Stone Cold and Bone-Chilling [NA]

[Kuromaru Kaguya]

    Two months. That was how long it took to arrive at this place. The journey had been taxing, but it had so far been worth it for the opportunity. And what opportunity is that? Coin, of course. The Katabami Gold Mines themselves were worth entire national treasuries - or so the claims said. Kuromaru Kaguya had come all the way from the Land of Water to claim some of this wealth for himself.

    Not the mines, surely. He had no business ventures in mining - it was the gold coins and art that Kuromaru desired. But it was not for idle collection that he came to this village; there was work to be done. Word had reached the Bracken Warlord that blood needed spilling. A man named simply identified as "Kobo" was willing to pay thousands of Ryo for the assassination of the Noble who currently controlled the Katabami Gold Mine. Whether this was due to a disagreement between the two, or something else, did not matter to Kuromaru.

    So it was that the Kaguya man moved through the streets of the local village, heading for the rumored base controlled by Koba. He slips down a narrow alleyway, and finds a pair of thin, violent-looking men standing guard at the flanks of a windowless door. Unheeding of the implied danger, Kuromaru walks up to the pair and stops.

    "...I'm here to see Koba for a job." Kuromaru says, his eyes sizing up the guards. "I understand a local noble is causing him... trouble."

---

Kuromaru:
CP: 18/18
HP: 0/320
WC: 251

Items: None

Abilities: Shikotsumyaku (1/1), Bone Shield (1)

[Narrator Sprinkles]

Koba  D  Rank

    The moment the two men at the door spotted Kuromaru, before he opened his mouth to speak, they moved in a simple gesture to show they weren't letting anyone close enough to get inside. Both threw up a hand as if they intended to physically stop the man walking up to them, and a sign of clear intimidation as well. The two looked between one another at the mention of Koba, sharing a wordless stare for a moment, before one made a gesture towards the door as the other slipped inside.

    The sole guard outside moved to block the door completely, crossing his arms in front of himself as he looked the Kaguya up and down many times over with a raised brow, and by the time he was finished the door was cracking opened again, the guard moving to let the other back out once more.

"Follow me"

    Motioning inside the door was fully opened as they scanned to make sure no one else was around, leading Kuromaru inside. Someone else was walking past them down the hall as they were lead in, seeming to replace them standing guard, leaving one guard to lead him inside and the other following behind him. There wasn't much to the place, looking like a run down apartment building given the layout was a singular long hallway with multiple doors on either side, and a clear obviously bigger and more impressive door at the very end.

    The guard in front opened it, and immediately there was a difference to what was presented in the hall, with a fresh smell mixed with tobacco, far cooler, and the interior though sparse was meticulously cleaned and organized with all sorts of scrolls and books.

    The guard moved quickly to a man barely seen from the top of his head, as a large swiveling chair faced the wall, as the guard leaned down whispering something to them, then immediately walked by and both left the room as the door closed behind. Dramatically slowly the chair spun around, as a surprisingly unimpressive looking man sat in the chair, a cigar in his hand that looked like it had been lit and held for show more than use. His clear confidence overwhelmed any sense of style, physique, or lack there of, as he pointed the cigar towards Kuromaru then a chair sitting across from him and his unnecessarily large desk.

"So, you've come to solve my problem, eh? Talk to me. Why you? I'm ain't embarrassing myself letting some no skill nobody go bungle this. I don't need that kinda attention."

    Motioning again as if this was where he wanted him to start talking.

OWL

Ninjutsu: 1
Taijutsu: 5
Genjutsu: 1
Technique: 1
Toughness: 3
Speed: 2
Stamina: 2

Max HP: 340
Max Chakra: 17
Chakra Regen: 5

[Kuromaru Kaguya]

    Kuromaru is unperturbed by the rough and tumble act of the guard that stayed behind to watch him. It was no surprise when the two guards led Kuromaru into the building. He wrinkles his nose at the pitiful state of the building, but soon sees why. All of the money went into making the owner's living space as comfortable as possible without inviting prying eyes from outside.

    The man that swiveled around gave Kuromaru pause - mostly because he didn't look like the type to honor a payment. He'd dealt with those types a few times now - and he'd strung a fair share of them up by their own entrails.

    "You will have me do it, because you obviously need two things - someone that cannot be traced back to you or your dealings, and if recognized can draw off investigation away from you." Kuromaru explains in response. "Second, because if you were in a position to deal with it yourself, you would have already. That means that you are either unable to due to other circumstances, or your own people are too weak or stupid to pull the job off successfully."

    Kuromaru tilts his head slightly to the side.

    "I am worth the coin, and a fair amount more than what I hear you are offering." he continues. "Fortunately for me, I enjoy the hunt, and spilling blood. That will be a good additional compensation beside your coins."

    Kuromaru smiles.

    "If you require proof of my skill, I can kill your guards, as well as the four others hiding away in those run down spare rooms, if you like." he offers.

---

Kuromaru:
CP: 18/18
HP: 0/320
WC: 270

Items: None

Abilities: Shikotsumyaku (1/1), Bone Shield (1)

[Narrator Sprinkles]

Koba  D  Rank

    There was no immediate response as he finally raised the cigar to his lips, took a deep breath, and held it. Flicking the ash into a nearby ashtray he blew the smoke from his nose and pointed the cigar as he responded.

"It's polite when you walk into a man's office to introduce yourself. You know who I am, yet I have no idea who you are, which means you aren't worth knowing, or you aren't from around here."

    Stretching for one of his bookshelves he grabbed for a scroll, opened it and tossed it on the floor, surprisingly caring little for the mess he was creating given how clean and organized the room was otherwise. This repeated several times until he found what he was looking forward, opening the length of the scroll across his desk.

"Though not knowing you would be just as helpful. Plausible deniability they call it."

    Without raising the cigar again, he flicked it reflexively into the ashtray, then pointed at the scroll.

"You don't seem so stupid, so c'mere and look at this"

    Quickly he raised the cigar and pointed it with a serious tone.

"Don't touch it, just look."

    Tapping the unlit end of the cigar he unintentionally got some of the ash on it, brushing it off. It was information on who held what deeds, what contracts, where they lived, even a small map clearly drawn by someone with artistic ability that would rival a dying house plant.

"You got somethin' to write all this down? This is important. You are gonna need this information. Gonna need more than a few weapons as well. Gonna need that smarts I'm giving you the benefit of having."

    Giving a surprisingly loud snap his door opened, without having instructed anyone to do so or waiting for an answer, someone was already bringing in an empty scroll and set it down and immediately walked out.

"Copy it."

    Motioning for the fresh scroll and towards the few writing utensils on the desk.

"I need proof you can use your head, not kill my men. You want to get paid and I want someone worth being paid. Killing my men is wasting my money. I don't like wasting my time or my money."

    He was pointing his cigar again as he talked, clearly not approving of that idea one bit.

"Keep your weapons in your pants and I'll forget you said that to me."

    There was something about the way he sat, as if he would or could at any moment leap from the chair with no effort. He had the appearance of just another nobody himself, but the little movements, the way he held his cigar, the way he pointed even, it was all strange.

OWL

Ninjutsu: 1
Taijutsu: 5
Genjutsu: 1
Technique: 1
Toughness: 3
Speed: 2
Stamina: 2

Max HP: 340
Max Chakra: 17
Chakra Regen: 5

[Kuromaru Kaguya]

    Kuromaru remains silent as the mafia boss speaks. Plausible deniability was one of the reasons he had stated to the man what possible reasons he could have to hiring Kuromaru, so the man saying as much simply affirmed this, there was no need to respond to it. When told to approach, he does so - it was a practiced song and dance at this point. People with enough coin tended to like being obeyed, and it made them more likely to pay.

    He gazes down at the map... or must have been intended to be a map. It looked more like what he expected of a child just learning how to draw. At least the names appeared to be legible. When the door opens, Kuromaru only slightly turns his head, using his peripheral vision to catch sight of the henchman entering with a scroll and laying it out. When Koba says that killing his men would be a waste of money, he had to agree. These thugs were a waste of money.

    Kuromaru pulls back a long, flowing sleeve to pick up one of the quills, and without looking back at the now ash dirtied scroll, begins writing down the names and businesses he'd memorized as he'd read them.

    "You seem awfully tense." Kuromaru says, still gazing at the scroll as he wrote the names and businesses from memory. "This list - I will be expecting compensation for each head. You don't like to waste your money, and I don't like wasting my time being paid less than what I am owed. The bigger the job, the bigger my fee."

    Kuromaru finishes transcribing, and sets the quill down. He picks up the scroll and rolls it shut, tying it closed with a string and stowing it in a hip pouch.

    There was one thing he wasn't telling Koba - as a mafia boss, he inevitably made enemies. There was a nice bounty on his head too - and a third party was interested in collecting. But why not do a little more killing for coin on the side?

    "Are these people all to die? If they have families, know that I will kill them all as well, including any witnesses." Kuromaru warns. "I am very thorough, after all."

---

WC: 374

[Narrator Sprinkles]

Koba  D  Rank

   
"I don't know you, and I'm not letting my guard down around someone walkin' in here, offering to kill my men to prove a point."

    Paranoid was the more realistic state he was in, but it wasn't necessarily from the man in front of him. It was a much easier way to frame the situation, but given the amount of people that wanted him dead at least equaled the amount he had been responsible for killing, he couldn't drop his guard. For all he knew this was some song and dance until he lowered his guard and found a blade in his chest sent from someone not so fond of him.

"Kid, this isn't my first time dropping coin in exchange for dropping heads. You do this right and you'll get paid. You and me can see eye to eye there, yeah? We don't like having our time wasted."

    There was a hint of a threat in his tone much like the seriousness in Kuromaru's. This was a man used to throwing his weight around as much as his money, and he knew this guy wouldn't walk in his door looking for this job if he didn't need the money.

"You did this right, we'll become best buds, all the jobs you can handle. I find out this was a scam, not getting paid is the least of your worries."

    Taking a long drag from the cigar, he leans over to look at what the man had finished writing and nodded, blowing the smoke off to the side. Sliding the scroll towards him he started reading them and tapping each with the butt of his cigar, then did it a second time to double check.

"All but this one."

    Tapping at a name, he looked around for something to write on and gave up fairly quick.

"Short dumpy guy, hair like a horseshoe, likes to wear the ugliest suits with these big buttons on the front; You bring him to me alive and in one piece, maybe we talk about a bonus. If you can't, too bad for him I guess."

    Making a dismissive gesture towards the desk, he flicks the ashes from his cigar into the ashtray.

"Do what you need to with the others. I don't need details except knowing the job is done."

OWL

[Kuromaru Kaguya]

    Kuromaru appreciated the remark - they agreed on the matter of money, and time not being wasted. Koba pushes forward another scroll, and Kuromaru steps forward to retrieve it. Bringing in a target alive wasn't exactly easy, but it would make the challenge at least a bit more fun. Bringing them back in one piece didn't mean unharmed.

    So, if he got to that point, he'd probably break the target's arms and legs to make bringing them back a little easier and quicker. The promise of a bonus was hard to ignore for his greed. The rest of the names? Not one of them would survive the night.

    "Scamming my clients doesn't earn enough coin for the trouble." Kuromaru says, placing the scroll next to the transcribed one in his pouch. "I do prefer grateful clients - they pay more. So we are in agreement. I'll be back soon."

    With that, Kuromaru turns away from Koba, looking at the guard to let him pass. If Koba had nothing else to say, and the guards allowed him to pass, Kuromaru would leave the building. Once he reaches the street alley, he abruptly vanishes, having leapt into the air and jumping off one wall to another until he reaches the rooftops.

    He takes out the transcribed scroll, and begins to read again. The first name was also the closest - and Kuromaru had already taken the time to scope out the town precisely for the navigational needs of these types of jobs. He turns, and moves swiftly across the rooftops, leaping from building to building, beelining for the first target...

---

WC: 265

[Narrator Sprinkles]

Koba  D  Rank

   
"Had more than a few idiots walk through that door and think they can scam me out of information, money, and anything else. You don't seem that stupid, yet, so giving you the benefit of the doubt for now. Of course, you get the money when I get word the job is done."

     Regardless of the man in front of him saying all the right things, minus a few, it wasn't causing him to let his guard down one bit. It had only been a few minutes but he was lighting up cigar number two, showing how on edge he was. A part of him was still waiting for the part where a blade was produced and aimed at his throat. There was no doubt if this guy knew who he was that he was well aware of the bounty and why he had it, but he didn't seem interested so far in collecting.

"Do the job, do it well, and I'll give you all the smiles and appreciation you can stuff in that pouch of yours. Just remember; I may not have muscle everywhere but I sure as hell got eyes. You write that on a scroll and tuck it away as well."

    Snapping loud enough to echo all the way out into the hall, Koba signaled for the door opened once more, then made a motion as if he was dismissing everyone away, and the guard lead Kuromaru back to the door to exit the building. As soon as Kuromaru was out the door, the guard walked back in and Koba simply nodded before a question was asked.

"Have him watched, but he doesn't need to be tailed. We know where he's going."

    Before Kuromaru even made it to the target he was already being watched, not by Shinobi, not by another mercenary, not even by someone that worked directly for Koba, but citizens with heavier pockets, men working for said targets even. In his line of work he had to have eyes as he simply didn't have the muscle he wanted, but with the right information he could stay a step ahead.

OWL

[Kuromaru Kaguya]

    Kuromaru completes a long leap, landing softly atop a tall building overlooking the border wall of another property. The property is well kept, but unguarded. It had all the trappings of a merchant who had been fairly successful, and settled down. It was an estate, large enough to house not only the owner, but their family.

    Across the way, Kuromaru sees an elderly woman feeding birds near an artificial pool that had been designed to look as if it were a naturally occurring one. Likely, it would be cleaned and refilled via a water ninjutsu of a sort. Playing nearby are a few children - on the cusp of becoming young adults. Kuroda's gaze moves towards the building's patio, where a middle aged man, somewhat thin but wearing comfortable leisure-wear, sits with a woman of similar age.

    The two of them laugh, having been amused by something Kuromaru couldn't hear. In all likelihood, the parents of both the man and the woman lived on the property, as many families with estates tended to. One generation raising the next, while the previous generation enjoys their retirement to watch their children and grandchildren thrive.

    A shame they were all about to die.

    Kuromaru searches for the front gate, and spots it. A walkway of roughly a hundred feet led to the front gateway entrance.

    "Inside first." Kuromaru says to himself. He leaps silently past the wall and lands inside the property after confirming that there were no eyes currently turned in its direction. Kuromaru moves swiftly slipping through a low window rather than through the front door.

    There is a light gasp - a woman wearing an apron. She may have been a maid or cleaner for the family - totally unrelated to the family's business, nor connected to the reason Koba had selected the owner of this homestead. It didn't matter. Before she can make a second noise, Kuromaru speeds up to her, clasping a hand over her mouth and pressing his other hand to her sternum.

    The fabric on her back suddenly bulges, and begins to stain red. The woman slumps, and Kuromaru lowers he gently to the floor. He pulls his hands away, and the thick, sharp bone sticking through his hand retracts back into his flesh. Kuromaru steps over to the nearby open doorway, and listens.

    There were at least three people in the general living area he could hear. But he would search the other rooms first before setting upon the rest of the inhabitants. In all, eight people died in the span of less than ten minutes. There were no egregious or long deaths - every life was snuffed out with speed and efficiency in mind, including the children. The last to die was the actual target. His only crime this day, to Kuromaru's knowledge, was being home rather than out for a walk.

    Kuromaru left the bodies where they died, and slipped out of the property only once he was certain that there were no curious eyes near his chosen point of exit. That was the first target down.

---

WC: 510

[Narrator Sprinkles]

Koba  D  Rank

     Of all those Kuromaru had passed as he was making his way towards his target, and those that never spotted him from afar, only one wouldn't be there when he returned for them. The elderly woman feeding her birds was anything but, as a simple transformation jutsu wore off and she was suddenly gone.

    All around the area there were eyes watching, long before Kuromaru ever came to search for Koba, keeping eyes on those living in the area and on the properties of each estate. He might have given the Shinobi a badly drawn map and a few names, but he had far more detailed information that he was more than keen to keep to himself just in case. If the Kaguya did end up returning for him, it was better for him not to know he was being watched or that he would know about the jobs completion before Kuromaru had a chance to return.

    One target down, and one scout on his way to relay the information to Kobe, which also meant one less eye on Kuromaru, for now anyways.

---

    Back at his hideout Koba was already making plans just in case things went sour and if things went off without a hitch. Gathering the money for the payment for each assassination, separately a payment if the one name on his list was returned alive, and more importantly calling back all of his men in the area just in case things went the worst possible way and Koba ended up a target himself. He wouldn't be caught unprepared in either case, as he either wanted to make a good impression, or put up a good fight.

OWL

[Kuromaru Kaguya]

    The second target was, probably by design, on the linear opposite side of the town. That one did have guards, apparently being a security chief responsible for the overall policing of the town. There were few, if any, shinobi living in this town apparently - though that meant this town was the exception to the rule, as many villages and towns had many shinobi clans living within them.

    It was probably why the black market underworld was able to fairly thrive here. Still, the guards made little difference. Of the six, two were killed in Kuromaru's opening offensive. Two more were killed before the shock on their faces could fall. The other two were killed individually - one attempting to hold Kuromaru off while the other tried to shoo the security chief into a horse drawn carriage. The one running interception was felled when they grabbed onto Kuromaru; all he had to do was have his bones shoot out, and skewered the man.

    The final guard was killed with their back turned to Kuromaru as he shut the carriage door. The security chief he killed by impaling the entire carriage straight through from the rear. The noise spooked the horses, and they took off, taking the body of the security chief with them.

    The third target on the list was napping outside - they also had guards, but they were stationed outside the property line, likely to intercept people from getting inside in the first place. But they were stupidly spaced far apart, and one had been situated in a corner blind spot. So only two had to die there.

    The fourth and fifth targets were business owners, and required minimal effort to eliminate. The sixth target, and last before the target Koba had demanded be the very last to go, was a rival gang leader. They even seemed to share in Koba's live comfortably behind the garbage aesthetic. That person employed disgraced samurai; each and every one of them visually about as thuggish looking as you could stereotype them to be.

    Kuromaru had some fun with that, consistently making sure he ended up in the middle of the group so he could use his reflexes to counter and evade their slashes and swings. The leader did not die well. Kuromaru used the swords of the dead ronin to essentially nail the man to his opulently decorated throne - and it really did look like a throne - and joked to himself about having met the King of the Dead.

    From there, Kuromaru began his path to the final target - the noble that was the overall highest paying target on the list...

---

WC: 437

[Narrator Sprinkles]

Koba  D  Rank

    With each target came another lookout sent with a message. Koba didn't care the method, as long as it was done. There was little doubt that someone would at least accuse him of having a hand in one or all of the targets downfall, but he could simply fall back on the alibi of all the deliveries he signed for, making sure he left his building at just the right time in the right places to be seen.

    By now there were a few scrolls on his desk with nothing more than a mark, no words, just a large mark to signify the target was being taken care of. It seemed that the person who showed up looking for  work wasn't all talk, and at least was competent enough. The last scout came in, hanging the scroll to the guard waiting outside the building and immediately left. As the scroll was brought in and handed off, Koba nodded between lighting a cigar and breathing deeply, to exhale, grab it, and looked at it just long enough to nod once more and toss it onto the pile.

    Getting up and grabbing both scrolls he had shown Kuromaru earlier, he tossed them into an empty metal basket, tossing in the newly lit cigar and burning both scrolls. He was already lighting yet another cigar before he had sat down, now waiting on word of the last name given.

OWL

[Kuromaru Kaguya]

    The final target was the one that had drawn Kuromaru's attention in the first place - a noble. The man controlled the Katabami Gold Mine, and because he was a distant relative of the Land of Earth's Daimyo, he held a considerable amount of authority in this region.

    Of course, because he was so far removed in terms of direct blood, there was virtually no chance that the man could ever rise to become Daimyo himself when the latter finally passes away. He would be invited to important events, sent a government stipend to maintain his land, and occasionally rotate in and out the average soldiers to maintain security over the region. That was what made the fat man such a fun target - he could be difficult to reach. And once he was dead, it could be difficult to get out of the area and elude capture.

    But that is what made the whole thing more fun. The harder it was to get to and away from his target, the more blood he could spill! Just the idea of a fat paycheck on top of gutting potentially dozens of soldiers and shinobi was already getting Kuromaru's blood to simmer.

    Naturally, the first place Kuromaru checks is the man's personal estate. Well, it is called an estate, but it wouldn't be incorrect to call it a small town in and of itself. Kuromaru had seen noble estate lands before between the Land of Water and his journey though the other nations. Like them, the estate was surrounded by a thick wall, and more than a mile wide and long of a property. At the center stood the three floored home of the Nobleman, and many other buildings dot the land - strategically placed temporary housing for soldiers, granaries, food storage, et cetera.

    But since nobles always liked living in the biggest buildings, it was extremely easy to guess where the man would be. Koba's information even suggested that the noble was still home. So it was a matter of crossing the half mile to reach the building.

    Kuromaru looks down from the mountainside, searching to locate any potential entrances, and the location of any visible security troops that may be moving about.

---

WC: 369

[Narrator Sprinkles]

Koba  D  Rank

"I said stacks, do you not know what a stack is?"

    In Koba's office he had gotten word now for all but one of the targets being dealt with or in the process of being dealt with to a satisfactory degree enough to call the deed done. His room was swarming and buzzing with those on his payroll, little more than henchmen and hired goons. The boss had a rule of never touching the money physically, be it taking it or giving it, and even the counting was done by others while under his supervision.

    While Kuromaru was now working on that last specific target, Koba was getting the money ready, as well as preparing for a worse case scenario situation. Most of those who walked through his door were known entities to some degree, and far less skilled than a trained Shinobi, so he wasn't sure what to expect.

---

    Back where Kuromaru was there were a few different scouts, but all but one has lost sigh of him when he entered the compound of his target, and the only one who could even partially track what was happening was a man on the inside. Posing as a chef, he was able to move freely for the most part, little more than a pat down on the way in and out.

    Just outside the perimeter were some patrolling guards, not exactly on high alert, but more going through the motions of walk between here and there and back, sit on their asses for a few hours, rinse and repeat. No one dared to break in directly and no one that could slip in undetected had any reason to do so in most instances, at least up till now. There were plenty of blind spots, and while the outer fences and walls were high enough to deter anyone without a ladder or some type of grappling hook, it wasn't likely to put up much of a fight for a shinobi worth their salt.

OWL

[Kuromaru Kaguya]

    Kuromaru moves swiftly and silently, sticking to corners and shaded spots. He made a point of avoiding the patrolling guards, however. He was confident that he could kill them without too much difficulty, but doing so would take more time, and risk the job. And as far as he was concerned, this one was the one that really had the opportunity for a solid payout.

    He uses his chakra to scale the wall, and crawls along the length of the wall until he finds a suitable spot to jump down. Now outside the primary residence, Kuromaru was locked in with this job. It was get it done, or retreat now - and he had no intention of running off, just by the look of the building and its protection.

    He knew where to go - the information had been in that scroll. He pulls out the scroll he'd copied the given information with, and reviews the details. Kuromaru rolls up the scroll, and pockets it away, and moves forward. Fourth floor up, seventh balcony. That is where the Noble he'd been sent to kill would be. It was the balcony to a meeting room, where the Nobleman conducted his business related to the gold mines.

    He was only here for the target, but as will all the others, how many died would depend on how many were in that room when he entered. Soon enough, he was there - hanging upside down, gazing at the balcony below him. He could hear laughter coming from the open doors, and counted at least four voices. But there could be more.

    Kuromaru pulls his sleeve off his left shoulder, and the skin splits - a thick bone pushes through, and Kuromaru pulls it fully out. The arm crunches and pops as new bones grow in place of the ones just pulled out. Now ready, Kuromaru drops to the balcony, and sprints into the room! He stabs the bone through the back of a well dressed woman holding a wine glass, tossing her aside in the instant after as he raises his free hand. The fingertips split open, and bones fly out like bullets, piercing through the two nearest elderly folk!

---

WC: 363