It was just a Ghost (Mission)

[Hoarfrost Imp]

Across this little fortified city in the tundra and cold of Yuki blew winds that'd freeze flesh to bone if one let it. Terrible and slow, the weather in the winter lands was eternal, a frozen Hell-scape but even when the flurries were so strong it buried the world in white there was Juniper out in its midst.

The tip off had been simple. She didn't conspire with the native people but when she came asking questions few people thought to go against those pointed teeth and claws. So they pointed to an out of place woman who wore a plain mask at times, other times having been caught wearing a glamour jutsu of some sort. She hadn't been gone but maybe three weeks before Juniper was on her heels, eyes bright, teeth gritting, her mind focused on the task for now.

Clad her in her battle cloak and dress she also carried a slot worth of senbon and a slot worth of marbles for the time being. At least till they forced her to wear anything else. Hunkering down in a snow drift she set her eyes on the outer walls and plotted. Any thread to Yukigakkure was a threat to Kahimi. She'd see this AnBU dead in the snow.

[Ranzu]

Flakes of snow drifted along the rough wind of Yuki as the town went about it's business. A meter tall wall of rough wood surrounded the fairly small town, though in this cold climate people tended to stay bundled up closely together and their architecture followed: small, easily cleared streets were sandwiched between low, squat houses. Very rarely did a building get to two stories tall, much less surpass that. The single exception was a four story mansion that looked partially fortified too, sitting in the middle of the town.

Outside of the gate leading into town stand two guards, though both look pretty bored and inattentive to their surroundings. They are dressed in rough leather armor and helmets, wielding a long spear with a sheathed shortsword each. There were two burning braziers set by the sides of the gate, to provide both warmth and light for the guards. Occasionally one of the guards will clear the snow away from the gate, leaving the already weak watch a man short for a few minutes. Every six hours or so the guard would change and for a few minutes there would be four of them there, though they were more focused on the conversation between themselves than looking out for anything approaching.

From what you can see in town there looks to be a constant, if low, hum of activity going on at all times. People are always in a hurry to get somewhere if only to get out from the cold. You see a few unfortunate people busy clearing snow from streets and roofs while a guard watches over them. You also see the occasional guard patrol moving through the streets, though they seem to stick around the wall where more braziers are.

Even from this distance you notice a few notable landmarks in the city. One of the few two story buildings in town seems to have a constant flow of people coming in and out of it, while having a warming glow emitting from the inside. Another house on the outskirts of town looks fairly rundown but also receives the occasional foot traffic, notable in only that guards tend to avoid patrolling anywhere near it. Finally is the center mansion itself which even from where you are can tell is pretty well defended: at least one patrol is nearby at all times and there seem to be guards walking through it too.

Something on the snowy landscape also catches your eye. A caravan is approaching the city at a sedate pace, clearly loaded down with supplies. You spot hairy oxen pulling the carts with a driver and caravan guard sitting on the seats. The carts are covered though and you cannot tell what their contents are. There are five carts in total, with the middle most cart being the most well made and adorned with decorations.

[Hoarfrost Imp]

There was one thing she had to keep in mind- this being that she had a soul clone out already and by no means the extra power to split again. This was her true test. The first step of her approach, once she took in her surroundings... was to get in as close as absolutely possible in one swoop. The fewer interactions the better. She was well outside the walls of the city but she began to weave her seals to cast the superior invisibility, her sounds, appearance and smells all becoming impossible to decipher though the noises of the world around her were still impacted. This meant she'd need to climb to things and not leave footprints.

Digging in deep she took about twenty paces backwards and sprinted hard, blood rushing. With her jump good she preformed a standing long jump. With a full sprinting speed and maxed jump she flung herself over 55 meters and at the 27 1/5 meter mark she was well over 13/5 meters in the air flying over the gate a long while back and over the people of the town square, over the guards with the aim of landing high up on one of these 18 meter tall buildings. Specifically the guarded one. She did so to land quietly at it's top.

She had the dossier on the subject and recalled the name and general information from her Eiditch Memory, stenciling into her mind. With a hopefully unaware set of guards she searched for a window to enter through, going so far as to incorporeal herself to keep herself concealed and hidden. One inside it was simple. A few handsigns and a pulse of infused chakra swept over a 100 meter radius pinging all objects, if not most at least and giving her a mental map of the next 100 meters and anyone within them at the point the radar swept over them. She did a mental count to drum up all the people she sensed, where they were and possibly if her target was in this building...

[Ranzu]

The jump over the gate was meet with silence and apathy, the guards not catching you in the slightest. Faith in the walls to protect them were their downfall as you quite literally flew over the guards. You landed on the highest building in the city, the guarded mansion, with relative ease. The snow on top of it was undisturbed except for your own footprint and there was no obvious way inside of it from the roof. No one was here to stop you, and as you climbed to a nearby window, it was clear that there were not enough guards to cover every window.

As you pulsed your charka many things became clear to you; there were around thirty people in the mansion, there was a cellar with one person in it, the main floor had fifteen people on it, the second floor had eight people in it, and the third floor had four people on it. The cellar was just one large room, the first floor had a few rooms but everyone was in the hallways there, the second floor had three big rooms with two people inside of one, five people inside of the second, and a single person inside of the third, while the third floor had a few smaller rooms but everyone on this floor was out in the hallways.

However not even thirty seconds after you flooded the mansion with your chakra that a bell suddenly started to ring throughout the building. The guards on your floor, the third one, charged down the nearby stairs in a hurry, one of them saying "Quick, we have to protect the lord!" at the others. You can hear a commotion in the floor below, doors slamming open and running feet mostly. Looking out the window showed a couple of guards running out of the building in different directions, though one stops a nearby patrol and points toward the mansion.

[Hoarfrost Imp]

There was a lot of things going on at once but Juniper couldn't follow them all. The moment an alarm bell sounded she was on absolute alert, pressed up against the doorframe till the footsteps ended and she could inch her way out and immediately start down the stairs. Being invisible helped, meant she could sprint and make no noise, be unseen, scale the walls and run along them at full speed towards the last floor without stopping to think. She vaguely remembered the numbers on each floor, curious who all had left, who had been guards.

When she hit the last floor she pulsed the place once more. One more sweep to get a mental number of the occupants. To aid in this she bent low to the floor in a spot away from general foot traffic so she would not be tripped over sudden and unexpectedly, filling the place with a chakra enhanced echo of the layout, the people and tuning her ears hard for 60 meters to pick up indistinct sounds and voices, quiet sounds a person shouldn't hear.

Whomeever was the solo one in the last floor made a curious case but if an AnBU was selling secrets from the village then who would it be if not the lord. Special Ops worked in the shadows- a whole battalion of guards was not the best way to be noticed. Potentially a diversion. Juniper was ready to descend, to open the door to that last floor to the area that contained that lone individual.

Chances were this was a diversion to get the guards away from the place so that there would be no security and whomever was down here could be met without consequence.

[Ranzu]

Your descent down toward the cellar would be nearly unopposed, the only trouble would be waiting for the guards to clear the stairway on the second floor before you could move down. Luckily it seemed no one noticed you on your way, the invisibility holding up quite well.

The guards are not static though, while most of them are now focused on the second floor, the first floor has a few more guards enter from the outside, shaking off the acculmated snow on them before they start taking up positions around the entrances to the building. "More lads are coming, so just hold the doors for now. Hopefully this is nothing more than another drill." says a man who looks little older than the others, wearing a bit more armor too.

When you pulsed your charka once more you found most of the bodies in the second floor centering around the room that held the previous five people. It was nearly filled to the brim of people, with a few more huddled close to the entrance of it. The room that held one person before now held two of them, both of them fairly close together.

When you open the door to the cellar a few things become evident: this place was used as a prison and was lined with cages and shackles, the only occupant was a woman who was chained up, and finally that it seemed as if no one had been in here for a couple of days. The woman used to be a clear beauty, evidence of her radiance showing even through the horrors her imprisonment, but now she was horribly gaunt, hair was incredibly thin and falling out, with sores and bruises covering what skin you see. When the door opens the woman moves her head a bit and mumbles something that you catch with your enhanced hearing, "here to finish me off, you devil?"

[Hoarfrost Imp]

The door eased open and like a stale gust of wind she slipped through and closed it behind her. What she didn't expect were the words that greeted her. Dismal and bitter, unmotivated, dry and all at once. When she descended she stood before the woman with her eyes wide and aware, frantic but fighting to rein in her suspicions. "No. Not kill." She muttered.

Reaching a hand out tentatively it was really a jutsu- a touch jutsu of Status so she could know this woman's health conditions, her emotional state and her location at all times until death. "Why are you... locked away?" They used to keep her this very same way. Locked and chained away. A prisoner. No hope of seeing daylight till she was too dead to feel it. Sometimes being turned into the weapon she was still felt dead inside.

[Ranzu]

The woman would flinch when you spoke so close to her yet she could not see you. She would visibly recoil when you touched her and start shaking uncontrollably, though her face would put on a brave front. "Who are you?"

And when you touched her information flooded into your mind about her: she was in very poor health, very malnourished, had bruises all over her body, her emotional state was very strained but you got hints of defiance and anger in her.

"Wha-" the woman would say at the touch, still not seeing anything in front of her. "You...are not her? She would have dropped the invisibility when the door closed...yes..." she says with pauses before explaining a bit more, "I was the fiancee of the village lord...i was slatted to marry him a couple of weeks after arriving." she coughs here, a few flecks of blood in it, "but not even a few days after i got here that.... witch arrived... the lord who was so cold to me suddenly became enamored with her... as if put under a spell... she soon tricked the lord into thinking I was a spy.." she pauses for a lengthy time here, tears rolling down her eyes, "they beat me and locked me away...the witch would come sometimes to gloat and hit me..." before starting to cry even more, so much so that she could no longer really speak. "Ish wanto gooo homee!"

[Hoarfrost Imp]

The way her status read she seemed in the worst of conditions. Rent and ruined in some ways. Had she the scope of knowledge she'd have been worried about the woman's mental state and any lasting damage she may have accrued during her time down here. She wept her story and hung on her chains, an outpouring that could have swayed a court of jury and judge but in her own mind Juniper just locked away the parts of her that felt tugged because she was in enemy territory. Tears under cover could spell death.

"Home?" Wasn't this her home? The idea was confusing and turned some key in an old lock in her head for some reason. Without a word she left the woman hanging there and sprinted back up the stairs. Touching the door she hesitated... then cursed it. Anyone attempting to cross by the door's immediate vicinity were subject to a 26 will save or be stunned for 1 round.

Then a set of seals to a cast of Dustless Bewildering Cover to blanket her chakra and presence from being able to be sensed. A additional boost to her stealth if needed... and she cursed it for good measure. No smell. No sight. No sound. No Chakra. She didn't exist. Even her footsteps were nigh impossible to trace at the frequency her body vibrated making tremorsense useless.

Like a bolt of lightning she was all feet moving to get to get to the floor that held the two singular people she'd sensed before. With her hearing cranked up to maximum she listened for their exact locations with the multiple rooms the floor held. Her enhanced hearing made whispers conversational level and heartbeats like small thuds. When she was sure she had the target she'd implement.

To be sure as she listened to scanned the bottom of the doors to see if they held a gap by any chance.

Jutsu

SPOILER: Click to show

Taboo
Rank: "A"
Skill: Supplementary
Effect: With an imperious warning, a Pulverem can decree a single creature within the range of this Malediction to be Taboo.
Special: ---
Drawback: ---
Description: Creatures that attempt to make a melee attack against, touch, or pass through the area occupied by a Taboo creature must make a Will save or become stunned for 1 round. A Pulverem can also make a large or smaller unattended object taboo (Pulverems frequently use this malediction to cut off escape routes). Once a creature successfully saves against the Taboo Malediction, he cannot be affected by it again for 24 hours. The Pulverem can only have one taboo active at a given time. This is a sonic, mind-affecting effect. Dread Escalation: Creatures that fail their saves against a Dread Taboo are blinded and deafened in addition to being stunned, and the effect lasts for an additional round. Cost: 3 Strife.
Limit: Must be a Pulverem. Must know Malediction.

Dustless Bewildering Cover
Rank: "C"
Skill: NinJutsu
Effect: Technique utilizes water vapor to bend the light around the user essentially making themselves invisible.
Special: Handseals
Drawback: ---
Description: Range of this technique is Personal. Duration of this technique is 5 minutes per Class Level. This technique requires a small source of water nearby. This technique allows the user to completely erase their presence, causing them to have neither a physical form nor detectable chakra while the technique is active. As such, they cannot be detected through traditional means such as chakra detection or through heightened senses. If the user is carrying gear, that vanishes too. Items dropped or put down by the invisible creature become visible; items picked up disappear if tucked into the clothing or pouches worn by the user. Of course, the subject is not Chakra silenced, and certain other conditions can render the recipient detectable (such as swimming in water or stepping in a puddle). If a check is required, a stationary invisible creature has a +200 bonus on its Stealth checks. This bonus is reduced to +100 if the user is moving. The Jutsu ends if the user attacks any creature. For purposes of this Jutsu, an attack includes any Jutsu targeting a foe or whose area or effect includes a foe. Exactly who is a foe depends on the user's perceptions. Actions directed at unattended objects do not break the Jutsu. Causing harm indirectly is not an attack. Thus, an invisible being can open doors, talk, eat, climb stairs, summon creatures and have them attack, cut the ropes holding a rope bridge while enemies are on the bridge, remotely trigger traps, open a portcullis to release attack dogs, and so forth. If the subject attacks directly, however, it immediately becomes visible along with all its gear. Jutsus such as Bless that specifically affect allies but not foes are not attacks for this purpose, even when they include foes in their area. Targets who interact with the user can use a Will Save to see the target.
Limit: Must know Water Release.

[Ranzu]

The woman would barely notice your touch being gone and instead just kept softly sobbing in her chains as you ran up to the door. No one would bother you when you cursed the door, but a few more guards would be on the first floor now. They were either milling about or guarding the door and windows.

No one would be able to catch you as you ascended the stairs but upon looking closer the second floor's rooms would all be connected. The outermost room held the entrance and what you could assume would be the entrance to the second room which would then hold the entrance to the third room.

However the door to the outermost room was being guarded by two men with their spears crossed over the doorway. Furthermore you hear six heartbeats in the first and second room, while only two heartbeats in the third room. You hear murmuring and whispers throughout the floor, though you manage to also make out a "Don't worry my love, my guards will deal with the intruder shortly." from the third room.

Also throughout the second floor was more guards, about ten more patrolling and a couple of more standing by the stairwell up and down for a total of fourteen more guards.

[Hoarfrost Imp]

There were people about now but nothing was stopping her now. The second she laid eyes on the two guards with their spears crossed and the others who were here to ensure safety she. Fuck them.

She had the room. She had the heartbeats. The voices. To the best of her ability she lined herself up like the walls weren't there. An empty floor with nothing but people standing. Then? She filled her thoughts with her purpose. Yuki. Himi. The secrets of the village. The woman in the basement. The... the woman in the basement and her tears. The certainty that she was dead when Juniper had opened that door. No one was opening that door without potentially going deaf, blind and numb from her curse.

Chest heaving she set a runners mark and made a break for the first obstacle like it wasn't there. Guard, spear or door. She was sailing through it. Channeling that rare defect of evolution she let her form bleed into the ether, to become incorporeal and she sailed through the physical world like a ghostly arrow. She hadn't gotten any weird vibes to protect against such offense but even if there were and she missed them?

Total confidence.

The plan was mapped out. Soar through the air, the guards, the spears, the walls and pinpoint onto that wretched bitch. She wasn't going to die easy. A traitor deserved instant death but she was a tormentor. Juniper liked to torment too. Landing on light toes she struck out with a violent hand, nails aimed to bite into flesh, to dig into the delicate pressure points of the stomach meridian with enough force to knock a grown adult on their ass and out of the waking world.

Not a shuffle of steps or a scuffle. Whipping around that killers gave of bright blue eyes and needle teeth she snarled silently and held a finger up to her lips. "No. Sound." The long slow shake of her head was going to portray business long as she got the woman out of the way first. She was not afraid of a fight but this wasn't a mercy killing. It was a lesson.

[Ranzu]

Leaping head long into danger is not always the smartest move, but in this case you have made it work: flying through a set of spears, a door, another set of spears, another door, another set of spears, and finally another door before appearing before your prey. A woman dressed like a geisha was in the middle of the room with older overweight and gaudy man whom seem to be fawning over her just to her right. Your trajectory takes you right to her, with your claws out. However as the first claw merely scratches the flesh of your target she will suddenly disappear in a cloud of smoke as she is suddenly replaced with the overweight man.

The man screams out in horror, pain, and surprise as your invisible claws sink deeply within his flesh. The woman reacts with a bit of surprise, tsking a bit as she realizes her assailant is invisible. A split second later five senbon are launched from the fan she is carrying as it strikes out toward your location. However only three senbon are on mark to hit you, one in the leg and the other two in the chest, while the other two senbon are set to miss you by flying over your head. She probably expected a larger attacker. However each senbon was coated in a poison (Flaming Doom, Fort Save DC 18) in case you were hit by them.

"Guards! The lord is wounded! The intruder is invisible! Guards!" She shouts out in a shrill voice before attempting to use some handseals. If she succeeds her body and clothes would start to blend in with the surroundings, trying to hide from her unknown assailant.

[Hoarfrost Imp]

Bitch. She opened that trap and immediately Juniper cursed the doorknob with a Hex, a 34 will save to anyone would would try to cross it's path or interact with it. The invisibility itself broke and the darts found their home in Juniper's skin. Pain grimaced over her but she didn't bother with letting it slow her. Fire or not She knew this woman to be an AnBU and took the safe route. She filled the room with bubbled that erupted on impact with one another, a room sized explosion of destruction. The room filled with a constant eruption of 1500ap of blunt damage and with the door cursed the escape options with practically zero.

The addition of her Eyes of the Plane helped her see the spiritual aura of those around her The explosions were non-lethal but a total depletion of ones vitality was the goal. If the guards managed a will save the explosions weren't going anywhere. There mere more than welcome to enter in and have a taste of unconsciousness.

(Alas, failing the save imparts stun, blind and deaf for 1 round.)

[Hoarfrost Imp]

Locked in that room with a little psycho there was no way this witch was getting free. Traitor. Filth. Disparaging waste of time and resources. In a room with no escape she was ignited with explosive bubbles and Juniper took no remorse in her death not that of the man in question. Whatever secrets she had? Juniper took her head with her so even her corpse was of no use.

To the guards outside? She left through the bottom of the floor incorporeal and to the woman locked in the cellar of the keep. It took only a flick of the chains and a deft understanding of the situation at hand for her to free the woman and insist she was coming back to Yuki with her.

"Come." She rasped through her teeth. "We start over. Better." Under the cover of invisibility she sneaked the woman out and they made a beeline towards Yuki; The whole trip Juniper wondering where Kahimi would place this woman.