Catching up with a Ghost

Subject: Catching up with a Ghost Wed Jul 10, 2013 5:24 am

Mission:

Spoiler:

Two candles, one on a shelf in the top left corner of the room and the other in the same position but on the bottom right corner of the room, cast dancing shadows across the walls. Heavy looking wood that made up the walls and floor was stained with reds and browns that any shinobi would come to realize was blood, and because some had coagulated and some had not would make one ponder upon the atrocities that had or were still taking place in this room of horrors. With the only two windows in the room boarded up from the outside and the door having no inside handle, one could make the assumption that whomever or whatever the placed housed was not meant to be let out unless allowed from the outside.

The light from the candles was very dim, but illuminated the room just enough to make out the figures of two boys, back to back, bound to wooden chairs by thick ropes. Amongst these boys was a messy black haired shinobi who wore a forehead protector embroidered with the insignia of Donzokogakure, Sōichirō Xsalice, the other was a child that Xsalice had been sent on a mission to return home. Being caught in the predicament that he was in now was definitely not a part of the plan. " . . . What have I gotten myself into . . . " Xsalice's attention turned to the boy next to him as tears began streaming down his face. " . . . I need to be come a symbol of hope for this boy . . . "

Xsalice wiggled his body in his chair in attempts to grab a hold of the attention of the boy, in response, the boy lifted his head while tears continued to stream from his face. "Hey Kid!" He said in a hushed whisper, for what reason even he didn't know. "Look . . . Don't worry, I've got a plan. We'll be out of here in no time!" Even though he spoke with confidence, Xsalice knew in the back of his mind that he had no idea how he was going to get them free, but he knew it was going to happen. Even though the boy nodded in approval, the tears continued to flow on. " . . . How did I even get caught up like this? . . . " Xsalice's mind began to wander through the events that lead up to this very moment: the mission acceptance, the capture, and the present moment.

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Two hours before his capture, Xsalice sat and spoke with the parents of the child he had been assigned to find so as to reveal any hidden facts that they may have overlooked or had not looked into. "Our son, Tai, has always been a an adventures child . . . I remember when he was little he dressed up as an Indian and ventured into the Badge Mole habitat at the Zoo . . . Ever since that day, Tai never took off that Indian costume . . ." Mrs. Fujimoto stopped to dab at her eyes with a napkin. Xsalice sat on the opposite couch of the parents of the missing boy. "Ugh! I don't need your life story ma'am . . . Just let me get on with my mission . . ." Although these rude and insensitive thoughts flooded his mind as the couple briefed him on their son, Xsalice would never allow them to slip in front of any client. " . . . We knew then that we would have a handful to deal with . . ."

Mr. Fujimoto cleared his throat before standing up to his full height and bringing his wife with him, Xsalice did the same after analyzing his body language. "Honey, I think we should let the shinobi get to looking for Tai . . . Mr. Sōichirō, god speed in the search for our son . . . God speed . . ." Mr. Fujimoto extended an outstretched hand, Xsalice grasped it with his own, but for some reason his mind seemed elsewhere. "Wow . . . Mr. Sōichirō? That's a first . . . I'm truly being treated as an adult for once . . ." When he finally came to, Xsalice released the man's hands and headed for their door. As he opened it, he turned back toward the couple and said a few parting words before exiting with the door shutting behind him. "Mr. and Mrs. Fujimoto . . . I'll bring your son back to you . . . You can bet on that . . ."

Based upon the information that the Fujimoto's had given him, Xsalice started his search at the most obvious places: the zoo, the playground, and through the residential areas, yet there was still no sign of the kid just a bunch of yellow feathers. The pressure to find the kid in a reasonable amount of time that wouldn't cause more worry to his parents began weighing down on Xsalice. "Come on kid . . . I need something to go off of . . ." At that point Xsalice realized the lead he was looking for had been right in front of him the entire time, all he needed to do was follow the yellow feathers. After about an hour of tracking down and collecting over 20 yellow feathers Xsalice ended up at a shack on the outskirts of Donzokogakure. "The trail ends here . . . This kid better not be playing games . . ."

As he opened the door to the shack Xsalice was knocked unconscious, recollection of who or what had caused this state upon him was still unknown. After awaking bound to a chair and the boy he had been searching for, Xsalice questioned the boy on his captor, but was in no luck to any information besides that he had left.

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Across the room from where the boys sat bound together was all of Xsalice's equipment pouches well out of either of their reach, their plan of escape would have to be through means more closer to home. ". . . I need to find a way out of these ropes, but I can't reach any of my equipment . . . Wait!" He had one means of escape that was hidden from his captor, but with the position of his hands he wasn't going to be able to do things alone. Xsalice's eyes widened as the feint sound of footsteps coming from the direction of the door grew louder by the second, presumably this was his captor. "Damn it! . . . I need to make moves quickly! . . ."

With their captor closing in on them the boy's crying began to Xsalice moved back in his seat so that his gloved hands were right up against the boy's hands. "Hey kid, you're in the academy, right? You must know about summoning your chakra, right?" The boy nodded. "Good, look, I need you to apply a small bit of chakra to my gloves right about where my wrist is. Do you think you can do that for me?" The boy continued to cry, ignoring Xsalice's attempts at their rescue.

"Hello kiddies . . . Uncle Jasper has a little game he'd like to play" As the voice of their captor rang out like nails being dragged across a chalkboard the door to the shack slowly opened, the brightness of the natural light streaming in from the outside world blinded both Xsalice and Tai. It took a few seconds for their eyes to adjust, but when they did the appearance of their captor was revealed. A scraggly looking 6'3" male with a full beard and whose hair kept untidy, an assortment of weapons and tools lay inside a wooden box that he carried. The man placed the box on the floor right before the boys, he grabbed Tai by the face and shook his head. "Aww . . . Don't worry boy, I'll only make this as painful as possible!" Uncle Jasper laughed maniacally as he released Tai's face and headed toward the door. "Now don't you two go anywhere, I've got another surprise for you . . . I'll be right back!" He said as he shut the door behind him.

Beads of sweat began to form on Xsalice's brow, he did not start this day to die and he had a promise to full fill, this kid needed to get with the problem. "Kid please work with me! Don't you want to live!" The tone of his voice coming out in bit of a yell, he didn't mean to yell at the boy but a point needed to be made. Fortunately, it appeared that the sound of his voice had not reached the boy's captor. Tai's sobbing stopped as the fact of reality set in, he pressed his index and middle fingers of his right hand on the gloved wrist of Xsalice's left hand. A slight puff of smoke emitted as a kunai appeared, Xsalice quickly got to work cutting through the ropes that bound he and Tai together. "Nicely done kid! Now look, hold the ropes until I give the signal. We can't let this guy know that we are free . . . Don't worry, you'll be home in no time."

It wasn't long after Xsalice had freed himself and Tai from the restraints of the rope did their captor come bursting through the door. "Missed me kiddies" A series of giggles that slowly increased in volume escaped from Xsalice as he hung his head downward, his face hidden beneath the messy mop that he called hair. Using the distraction of his giggling to his advantage, Xsalice began a series of handsigns at a slow pace so as to remain hidden from view by Jasper. Irritated by the noise, Jasper walked over to Xsalice and grabbed him by his hair, their faces inches away from one another, but the giggles did not stop. "Is this your way to cope for your impending doom boy?" A smile crept across Xsalice's face as he pulled out the kunai and slipped it under the chin of his captor. "You're not too bright are ya? Never tie a victims hands behind them, you can't see what they are doing!"

Standing up to his full height, Xsalice motioned for Tai to exit the room as he positioned Jasper to take the place in the chair that he had just left, he began tying his captor in the same fashion he had the boys tied. "Technically, I have the right to kill you for holding me captive and interfering with the missions of a Donzokogakure shinobi . . ." Xsalice paused before continuing. "But, before I do this I need you to answer one thing . . ." At these words Jasper's expression began to turn into a devilish one. "Let me guess . . . You want to know why I didn't just kill you when I had the chance right?" Xsalice merely glared into Jasper's eyes, his own eyes seeming to grow colder by the second. "Who, why, and where can I find him?" The confrontation between the two beginning to growing more intense by the second. Jasper's laugh came erupting out of him before he began to speak. "I'm just as surprised to see you again boy! I'm here on no ones orders, but my own. Before you do way with me, give that daddy of yours a punch in the gut will ya? He owes me!" Not being able to hold in his anger any longer, Xsalice punched the man dead in the jaw three times in rapid succession before finishing the last sign to his jutsu. The kunai in his left hand disappeared in a puff of smoke, in it's place another kunai appeared, it being nearly identical to the first with the exception of a seal embroidered onto it. The box of tools spilled over from Jasper's reaction to being struck, weapons sprawled across the floor. "Your words make no sense Jasper . . . Your time is up . . ." With these words said Xsalice dug the kunai deep into the abdomen of his captor, blood spraying all across his face, but he did not shy away from it. As he turned and left out the door Jasper voice rang out. "You and I both know this isn't a killing blow . . . To think the ruthless boy that I met before had become soft . . . Ha ha ha ha ha" Xsalice paused for a moment, wanting to say something again, but decided not. He grabbed Tai by the arm with his left hand and walked a few meters away from the shack as he used his right hand to form the unique Sōichirō handsign, an eruption starting from the center of the shack and then expanding outward occurred blasting pieces of wood and debris everywhere. Xsalice let out a long sigh before heading back to the village with Tai at his side.

For the rest of the journey back to Tai's parent home Xsalice did not speak a word, and by Tai's distance from him he didn't intend on asking any. His mind was clouded with thoughts such as: "Who was that Jasper guy?" , "Why had he said he'd known me?" , and "How did he know the wretched man that dared called himself my father?". Upon reaching the Tai's doorstep Xsalice stopped the boy and dropped to one knee so as to be at his eye level. "Look kid, the details of what happened after we escaped should not be told again . . . I'm not threatening you, but things could become very bad for me. You understand?" Xsalice rang the doorbell and stood behind the boy. The door opened revealing the boy's parent's, they embraced him in the most loving hug to which Xsalice viewed from above as he stood on top of their house. The way they embraced Tai reminded Xsalice of the way his mother used to hug him, it was as if nothing mattered besides who was within her arms. Although he had succeeded in keeping his promise to the boy's parents, Xsalice wasn't up to going through the whole briefing process. In a puff of smoke Xsalice vanished from the area, he would receive the rewards from completing his mission later, right now all he wanted was some alone time.

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