instead to hyperspecialize in these two aspects allowing them to produce pheramones and vibrations strong enough to be detected by human hearing and sense of smell.

Reigning Chakra Control
Fine tuning her chakra control to a razor's edge Azarea is capable of performing delicate techniques with minimal to no wastage of chakra. Allowing her to conserve her reserves in prolonged combat and managed more finickity techniques and jutsu.

Kagura Mind's Eye
Born with a natural affinity towards sensing chakra like her Father before her Azarea has trained herself to become a capable sensory shinobi. Unlocking the Kagura's Mind's Eye, and with it, the ability to passively sense chakra signatures in the distance (when using the technique), thus allowing her to not only track, but also memorize a person's chakra signature, even if barely any chakra is being used. Due to her proficiency with this technique, Azarea can currently passively sense chakra up to 500 meters and actively at 2.5 kilometers.

Techniques

SPOILER: Click to show

NAME: Tairai Joukei no Jutsu [Plain Sight Technique]
RANK: B
CHAKRA USAGE: To Use: Low | To Maintain: Low
CLASSIFICATION: Genjutsu
ELEMENT: -
HANDSEALS: 1
TRIGGER: Visual
DESCRIPTION:
This jutsu while not being able to be used offensively can make many jobs much more simple. This technique causes all other people who can see the user's handseal to not notice them. Meaning that when someone is using this technique people will subconsciously not take notice of them, the affected person(s) eyes looking around or right past them. Even in combat this can be a useful technique, as long as the user holds the seal the opponent will find it impossible to bring any focus on the user from their five main senses.

A technique meant for assassinations and infiltrations, its only true drawback is the small amount of chakra required to maintain it and the fact that the user must hold the seal while using it, making them unable to use other techniques. This technique however does not stop the target(s) from utilizing additional senses from detecting them. This including, but not limited to sensor shinobi.

Name: Doroku Gaeshi - [Earth Shore Return] (Previously known as [Mud Overturn])
Rank: C
Chakra Usage: Low
Type: Ninjutsu [General]
Element: Doton
Handseals: 0
Description:
Doroku Gaeshi is a defensive Ninjutsu utilizing the Earth Element. The jutsu is cast by raising both hands above their head and then striking the ground with them, a wall of earth large enough to protect themselves will rise into place as defense. The defense is not perfect though, a hard or drilling impact can puncture the wall. Physical contact with the wall must be held until it is standing upright.

NAME: Genjutsu Shibari [Genjutsu Binding]
RANK: B
CHAKRA USAGE: To Use: Medium | To Maintain: Low
CLASSIFICATION: Genjutsu
ELEMENT: -
HANDSEALS: 0
TRIGGER: Visual
DESCRIPTION:
As the name suggests, the user binds the opponent in a genjutsu by the opponent viewing the user glare, rendering them incapable of movement; and this genjutsu can be used on more than one target at the same time. Unlike other genjutsu that use illusory objects to stop movements, this genjutsu simply affects the target's sense of touch to make it feel as if every inch of their body surrounded by hardened cement, effectively paralyzing the target. Once the target(s) are bound, the user or an ally can rush up to the enemy and deliver a devastating killing blow.

流人

                           Made by Keen of FBNRP | Word Count:285 | Yamamoto Shosuke

[Yamamoto Shosuke]

The scene that was playing out within the cavern was like a scene directly out of a particularly green view of hell. With the wall brought up to safeguard the kidnapping victims, Shosuke had almost no cause at all to hold back.

Though he was far from a competent Shinobi in his own right, he did have one thing that he would be able to hold over the heads of other Shinobi - he had Wood Release. It was one of the strongest releases, meaning that even something that would normally be a middling technique at best was able to do some serious damage.

To even call this a battle would be frankly generous, as Sho was mainly tearing through the people within the cave like a particularly wooden blender. Crushed bodies, torn off limbs, it was a true massacre in a way that only someone who understood the human physiology could manufacture.

He knew where to crush and where to apply tension, and such so did the plants, rendering the people on the other end of his quiet rage bloodied and broken.

It was only when Azarea called out to him that he even stopped in his tracks for a second, paying special attention to what she was saying. Damn, she was right. He had been so focused on bringing down the gang that he hadn't even considered the need to keep the leader alive, nor his promise to the village that he would bring back their traitorous son.

Immediately, an order went out to the vines, causing them to stop in place, wrapped around the forms of their various prisoners. Some of them were mercifully (or perhaps not quite so mercifully) still alive, even with bits and pieces torn off of them. Others were clearly not so, with the vines dropping their broken inhabitants onto the cave floor, leaving them painfully still.

This was the first time in Sho's life that he had ever killed someone, or at least purposefully led to their deaths. Yet, the usual recoil and reaction that most people would experience simply wasn't there. He had seen enough corpses in his day-to-day life in the hospital that this seemed almost like nothing at all. Perhaps that suggested there was something deeply damaged about him, or perhaps he was able to disassociate because he hadn't done it personally and had left it all to the vines. Either way, he was entirely calm and rational about his following actions.

"Ms. Azarea, I believe it is fair to say you have a captive audience." he said, gesturing for her to go deal with the surviving bandits, leaving her interrogation methods entirely up to her.

None of them stood out, at least to him, as the leader of the group, but then none of the corpses did either. In fact, whilst each looked unique, he was unable to tell anything more pressing about any of them. No signs of rank, no signs of importance, nothing that really distinguished one from another apart from in such a way that everyone was different from everyone else.

Well, he supposed they'd find their target in time. Not like they were going anywhere.

530 words | Aburame Azarea

SPOILER: Click to show

Jutsus Used: See Last Post

[Aburame Azarea]

The Devil That You Forgot

Interrogation

"Thank you Shosuke-san." Azarea spoke keeping an even and calm tone as she drew herself up assuming the position of command that would be needed for what was to come and... so she could ease whatever guilt might wash over the medic once he came out of his disassociation. For now though they both needed to sharp and on point. "You've done well. You executed my plan exactly as I asked." She compliments as she steps forward carefully easing the burden on responsibility from his shoulders and onto her own. A duty every commander learned and one she had witnessed and been educated on from her own mentor.

As approaching the first Yak who stared at her eyes trembling in his skull where he was bound in vines the woman did not even ask a single question. Instead she drew a kunai and in one swift swipe cut the sleeve of the mans arm allowing the fabric and blood, for she hadn't bothered to be too careful in regards to his skin, pool to the floor. "Yakuza... as I suspected." The woman let out a soft hum as the tattoos were revealed to her. These ones too simple to be even those of a lesser command.

"Which family?" The woman questioned her voice firm as she met the man's eyes.

"Bitch~" their captive spat at their face. The saliva didn't get far though a Azarea simply blocked it with her glove hand. The same could not be said of the man though as she drove her kunai into first one eye, then the next. Leaving him alive, but blind and screaming. Expression as cold as ice the woman turned on her heel and stalked to the next man repeating the process as she sliced off his sleeve and checked his tattoos. More of the same.

"Which family?" She questioned toying with the bloodied tip of her knife as she stared the man down with hard scarlet eyes.

"Don't want to know who our leader is?" The captive man babbled only for his question to be cut off by his own screams as this time Azarea jammed her kunai straight into the man's throat as he slumped back against the vines bleeding out in a soft gurgle.

"Answer the question." The Kumo nin ordered voice flat as she turned to the next man cutting his sleeve and finding yet more simplistic tattoos. Which left only one more or one of the victims on the floor.

"Heikegani-Gumi." The second to the last captive babbles out earning a glare from the remaining man which catches Azarea's interest. Giving the man a nod the red headed Kumo nin passes him over unharmed. His death later would be swift as she approaches the last man and cuts his sleeve. Finding a far more intricated depiction of art inked into the man's skin.

"Hello Captain-sama." Azarea greets the man in that same flat even tone even as she smiles all fangs and no wartmh, the expression never reaching those cold scarlet eyes. "You'll be telling us where your ledgers are and reciting when, where, and to whom you've sold your captives or the remainder of your life will be terribly unpleasant." She promises voice sweet and cold as steel coated with honey.

SA's

SPOILER: Click to show

Joō no Taikanshiki no Regaria [Queen's Coronation Regalia]
A mutated variant of the Aburame clans Yūdai no Omorejō ["Bewildering Grandeur of the Alpha"] resulting from the subsequent poisoning of Azarea's former Yūdai no Omorejō hive to prevent potential hijutsu theft. While the Joō no Taikanshiki no Regaria lacks the Yūdai no Omorejō size instead Azarea's hive has maintained the ability to produce alpha pheromones and commanding vibrations. Evolving instead to hyperspecialize in these two aspects allowing them to produce pheramones and vibrations strong enough to be detected by human hearing and sense of smell.

Reigning Chakra Control
Fine tuning her chakra control to a razor's edge Azarea is capable of performing delicate techniques with minimal to no wastage of chakra. Allowing her to conserve her reserves in prolonged combat and managed more finickity techniques and jutsu.

Kagura Mind's Eye
Born with a natural affinity towards sensing chakra like her Father before her Azarea has trained herself to become a capable sensory shinobi. Unlocking the Kagura's Mind's Eye, and with it, the ability to passively sense chakra signatures in the distance (when using the technique), thus allowing her to not only track, but also memorize a person's chakra signature, even if barely any chakra is being used. Due to her proficiency with this technique, Azarea can currently passively sense chakra up to 500 meters and actively at 2.5 kilometers.

Techniques

SPOILER: Click to show

JUTSU GOES HERE

流人

                           Made by Keen of FBNRP | Word Count: 546 | Yamamoto Shosuke

[Yamamoto Shosuke]

If Azarea expected Sho to feel guilty after what had just happened, she clearly didn't know him very well. Sho was far too accustomed to being among the dead and dying to be fazed by these things anymore, and it wasn't as if every single person in this room hadn't deserved it. Every one of them was at least a slaver, if not a murderer and thief in their own right. He wouldn't apologize for wiping people like them out.

It was like operating on a patient, sometimes you needed to excise tumors.

Instead, he was far more interested in watching her work. So, these were Yakuza, it seemed. He would likely have never even thought to check them for tattoos, it was in retrospect such an obvious thing to do and yet it would have completely gone above his head. He supposed this was why she was the expert, and he was just here to try and get some additional field experience.

Finally, after passing through several people, she arrived at the captain, the one who they were here for. The man, however, seemed somewhat reticent to answer their questions.

He supposed such should have been expected; if this guy was inhuman enough to not care about the people he hurt outside of the cave, he should have expected that giving them an example of their clanmates would do nothing to shake his temperament.

"I really would listen to my comrade here." Sho began, his voice quiet and sweat yet lacking in any of the innocence that he had shown earlier. Instead, one of the vines shot up from the ground, wrapping around the man's wrist containing his yakuza tattoos.

They wrapped tighter, tighter, tighter, with each passing second, they seemed more and more inescapable as the sound of torsion applied to bone crunched throughout the cave. It was definitely broken, and if he wasn't careful, it would end up being more than a simple fracture.

But, before it went any further, Sho gave the order silently to stop, allowing him to look down at the wreckage of his arm that had clearly once been pride of place.

"She's not quite as merciful as I am. Be a good boy, and I might even treat you after we're done getting information out of you. I am a doctor after all, and considering the state of your arm? You're going to need one.

Now, unless you want me to repeat that little experience with your spinal column, start talking."

There was no sadistic glee on Sho's face, nor even the smugness of a job well done. His face was a stony mirror, completely implacable, impossible to read. Either this simply didn't register as being something unpleasant, or he simply didn't care.

Either way, it was somewhat terrifying just how disinteresting breaking someone's body could be, and just how terrifying it could be that he knew exactly where to repeat the experience to make it so much worse.

Survivable, but worse. 

500 words | Aburame Azarea

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Jutsus Used: See Last Post