Getbackers [Mission]

[katas]

[atrb=cellpadding,0,true][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,435,true][atrb=vAlign,top] ❝ YOU'RE SOMETHING DEADLY THAT I JUST CAN'T PUT MY FINGER ON. ❞ WORDS 336/3000 TAGS characters NOTES write anything you want here!

[atrb=vAlign,top] His face was strewn in an unmistakable grimace, the prospect of having to work in such conditions almost inducing a rather epic episode of vomiting. Luckily, or unfortunately depending on the point of view that didn't happen and Kuro was able to resist the urge to skip the mission altogether. He had arrived at the scene of the crime roughly twenty minutes ago and was surveying the damage, or more importantly, what had been taken. A pair of expensive vases, both blue in color were missing but that was about it. Why something so expensive was displayed out for everyone to see when most didn't have the means to purchase it was a mystery, but that was a moot point right now. Though he didn't dislike the mornings normally Kuro wouldn't be caught dead up this early, even if for a mission. However, his motivation was vastly different this time around. More specifically, the partner... or leader in this case, of the mission was an unmistakable figure whom the boy had personal... feelings with. Or not, which was probably the reason they were no longer together. The Genin had only arrived so early to avoid having to speak to the girl, if he had all the information ahead of time he could stay a step or two ahead of Iku and avoiding having to converse. He wasn't over it, not completely at least, and finding out that she had not only been promoted to Chunin but also became a member of the Seven Swordsman added onto the already troubling mix of feelings. According to the owner of the shop the two bandits had headed due east after they snatched the vases, and that was the direction Kuro would begin heading. Chances were they had exited the village but not gotten too far. Was the boy being petty? Yes, but he didn't care. Whoever assigned groups for these missions didn't take into account personal feelings, so Kuro wouldn't either.

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[Yasui Iku]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellspacing,0,true] WORDS 396 TAGGED kuro NOTES 396/3000 i've been a bad, bad girl ♥ what i need is a good defense 'cause i'm feeling like a criminal Iku had awoken in a good mood - a rarity, to be sure, especially at such an early time. Well, early for her, anyway. And that was good, seeing as she had gotten a message that she was to head to the scene of a theft, meet with a genin partner, and pursue the thieves. Heh, sounded like a fun way to spend a morning, especially since they were authorized to use excessive force if it was necessary. And the genin that she would be partnered with... Oh, that just made it all the more fun. She still felt a little bad for breaking the poor boy's heart - by choosing his cousin over him - but hey, he certainly should have been over that by now. Whether he was or not, well, the chunin would delight in teasing him. If dear Kuro thought that she was going to act utterly professional on this mission, he was quite mistaken, ehe. It was just a C-Rank, after all; she'd done about a million of them since becoming a genin. Catching up to their targets, who had a decent head start, would be pretty difficult if the Hoozuki couldn't match her speed. Honestly, Iku was a little surprised to see that the boy had beaten her there, and was - was he already heading out of the village? Hm. Perhaps he hadn't managed to get over her yet - not like she could blame him; she was gorgeous - but that was pretty unprofessional, seeing as she was the leader of the mission and he was just wandering off without her. Eh, whatever. If he wanted to act all put out about the whole situation, he could sulk all he'd like, and it would get mentioned in her mission report if he did anything stupid. Iku went over to the clients, introduced herself, and asked for the details they had shared with Kuro. After the brief exchange, she excused herself to catch up to the boy. A few moments later, the ivory-haired teen had practically tackled the boy, who was still four or five inches taller than she was something that she found utterly infuriating. "Kuro-kun~ Where do you think you're going without your mission leader, dear~?" Of course, Iku had to use a flirty tone with him - rubbing salt in the open wound, one could say.

[katas]

[atrb=cellpadding,0,true][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,435,true][atrb=vAlign,top] ❝ YOU'RE SOMETHING DEADLY THAT I JUST CAN'T PUT MY FINGER ON. ❞ WORDS 771/3000 TAGS characters NOTES write anything you want here!

[atrb=vAlign,top] He had made decent headway out of the village though was still little closer to finding the trail of the two thieves. Try as he might, the boy could not focus completely on the task at hand, his mind kept rushing back to Iku. Kuro was half mad at himself for going against everything Fuku had told him that one fateful day but replaced it with spite towards that girl. If she had feelings for Izugetsu the entire time then she should have just said something from the start, at the very least it would have spared the boy's wallet not to mention his feelings. But that didn't matter now, or at least that's what he kept trying to tell himself. Distractions during a mission like this were liable to get someone hurt, and Kuro wasn't in the mood to play doctor. The force from another person, smaller yet still strong, was enough to make the boy lose his footing and fall to the ground. The familiar, now agonizing tone of Iku pierced his ears; she had caught up. He supposed it was only a matter of time till they would meet up but hoped to put it off for a bit longer. "Please get up." He replied bluntly before pushing himself off the ground regardless of if Iku had moved or not. After dusting himself off the boy continued onward. He wouldn't allow himself to be chummy with this girl. Hell, it was bad enough that she had advanced in rank before him and was technically the leader but the fact that she still tried to put on a cutesy act even after what had taken place was the most infuriating part. His mind switched back to the mission, just how was he going to find a trail exactly? There had been no rain which was a blessing but the boy knew little of tracking more than the basics. Perhaps he was going to have to speak to this girl after all.. no, nope, wouldn't happen. She had toyed with his heart and wasn't going to get off that easily just because some time had passed. Kuro figured that Iku wasn't going to just go along quietly for the entire trip, it wasn't in her nature, and for the mission to actually be a success they would need to work together, especially if it came down to fighting. Gritted teeth rubbed against each other in frustration. Had fate truly conspired against him that much to be placed with the one person in the world who was now the bane of his existence? Apparently so...

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[Yasui Iku]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellspacing,0,true] WORDS 545 TAGGED kuro NOTES 941/3000 i've been a bad, bad girl ♥ what i need is a good defense 'cause i'm feeling like a criminal They went tumbling to the ground, and Iku nearly rolled her eyes at him. Instead, she just ruffled his hair, rose to her feet, and dusted herself off. She didn't think she ever would have needed to have this conversation with, well, anyone. "Kuro. Why are you still upset about this whole thing?" Iku had matured since the days when she'd been torn between the two Hoozuki boys; honestly, seeing Kuro, she wasn't sure he had. "I didn't take my relationship with you or with Izuugetsu that seriously. I didn't date for feelings, I dated for fun, and I thought you were the same way so I figured it wouldn't hurt you as much as it would've hurt him. Clearly, I was wrong, but - Kuro, come on, I'm just another girl. I'm sure I'm not the only person to ever break it off with you." She wasn't sure she was going about this in the right way, but hell, she might as well just get it off her chest and see if she could figure out why he had been so deeply affected by the end of something that wasn't even really a relationship. "It's not like Izuugetsu was any better than you, or the other way around either. I picked the guy that I thought would end up being the most fun, and - oh, why does it even matter, that relationship lasted for like two weeks and I haven't talked to him in forever and you really need to get over whatever issue you have with me so we can function properly on this mission and possible missions in the future." Hell, Iku wasn't even interested in relationships anymore. They had lost their luster for the Swordsman, who was generally too preoccupied with missions or training or Swordsmen things to even have time to bother with romance. What little desire for a relationship that had remained within her had been killed the moment she saw Fuku bearing the body of his wife back to the village. At that thought, she had to furiously blink away the tears that welled up and threatened to fall. It was still so horrible to think that Kyoko was dead... "Anyway." Her tone hardened. "I know you don't like me, but I'm in charge here - what I say goes. It's unlikely that anything too dangerous is going to happen on something simple like this, but you never know. Disobeying an order could get you or your teammates killed." He had definitely heard that spiel before - but this was an interesting dynamic, and she just wanted to make sure he wasn't going to do anything too stupid. It probably really pissed him off that she was his superior now, no longer the weak genin she had been. At one time, he would have easily taken her out in a spar - but she had advanced so quickly, and he had.. stagnated, almost. It was quite the sorry sight, not that she would ever say that aloud. As they walked, and she talked, she was scanning the path for any signs of the men coming through. The barest indentation of a footprint here, broken twigs there... the path was faint, but she was able to follow it.

[katas]

[atrb=cellpadding,0,true][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,435,true][atrb=vAlign,top] ❝ YOU'RE SOMETHING DEADLY THAT I JUST CAN'T PUT MY FINGER ON. ❞ WORDS 1272/3000 TAGS characters NOTES write anything you want here!

[atrb=vAlign,top] As much as he wanted to ignore the girl there was little else in terms of noise to block out her incessant ranting and as such Kuro was forced to endure her words. She droned on about not taking it seriously, or any of her relationships for that matter, and had assumed that the boy felt the same. Indeed, that was the aura he had given off, at least in Iku's case. Before her the Hozuki was a bonafide player and saw girls as objects of his affection to be used for fun and discarded for a newer model. But for this one in particular he had actually developed feelings though never shown them... at least in a way to make Iku think he was serious. In the end the Genin couldn't put all of the blame on Iku though that only served to make him feel worse. All of what she had said was probably a product of Kuro not opening up to her in the least. Indeed she was the first to end a fling on him which was part of the reason it hit him so hard, the tables had been reversed. To make matters worse the one she had chosen was that imp Izugetsu, and upon finding out that their fling had only lasted for a short time made Kuro wonder if the girl had any moral compass what so ever. Then again, considering her rank up and induction to the seven swordsman it wasn't like she had time to be dealing with relationships anyway. Perhaps what Fuku's wife had said about him changing once he got that sword was true and that this was the new Iku. Maybe things were just not meant to be anymore. Was he over it? No, not by a long shot, but for the time being he did have to listen to the orders given by his... superior. Just thinking about that word made him angry. He had done little to nothing in terms of advancement over the last while and the times were fast passing him by. He had picked up the trait of swordsmanship but was still fairly new to the field, where as Iku had gone and got herself an over sized butcher's knife. No matter, the quicker they were done with this the sooner the two could part paths, hopefully for good this time. Faint clues, but hints none the less. Kuro could just barely make out a foot print here and there but that was about the extent of his deduction skills, at least when it came to hard to find clues. "What do you see?" He asked bluntly. Team spirit was fresh out of stock but he was smart enough to know that it was going to take the both of them to find the two thieves. So long as he followed orders and didn't endanger their lives Kuro didn't really care that his tone held a mixture of anger and a hint of lifelessness.

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[Yasui Iku]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellspacing,0,true] WORDS 486 TAGGED kuro NOTES 1427/3000 i've been a bad, bad girl ♥ what i need is a good defense 'cause i'm feeling like a criminal Iku wasn't going to apologize for dumping him; there was no way in hell. It was just as much his fault as it was hers. If she had known that he had any sort of serious feelings - she wouldn't have been so callous. But he had hidden away anything that he felt, to the point where she felt that he was totally disinterested or even annoyed by her presence, and that had been a huge contributing factor in her decision. He might try to act like a man - but he was just a kid playing games. The silence stretched on after her little speech was over. So he wasn't going to say anything - or didn't have anything to say. Iku kind of wanted to wring his neck. She hadn't seen him since that day, and up until now she had figured that he had matured, started acting as old as he looked... Never had she been so wrong. "If nothing else, you need to mature a little bit. I've changed since then - but you? You're still just a pissy kid that's upset because, for once, he didn't get what he wanted." she spoke in an even tone. Had that probably been the wrong thing to say? Well, yes, that she knew for sure. Did she particularly care about hurting his feelings now, after she had attempted to explain herself? Nope. Not really. If he threw a fit about it, that just proved that she was right. This side of Iku was definitely a product of her training with Fuku and spending so much time around the other Swordsmen of the Mist. As a genin, she hadn't been so - cold. Unsympathetic. Heartless, even. She wouldn't have picked on the boy when he was obviously still upset. But like she'd said - she had changed. No longer was she a naive little girl playing at being a shinobi, and she sure as hell wasn't going to act like she was. There was a certain element of ruthlessness that came with wielding one of the village's seven swords, and Iku had inherited it in spades. Honestly, she wanted him to pitch a fit and try to hit her or something. It'd give her an excuse to knock him out and leave him here so she could complete the mission on her own. She didn't need a teammate. Kuro was just holding her back. "The footprints are the most obvious clue." she responded in a clipped tone. "You can also see where the thieves have stepped on twigs, bent branches, or generally disrupted anything natural." She pointed out a bush that looked it had just been trampled on, and she caught the traces of another footprint. "This way. If you can't keep up, your slow ass can wait here." Iku took off, increasing her speed as she went. Time was of the essence, after all.

[katas]

[atrb=cellpadding,0,true][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,435,true][atrb=vAlign,top] ❝ YOU'RE SOMETHING DEADLY THAT I JUST CAN'T PUT MY FINGER ON. ❞ WORDS 1594/3000 TAGS characters NOTES write anything you want here!

[atrb=vAlign,top] Perhaps it would have been a different scenario had Kuro actually replied back to any of her words, but he didn't and yet Iku felt the need to keep talking. She seemed to hold just as many odd feelings about the whole considering how much hot air was spewing out of her mouth. He had already decided to work together, more or less, for this mission and still Iku would not shut up. Maybe she didn't like being ignored and the inevitable silence would cause her to slowly go insane, either that or she felt scorned. Unlikely as it may have seemed after all that talk of not taking things serious in terms of relationships Kuro couldn't quite shake the feeling that this girl was finally getting some things off her chest. Then came the part about maturing and at that point the Hozuki had had enough, Iku's head was far too big. "Maturing? Someone goes and gets a big ole sword handed to them and they automatically think they're the pinnacle of human existence. No wait, let me guess, being around your swordsman buddies makes you feel all grown, doesn't it?" The boy scoffed at his own words, this chick was seriously mistaken if she believed that being one rank higher entitled her to speak any kind of way; Kuro was going to shut that down quick. More words, though this time they actually pertained to the mission. Footprints and broken sticks, nothing ground breaking but a start none the less. The Hozuki rolled his eyes at her comment and followed suit in the quickening of pace. Yes, he was slower but that wouldn't keep him from keeping an eye on her. Besides, if Iku sped off and left him too far behind Kuro would be sure to make note of it in the mission report. That high and mighty attitude would surely disappear when getting chastised by the higher ups.

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[Yasui Iku]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellspacing,0,true] WORDS 470 TAGGED kuro NOTES 1897/3000 i've been a bad, bad girl ♥ what i need is a good defense 'cause i'm feeling like a criminal Iku had a feeling that this mission was going to be a major exercise in self-control, or Kuro would be going back to the village in a body bag. Becoming a Swordsman hadn't tempered her violent tendencies in the slightest - in fact, it had encouraged them, and though she had learned to control herself a little better... The genin was just kind of pissing her off. She had had a lot of things she wanted to say to him, and she didn't think he was even listening to a word she was saying. And when she got pissed off, her filter kind of shut itself off and she said some things that were, admittedly, not very well thought out. One of these days it was really going to get her into trouble. But you know what? At the moment, she didn't care. She just hoped that they would catch up to the thieves soon so she could take out her frustration on someone that she was allowed to kill. Taking a deep, steady breath, the ivory-haired chunin did her best to keep her temper in check and an even tone in her voice. "I've matured. I'm not still hung up on a 'relationship' that was over a long time ago; I don't hold grudges; and I'm not the one sulking and ignoring someone that's trying to talk to them because I felt like I was snubbed." she replied as calmly as she was able, though he was probably able to hear the distinct undertone of anger in her voice. "Don't you ever assume that I think I'm better than everyone else just because I'm a Swordsman of the Mist at such a young age. Don't you ever say that I just had this handed to me. You have no idea what I've gone through, Kuro, so don't even go there. You won't like the consequences." How dare he insinuate that she had her position just because Fuku had seen fit to give her the sword, and that she didn't hold her title due to skill. She could go head to head with the Samehada wielder, and at least manage a draw, which was impressive for someone that was sixteen and not a natural genius. "I think I'm mature because I have the capable to move on. Not because I have a big sword and a fancy fucking title." Iku was trying to keep her voice down - she didn't want to give the thieves any advanced notice that they were hot on their tails. She was ahead of Kuro, but made sure to keep him in her sight. As much as she'd like to leave him, she was sure he would go running his mouth about it, and she'd rather not get in trouble. "Now, shh. We're getting close."

[katas]

[atrb=cellpadding,0,true][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,435,true][atrb=vAlign,top] ❝ YOU'RE SOMETHING DEADLY THAT I JUST CAN'T PUT MY FINGER ON. ❞ WORDS 2,196/3,000 TAGS characters NOTES write anything you want here!

[atrb=vAlign,top] That had done the trick, if Iku wasn't going to speak her mind before and try and act civilized she had definitely taken a few steps back on that position now. All she did was speak of what she wasn't, what she hadn't done. Obviously those things couldn't apply to her because she was on the other side. Perhaps it was Kuro not fully accepting the fact that the girl was no longer the clingy flirt that he had once liked, though that tackle from earlier showed that she wasn't completely out of that phase. "Of course you weren't the one stuck on being snubbed because you were doing the snubbing. Don't try and act like we were in the same situation through all of this, hell if anything you chose the imp because he was stupid enough to keep emptying his wallet for you." Harsh words? Hell yeah, and in no uncertain terms the Hozuki had just called Iku a gold digger. Not that there wasn't some truth to the statement, but actually hearing that accusation was probably something that no woman wanted to hear. Again the girl kept speaking, it was like a broken faucet at this point. Whatever, she was wrong anyway. She hadn't had this 'holier-than-thou' attitude before getting that sword and being attached to Fuku, and Iku wanted to proclaim herself mature? No, there had definitely been an ulterior motive to this change of demeanor. "Tch, could have fooled me. Unless..." The boys eyes widened in surprise. "... You're putting on this act to impress Fuku-san." A sly grin crept across his face at the thought. She hadn't grown, just put on a facade to gain the attention of a married man. Not that Kuro had any worries on whether the swordsman would slip up and mess with this girl. His wife was beautiful and extremely smart, she had even helped Kuro through this entire mess regarding Iku a while back; they were a couple destined to last. Dark eyes shifted at her next words, apparently they were getting close to the targets. Looking around it was clear to see a heavier pattern of foot prints and snapped foliage. Kuro halted all movement and went to a crouched position. The two were in a thicket that enclosed a brief clearing and on the other side a pair of voices could be heard. ------------ "Ya think we can get some good coin for these?" A scruffy voice called out to another. A middle aged man with seemingly all of his hair migrated to his face was holding up one of the two stolen vases. "I dunno much 'bout art but they sure look 'perty." A second, less educated man replied. He was thin, seemingly malnourished, and had shaggy brown hair. They hadn't gotten too far after snatching the vases and were taking a small break before heading to another town to try and sell off the hot goods. On their hips lay a pair of blunt, metallic objects, nothing spectacular but could do a bit of damage if they got a direct hit on someone. --------------- The brush was thick and made it visibility near impossible, though the two voices came through clear. Kuro didn't look towards Iku for instruction, he felt no need to say anything. She was the leader and had already made that annoyingly obvious, so it was only a matter of time until she began running her mouth again. Teamwork was going to be a difficult task this time around, though so long as the girl didn't get in Kuro's way then he'd be content.

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[Yasui Iku]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellspacing,0,true] WORDS 670 TAGGED kuro NOTES 2567/3000 i've been a bad, bad girl ♥ what i need is a good defense 'cause i'm feeling like a criminal Iku rolled her eyes. "Oh, yes, Kuro - you're the only person that's ever been dumped before. What a bloody tragedy. Excuse me for choosing the boy I thought liked me better - maybe if you could get your head out of your ass and stop trying to hide what you feel, you could get a girlfriend, and keep her around for more than a week." She chose not to reply to the comment about money - while it was true that she had had, ehe, expensive tastes, that didn't mean that she only wanted to be with a boy that was willing to empty his wallet for her. "Just.. put it behind you. The past is the past, it's not going to do you or me any good to keep dwelling on it and bringing it up. What's done is done and nothing's going to change that now." She took a somewhat gentler tone for that last remark - despite how much he was pissing her off right now, the chunin was at least trying to be the bigger person. Was she successful? Eh. Somewhat, maybe. "Feelings change, Kuro. If you can't accept that, I don't know what to tell you." You're putting on this act to impress Fuku. Iku twitched. No, Iku did more than twitch - she nearly turned around to strangle the life out of the genin. How dare he insinuate that she was interested in Fuku that way - especially as, up until a few days ago, the man had been happily married. Oh, she was seething now - any hope of being the bigger person in this situation had completely and totally evaporated. "... I have a lot of things to say to that, but I'll deal with you after we make heads roll." She had no intention of offering the thieves a chance to peacefully return the stolen vases. Even if Kuro hadn't gotten on her last nerve and incited the violent tendencies that she had, she would have just chopped off their heads. A thief punished with a slap on the wrist would almost always steal again. Better to get the problem at its root and remove a couple of weeds from society. They sat in silence, listening to the thieves talk for a few long moments - watching, and in Iku's case, waiting until their backs were turned. If they were close enough together, with the reach she had with Kubikiribouchou... the problem could be dealt with in one fell swoop. "I hope you don't mind me taking all the action. It's simpler this way." she murmured under her breath in Kuro's ear. Iku then decided, to hell with this waiting. Even if she didn't manage a double decapitation, it wasn't like the men could really do anything to harm her. For a moment she considered doing something cool - like sending her blade flying into the tree across from them, hopping up into a tree, and then standing on top of it - but figured that she wasn't really trying to impress the criminals, so why bother? A wicked grin crossed her face as she rose to her feet slowly, retrieving Kubikiribouchou from its place on her back. Without a word - without even a sound, really - she swung the blade and cleanly sliced off the head of the more malnourished-looking man. It toppled down off his body to sit at his partner's feet, and though she continued her swing, the chunin was able to stop it before it cut through the other. She waited for that moment - a shriek of terror from the living man as he hurriedly tried to scramble away from them - and swung the blade again, slamming it into his neck with an almost sickening sound. She hadn't sliced it off entirely, but she'd surely done enough damage to kill him. "Get the vases." she ordered, figuring that she needed to let the Hoozuki do something.

[katas]

[atrb=cellpadding,0,true][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,435,true][atrb=vAlign,top] ❝ YOU'RE SOMETHING DEADLY THAT I JUST CAN'T PUT MY FINGER ON. ❞ WORDS 2,921/3,000 TAGS characters NOTES write anything you want here!

[atrb=vAlign,top] There was no issue in keeping women around, it was a conscious effort on Kuro's part to detach himself from women after a certain amount of time, mostly out of boredom. However, Iku was different and the boy had actually kept her around for a considerable amount of time, even though he might not have showed it too much in his words. Wasn't being around a bunch and breaking the bank more than enough of a sign? Tch, whatever. Besides, it wasn't like Kuro was holding it against her outwardly. This had been their first interaction in who knew how long and for her to act like nothing happened at all was worse than the cold shoulder the Hozuki had been giving her. This girl couldn't get out of her own way, especially if she thought that Kuro actually wanted her back. He simply wanted Iku to disappear, a in a violent manner if possible. But no, he didn't want her back. Putting his head back in the lion's mouth was not something Kuro was actively looking forward to doing. He smirked a bit at Iku's twitch, hell it was almost like a full blown seizure. A nerve had definitely been struck, though whether it was because she got called out on it or didn't want anyone to know was still a mystery. Either way, Kuro was content with the results and had ignored the response as he savored the victory mentally. Just the thought alone was disturbing, even more so when you factored in the ages. His eyes shifted to a slightly more serious demeanor when the voice from the two thieves rippled through his ears, the fun would have to continue later. He wasn't sure what the plan was going to be, for once Iku was actually being quiet, and at the worst possible time no less. However the boy would continue to wait it out as charging in, basically blind, was just asking to get him killed. Apparently it didn't matter for Iku as she rushed off in a blur, apparently taking off her frustrations on the two poor souls. ________ The vase, while pretty looking started to take on an odd angle. Perhaps it was one of those abstract pieces that changes structures when you looked at it from a different view. Nope, turns odd that his head had just been lopped. Blood spurted from the now headless neck as both body and cranium collapsed to the ground in a heap; the vase falling harmlessly to the earth. "W-what the hell did you just do to Aoi?!" The lone survivor screamed before trying to scamper away, getting a few steps before his own life came to an abrupt end. Truly gruesome, but at least the job had been done. -------------- The sounds of screams and thuds rang through the brush, apparently the deed was done. Kuro shook his head as he jumped from the vegetation, his assumptions clearly confirmed. He looked over the limp, bleeding bodies before shifting his view to Iku and then the vases. Yeah, she was upset, but at least the girl wasn't stupid enough to turn that sword on him. In one fell swoop the boy picked up the vases and wiped off as much of the blood as he could, they'd need to stop and clean them properly before returning them to the shop owner. "Welp, that's done. Guess you can run on back to Fuku-san now and tell him how well you did. Hell, he may even give you a gold star." If he hadn't been asking for it before then this was by all means an open invitation, but Kuro didn't care. If Iku hadn't attempted to act like that day never happened at the outset of the mission then things wouldn't have digressed this far, but in her typical deflector type personality that wasn't the case. Chances were the girl would make him turn in the vases in some kind of power trip, not that it mattered much, Kuro wasn't in a rush to get back to the village and not having to hear the constant nagging of Iku would bring a welcomed silence, almost tranquil considering the sight he was now witnessing.

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[Yasui Iku]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellspacing,0,true] WORDS 502 TAGGED kuro NOTES 3069/3000 i've been a bad, bad girl ♥ what i need is a good defense 'cause i'm feeling like a criminal Iku didn't even bother to clean her blade off very well, just returned it to its usual place on her back and watched Kuro retrieve the vases and wipe some of the splatter off them with a frown on her face. Killing the two thieves had done little to stave off her frustration at Kuro, but she wouldn't dare to raise her blade against another shinobi of Kirigakure unless they incited the fight. He might have been a disrespectful little shit, but it wouldn't do to get into trouble over him. She couldn't even really take out her frustration by punching him; he would just use his Hoozuki Hydrification thing and turn to liquid. And while she was sure her anger would outlast his chakra reserves, it would still be in poor taste to just attack a genin, no matter the reason. "Okay, now listen, you. What you said about Fuku? That was totally and completely uncalled for." Iku was doing her best to keep a level tone, something that wasn't at all easy. Perhaps those lessons in controlling her emotions had done at least a little good, though, seeing as she hadn't completely flipped out on the boy, and had settled for just angrily talking at him - because she was sure he wasn't going to listen to a damn thing that came out of her mouth. "Fuku is my teacher and my friend and nothing more than that. I'm not interested in him that way, and even if I was... Until about a week ago, he was happily married." He probably didn't know about a few recent events - which, while she didn't accept that as an excuse, was at least a decent explanation for his ignorance. If he had known, and still thought so lowly of her that he thought she would proposition Fuku before his wife was even buried... That was sickening. "In case you haven't heard, Kuro, Kyoko-chan is dead. And Fuku's still grieving." She wouldn't call him 'emotionally vulnerable,' exactly, but he had been so distressed on that day... Iku couldn't even begin to imagine taking advantage of the man like that. "So, why don't you just shut your ignorant little mouth and carry the vases back to the village, and I might consider forgetting that you ever said that." Iku headed back out onto the path towards the village, hopefully with Kuro following along behind her. Once they had returned, she planned on taking the vases back alone, unless he insisted upon tagging along. And then she would be writing a nice report that probably wouldn't include any of Kuro's snide remarks, as then she would have to explain why she just started bitching at him... He would get what was coming to him eventually. If he ever managed to hit chunin, she'd ask him to spar - and if he said yes, oh, she would make him hurt.

[katas]

[atrb=cellpadding,0,true][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,435,true][atrb=vAlign,top] ❝ YOU'RE SOMETHING DEADLY THAT I JUST CAN'T PUT MY FINGER ON. ❞ WORDS 3,388/3,000 TAGS characters NOTES write anything you want here!

[atrb=vAlign,top] Meh, walking back with these blood stained vases all the way to Kiri was going to be a pain in the ass, perhaps there was a couple big leaves he could wrap them in until they at least came across a creek or something. Then again, he could have just turned his arm into water and washed the vases off that way, but no need to waste chakra like that. The entire country was made up of islands so finding some source of water wouldn't be that hard. Yep, that had been the thoughts that were running through Kuro's head, not giving a thought to the words Iku was spewing. Of course she was still upset about what he had said about her taking a liking to Fuku, probably because it was true from what he assumed. Hell, the boy had cared so little that he had begun walking in the direction back to the village, the sooner those things got returned to the shop owner the sooner the Hozuki could go back to not having to worry about Iku and her incessant ranting. The vases nearly dropped from his hands as his momentum stopped suddenly upon hearing that next phrase. "What?" He questioned in more of a rhetorical tone. Kyoko-chan had died? Kuro had just talked with the woman not too long ago, about how to deal with Iku in fact, and now she was dead? Even in the life and death struggle that was the shinobi world hearing of one's death was never a simple thing to comprehend. Not that it changed Kuro's view towards the girl at all, though there was little suspicion that Fuku would fall for the charms of a hyper teenage girl in the first place. "Still doesn't change your piss poor attitude." He spat back at the girl while resuming his trek. Yeah, death was a terrible thing and though Kuro had no prior knowledge he was a bit remorseful in his earlier words, more so for Fuku's sake than Iku's, but even that hadn't erased everything that had taken place before, and the Hozuki wasn't too keen to forget such acts. The trek back to the village, while probably a mixture of seething anger coming from one and the contemplation of further events/ignoring of any comments from Iku from the other, was rather uneventful, and as soon as he passed the village gates Kuro made a bee line for the shop to return the vases. He had made sure to stop by a babbling brook on the journey home to clean off the remaining blood. A forgettable mission, to say the least, though the sight of an enraged Iku would help Kuro sleep soundly for weeks.

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