[attr="class","APP3"]Echoes rang softly against the walls of the cave, the sound of metal against whetstone rhythmic. Kageyoshi's gaze was turned downward, tracing the glimmer of the knife with his eyes. It was a small outpost they had erected in the past month, something like a base of operations.
Deep into the countryside of Hi no Kuni, it was a massive alcove pocketed in a riverbank - thick vines hung from the top of the earth's maw, hiding it from unwanted eyes. A loose variety of crates lined the walls, various piles of equipment they had managed - one way or another - to acquire. With a fire quietly reduced to embers, the half-faced man would turn his gaze up, the shink as he sheathed his weapon abrupt as he stood; clearing what remained of his throat.
"tHey're hEre." the man crackled, pulling closed his jacket across a bandolier of knives. A faint turn to the back of the cave, his voice ringing louder this time. "rEady, mItsuji?" Regardless of his partner's answer, Kageyoshi moved outside, brushing the vines loosely over his shoulder.
A wince as the sunlight shot into the man's eyes, blinking away a faint trace of tears. The river ran slowly, moss making for slick footing underneath. A silhouette had come into view, a familiar face making its way doggedly to him. Need to rebuild my stock. Storage might be difficult for the time being, mental note: research preservation methods for live flesh. Theory: Senju cells can last unaided for an extended period of time. Affordable risk? Will consider for future endeavors. Mobility is also a concern - Thoughts, running back and forth, hidden behind the glare of his glasses. If only there was someone to interrupt him.
[attr="class","APP3"]From one set of arms to a pair of servicemen, to be juggled around a series of beds and rooms, lighting shifting from the soft hues of day to a stark, harsh white. Overhead, a large lamp swiveled out, an arc of lightning shooting back and forth between twin points of metal. Looks like we made the right choice.
A large number of clinics were still underdeveloped, using the most basic of equipment to try and save people's lives. For the majority, they worked fine - most minor injuries or non-infected wounds could be easily treated without advanced equipment. Finding a location with something worthwhile had been something of a gamble; one that paid off.
Masaji had been brought into the room with Kageyoshi, a pair of attendants starting to take vitals from the man as he started to shift, 'tired' eyes bolting open at the men, a finger pulling away from a spiking pulse. Crackling, tired, and burnt, Kageyoshi's voice rang out in the small room as fingers tightened around the attendant's wrist. "mY sAviour."
Dry and joyless, Kageyoshi's words rang out as he bolted up in the bed and slammed a fist into the nurse's face, holding him down with his opposite arm. Now.
[attr="class","APP3"]Hidden daggers found company quickly, Kageyoshi's descent joined by the arrival of another. His vision wouldn't be able to grasp the man's face, only the glimmer of an approaching kunai. A shift in body weight might've been able to counteract any offset of trajectory, but the kunoichi's movement proved the more difficult of the two to follow.
With his knives meeting air, the man's descent would force into a roll, pushing himself away from the two wanderers, a kunai falling lifelessly from his chest, the torn fabric showing light metal glimmers. Still wielding both weapons, Kageyoshi took to use them as distractions, throwing one in either direction as he continued to backpedal.
With his ambush having failed, a shattering sigh rattled its way from his scorned jaw. The rapid cracking of his neck as he moved head side to side audible, faint glances at the new arrival came easily - a mask. Specimen should know well to hide. More valuable? A thought darted quietly behind the glare of his glasses.
Breaking line of sight, seals began to weave between gloved fingers. Not-so-silently snapping through branches and undergrowth as he fell further back into the woods.
With one backpedal setting him behind a tree, molded chakra shed itself from his gut, two Kageyoshi splitting into opposite directions from behind; one falling back further, and one looking to route 'his' self around the new arrival.
[attr="class","APP3"]Movement. The man's eyes swiveled from staring off into the distance, locking onto the woman's seemingly leisurely stroll. The faintest traces of what would've been a smile twisted against his scarring, arms twisting out from their huddled position in front of him.
The next part was always the trickiest; staying still, and quiet - that was easy. Turning from quiet into an ambush? There were always points of failure. Slowly, the man reached into his jacket, producing a pair of knives that he'd clutch between tight fingers. A toss over, he'd grip the weapons in both hands, thoughts growing silent.
Muscles tightened, Kageyoshi's knuckles white underneath his gloves. The measuring of footwork against the tree wasn't perfect by any means, but with a spring-like jump, he'd launch himself downwards. The snapping of tree branches would alert the woman beneath him if he didn't meet her first.
Both daggers were aimed down, a downward stab propelled with his jump. If he was successful, he'd no doubt leave the weapons in the victim and disengage, looking to return to the foliage that surrounded them with as little noise as possible - and unsheathe another knife. Otherwise, he'd be stuck with handling her more directly.
Pierce minor arteries, capture when incapacitated. Dead flesh does not work well.
Dim sunlight slipped over the horizon, filtering over snowy mountaintops into the valley beneath. Silently, a man sat in the branches of a tree, his breathing slowed, patient - focused.
Far from perfect, the occasional sway of branches could give away his location. Sharp hearing too - but there was no point in focusing on the possible failure for the man. Not that he could; his mind was racing.
-if I could wire the brainstem directly without the need for extensive nerve repair, reaction time could be increased by more than two hundred percent, but then the bottleneck of perception comes into play. The visual cortex might be modifiable, but not without risking severe injury for blindness. Dojutsu might provide some form of backseating -
It had been going on for hours, and given time, it would go on for several more. Kageyoshi was on the hunt, not particularly picky for whatever crossed his path. Food was running thin enough for it to be a worry, but research subjects were always his priority. A faint breeze pushed against him, his face being pushed against the lining of his jacket.
A hiss of pain was held quietly as his shoulders tightened - Mental note: Remove nerves in face. Again.
[attr="class","APP3"]Mental note: Charity shelters make for easy food, and finding new targets. Date: Unknown. Narrowed eyes quietly observed the line of needy, the reflection in his glasses shining bright as sunlight poured in from windows above. A slight twitch of his nose as Kageyoshi joined the assembly, irked at his slipping memory.
Anything from before three months loses sharp fidelity. Wonder if there's some way to increase storage. Notepad? Potentially grafting. The hippocampus would take too much work to isolate and modify in a living subject, let alone myself... The thought would continue as the man grabbed a bowl, filled with soup by one of the attendants. Bandages.
"eXcuse mE." the man stopped, his voice crackling out. It wasn't pleasant - a mix of torched vocal cords and no lips - meant he almost sounded like a ghost. Difference is, ghosts died.
"aRe yOu hUrt?" he continued, nodding towards the boy's bandages. A free hand raised to his chest, face tilting upward as the smallest amount of his scarred visage peeked over the lip of his coat. "i uSed tO bE a dOctor iF yO nEed hElp."
[attr="class","APP3"]The smell of blood hung solemnly across the men's shoulders. Notably on one, long blonde hair streaked glossy red. Pooling in the man's mouth, he seemed to loll side to side in the others arms, making a mad dash through the rough scenery of loose trees and barren footpaths. To any onlooker, they'd see a man frantically searching for his friend's aide; bleeding to death from an enormous wound on the lower half of his face.
In reality, a mild sedative, small incisions on strategic points of scar tissue, and fresh blood from a formerly willing patient had created the victim of a terrible accident! Kageyoshi would've smiled at the plan's crudeness, if he still had the means to.
Carrying him was @illustrious - although how fast, or carefully, it was being done not particularly discernible. The Tsuriba hospital would come into sight before them quickly, panicked words assuredly coming from the 'fallen' man's partner. All that was left was for someone to take the bait. Playing dead continues to be unpleasant. Mental note - scold Masaji.
A pair of servicemen had already started to run towards them - an elbow digging into the carrier. Mental note - practice carrying more live patients.
Akatsuki (lit. Daybreak) was founded for the purpose of furthering scientific endeavors without limit. Originally coined as the 'Medical Science Emancipation Union", it was given its name an emblem from one of it's founders motto:
"Humanity will rise above the red clouds, and find ourselves a brand new day."
Goals
Release medical and technological advancement from the shackles of mediocrity and moralizing
Act as an independent, apolitical force that operates in return for creative support, working with those who are willing and able to move humanity forward
Provide care to those ignored by the great countries due to political inconvenience or safety concerns
Help organize safe passage to those who have been maligned by propaganda, sheltering them from the blind while helping them reach their highest potential
Kegayoshi was once an up and coming surgical med-nin, accomplishing dozens of unique surgical feats. A somewhat capable shinobi as well, he spent several years of his career researching, coming to several unique - and some utterly reviled - theorem and hypothesis for not only humans, but chakra as a whole.
Having been tasked with the operation that granted Mai Nobusama her all-seeing eyes, he fled the country. With the announcement of her newly instated rule, expecting himself to be high on a list of targets that needed to be removed; scarring himself from the lower half of his face to his collarbone to hide his appearance.
Sharing interest with a fellow Otogakure man - Masaji Dokujima - it would take little convincing for the pair to disappear from the village and country. Now they look to form an organization, allowing humanity to reach new heights, freed from the shackles of moral outcry, and reprehensible societal credit. His moral compass has been thoroughly smashed as he's torn people into pieces and stitched them back together.
Proficiencies
Experimental Touch [Surgeon | Journeyman] A fairly qualified surgeon, Kageyoshi has been turned away from the pathways of traditional medicine for many years. Over this time, his ability with traditional surgery and medical procedure has fallen significantly, but grown his ability to modify the human body far higher. Unfortunately, these procedures require medical ninjutsu for patients to survive the more advanced they become - eye transplants and modifications being perhaps the safest of his surgeries.
Jeet Kune Do [Taijutsu | Apprentice] A style of taijutsu embodying the best defense being a good offense, Jeet Kune Do (lit. Way of the Intercepting Fist), uses strikes that travel the least distance possible to their opponents, acting with simplistic, but sharp, movement. Being a style that is mostly consisted of counter-type techniques, they require a stellar reaction time, which is perhaps Kageyoshi's main saving grace with it. Lacking active stopping power, he relies on being able to shut down opponents by simply reacting faster.
Tankenjutsu [Bukijutsu | Apprentice] Dagger techniques - Kageyoshi being particularly capable dual wielding combat knives. Borrowing in principle from his taijutsu, his offensive style with the knives regards little for his own safety. Where his movements with Jeet Kun Do have little to no stopping power, the killing potential for his bukijutsu is far more capable. Focusing on vital strikes, he often times has issues with more defensive oriented shinobi. Not particularly trained with throwing them, his aim is fairly good, but their speed and power is lacking.
↳ Steel Knives line a short bandolier across Kageyoshi's chest, while also possessing two on his hips and another pair attached to his ankles. They're all of roughly average quality, and make for a useful scalpel if one cannot be acquired.
Lost to Sight [Stealth | Apprentice] Kageyoshi fights from the shadows, rarely taking head-on confrontation. With a preference for ambushes, he has some relative ability to find good locations to hide, and disappear into them. This comes with the rather obvious limitation of mobility, but out of combat he has deadly resolve to disguise himself from appearing as who he was, going so far as to rip off half of his face.
