A rosy sun languored in the lazy afternoon sky, casting its final swaths of warmth across the Stone as it softly sank into the western horizon. Hues of red and orange blended with the faintest purples, breathing color into the taupe earth of our land. The day was fading, and with the call of sunset a small crowd had gathered in the heart of the red light district.
If you had ever walked through the Yūkaku streets, you were eventually led here—a broad, circular opening called the Yuniwara, where with the first ebbing of sunlight at each day's end, the courtesans of different pleasure houses were brought out to showcase their talents before village patrons. Today, the Koumi house was on display. After a long morning of shinobi busywork, I was excited to kick my feet up and enjoy a showing from this house in particular, who were known for a foreign style of dance that I had grown to savor.
♨️ ♨️ ♨️
We were all seated on wooden stools that had been aligned in a half circle to behold a round clearing. There they danced, a group of Yūjo who had foregone their traditional attire for a foreign ensemble: exotic makeup, short and snug tops that left their arms and bellies uncovered, and either streaming skirts or tight-fitting pants that flared out at the legs.
Their motions were hypnotic, flowing in unison to the rhythm of up-beat taiko drumming and the lyrical melodies of bamboo flutes. My gaze loyally followed their swaying hips and fluttering arms as they waved and twirled. Their giggles cut through the music and sounded like the running water of a sunlit stream, though their movements felt like a river in flight. Time fell away. The slightest redness arose in my cheeks as the group gradually weaved into a beguiling finale, wherein their bodies turned and undulated with an anger that sent tingles down my spine. I raised an autumn-colored hand fan to my face in the final moments of their dance, flushing my warm visage with cool wind.
Yet, more chilling, as the crowd came together in applause, I caught that indescribable feeling that I was being watched. I gulped—the presence didn’t feel ordinary. I brought my fan closer to my face, thinking it too obvious to simply swivel my head around. Who had found me here?
Last Edit: Oct 13, 2021 19:31:43 GMT by Kikuyō Kaguya
The neko was annoyed to say the least as she laid in a tree overlooking the venue for the dancers, for whatever reason they needed to be policed given their foreign influence and proclivities, Junko didn't see it. They were attractive for sure but they didn't particularly seem hostile or conniving, just working women. Maybe it was the patrons and their grabby hands she was supposed to monitor, cutting them off when she felt they may perhaps go too far, that wasn't a bad thought.
Either way the navy clad dark-skinned woman stayed still and silent her mocha tone and dark colors helping her blend into the wood while her gold eyes lazily glanced from one patron to the other before landing on a man playing up his reactions with a fan, however she saw him seem to shudder after she had looked at him and began searching around for someone. It seemed amusing in turn given the dancers but she didn't move as she was now focused on his reactions instead.
A thudding lightly rattled my seated frame. I had been alert as a daybreak rooster since that last debacle, refusing to be caught off-guard again. I had even paid off my year-running tab at the Wild Stag! The look on their faces as I strolled merrily away—sweeter than a sun-ripe cherry.
But... when you lived a left-handed lifestyle, there was always some sour-faced dupe despairing to seek revenge. Some sap who felt cheated or suckered, another hoodwinked. Sore losers, if you asked me. But they were all around, so you never knew who might be lurking in the shadows. My shinobi senses were my only defense, and they remained vigilant now, eyes squinted above the grooved fan that fluttered like a hawk’s wing, head on a swivel.
Still nothing. I scanned the crowd again, who were still chirping in unison, perky with the warmth of mutual cheer. They didn’t notice my searching gaze as it combed through their trunks. The dwindling sunset had dyed their faces the color of firelight, and I couldn’t find a single shadowy scowl among them. But the itch persisted. I turned around, my sight tracing the patch of merchant stalls that littered the other half of the Yuniwara, and then to the passersby circling around, and then to a sun-clawed oak tree, and then along the open windowing of each building encircling the setting—and again, nothing.
“What the hell…?” I mumbled under my breath.
I almost began questioning my own wits. But I couldn’t be mistaken—no, I was being watched. Why were they hiding? I was growing impatient. My left hand habitually caressed the patterned hilt of its corresponding katana. I felt an anger rising. Maybe they wanted me to leave the crowd? A hired merc, then, tasked with my abuse? Well, they wouldn’t catch me unawares. I rose from my seat, tired of waiting, half-stomping from the flock in obvious indignation.
My geta unsettled the earth as I trounced into an unpeopled patch of the clearing. I folded my fan and tucked it back into my sash, hand remaining perched on my hip, eyebrows slightly raised in urgency.
Come out and play, you damn bandit.
Last Edit: Oct 17, 2021 12:12:04 GMT by Kikuyō Kaguya
It seemed she touched a nerve, if he was that aware anyway, she continued to watch as the man slowly became more and more paranoid, his attention sweeping across the square and the street moving lined along them as while she smirked lightly finding his reactions more entertaining, second only to the women on stage but she wasn't allowed to pursue her baser desires while on the job. Her ear quirked slightly hearing him mutter something as she calmly watched him try to find the source of his paranoia while his gaze swept past her spot but she was used to most civilians not noticing her presence despite her looks.
As the man got up however her entertainment seemed to be at an end and while she watched his departure her gaze moved back to the others in the audience as well as the dancers making sure her task hadn't slipped in the moments of her distraction. Once her initial pass was clear she shifted her position slowly glancing back for the man and other parts of the street and clearing wondering if he was just tired of having a set of eyes on him, good instinct if nothing else.
My bones pulsed with desire as I stood waiting. A familiar feeling, the ancestral call for blood; it always flared with the prospect of combat. To fight it was to struggle against nature itself, for it was just as enduring, just as undying, even when the lives through which it seethed fell and fell and fell.
Still, I took a deep breath, removing my right hand from the katana hilt and sliding it along my side, until it once again stroked the sandy texture of my hand-fan, which I would withdraw and unfold. Waving it gently, cool winds washed across my face. The scent of jasmine emanated from the paper, sailing along the cool currents and drawing a sigh of ease from my lips. “Ah..”
The fiendish lust ebbed ever so slightly, leaving me room to notice the precise moment when the feeling of being watched suddenly departed. It was odd; it felt like someone had finally removed their hand from the back of my neck. I could almost feel the direction in which it had pulled away. My eyes were drawn back to the oak tree. Only for a moment, before drifting inconspicuously around the Yuniwara and then forward as I began to walk, merging with the light crowd circling through the landmark of the pleasure district.
If it had been a contracted merc, I couldn’t imagine them hiding for this long only to abandon their mark altogether. Then perhaps something else… a private investigator? Someone hired to track my comings and goings, my behaviors, who had trailed me to my preferred place of leisure and, having gathered their evidence, meant to report my doings and whereabouts.
I wouldn’t let them. The tree was my only lead—and an unlikely one, at that. A purely intuitive leap. Regardless, snaking through the crowd, I slithered into one of the establishments that enclosed the circular clearing.
“Kikuyō!” a familiar hostess gasped as I entered the pleasure house. I shook my head, tapping on the hitai-ate that hung from the right side of my obi sash. “Can’t play today—on duty,” I lamented in passing. “Could you lead me to the back door, Ena-chan?” I then asked, the question half-rhetorical, slowing my pace slightly but not stopping. “Aw… um, okay. It’s this way.”
ꕤ ꕤ ꕤ
In a fraction of a minute I stood on the opposite end of the building, obscured by shadows that fell where the fading sun couldn’t see. I knew this place like a sailor knew the sea. None of its hidden pathways were foreign territory, including the back street that I slid through now. It was only moments before the shadowed half of the oak lay in my sight; I clung behind a latticed wooden fence, quiet and still as an untouched pond, watching closely. My turn.
Last Edit: Oct 22, 2021 13:19:28 GMT by Kikuyō Kaguya
When the man departed Junko's head tilted faintly however as he asked about a back door she couldn't help but smirk like water she slid from the tree effortlessly in stride. if he felt so paranoid it was best she find a new spot to survey from after all. In the moment she decided on the shadowed rough of the main building, with the dark of the coming dark she probably wouldn't need to obscure herself either given her dark tones and matte coated metal.
Within the short stroll through the crowd her visage would slip behind a pillar before vanishing, leaping up to the rafters and using her agility and flexibility to swing her body upon onto the sloped ridges of the roof while moving to the apex of the roof and laying her body flush against the cooling tile while her gold gaze began to survey the crowd once more quietly as the dark encrouched further.
My furtive gaze rummaged through the treetop like a thief inside an empty house. There wasn’t a nook or cranny spared, though we emerged empty-handed nonetheless. My eyes squinted suspiciously as I stood there, retracing the oak’s gnarled arms; why had my gut led me here?
Before I could dismiss the intuition as mistaken, I had to take a closer look. Knees slightly bent in preparation, I raised my hands and leapt for the sky, catching the top of the wooden fence at the apex of my jump. In a single movement I vaulted (read: scrambled) over the makeshift wall and into the bosom of the oak’s shadow. Creeping closer, until I could feel the corrugated rooting of the tree-trunk under the soles of my sandals, I peered up and had my initial doubts confirmed.
Hmm… I rounded the stalk of the oak curiously, sauntering through the shadows and toward the tree-side that faced the vibrant plaza. The Koumi girls were lost within the whirlwind of a second dance; the encircling crowd sat glued to the performance, while passersby slowly began flocking toward the perimeter of the seated spectators.
As I stood transfixed at the tree-front, my nose sniffled. The faintest scent lingered past, like a lover reluctant to say goodbye, drifting along the bark. Eyes closed with renewed focus, I inhaled deeply and explored the subtle aroma. It was hard to pinpoint; you could sense a touch of the feline, but I knew the scent of a woman when I smelled it. My left eyebrow rose and the slightest smirk slid across my face. Well, well... I licked my lips and began to follow the enticing scent, a stray dog on the hunt for an evening morsel.
Nightfall gathered; the sun had surrendered its oversight to the moon, gone from view, its final glance forming a glowing halo around the horizon. Still, I took care to cling to shadow, even risking losing the scent to uphold my secrecy. Yet, when the muted fragrance trailed beyond the darkness and into the open expanse of the Yuniwara, I knew I must leave the trail altogether. Still, they wouldn't escape that easily; the question of who they worked for was too intriguing for me to simply abandon the hunt.
I moved purely on instinct, looking around for the ideal vantage point and spotting one nigh immediately. Swiftly sneaking back behind the tree, I took the behind-route to the largest building overlooking the risque expanse.
Sharpened bone extended from each of my fingertips as I approached the side of the pleasure house, which I then proceeded to scale as silent as the sea-floor, further cloaked by the beating music that resounded from the other side of the building. In moments I was hanging just beneath the moonlit tiling. With breath held, my head popped up from the side of the roof, turtle-like.
Last Edit: Oct 26, 2021 0:16:53 GMT by Kikuyō Kaguya
As far as the neko could tell, her prey had vanished which made a small huff of disappointment escape her lips while she idly gazed around the area not noticing any movement in the tree she had came from. Women dancing provocatively was enough to draw her attention on most counts, her new vantage giving her line of sight into their cleavage while she tore herself away from that to keep tabs on the others wandering the square, a few handsy men no shock but a smack and a telling off sent them away without requiring her intervention, likewise no thieves or other fiends.
After a short while she sat up at the sudden sound of wood being pierced but it was subtle, rhythmic, almost like nails without the bang of the mallet. then before her eyes the head of the man poked up over the edge and she blinked quietly before her hand shot forward covering his mouth, her presence changing in an instant as malice flowed off the beast in slow waves like the cold from a window in winter. Before he could speak her other hand gripped his shoulder and lifted him from her sitting position onto the roof. Once he wasn't about to fall off she placed a finger to her lips and scaled the roof to the other side of the incline expecting him to follow her, or give her a reason to drop him form the third story roof.
My blood leapt when the dusky woman jolted into vision. In a blink our gazes met and I beheld her in full. Her eyes glowed like amber under the moonlight, complementing soft, coffee-toned skin that you could almost taste. Yet there was a sabertooth ferocity to her glare that made me shiver.
I was moments from raising my voice in alarm when she descended upon me, covering my mouth and then pulling my hanging body onto the roof. Her speed and strength caught me off guard. This was no ordinary woman. A ninja? Looking up at her as I scurried to my feet, I noticed a faint familiarity, though too vague to identify. She signaled for me to hush before removing her hand from my face. I caught the same sultry scent from earlier as she turned away and couldn’t help but lick my lips again, my expression fox-like.
Questions were soaring through my head, but I wasn't fool enough to disobey her brusque order. I would be quiet, for now. My eyes traced her sensual figure as she pressed ahead, ascending the sloped rooftop. Excitement and fear raced within at this mysterious woman, and I felt a surging satisfaction knowing that my intuition hadn’t failed me. Yet, had it delivered me into the hands of my own demise? I wasn’t sure, but I was too curious not to find out.
So like a bee to honey, I stuck to her path. Smells good...
She wove through the night with an inhuman, feline grace. I imagined that I looked rather clumsy in comparison, as I focused on keeping up with her pace while maintaining my footing. I almost called for her to wait up, before the image of a sinister finger pressed against smooth lips flashed across my mind.
Mouth clenched firmly shut, then, I used my arms to propel myself across the roof’s peak and onto the other side, gaze fixated on the woman in curiosity, still replaying the speed she had displayed earlier, mindful of what she could do to me now, if she so pleased. It occurred to me that she could have been working for the Tsuchikage himself, if he cared to keep tabs on me—which I did doubt. But she didn't seem overeager to aggress, so almost involuntarily, like a wasp to firelight, I drifted as close as I dare to her side.
Last Edit: Oct 28, 2021 20:17:46 GMT by Kikuyō Kaguya
[attr="class","texty"]Once Kikuyo was over Junko was already posed crouched on a single point at the end of the pointed eve, her arms resting on her knees as her gaze studied him like a beast, or like a cat with a mouse, her presence more akin to a tiger while her claws rejected the light and reflected no light. "I'm in charge of guarding this event, do you have a particular reason for following me?"
Her tone authoritative and firm, like he didn't know her, she didn't know who he was but if he was just some civilian butting in she would let him go with a warning, if he was worse than she wasn't adverse to dealing with that problem. Granted if he wanted to push and act the bard he may find her interest sorely lacking in that avenue. "Given your reactions and your ability to follow me, you may have blown my cover if someone decided to follow you."
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As I crested the rooftop, my vision opened to the sea of darkness below. The day had ended and with it, the warmth of light. Now a lunar coolness coalesced with shadows the color of a sapphire’s core, shading Iwagakure from coast to coast. The torches lining the village glittered like so many stars.
A cool night breeze meandered across my face as my sandals padded down the coarse roofing, while my gaze befell the lady once more. She looked ready to pounce. I almost flinched and instead slowed my pace, stopping a couple meters ahead of her. It struck me how suited she seemed to the night, her cocoa complexion and sleuthy demeanor blending fluidly with the darkness.
Her words fell on ears that were anxiously waiting. They surprised me.
“Wait, wha?” I blurted in reaction, rapidly recounting the events that had led me here alongside this new information. It did make sense, though one couldn’t fault me for being precautious. Still, I felt silly. “So you weren’t…”
My gaze drifted from her crouched figure to the tiling between us in recollection, calling back that initial gut feeling. “I felt like I was being watched... and assumed the worst,” I explained, shrugging my shoulders, “Can’t be too careful, hehe.” Yet, realizing that my easygoing attitude might do more harm than good in this situation, I added, “My fault for almost blowing your cover... Really thought you were someone else.”
I took a step closer to the roof’s edge, looking out at the sleepy village with an expression of contentment. Haha, what a relief. I could have swore I was being stalked. I inhaled deeply, filling my lungs with a gentle chill before exhaling with a slight smile. I turned back toward the shadowy woman.
“A shinobi, then?” I wondered out loud, though it was almost rhetorical. “Looks like we have something in common.” I twisted so that my right side faced her, lifting the hitai-ate that hung from my sash so that it reflected the moonlight. I then clasped my hands behind my back, giving her a honeyed look. “Well, seeing as I’m here... let me lend you my eyes. I know this place like the back of my hand,” I touted. Really, I wanted to continue observing her. “Besides, the sun just finished setting. Trouble won’t be here for a while, yet. Give ‘em some time to drink up and you’ll see.”
My gaze then met the darkness again. I had a good guess as to why she had been chosen for this task. I wondered if they would come out tonight.
Last Edit: Oct 31, 2021 16:11:36 GMT by Kikuyō Kaguya
[attr="class","texty"]"Does your personal life reflect so poorly that you assume such threats while in the village?" The cat asked brusquely, callous even as she stayed there as motionless as a figurehead upon a ship, her traits fierce down to the metal digits that reflected no light, which after he had flashed his headband he would find the woman had nothing on her that was reflective even the metallic designs in her fabric diffusing the light rather than letting it escape, darkness that didn't return the light.
"If you're offering to be bait I have no qualms with that." She answered with a slight shrug before she moved back to the tile and around him like a life caught on the wind and just as silent as she slipped back over the crest of the roof to slip back into the position she had taken laying her body flush against the roof again scanning the court before her gaze cut back listening to the man his steps his breath keeping his position in exact relation of her. "Don't instigate. The Tsuchikage doesn't appreciate entrapment."
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Her tone enticed me. I had grown accustomed to the flattering lilt of working-girls and hostesses, which one preferred when the effort was to relax. But the apathy of the tsundere had the strange power to lift me from my languor, loins aflame. The chase. I released a leopard's smile as she finished.
“Hehe, wouldn’t put it that harshly,” I chuckled, my right hand caressing my chin as I considered her question. “But I’ve had some... fun, in the past... And not always at my own expense, if you catch my drift.” My eyes found her own once more, drawn to their subtle glow in the night, like two floating embers. I smiled, wryly. “People tend to lose their sense of humor when the joke’s on them... so I like to keep a watchful eye, is all.”
It was the partial truth. But I knew that the masochistic thrill of being hunted was what fueled my escapades, as much as anything. That primal bloodrush. It was simply exciting, being sought-after, and life needed excitement. I also liked to rationalize that it was good practice for my profession, at the end of the day. Or maybe I was just a thrills-junkie. Just maybe.
As she approved of my proposal, I gave a nod in hidden pleasure, turning away from the building’s edge as her shadowy figure slipped through the darkness that surrounded us, a creature of the night. Her preternatural agility still startled me to witness, but I followed suit as she lowered herself to lay, coming to rest beside her, wiggling closer as she situated herself until we were close enough for our scents to intertwine. My lips wanted to curve into a slick grin, but I held back and settled my gaze upon the lusty panorama below.
Only our heads were visible above the roof’s pinnacle, like two sea-otters coming up for air. I heeded her warning, though couldn’t help snickering at the idea. “How’d you kn—nevermind. Understood,” I whispered loudly.
Almost forgetting my manners in the moment, I would take a breath, slow as the moon, and compose myself. Sound slid from my mouth like silk. “My name is Kikuyō, by the way.” I gave her a warm look before returning my gaze to the dancers and their loyal flock. After a few moments, I would follow with a question; I was more than a little curious about this mysterious woman. “So, is this what you do for fun?” I asked amusedly. Was she the type to blend work and personal life, like so many ninja? I wondered.
Last Edit: Nov 8, 2021 20:24:09 GMT by Kikuyō Kaguya
[attr="class","texty"]"That doesn't strengthen my opinion." She answered calm and plain not particularly caring about his thrills and more critical of the baggage he may bring into the job, so far his evaluation wasn't glowing. However the proximity of the man as he shifted close to her position made the Jounin's tail flick, an instinct she couldn't reliably hide as her eyes narrowed faintly as she shifted away deliberately preferring the chill of the night rather than heat that would excite her body into sweating and causing issues with stability and scent.
"You seem the type, keep your voice low." She answered brusquely even as he cut off his own question her ears angling slowly able to hear and focus on individuals in the crowd if he didn't speak too loud. The man's bravado silently poked at her while her gaze focused below until she heard a name form on his lips, the amusement behind them making her tail flick again. "Akane, whats your plan to be bait."
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The cool night air swirled around us. I closed my eyes for a moment to better enjoy the playful wind, inhaling the party of scents that were wafting up from the pleasure house below: chai tea and roasted chestnuts and cinnamon.
My gaze slowly returned to the vibrant concourse—somewhat distractedly, as the woman’s words began to occupy my attention. I thought I heard a subtle undertone to her voice, like a threatening purr; it warmed me up. When I turned my head to notice that she’d shifted away, my eyes naturally trailed down her lower back to sneak a glance at her... tail?! I wrenched my gaze back to the crowd, not wanting to stare for too long and seem indecent.
Did some women have tails? I had never encountered such a thing in all my life. She really was a feline creature. All manner of image crossed my mind, but my attention was shifted back to the present when she said her name. Akane, hmm? Fitting, I’d say. Sounds just like the feisty type, hehe. I noted with amusement that she seemed to avoid my question. When she asked about my role as bait, I began to stroke my chin in thought; I hadn’t planned that far, in all honesty. But the wheels of my mind began a-spinning, and it wasn’t long before I had concocted a scheme that made me grin mischievously.
I had an idea as to why a shinobi had been tasked with monitoring this place, as opposed to someone cheaper, like a petty officer or local gang, and so my plan took that into account. I cleared my throat, obviously pleased.
“So, here’s the gist. Lately, the son of one of the wealthiest men in Iwa has been drinking up and then coming here with his friends to cause trouble, harassing the working-girls in public, even targeting the geisha,” I quietly intoned, a look of irritation surfacing. “It’s become a thing these past couple weeks, but we’ve all been forced to suffer him out of fear—you know, his wealth could bring ruin to any number of the houses here, if he so desired. And the police aren’t foolish enough to detain him—he'll be ushered out as soon as word reaches his family; they line everyone’s pockets, from what I hear.”
I sat up and turned towards her, rubbing my hands together as I began to explain the simple but, I thought, ingenious plan. “So here’s my idea. Back in the academy, I read once about this foreign form of henge. Maybe you’ve heard of it—the sexy-style henge jutsu. I’ve been practicing on my own and I think I have it down.” I gave her a reassuring nod. Really, I was being modest, lest she get the wrong idea about me.
“So once they show up, I lure them to a secluded place, and you trail us. Once we have them alone, we ummm, give them a good scare—you know, teach them a lesson. Hehehe, simple as that.”
Last Edit: Nov 21, 2021 12:42:09 GMT by Kikuyō Kaguya
