A new ship and possibly a new member? (Open)

Kurayamigakure was back to full strength. Alec himself helped to get all of the wheels turning again, much to the villager's surprise. He helped reopen the Bazaar. He helped to restore the docks. He helped reopen all of the small stores along the main street. Tourists and visitors were already beginning to come back to the village.

After being told about a specific ship once used to wage war at sea in defense of Kurayamigakure, Alec went to check it out. besides being somewhat old, it was still intact. With a little work, Alec knew that it would easily become sea worthy again. Some of the people he helped out previously were more than eager to help Alec on this endeavor.

It took several days and a lot of work, but the ship, named the "Mossberg," was as good as new. It was even complete with a ram, 20 cannons, mortar guns for long range defense, and a special oil to spray behind the ship that could be set on fire to damage would be pursuers.

"...And now we have ourselves a ship," Alec could be heard announcing through the party line. "I call her the Mossberg. With the repairs complete, and the village on it's feet again, I think it may be time to head out, meet the heads of the other villages..."

She had never been so comfortable in her life. She had more then enough to eat whenever she wanted, she had a room to call her own with a door that didn't contain her, and a super comfortable bed. Jynx was already beginning to put on a healthy amount of weight and had even had to get some new clothes due to her old ones no longer fitting properly. Thankfully, she had found an outfit that suited her growing body: a pair of greenish blue pants that stopped just below her ankles and a white buttoned up short sleeved top – keeping herself barefoot as always.

She had also spent a good bit of time with Artemis and had begun to delve into learning how to be a shinobi just like her. She had also been training with Artemis; which showed with the muscle she was beginning to pack on.

Today, however, Jynx had decided to take a stroll around the village. She had been going out for the past few days, but hadn't bothered to venture more than a block away from the house – testing the water so to speak and making sure she was comfortable before pushing herself too hard. So far no one had bothered her, in fact everyone had been rather friendly, so her confidence was growing. For now she was wandering through the market, looking for something to distract herself with by using Shinsai as she walked.

Over the wireless communicator that Artemis had given her she heard Alec's voice. ”A ship? I've never seen a ship before.. or been on one.”

(#1)
The smell of blood and the dead, he'd grown used to that. Those stupid machines came out of the walls and clean up those that he'd killed; those stupid enough to come in here to try and restrain him. He'd just grown too strong. He wasn't going to be pushed around anymore. He wasn't going to be tortured, experimented on, or made to suffer anymore. The next time those..."trainers" came in, it would surely be their last.

...Only, it'd been days, and they hadn't shown up. In fact, all seemed to be quiet outside of the isolation chamber. The trainers hadn't come in, bragging about "beating on the boy." The tutors hadn't come in to give the daily lessons. Konran was honestly looking forward to hearing more about the outside world, or the chance to finally defeat those trainers and get out of here... but days went by. There was no one. Konran was beginning to run out of food. Was the plan now to see how long he could last? Were they going to starve him to death?

Konran sat in the darkness of his bedroom, on the floor. The more he thought about why no one had come to check on him, or why all of this was happening to him, the more confused and angry he became. Sure he'd reached the point to where he could stand against those trainers, defeat them and then escape, it seemed that they'd taken to sending machines to do the job instead, and now simply not showing up at all. It seemed that they'd began to realize that they'd created a monster.

But he was nearly out of food. He had to do something. After hours of sitting there on the floor, listening, waiting for anyone to come in like they usually did after several days, he stood and made his way to the entrance of the isolation chamber, looking through the glass into the outer areas. He'd tried many times to shatter the glass, but one of the tutors told him it was useless, since the glass was fused with some kind of special chakra that reflected almost everything. The door was too thick to try ramming his way through as well.

The anger had become too much. There was no one out there. The things on the desks and tables were in the same positions they were days ago... they had left him to die.

Konran yelled loudly, trying to figure out why this was happening to him. Why had he been in this place his whole life? Why had he been beaten on everyday? Why was he going to die in here?

He punched the door so hard that his hand began to bleed. But punching the door, he noticed that it moved. The door wasn't closed and locked tightly as it usually was. The door was unlocked, and open....

"Well, why don't you come with, Jynx? I think you need to get out of here and go see the rest of the world. You may enjoy yourself."

Gathering a crew to run the Mossberg was also simple. Enough of the guys down at the docks volunteered, and there were still plenty to run the cargo business at the docks. The guys all had some experience in fighting, just in case they were besieged by pirates. The thought of a sea battle made Alec grin some.

The Mossberg was a big black ship, a Brig, with dark sails. There were 10 guns on either side. There were plenty enough rooms and beds below deck for the crew, and a private captain's cabin for Alec and whoever he chose to bring along with him, that had a desk, a chair similar to the one he had in his office, a couple of comfortable beds, and a bathroom.

"You too Artemis, if you're listening. You might not like ships, but I think i'll be different now that we're the ones driving it... Kurai, you used to be a Kage so you have the most experience. Run things here until we get back. Kuro, Kinzoku, you two keep doing your thing and run security. With us gone, somebody might try something. Keep your eyes peeled..."

"No problem, Alec," said Kurai.

"I-I, captain," said Kinzoku. Kuro said nothing as usual, but crows could be heard cawing over the Wireless Comm, which meant that he was listening.

Artemis was indeed listening to the wireless comm as she walked outside and down the street; catching quickly up to Jynx and poking her playfully on the side in an attempt to get her to giggle. She had discovered, after all, that her new friend was quite ticklish. Jynx had mentioned never being on a ship before or even seeing one for that matter to which Alec had responded that she should come with and see the world, and that Artemis should too.

Artemis grinned. ”Road trip! Or... boat trip!” Artemis corrected herself, laughing. ”When are we leaving?”, she asked curiously.

While she waited for her father's answer she looked around to the villagers who were going on about their much improved daily lives. Some of them stopped and waved to her which she returned.

Alec said that she should come with, that she needed to get out of here and see the rest of the world and that she might enjoy herself. Shortly after Artemis joined her, seeming excited about the idea of going on a boat trip, too. Artemis then poked her in the side which made her giggle before she would respond to Alec, ”Okay! That sounds like fun!” There was no reason not to go, after all, especially since her new friend was going to be going too.

Excitedly she jumped around Artemis in a monkey-like style, giggling and laughing as she did so. She too wondered when they would be leaving: she found herself excited to go on an adventure and have a chance to see new places. All she knew her entire life was the darkness of Kurayami, but she knew that the other places weren't dark like this. She was rather excited at the idea to get to see the sunlight.

Jynx jumped up and hung upside down from a lamp post, swaying from front to back, and causing several of the villagers around to chuckle and laugh at her. Jynx just simply grinned from ear to ear.

(#2)
...The door was open. Konran's enraged look turned into surprise, and curiosity. Was this a trick? A test? He'd never been outside of this door, ever. Whenever he tried to open it, he'd found that he couldn't. He was told that he would be punished were he ever to set foot outside of this door.

But now, it was open... and there didn't seem to be anyone stopping him from stepping outside of this isolation chamber for the first time. After about 5 minutes of standing there, wondering if he should open it and venture out, or go back to his room because this surely had to be some sort of test, Konran grabbed up the nearby wooden training sword, rife with gashes from the hard training sessions, then grabbed the door and pulled it open slowly. As soon as he put his head out, he was going to be decapitated. He was going to be kicked, and something would break.

No. He put his head out and looked quickly to the left, then to the right. Nothing. No one was out there. The halls beyond the door were completely silent. After maybe a minute or 2, Konran gathered the courage to look out again. There was a smell out there that he'd never smelled before; it wasn't a nasty smell, but having spent 14 years in that isolation chamber meant that many things were limited to him.

It didn't look to be that way anymore. Konran took a step out, then another. He was outside of the chamber, and no one was rushing to stop him, to beat him, to tell him he wasn't allowed out here. It seemed that this place, where ever it was, was now totally deserted. What happened? Where had everyone gone? Why did they choose to just leave him down here? The confusion and anger began again.

His anger didn't build up so much to where he didn't notice the katana lying on the desk in the next room; the room where the scientists and the trainers would watch him through the chakra glass. It was the male trainer's sword. Konran longed to have it because he thought it looked cool. A strange smoke came off of it, and somehow it allowed the trainer to turn himself into smoke to avoid Konran's attacks during training sessions.

Konran dropped the old wooden sword and immediately grabbed the weapon, remembering that the male trainer said it was called the "Shift Blade." It was his now. His alone. The feel of the weapon in his hands put a psychotic smile on his face. Unsheathing the magnificent smoking blade, the weight felt perfect in his hands, as if the weapon had been made for him. He practiced some of the techniques that had been beaten into him over the years; the blade cutting the air as it traveled through it. Yes, Konran felt unbeatable now.

But his hand was still bleeding. After fastening the sword to his left hip, he searched around the room for something to wrap it with, not caring that he was making a mess. He finally found some medical wrap in one of the cabinets, bandaging his hand and tying the wrap around it.

Konran began to search the entire underground lab. There was no one else in any of the other rooms. Konran explored laboratories and found syringes filled with the fluids they used to inject him with. He found notes on experiments, and after a while of reading he found out that they were attempting to create Super Ninja. Invincible, obedient drones to be used to invade other villages. Konran read and saw that he was the prototype, having been born to be used as a guinea pig.

It was maddening. He wanted to find the people responsible for this, and kill them. Konran gathered up what clothes and equipment that he could, including several ninja tools and weapons, and put them in a backpack. Konran set about to leave, when he began to hear noises. He stopped what he was doing so that he could listen carefully. Someone else was down here. Eventually they came into view, with Konran, a hand on the handle to the Shift Blade, seeing that they were several of the scientists; 3 in number.

He saw them, and they saw him, all stopping in their tracks. "Wh...What are you doing outside of the isolation chamber? Get back in there this instant!" one of them yelled, but Konran was finished taking orders. Konran utilized the smoke conversion ability of the Shift Blade for the first time, instantly appearing upon them in the dim light of the halls.

The first of them was slashed several times. Blood began to spray in random directions as he went down. The second of them was stabbed in the stomach, to have the blade turned and moved around, carving out his insides. he tried to say something, but blood spilled from his mouth. Konran removed the blade to then stab him in the face, ripping the blade free with a large part of his head.

The 3rd turned and ran, terrified. Konran stepped past the 2 dying scientists and began to follow him, sheathing the Shift Blade again. The scientist ran up several flights of stairs and attempted to push a large door closed, but Konran himself started to run, and was upon the door before it could be fully shut. He pushed it back open, causing the remaining scientist to spill backwards and fall. Giving up on trying to close the door, he scrambled to his feet again and ran.

Konran stepped through the doorway, to find himself in what looked like a den of a house. Behind him was a secret door, built into a bookcase. What he saw only pissed him off further. He wouldn't kill this last one immediately, because he needed answers. Konran followed him through the house and out the front door.

He smelled fresh air for the first time. He was out in the world as he'd longed to be after first realizing that there was an outside. He couldn't stare and look around in amazement just yet, because he needed answers. The scientist was ahead of him, headed towards the middle of the village that they were in, screaming and yelling for someone to help him.

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"Well, we can leave as soon as---"

Alec turned his head when his sensitive ears picked up on someone screaming for help. Eyes of chakra quickly zoom in on the source. Someone with blood on them was running from someone else, a kid with a sword. Both of these individuals had a red tint to them, which told Alec that both had bad intentions. The kid was strange, because his tint kept changing, hinting that maybe this kid was confused. But the one running, his red tint was holding steady, which meant that he was definitely bad news.

"Alec--" Kinzoku began to say. Alec looked up to see a flock of crows headed in that direction.

"I know," Alec said, turning and heading away from the dock area and heading towards the residential area of the middle class district. "You guys, leave this one to me, i'll handle it."

Looking at the kid with the sword again, Alec could see a lot of chakra built up inside of him. He was strong. he had scars and wounds all over him. Who was he? Where had he come from? Was he skilled with that strange sword he was holding? Why was there smoke coming off of it? Alec grinned as he headed in the direction of the commotion.

Her father began to say something and then stopped, obviously distracted by something else. She heard Kinzoku start to say something too, and then saw a flock of crows heading in a particular direction. It was no guess that something was going on. Artemis wasn't worried about a fight – she was even curious as to what was going on – but she knew that Jynx wasn't up to it just yet. They had been training, yes, but Jynx was still a novice and Artemis didn't want to risk her getting hurt.

”Come on, Jynx. Follow me. We're going to head up...”, Artemis would explain. If Jynx proved willing to follow her Artemis would start to parkor her way up higher and higher. She would use window ledges, flower pots, flag poles, anything that would support her weight enough to help her to continue to climb higher and higher. Eventually, she reached the top and came to a stop: clearly able to see what was going on from this position.

She also knew that it would likely take a bit for anyone to reach them, meaning that they should be safe in this position. Artemis was curious as to who these two individuals were: more headband people? Or was this something else entirely? Either way she could see a strange smoke coming from the kid even from her position, and was curious to see what was about to happen when her father arrived on the scene...

Being blind meant that her other senses were stronger to make up for it. Because of this she, even from her position, could hear the commotion that was going on. Sure enough the conversation over the wireless communicator in her ear confirmed it: some trouble had showed its face. Jynx was nervous to say the least: she had been training with Artemis but she doubted she was ready for a fight, especially against someone strong like the headband people who used to keep her.

So, she didn't hesitate to follow Artemis when she started to scale her way up the building. She landed on her feet after a flip and took off after her. Climbing was second nature to Jynx given her monkey genes, so she was patient as she followed Artemis and kept close just in case something happened. Soon enough they made it to the top of the building, reaching the location that Artemis had apparently been aiming for.

She assumed that Artemis could see from this location, and given that the building was made mostly out of stone and earth so could Jynx through Shinsai. She came to a stop near Artemis and stood there, wondering how this situation was going to end up playing out. She had a feeling it was going to be interesting, and hoped that maybe she could learn something by watching.

(#3)
Konran was faster and stronger than this individual trying to get away. Konran had been trained to kill since he could walk. Therefore, he wouldn't need to use anything fancy against him and deplete chakra unnecessarily. Konran took off into a run that would make him seem invisible to ordinary eyes. He quickly closed the distance between them and made a simple slash towards the back of his left leg, in the knee area, cutting the tendons and causing him to spill and roll twice.

Konran ran past him, but stopped and turned to face him, sheathing the Shift Blade and pulling a Kunai. "...I want to know what all of this was about..." he said, moving close to the scientist, who was attempting to pull away from the scene now that his left leg was pretty much useless. Konran stepped on the leg, causing him to scream. "And you're gonna tell me. The two trainers, the woman and the man... they were my parents, weren't they?" The scientist didn't answer right away, causing Konran to step harder onto his leg, and him to scream again. "Weren't they?"

"Yes!!" the scientists yelled. "Yes, they were! They wanted to make super soldiers! That's why you were born!... They had 2 labs to do experiments, the one you were in, and another one below the mansion in the north part of the village!"

"...And where are they now?"

"I don't know!" Konran stomped his leg, and he screamed loudly.

"I think you're lying." The scientist tried to pull a weapon of his own, but Konran threw the Kunai. It sank through the hand that was reaching for the weapon, then into the ground. Konran pulled out the Shift Blade again as the air filled with more screams. If there were people watching, he didn't care.

"I swear I don't know! Something--Something happened! The village was invaded by outsiders!... They went to repel them, but they haven't been heard from since!... That's--That's all I know!"

"Then, you're useless now." Konran shoved the Shift Blade towards his face.

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...Causing Alec to approach and make a quick draw, deflect and sheathe of the Stick Sword.

The kid asked about his parents; "trainers." Just like the basement of his new house, some building over here had a lab in the basement, where scientists experimented on people to try and create super ninja, to invade other villages. The guy on the ground said the kid here had been born to be pretty much tested on. Judging from the scars on him, he'd been through a lot.

"Cool sword," Alec said with a grin, standing nearby with his hands on top of the stick sword. "But, before you kill him, allow me a chance to hear the whole story, and also if there's any more of these secret labs around here that might be holding other's captive too."

Alec looked down at the man on the ground. "It was me and my people who invaded, and took over. All of your bosses and those other guys are either dead, or ran away. I run this village now. Tell me about these experiments, and about anything else that might be going on outside of my notice."

Artemis kept watch, using lip reading to make up for what she couldn't hear from her distance. It seemed that this kid was looking for answers, answers the man being tortured by him likely had. Or not, considering the way the kid suddenly tried to end his life only for his attack to be deflected by her father. Artemis folded her arms across her chest, simply watching for now. Would this turn violent again? Or would things play out peacefully?

Artemis had a feeling it might turn into a fight considering that her father just admitted that it was him and his people who killed those who had fallen, or chased the rest off. It sounded like this kids parents were among the fallen. Then again, maybe the kid wouldn't be angry? It certainly sounded like his parents weren't the best if they allowed him to be hurt as he had been, experimented on and the like.

”Hmm... Sounds like this kid went through something similar to you, Jynx.”

Because of Jynx being blind she was capable of hearing the conversation even from their distance away. The kid was saying he wanted to know what all of this was about – to which Jynx figured he meant the condition he was in. He then asked if some woman and man were his parents, to which after some 'persuading' the scientist answered yes. The scientist then went on to explain that there were two labs, one of which Jynx was in, and that their goal was to create super soldiers. The kid then demanded to know where his parents were now, to where the scientist answered that he didn't know. The scientist was then wounded, which made Jynx flinch: it sounded like it had hurt after all. When the scientist still said that he didn't know it seemed that the kid thought his usefulness was coming to an end and tried to kill him which Alec deflected.

Alec said he wanted to hear the whole story, and that it was him and his people who had taken over the village and killed or driven off the people who once ruled the place. Alec then wanted to know about the experiments and anything else that might've been going on outside of his notice.

Jynx too paid close attention: perhaps she would learn something of her mother's fate. If these people were horrible enough to birth a child just for the purpose of turning him into an experiment and hurting him then perhaps her mother hadn't died in childbirth after all... perhaps, she was even still alive and Jynx just didn't know about it.

(#4)
...His stab was stopped. How?... Who did it?...

Konran looked up to see a man with a blindfold. He had a stick in his hands. How had he been able to block his sword with just a stick? How did he do it with that blindfold on?

The man said "cool sword." Konran had never been complimented before, so he didn't know how to react. The man wanted to hear the whole story, and also of there were any more labs around the village.

The man said him and his people took over and invaded, and that they killed everyone or ran them off. He said he was in charge now. He was in charge?

Konran didn't care about any other experiments. He wanted to know where his parents were. He was also not about to be put back into that room now that he was out. "You're in charge?" Konran asked, sinking into a stance, interrupting the bleeding scientist on the ground. "Then you know where my parents are, and if you think i'm going back into that room again, you're dead wrong!"

Ordinary eyes would not be able to follow the next set of movements. Konran moved so fast that it looked as if there were 3 of him. 3 slashes would be executed with swift, blinding speed towards the man's neck.

Spoiler:

After the final slash was complete he would sheathe the Shift Blade, while his after images hung airborne several seconds before they vanished...

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"Sure, I may know what happened to them, but I don't know anything about any room---"

Then the kid was moving. He was fast, yes. But even with just his natural vision Alec was able to see him coming. He was still fast though; much faster than any ordinary kid. The kid executed 3 super quick slashes. Alec withdrew the Blind Fury Stick Sword and was able to block all three attacks while holding it in a stabbing position; the swords meeting giving off a bright flash of sparks.

Alec sheathed the stick sword about the same time that the kid sheathed that smoking sword of his. All the while, the grin never left his face. This kid was something else. Was he someone they missed? Had he been locked up in a basement like Jynx? There was power behind those swings, real power. Alec was guessing, but this kid - judging from the scars on him and his muscular physique - must have been trained, forcibly most likely, from a very early age. Alec had him placed at about the strength and skill of an A-Ranked Jounin.

"That... was awesome," said Alec with his grin. "You have to be pretty young, right? Lemme guess... about 12 or 13, yeah? 14 at the oldest. To be that strong that young, ha. I am impressed. And I don't say that to just anyone... But I don't have any plans of making you go back to any room. I don't even know who you are. I may know about your parents though; if they were one of the bad people who used to run this village by force, then i've got some bad news for you..."

Alec didn't want to kill this kid, but if he wanted to dance around a little longer, then that was fine. Having this kid on his side was seeming more and more like a good idea. His colors were still changing in his chakra vision which told him the kid was highly confused. He was like Jynx, except violent. If Alec could calm him down and convince him that they weren't bad people, perhaps he'd come around...

This kid could move! Almost anyone watching with normal eyes likely wouldn't be able to see this kid, let alone stop his attacks. However, Artemis knew that her father wasn't just any ordinary person. A grin spread across her face as she kept watching: this was definitely turning interesting, and Artemis could feel her own adrenaline beginning to pump. Artemis crouched down on the edge of the building, leaning forward slightly and watching carefully while continuing to rely on lip reading so that she could keep up with the conversation going on.

After her father stopped the kid's attack, coming out unharmed afterward, he complimented him on the attack. He took a guess at the kid's age, putting him between twelve and fourteen, and told him he was impressed that he was so young and strong. He then commented that he didn't know who the kid was, but that if his parents were one of the bad people who used to run this village, then he had some bad news for him.

At this point Artemis was pretty sure that one of them had killed his parents, but she couldn't tell if this would make the kid angry or happy, yet. Time would surely tell, so she kept watch and waited.

The kid moved too fast for Jynx to even try and keep up with; her Shinsai wasn't strong enough to see very far, nor in enough detail to even try and keep up. All she knew was that whatever the kid tried to do didn't work: Alec was unharmed and seemed to be enjoying himself. Artemis shifted into a crouch and leaned forward, obviously interested in getting a good look at the fight. Jynx shifted her feet somewhat: she didn't particularly care for violence, so she was just hoping that whatever happened happened quickly and would be over soon enough.

She could still hear the conversation, and felt bad for the kid. He kept asking about his parents, wanting to know where they were, and Jynx was pretty sure they were dead.

Jynx walked over to the edge of the building and sat down next to Artemis, keeping the bottoms of her feet pressed against the roof so that she could keep watch of what was going on – even if she didn't want to see the violence she still wanted to know what was happening all the same.

(#5)
....!!

He effortlessly blocked each slash. This was signaled by the 3 flashes of the blades clashing. If he could block that... then this meant that he was fast. Very fast. But how?... How was he able to see, and pinpoint where to block with a blindfold on? Furthermore, Konran could see that the stick he held was actually a sword, made to look like a stick. Even Konran had to admit that it was a pretty slick weapon.

Konran was surprised. Was he up against a master, like he'd read about in his stories?

The blind master praised him, guessed his age to be 14, and said he was impressed. He said he didn't say that to just anyone. The blind master said he had no plans of sending Konran back to that room, but if his parents were one of the bad people that ran the village then he had bad news. That had to mean that they were dead.

"...If that means they're dead," Konran said, keeping his hand on his sword handle. "Then it doesn't matter. I'd planned on killing them myself. I just have to be sure... The woman was muscular and a shinobi, a Missing-Nin, whatever that means. She was part of the Nara Clan, so I guess that makes me one too. The man wore armor, and mostly used swords. Were they part of the bad people you say that ran this village when you came along?"

Konran suddenly began to have his doubts that he would be able to beat this man. He was blindfolded, but could somehow see everything. He was even faster than he was. He had 2 swords, but he wasn't even using his main sword. He said that he wasn't going to send Konran back to his room, but would he kill him instead? Konran wasn't going down without a fight, win or lose...

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"Yeah. They were scum who exploited the hard working citizens of this village. Them and their boss were killed."

Alec wondered if the kid would fly into a rage and attack him again, even though he said them dying didn't matter, and that he planned on offing them himself. Alec didn't think so, since the kid began to seem surprised. Alec could hear Kuro say "Hmmm" when the kid mentioned that he was part of the Nara Clan.

"One of my friends here is also part of the Nara clan. I'm familiar with your ability to move shadows. A valuable ability to have as a friend..." Alec adjusted his stance and put his hands on top of the blind fury stick again. "Listen... I can guess that you didn't have the happiest of childhoods, and you and your parents weren't on the best of terms if you planned to kill them, but me personally, I don't want to add to your life of misery. You're free now... so that means you can do what you want. I won't try and stop you."

Alec noticed that everyone was nearby, on random rooftops. "There's a girl, her name's Jynx. She was trapped in a room below ground, her whole life, just like you were. We set her free, and now she's one of us. We're not holding her captive, she's free to come and go however she wants. She's just the same as family now. You don't know me from adam, and you have no reason to trust me, but I make you the same offer. There's a lot you can learn hanging with us..."

Alec looked to see that the scientist on the ground had pulled the Kunai out of his hand and was moving to try and stab the kid while his back was turned and his attention was on Alec. Frowning some, Alec moved forward and seemed to just vanish from sight. there was the sound of a sword being unsheathed, a boom sound and the scream that came from the scientist who had his arm raised to stab. Alec's sword was jabbed into the scientist's chest, who's front was covered with many wounds that began to bleed.

Alec ripped the sword free, allowing the twitching scientist to fall backwards, drop the kunai and began to make moans and gurgle sounds. Alec swiped the sword quickly through the air several times, so quickly that the blade couldn't be seen, just glints of light, before sheathing it again.

Shotgun Impact:

"My name's Alec Kane," he said, standing close to the kid now, placing his hands on top of the stick again. He wasn't in attack mode, and was gesturing to the kid that he could be trusted. "I'm going on a trip. I'm new to this continent, so as the leader of this village now, I need to get a feel of where i'll be living. I'll be visiting the other villages and meeting their leaders. Today is your first day out of that room down there, how about you come with me? Riding a ship, seeing the world, sounds like a good idea, right? We're both new around here, we can go explore these lands together. What do you say?"

Alec extended his right hand for him to shake.

Artemis was tired of lip reading at this point; they weren't having an all out battle so she felt that it was safe to get close. ”I'm going to move closer, Jynx. If you want to come with you can; if they start fighting again I'll keep you safe, promise.” Artemis would wait to see if Jynx planned on following her or not before she would begin to move closer. As she jumped from roof top to roof top and light pole to light pole she kept watching and lip reading. The kid said that if that meant they were dead then it didn't matter because he had planned on killing them himself. He said he had to be sure though, and started to describe his mother who was a Nara – something that got a response out of Kuro.

Her father mentioned that one of his friends was a Nara. He guessed that he didn't have the best of childhoods if he wanted to kill his own parents, but that he was free now. He then mentioned Jynx and how she was trapped in a room underground but how she was now free and considered like family.

Artemis came to a stop on a building nearby and simply sat down on the ledge; figuring a crouch could be taken as a threat and she had no intentions of attacking this young man. She listened as her father began to explain things, including the ship that had been fixed up and the trip he planned on taking. He offered to take the kid along too, so that he like Jynx could see the world. Artemis remained quiet, wondering if he would accept or decline this offer. It took a lot to put your trust in a stranger, but her dad wasn't a bad guy so she hoped he would.

Artemis said that she was going to move closer, which caused Jynx to hesitate until Artemis said that if they started to fight she would protect her. Jynx nodded and then followed Artemis as she ran across the roof tops and light poles. As they neared she could hear Alec saying that she was like family now; something that shocked Jynx. She had never had a family before, so to be considered like family made her smile.

When Artemis sat down she sat down next to her, curling her tail around her waist. She once more placed her feet against the building so that she could watch; adjusting the clock she had taken to wearing around her eyes so that she didn't worry about dust getting into them. She too was curious to see if this kid would accept Alec's offer..

(#6)
The man confirmed that his parents were dead. He didn't exactly say that he'd been the one to do it, but Konran couldn't bring himself to care. He said one of his people were also part of the Nara Clan, and that they were handy to have as friends.

The man went on to say that Konran couldn't have had the best childhood, and no relationship with his parents if he wanted them dead, which was true. He said he didn't want to interfere with Konran; that he was free to do whatever he wanted now. Free... but Konran honestly didn't know what he'd do were he to get free of that room. All he knew was that he wanted out... now that he was, he had no clue where to go or what to do.

The man described a girl named Jynx, and how she had been locked in a room all of her life just like he had been. He said she was free to do what she wanted, and was just like family now. The man offered Konran the same thing; to join up with them. He said that there was a lot he could learn by hanging with them...

Konran was considering this proposal, and removed his hand from the Shift Blade. But then the man frowned and seemed to disappear from sight because he could move so fast. Konran couldn't even get his hand back upon the Shift Blade before he heard a boom sound, followed by a scream. He turned to look and see the man with that stick sword in the scientist's chest, along with many wounds. His arm was raised with that Kunai in it, meaning that he was about to sneak Konran with his guard down.

Konran knew that this man could have easily stabbed him instead. He saved him though, so he couldn't have been all that bad. He introduced himself as Alec Kane, and said that he was going on a trip to see the continent since he was new here. Alec Kane said that Konran could come with him, as it was his first day out of that room. He said he was also new here, and that they could go exploring together.

He'd never known someone to be so nice to him except for the tutors. Everyone else was mean, and caused him pain. One of the tutors told him that not everyone in the world was mean and evil. He was beginning to see that in Alec. When Alec held out his hand, Konran shook it.

"...I'm Konran Nara," he said, relaxing now. Konran knew that he probably wouldn't make it out here on his own. The smart thing to do would be to make friends. "...And yeah, i'll go with you. I don't know if I have any other family out here somewhere, and if I did, I wouldn't know how to find them... They're probably bad guys just like my parents and the rest of them," he said, pointing at the dying scientist. "So i'll join you guys."

3,085

Konran's color in his chakra vision turned completely blue, meaning that he was now an ally. He introduced himself as Konran Nara, and said that he'd join up, and that he'd go with them on their trip. Konran said that he didn't know if he had any other family or how to find them, and that they were probably up to no good just like his mother and father had been.

After shaking his hand, Alec nodded his head with a grin. "Cool," he said, feeling like he was getting good at talking to people instead of just simply cutting them open. He turned and started walking back towards the docks, motioning for him to follow. Artemis and Jynx had come closer, and Alec knew they would follow too. "Let's head out. Kinzoku, if you wouldn't mind, could you clean that trash up behind us?..."

Alec reached into his bag and pulled out another wireless communicator. He handed it towards Konran. "Here. Put this in your ear, like I have mine," he said, pointing to his left ear. "It's how all of us keep in touch with each other. I call it the party line."

They were walking past the Bazaar by that point, as they got closer to the docks. "There's only a hand full of us," Alec said, waving to patrons. "There's Kinzoku, the Iron Sand user, there's Kuro, a Nara like you and a crow sage, there's the twins Kurai and Hikari Yanagi, members of a clan of earth users, and then there's Jynx and my daughter Artemis there behind you."

At the docks, Alec could see many running around, preparing the ship to sail. The sight of the Mossberg all repaired and shining brought a grin to his lips. He stepped aboard and had a look around on the deck.

Artemis saw her father and Konran as he introduced himself as shake hands. Figuring that it was safe to come closer Artemis stood up on the ledge, careful not to fall, and then jumped right down. She landed in a crouch and then stood up, practically skipping after her father. ”Come on, Jynx! Boat trip!”, she would call out to her half monkey friend.

She would stop near Konran, grinning from ear to ear in a very friendly manner. ”Hi there! I'm Artemis. Welcome to the big happy family!”

She would then turn, full of far too much energy to stand still for long, and go practically running after her father. ”Wait for us! Booooooat trip! Where are we going first?!”, she said would before catching up to her father and walking alongside of him.