Team Cybele: The Hare and the Snake

[Bad Situation]

Nodding, Yousuke flicks away the remaining of blood on his katana with a flourish and sheathes it just as quickly. Besides his depleted reserves of chakra he was no worse for wear and as unscathed as the day they had first begun the mission. He felt stronger though, different even. Despite the trouble they had gone through, their mission had at least marginally, been a success. "I am ready to leave when you are Camille-san."

[Princess Tracy]

"Cybele, with your speed, you better catch up with us by the time we reach Soragakure. i don't want to have to chase down your beaten carcass again." Amon thinks for a minute. "Cybele. You weren't that far from Hinami when you collapsed. Depending in the time frame of when the sample was taken, you also could have been... No, perhaps I'm trying to shirk blame for not burning the body on the basis that if they got that thing from her before we could have burned the body, we're not responsible. I'll... I'll try and be a less horrendous excuse for a ninja in the future."

She sighs. "Let's go. Houshi, be gentle and I'll make it worth your while." Amon points towards the town limits to indicate they should leave. "Unless you wanted to stay and help Cybele. If she would even accept your help, though frankly I find your ability to break entire buildings at leats noteworthy. Speaking of, Houshi, reach inside my bag and leave some of the gold in the bedroom we destroyed. I feel pretty bad about destroying that just to kill those two oni."

Even if Houshi doesn't leave the money, Amon will gladly leave and probably won't leave his arms if he'll have her, falling asleep during the trip home for a brief nap

[zeone3000]

A large sweat drop forms on his forehead, "Twelve years old, can break down buildings and it's only noteworthy? Better work on that then. No, I'll leave the assassin to her own. I'd only prove as distraction right now."

He does what's asked of him, mainly because it wasn't any of his money. Collateral damage came with the territory as far as he concerned, besides it could have been a lot worst if they got to the top of that building.

While walking back, he remembered something. He felt it hard to get anything in sometimes when the others were conversing, "Oh and to answer your earlier question, of course I would. Just don't do anything stupid. That's what this body is for." He pounds his chest for emphasis.

[Princess Tracy]

Amon smiles softly as she realises what he takes pride in. "Then, defend my exhausted body on the walk home, would you, oh mighty Houshi?" With that, she tilts her head back and seems to finally doze off in his arms as sooon as he starts walking towards Soragakure. Soon she'd have her own bed to return to, but the fight had drained her pretty thoroughly of her remaining chrakra. She needed to find a way to expand her stamina, but for now she just wanted home. She snores softly, leaving herself in Houshi's care and their new little friend in Yousuke's.

[ZeroNumerous]

DM

Camille describes the woman as tall, mean, and with purple hair and purple eyes. She says the woman always wore a labcoat, and referred to Camille as Eurayle. She goes on to say that Mitsuyo never even asked for her name, and only referred to her as Eurayle after the woman started calling her that. She explains that the woman had always been quite nice, and that she had brought candy and other treats before. She never found out what the woman's name was.

---

Cybele nods her head at Amon's statement. "You're right. But regardless of whether it's from Hinami's body or directly from me: I'm the source of her problems."

Cybele disappears when the genin have gathered up everything. Camille follows them, staying near Yousuke in particular, and says nothing.

---

The three genin plus their new companion head out of town. They discover that most of the town has fallen to infighting between Mitsuyo's guards, the police, and the rebellion. Luckily they're able to avoid getting drawn into any conflicts by sticking to the side roads. Any attempts made to draw the group into a fight are halted immediately when the aggressors realize that they're trying to pick a fight with ninja. The genin are able to escape Yosita without any further problems.

After about ten minutes on the road they're joined by Cybele. "Mitsuyo was dead when I found him. I searched through the building, and found a ruined laboratory. That's likely where they created Camille. I have no doubts in my mind that Setsuna is out there, but I can't figure out why she's here in the River Country."

If the genin ask about Setsuna, then Cybele explains. "Eurayle Setsuna had been one of the greatest medical ninja in Kusagakure. But she was exiled ten years ago because of her radical practices. She had found a way to extract small quantities of our cursed chakra and inject that into the chakra pathways of non-cursed individuals. The cursed chakra tainted the subject's pathways, and caused them to produce cursed chakra naturally. This allowed her to create artificial members of our clan, but it caused serious physical strain to the subjects. Not all of them survived."

"If I'm right, then Camille is one of the lucky ones."

With that said, Cybele answers any other questions the genin might have. If they don't have any, then the group presses onward to Soragakure, and arrives just as the sun sets.

---

Just as before Cybele starts heading for Central as soon as the group steps off the Main Rail. And, just like before, she disappears and reports immediately. If the genin follow her to central, then they are greeted by the imposing visage of Sonia. The muscular kunoichi watches their approach with disdain, and only glares at the new arrival. Camille gets physically closer to Yousuke as she metaphorically shrinks into the background. Cybele's standing several feet off to the side of her, having just finished her report, and waits for you to finish your own report.

Sonia glares at each genin in turn, then speaks in her gruff voice. "I don't expect success, so go ahead. Tell me how you've failed the city this time."

[Princess Tracy]

Amon's only question to Cybele as she stirs on the road is "What do you think we should tell Sonia? When you report in, I won't know what you've said and if we're keeping details form her, then..."

[Bad Situation]

Yousuke steps up to speak and stands up stock straight, wearing an impassive expression on his face as he supplies his report with austerity and rigidness, "The team played a part in the removal of both Mara Soushio and Mara Kei, their men could not be convinced to leave and thus they met their end inside their base of operations." To make a point of it, Yousuke holds up the two katanas found in the possession of the two 'gangsters' and continues in his stoic intonation, "I retrieved these blades from their shattered corpses before returning to Soragakure,"

[Princess Tracy]

Amon does her bets to grab some immigration papers on the way into town and tells Camille to fill them out.

Before going in to see Sonia, Amon gives Camille a little pep talk. "Now, this woman may seem scary... and that's because she is. She's very scary. But don't let that get to you. She won't actually CARE enough to hurt you in any case." Getting out of Houshi's arms, she stands on her own feet and dusts herself odd, a little better for her nap but still hardly fresh looking. "You're used to living in fancy mansions anyway, right? Want a room at my place, at least until i can et you more permanent accommodation? Untless Yousuke has room for an indefinite guest he'd be wiling to offer you or Cybele insists on taking care fo you immediately, of course."

---

When facing Sonia, Amon steps forward, opens her mouth, produces a scroll.. and is cut of by Yousuke and remains silent. Really, his version of events was more palpable to be honest. She considers letting Yousuke's statement hang by itself but sees she's waiting for some sort of pitch in. If only to fill the silence, she adds, in her most stoic tone, "It was a battle for the ages," Amon remarks, indicating towards Houshi's many, many arrow punctures and rubble-infused clothes. "An easy, simple job with a simple and favourable conclusion." It doesn't come much simpler than kiling people you don't like. Sigh

If prompted, Amon gives her a scroll detailing the misison that she wrote on the train ride over again (and partially in Houshi's arms if he'd kept her steadier). It details just the raid on the fort, and a footnote about their delay in returning being due to getting caught up in the middle of a violent land owning dispute while trying to punish someone for exploiting the confidentiality and loyalty of a ninja contract (not untrue). The fort is described in somewhat vague terms and makes no clear mention of how certain parties were killed, only that they are dead.

[ZeroNumerous]

DM

Sonia huffs. "I guess there are things even you can achieve. Very well. You can get your reward from Central tomorrow morning. Your next mission will be in one week. You're dismissed." Sonia glares at the group until they leave, just like last time.

Cybele intercepts the group once they've pulled away from Sonia. She motions for Camille to come over, and the girl does so quietly. "I'll be taking her with me. I'll be training her, and thus won't have time to help you with your own training. But I'll try and get some time to help you all."

Camille bows to the group. "Thank you all. For everything." That said, Cybele looks toward you all. "We'll make back here next week, at noon. Good luck, and get some rest."

[zeone3000]

Houshi stretches, mainly his arms from having to keep his arms in the same position for a strenuous amount of time, "Yep, as much wish I could train now, time to for the three Ss: sustenance, shower and sleep as my shisou would say. Gotta get up earlier and polish off that kenjutsu so I can move on."

[Bad Situation]

Smiling lightly at the rest of his team, Yousuke bows and departs but not before pressing a scrap of paper into Camille's hands. "On that scrap of paper is the address to both my home and a sweets shop I frequent. When you are able, choose a day and I will accompany you there and we can discuss your training and how you are settling into the village." He would relish the look on Yuri's face when she saw him walk in with a girl. It would serve her right for all those years of teasing.

With nothing left to say, Yousuke returns home to recount his first successful mission to his grandfather.

[ZeroNumerous]

Yousuke

The boy makes his way back to his home, but stops a few feet away from the door. It was dark out, but the sun hadn't been down longer than an hour. Yet Yousuke can hear the sound of steel-hitting-steel inside. Sure, some of the locals came to practice with Youki, but never this late at night. And rarely did they use real weapons, except in the case of ninjas. Nevertheless, Yousuke can also hear his grandfather grunt and groan as he fights. The sound is a testament to the skill of whoever he is dueling, because Youki never seemed to struggle in any of the fights Yousuke had witnessed.

[Bad Situation]

Smiling, Yousuke pushes into the house excitedly. The opponent had to be good if even his grandfather was having trouble, "Maybe if I hurry I can see the tail end of the fight.." Kicking his sandals against the wall, Yousuke dashes into the dojo with a grin on his face. Sliding open the door with more force than strictly necessary he announces his presence, "Grandfather! I'm home!"

[ZeroNumerous]

Yousuke

Yousuke barges into the dojo just as steel meets steel once more. Youki looks surprised, and that opening is all his opponent needed. A razor-sharp katana shoots out like a snake going for the killing bite. Its glittering blade sinks deep into Youki's side, and withdraws just as quickly covered in the old man's blood. The sword goes for another swing at neck height, clearing aiming to remove Youki's head, but the Konpaku patriarch recovers from his surprise in time to block it. But the force of the blow sends Youki down to one knee as the older man struggles to keep the same strength in his blade as his younger opponent. As Youki's opponent presses his advantage Yousuke gets a good look at his grandfather's enemy.

The young man, who couldn't be too far into his twenties, wore a maniacal smile like a well fitting glove. His pale blue eyes are wide and wild to match his grin. A loose-fitting men's kimono rests easily on the man's shoulders. His bare chest bears many scars from battle, and his white hakama is stained red in places with Youki's blood. He wears a pair of tight-fitting hand-guards, and a pair of simple peasant's sandals grace the man's sock-covered feet. His bright red hair and distinctive facial scar--a long slash going from right cheekbone down to the middle of his chin--make him quite memorable.

The two of them seem to be fighting quite seriously, but Youki is getting the worst of it by far. The man in the blue kimono has cuts in his clothes, flesh wounds to his chest, and cuts in his handguards; but Youki is bleeding from a deep gash to his left leg, has a mangled right hand, a horizontal slash across his chest, and the newly opened wound on his side. The swordsman suddenly breaks his struggle with Youki, and hops back to put a bit of distance between the two of them. He casually sheathes his sword on his right hip, but his dominant left hand remains on the grip. Youki, breathing heavily, stands but does not lower his blade.

[Bad Situation]

The smile on his face drops the second he comes upon the sight of his grandfather in such a state. "G-grandfather, what is going on!?" he asks worriedly. Yousuke's own left hand whips down to the hilt of his own katana but when he tries to summon the strength needed to draw the blade he finds none. Instead, his fingers tremble at the thought of facing the man in a duel. If his grandfather had been hurt to such an extent, what hope did he have against the mysterious swordsman. Horror etched in his face, Yousuke swallows his fears to draw closer. Instinct alone told him not to get involved but the sight of his battered grandfather sends his better sense tumbling. Instantly, Yousuke runs to Youki's side and begins badgering the aged swordsman. "Are you alright, grandfather? Why are you fighting this man!?"

Spoiler

Show

If asked to stay away, Yousuke does so but asks the questions nonetheless.

[ZeroNumerous]

Yousuke

Youki struggles to stand, and Yousuke's appearance does nothing for his composure. "Y-Yousuke... He--"

The grinning man answers Yousuke's questions for his grandfather. "I came here to find Youmu. Instead, I find an old man and a child. The old guy is strong, but age is the great equalizer." The man's hand remains on his blade, but it's calm and loose grip tells of the confidence the man has in his position. Youki's own grip is shaking and slick with his own blood. He's further forced into using his weaker hand, as Yousuke can tell his right has been cut to pieces.

"Yousuke. This man... This man is the worst kind of swordsman." Youki glares at his opponent, but the red-haired man just shoots back with the same insane grin as always. "The Konpaku always serve. In this life, we serve our ideals. In the next, we serve our Princess. This man..." Youki grits his teeth as a wave of pain shoots through him.

"I believe he's trying to say that I don't serve anything. I exist to fight and kill, and unfortunately I've found my way to your home." The man's grin has subsided a little, but it's still there. Yousuke can feel his unrestrained killing intent permeating the room.

"This is not a swordsman. It's a murderer."

"Ya, pretty much." At that moment the man dashes forward, his grip tightens, and in one fluid movement he draws his sword and attacks. Yousuke recognizes the initial form of the man's battoujutsu as the Wolf Fang Slash from Yousuke's own Konpaku-style. The man's blade seeks Yousuke's head, but it finds Youki instead.

Blood splatters across Yousuke's face as the bulk of his grandfather's arm catches the man's blade. The glittering blade, now stained red with Youki's blood, sits mere centimeters from Yousuke's nose. Youki grunts in pain, but does not clutch his hand or lower his sword. Instead, he simply raises his blade as he readies for an attack. "Yousuke. I need your help. Go for his sword when I attack, okay?"

[Bad Situation]

Only centimeters away from the blade that had almost claimed his life, Yousuke breaks out into a cold sweat but nods to his grandfather's request nonetheless. Youki needed a swordsman right now, not a child playing at being a warrior. Sucking in a breath through his teeth, sets his face into an expression of grim determination and stares right back at the would-be murderer. Standing by his side was Konpaku Youki, a swordsman feared and respected over every inch of the Elemental Counties and behind them were the ideals that their clan had been founded on. Truly, he had nothing to fear from the man so bent on killing them. A true swordsman relied on neither his body nor his technique but in a harmonious balance of body and soul.

Life and death were but an illusion, two parts of the very same whole, and no one understood this quite as well as a swordsman of the Konpaku clan. Standing at the crossroads between death and rebirth they alone understood the immateriality of life and the futility of killing without purpose. A life taken without purpose was a life taken in vain, but with purpose a swordsman could temper his resolve and cleave a path towards the future. They would not lose, not to a man who would serve no one but himself.

Looking straight ahead he readied himself, body and soul aligned in intent. The killer not had only disrespected the clan's ideals but had disrespected the man who had taught him the sword. This alone was enough for him to bear his full intent to kill but in spite of the man's transgressions, 'to protect my family's honor' was not his purpose.

To protect his loved ones, he would throw himself at the greatest dangers. To serve his ideals, he would resist the wickedest of temptations. But the desire to protect his grandfather was something entirely, far removed from the trivialities he had once concerned himself with. To save the old man he would resolve himself to cutting even the face of god, even if this 'god' was no more than a demon wearing the skin of a man. If his purpose was great enough, then his body would carry itself through. This was the philosophy he had been taught and now more than ever he understood its message.

Though he says nothing, his body language tells it all, "As you wish."

[ZeroNumerous]

Yousuke

"Remember. Go for his sword. Don't hold back a bit, and don't flinch." Youki tenses his body, drawing his handless stump in to grasp with a non-existent hand, and gets ready to attack. "Go!"

In one moment Youki goes from waiting into attacking. He's doing a strange head-long rush straight toward the unknown swordsman. The swordsman's grin widens. "Foolish!" The swordsman's lightning fast blade leaps from it's sheathe and darts toward Youki's head. Youki seems to have left himself completely open, and trusts Yousuke to go through with his part.

[Bad Situation]

At once, Yousuke is on their mutual foe, arms snaking toward the man's sword in whip-like motions he did not think himself capable of. If Youki's life depended on him taking the man's sword, then it would be so. Unflinchingly, Yousuke goes through with his grandfather's simple order with a fierce glare affixed to his face. He could not hope for his success, therein lied doubt. So instead, he chose to believe.

[ZeroNumerous]

Yousuke

Youki's blade slams into the unknown swordsman's own, and it pops beautifully into Yousuke's hands. "Ha! Smart." Youki twists his body into a wide slash aimed at Youki's waist, but the unknown swordsman reacts instantly. His second blade slides out of his sash, and blocks Youki's sword with the sheathe. With Youki's blade stopped the swordsman performs another iaijutsu slash at Youki.

Unfortunately Youki's crazy plan left him open, and the blade slides across Youki's back. The old swordsman drops to the ground with a cry of pain, and seems to out of it for now.

"Even the sword can't kill old age." The swordsman turns toward Yousuke, and points his bloody sword at Yousuke. "Maybe youth is the answer?"

Spoiler

Show

Yousuke gains an unknown sword.

[Bad Situation]

Yousuke sucks in a breath when he sees Youki fall but keeps the panic from flooding his features. He would not give the man the satisfaction of his fear, not now. Gripping the katana tightly, Yousuke shifts the sword in his grip, unsure of the blade's weight but certain of his own resolve. "I know not of why you search for my mother or why you exist to kill but should you remain in my presence the only death you shall find is your own." Dashing in with his blade held low, Yousuke flashes the sword outward in a wide arcing motion as a feint before suddenly reversing the direction of the blade creating an inexplicably quick second slash. It was a feat he had seen his grandfather accomplish countless times during their years of training and one he had never managed to accomplish himself. Until today.

[Princess Tracy]

"Good to see you're still in high spirits after the beating you took, Houshi," Amon comments with a smile. "I'm much too exhausted to train as it stands. I'm going to hit the library and try to figure out an odd condition I have before getting some sleep." She hands Houshi and Yousuke her 'business' cards, the directions to her modest hideout. "That's where I'll be tonight if I'm not at the library. If either of you should spontaneously become wounded and in need of healing or just want to chat, that's where you can find me after I'm done at the library which should be in ooh, say, (1d4)[3] hours - assuming no nasty surprises occur on the way. With the day we're havingg, I wouldn't be surprised if the Sage of Oni should be sitting in my living room, waiting to eat me. Speaking of, I wrote my regular address on the back of those cards (the printed text is my secret base), just for you two; I'll be returning there once I am content that the dust has settled with regards to Suneko."

"Which brings us to the matter of reporting to Sonia's perhaps more attentive peers. Cybele." Amon produces a scroll with her full report on it. Essentially a transcription of everything that had happened throughout the day. "The sooner we get or info to Taro, the sooner killing us all in our sleep to silence us of her betrayal won't be an option. What were her intentions anyway? What on earth did she think we knew? Don't bother keeping it quiet;for a sensor ninja, she's just paranoid - she's convinced we're a threat no matter what we know."

As Yousuke turns to leave, Amon can't help but beam at him, looking between him and Camille. "You did a good job today, Konpaku-san. You made my job as medic easy by coming out unscathed, you made pals with a dragon, and you saved the life of our newest friend by merely discovering her. And perhaps learned to be a charmer if your words to her are at all sincere. You've earned a good long rest, I'd say." She waves goodbye

[ZeroNumerous]

Amon and Houshi

Cybele looks toward Sonia, and only once she's sure the giant jounin is out of earshot does she divulge what she learned. "Suzunabu spoke to her mistress, and she revealed that Suneko held the contract before it was passed on to Yusa. Which means that Suneko set up Hinami, and myself, to cover Yusa's escape under some kind of feud between the Sky and the Sand."

The sky-jounin goes on. "Further, she built the illusion of an organization by having Suzunabu act openly. So both the Sky and the Sand assume outsiders were involved, and no one looks internally for problems. I imagine she set up this mission to get us killed by Suzunabu, and that would have cleaned up all the loose ends. But she didn't expect us to not attack Suzunabu, and that caused her to overreact and play her trump card early. She now has no idea how we'll react."

The purple-haired jounin adjusts her glasses slightly. "So then, we can infer that she won't return to Soragakure. The risk that we turn things in to people with brains between their ears is too great. She's likely returned to Yusa's side, and that means operating as her right-hand. But just in case she does return, you need to get that scroll to Taro as soon as possible."

[Princess Tracy]

"Then my report from the first mission where I speculated about an organisation only played into her hands... I was so chuffed with myself for figuring out their supposed intentions, my pride stopped me looking deeper than that. Though perhaps disrupting her intentions entirely today has redeemed us a little bit." Amon twirls the scroll open, and begins noting Cybele's findings and her speculations in addition o her own report. "Point me in the direction of Taro then and I'll head out right now. I hope there's a train there though - my legs feel like lead after I used all that chakra to control Suzunabu's body. Hard to believe someone like Suneko would be someone else's assistant; she seemed to have too much of a dominant ego for that." She was more bratty than myself, when you get right down to it.

Spoiler

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Just for safety's sake I'll still be using my den to sleep for tonight. I'm all alone anyway and if I can break into my home in 2 seconds flat, it's clearly not a defendable position if our spacetime-specialist foe should decide to pop in. Plus, I wouldn't wnat to have lied to Yousuke about where I'll be - that would be rude.

Once Amon is given directions, she follows them quickly enough, waving goodbye to her companions. "If you find some spare time in between her training, Cybele, or if you think you can handle me Houshi, I plan on spending an evening in my home administering small-concentration poison to myself as an experiment to see if it can help my recollection. I'll need someone to spot me so I don't completely overdose." She's so sluggish from fatigue she doesn't need to stop to be heard. "Next time I use that technique to take the body of someone in your presence, Cybele, I'll be a little more subtle. Though I'm surprised you figured out the details of my technique so quickly, I wouldn't say it's my soul that's projected... But that's a story for another day. Farewell, Cybele-chan, Camille-chan, Houshi-Houshi!" And with that, slowly but surely, she's gone

[ZeroNumerous]

Amon

Cybele points the girl toward a large mansion in the residential district. It's near Amon's family home. "There, the Taro estate. The guards won't let you in unless you have this." Cybele digs into one of her belt pouches and produces a small white crystal on a string. She hands it over to Amon. "Just show them this, and tell them that your jounin sent you. I'll need that back later, so take care of it." Unless Houshi has something to say or do, then both Camille and Cybele just wave goodbye and let Amon go off on her personal mission.

When the genin arrives at the estate, she's greeted by two masked ANBU. One's not much taller than herself and wears a hawk mask, but the other is at least six feet tall and wears a frog. Both of them talk in a strangely deep voice that makes it extremely hard to tell which one is talking. "What are you doing here?" They speak quickly and to the point. If Amon presents her crystal, then they allow her entry into the mansion and the frog-masked ANBU follows her inside. Otherwise, the genin is told to go home and get some sleep.

The inside of the mansion is as gaudy as Amon's own overly decorated home. But unlike hers there are several servants bustling about, but few guests. The frog-masked ANBU guides Amon deep into the mansion, and the pair finally stop in front of an aged wooden door that smells of turpentine and ammonia. The ANBU opens the door, and allows Amon to go first. Inside the two of them discover a very large studio. A work table dominates the center of the room, and an extremely old gentleman sits at it. His shaking hands try to fit the preserved wing of a raven onto its dead body, and Amon realizes he's a hobbyist at taxidermy. The old man stops only when the ANBU introduces Amon.

He turns a weathered leather-like face to look at Amon over his shoulder. He scratches his balding head, running his fingers through his wispy white hair easily, then points to a small chair at the side of the table. The pale old man grumbles a little as he stands up and turns his chair to face Amon's own. He looks the girl dead in the eye as he speaks. "Who are you, who is your teacher, and what does he need?"

Yousuke

Yousuke's first slash tears through the swordsman's clothes, and as the boy gathers his strength for the second the swordsman laughs. The glittering arc of the man's sword meets Yousuke's second slash head-on. Both blades clash edge-to-edge, and Yousuke's comes out worse for wear. The silvery sword cracks, and the upper half of the blade shoots back toward Yousuke. Luckily he's able to dodge out of the way, but had he been a bit slower it would have cut him across the bridge of his nose. The half-a-sword remaining in his hands would be useless against the other man's blade, and the unknown swordsman realizes it. He steps back, sheathes his sword, and frowns.

"Huh. So I guess that blade wasn't as special as I was led to believe. Heh. Whatever. When is Youmu going to return?" The swordsman switches from trying to murder Yousuke to casual conversation almost instantly. Even so Yousuke can still feel the man's killing intent, and the way the man's dominant hand rests on his sword reminds the boy that they could start fighting again at any time.

If Yousuke looks to his grandfather then he can see that Youki seems to still be alive, albeit clearly in a lot of pain. The old man's injuries are plentiful, painful, but not lethal.

[Bad Situation]

Panting in exhaustion, Yousuke retains his nervous grip on the broken sword, his eyes darting from the now shattered blade, to Youki, and then to the murderous swordsman. His grandfather, was fortunately, still very much alive but the other two factors didn't add up. "What is he talking about? Why would he care about the sword? Does this have something to do with mother?"

Swallowing the lump in his throat, Yousuke asks he swordsman, "My mother has not been home in years, what is your business with her?"

[Princess Tracy]

Amon sits obligingly, giving a little bow. "Taro, sir?" she greets him. She takes a moment to catch her breath, before speaking further, the walk over having exhausted her in itself in her current state and she didn't want to trip over her words. Calmed, she speaks, holding out her report scroll. "Amon Yamana, genin of Team 5, under the supervision of Special-Joinin Cybele, " she introduces herself in response to his questions. "My sensei sent me in her stead to report - reporting something Sonia wouldn't hear and the silence of which would only condemn us," she says, pointing out her scroll, and producing a second from her bag; a copy of her first mission report taht she'd written from memory. She rests them both on her lap, speaking turning out to be easier than she suspected now that she had started. "Suneko has turned traitor. Our entire mission for today was a setup to kill us in case there were any loose ends from our first misison, and when we turned up alive and with, at least she believed, with information on her activities, she personally tried to kill us in broad daylight by sommoning many oni to assault us, and would accept neither our retreat nor our surrender. By sheer force of numbers and luck, we managed to repel her. Cybele-sensei has gathered testimony that reveals the second ninja that helped in Yusa of the Black Sand's escape, missing-nin Meiling, was orginally in a contract with Suneko before it fell to Yusa during her escape." She pauses. "She specifically said she feared we would go to you with this information, given the fact that you might listen."

[ZeroNumerous]

Amon

The wrinkled old man frowns at Amon's words, but allows her to speak fully before saying anything. "Cybele. Hm... I don't like that girl. Not obedient enough. But I like Sonia and her minions even less." He shakes a little as he continues to speak. "Suneko, hm? Is she really the type to act on her own? Does she strike you as a girl willing to strike out without allies? No... I will have to speak to Kai, but we will have Sonia deposed until Suneko is captured."

A shaking finger points toward Amon. "Do not speak of this. To anyone. You're being trusted here child, and if you're properly obedient... Well, scratching my back is like scratching the back of all the Country of Rivers, yes?" He grins, displaying more than a few mission teeth, and tries to laugh. Instead of an actual laugh however, nothing but wheezing and dust comes out of the old man's throat.

"Go on now. And remember", he says while pointing for Amon to leave, "tell no one. No one at all." He reiterates his orders for emphasis, then expects Amon to leave.

Yousuke

The swordsman seems a bit surprised. "You're Youmu's brat? I'm surprised. She didn't seem the type. So she's not been home in years? Well, now there's no reason for me to be here." The swordsman starts to leave. His maniacal grin never moves, and Yousuke can still feel the man's totally unrestrained killing intent. Yet he aims to walk right past Yousuke without so much as looking at the boy. It's almost as if he were some kind of deranged madman with no control over himself. If Yousuke makes no effort to stop him, then he leaves without further comment.

[Bad Situation]

Seething with rage, Yousuke trembles at the thought of allowing the man to leave without so much as word but knows that raising his sword against the man would be a lesson in futility. His grandfather was safe for now but seriously injured, which was far more pressing than any thoughts of revenge. Even if the injuries were not lethal, it was clear to see that the aging swordsman needed medical attention. Tossing his broken sword to the ground, Yousuke runs to Youki's side and gently tries to ease the man up. "Are you okay, grandfather!?" he asks desperately.

He had other questions of course, but for now his grandfather's health was foremost among his concerns.

[Princess Tracy]

No one, huh? "That won't be hard, sir. There's no one around to listen to my made tales of the day except those who were present." With that, she stands and nods, leaving the scrolls on his table with a little jingle as they rattle onto the surface. "I can't speak for Suneko's mentality beyond her clear intent of killing me and my teammates. Hopefully now that I have reported in, that will have subsided some; in my state I'm in no fit condition to be taking on some master summoner." She gives a pleasant, schoolgirl giggle in mimicry of the old man's own to raise the old man's spirits. With a bow, she leaves. "Thank you, sir." With that, she leaves, strongly considering skipping her last errand for the day and just finding somewhere comfortable to sleep