[Sora Minami]

It didn’t take long for the boy to show his true colors. Not long at all.

Hotarubi turned towards the pair of struggling bandits, his leg still stuck inside the chest of the one he had killed, his face softening for the briefest of moments as he pulled it out and let the water wash off some of the blood and gore. Sora was contemplating which of the two to interrogate first (probably the one raising his hand) when the Taki-nin stepped up and, with a sickeningly casual air, hoisted the one she was going to speak to off the ground and began breaking his fingers with frightening ease. Bone snapped, muscle tore, and the man swore, his breathing once more coming in ragged gasps of pain as he squealed, trying to escape the Yamakira’s grip… Until she stepped in, one hand resting on Samidare’s hilt, voice low but stern as she spoke.

"Let his hand go, Yamakira-san. We do need them alive, after all.” The Jounin didn’t wait for Hotarubi to comply before she turned her attention to their prisoners; if he didn’t know when to reign in his bloodlust then he wouldn’t have much of a career as a Shinobi, and she had a fairly good read on what she would need to do to handle him if he got out of hand. Not a perfect read, but enough of one to keep that tone of forceful authority in her voice when she ordered him about.

"Now. Tell us where we can find the Sons of the Dragon’s leader. And who he is, if you know both.” She would have loved to get both pieces of information, but she would settle for either of them; so long as they had something to go on, it would be enough. Of course, if they knew neither bit of information… well. There was no reason to keep her companion in check then. And Sora was betting they knew that just as well as she did.

Akira

[Akira]

"I was going to," Hotarubi grumbled and he dropped the man. "Well?" He stood over him, crossing his arms.

He'd had a thought, and in fact it might've made him look either indecisive or cruel since he'd happily let the man down on the condition that he would talk.

"Well you se-" They'd begun to talk. "Uhbuh-buh-" Hotarubi would raise a finger and it would cut their conversation short. Hotarubi would shoot a look at Sora. "I'm taking you over there, and you're both going to give us your answers. Can't have either of you lying to us to get outta this, huh?" Hotarubi would take the one that had not had their fingers broken, the two lightly crispy looking Shinobi looked between themselves, uncertain of being left alone with the less polite of the Shinobi.

When it came to violence an applied mission sense it didn't appear that all of Hotarubi's intelligence was left behind at the academy. Hotarubi would pull on the scuff of the second down shinobi to pull him to his feet: the material would rip and the Yamakira would have to use his other hand to catch him by the bicep and pull him up, before lightly pushing them toward a direction that was still visible to the two of them.

Now alone (well - in sight of the two of 'friend' and foe) Hotarubi grinned at the man. "Ahhhh.... silence." Hotarubi would tut at the man. "You couldn't have picked another nation to set up in? No, you had to do it from home?" Hotarubi sounded disappointed. "We're not... from here." Hotarubi would tut again. "Even worse." There was no winning in spite of either answer with Hotarubi. There was a breath of silence.

The annoyance was growing. "Hurry the fuck up and give me your answer." And they raised their hands again - a 'calm down' type of response. "The Dragons aren't run by a single leader." Hotarubi dipped his head, staring. That wasn't the intelligence they were given. "We have the wings, that was us - one of two." This was better intelligence. "-the tail, the head and the claws. The head is who you're probably asking about, and the head makes the decisions." "The people who make the decisions are the leaders you dumb cunt," Hotarubi spat at the man venomously. "I don't know their names. They're co-leaders." Hotarubi would take a beat.

Looking at the man incredulously. Not only did he back on himself and call them co-leaders, but also that his information was useless. "Did you not get the idea? I have absolutely no issue hurting you," Hotarubi was almost acting like a teacher where his tone was orderly. "No- really. We were always told it was an order from the head, or some other variation. Tora might know but I don't..." they trailed off as they kept back a few stifled sobs.

Hotarubi would begin to walk back - pointing at Sora. "Off you go." Hotarubi would carry behind. "Keep your mouth shut. If I detect any bullshit, I'm going to kill you both."

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[Sora Minami]

Tch. Kids. Sora thought as Hotarubi finally decided to add something worthwhile to the interrogation; he grabbed one of the prisoners and hauled him off just out of earshot, allowing the pair of them to interview their respective prisoners and then compare notes later. Which, given the way this mission had already escalated, was more than likely going to be a lot sooner than anyone would like. Still, the Kiri Jounin didn’t fault the kid for his enthusiasm- his attitude, certainly, but not his drive. Still, they had an objective to accomplish, so the pink-haired woman turned her attention to the man with the broken fingers, her left hand resting gently on Samidare’s hilt as she waited for him to speak.

It didn’t take long.

"I-I was trying to tell him, I swear!” The man said, grimacing as he tried to brace his broken fingers with one hand, wincing every time he clenched against the rapidly purpling digits; he would need to see a medic to get those fixed anywhere close to right. "T-the Dragons are split into compartments, but everything is run through the two Heads. I… don’t know who they are. B-but I know where you can find them!”

The pink-haired Jounin frowned as the man spoke, her sky-blue gaze lingering on his face, the honesty evident in his eyes despite the threat of death looming over his head. She didn’t think he was lying; not about this anyway. Still, it would be interesting to see how his answers matched up with the other one’s… if they matched up at all. Turning her attention away from the panting bandit, the Kiri-kunoichi saw that Hotarubi had let the other one go, her gaze narrowing slightly as the boy slowly walked back, clearly not concerned.

"Where." Sora said, right hand reaching over to grip Samidare’s hilt. The man seemed to understand what she was implying, his face going pale as he blabbered out the answer just in time for her Taki partner to arrive. "T-there’s a warehouse, back in town! W-we have a spot underneath the main floor, I always got the orders from there!”

Akira

[Akira]

Hotarubi shrugged his shoulders. "He didn't know who they were." That was what Sora had asked. "They're set up into squadrons... tail, wing, that sort of thing. But he didn't tell me they got their orders from a specific spot." But it did seem like their stories corroborated. "Which warehouse? There's loads in 132." Hotarubi would chide, tutting through his teeth. "U-uh it's the one on nishima-jo road, by the Nimichi Signed warehouse. You can't miss it- it's rusted all over the place." That was more helpful.

"Leave Bonchi no Kuni. It's on sight if I see you both again." If anything he was doing it to prove that he was more than capable of keeping someone alive if he so chose and deigned it. "If we get nearby it I'll detect it by foot. Off to a warehouse, then. Maybe we can go the next level and find a leader or something." But the Genjutsu... He would take a breath - animated, of course given that he wasn't really in requirement of oxygen. Enough distance from the fight in the minutes that had passed had let the boiling pot return to a steady simmer.

Hotarubi would glance one last time at their remaining carcasses - shaking his head and ignoring them, taking a few steps before it would be evident on his mind was the mess he had made, by the way he scratched his shoe against the topsoil surface to rid itself of the ... red colouring he had made. But by this point - he doubted there would be any more of these groups out here. They hadn't quite managed to find out the identities but it looked like they were close - and while the bayou seemed to thin out, the bog like muddy consistency did not and it would continue all the way to Outpost 132.

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[Sora Minami]

Sora watched as Hatorubi laid down the law in regards to the two survivors, his threat clear and very believable, particularly with the blood and gore that coated the lower portion of his body. There was a part of her, the quiet, cynical part from her days as a Hunter-nin, that told her they would be better off killing the both of them and leaving their bodies to decay in the bog. It would leave no loose ends, no opportunity for their targets to find out they were coming… but she fought that part down, pushing the instinct to the side as they fled, her grip on Samidare’s hilt tight but steady.

"Just tell me when we’re close." She said as the teen spoke, following half a step behind him. She was reasonably confident in the boy’s abilities; he’d reacted poorly to the Genjutsu, but his instincts had let him contribute to the fight, even if only a little. Still, she would have to make sure he didn’t fall for the same trick again, especially since they were heading back into town. There would be no throwing out A rank jutsu in a warehouse- she’d have to rely solely on her less flashy Bukijutsu in order to ensure the surrounding buildings weren’t trashed in the process.

So, Sora followed Hotarubi back to Outpost 132, staying half a step behind him and a full step to his right, sky-blue gaze calm but focused as they walked, looking for any sign of a threat. It was a long way back into town, after all.

Akira