— A Silver Tongue | Travel ~Iggy~

[Umehara]

[. Enter]

The council of Anotsu's clones arrived brusquely near the outskirts of the country's docks, ambling forward at a casual stride with ANBU masks prevailing over their characteristics. The Shodai armor seemed to emanate a luminous glow under the backdrop of moonlight, the pristine sphere's gaze adorning them in a sense of wonder. The twilight was perfect for their escape, the creator of the chakra-formed Uchiha taking lead as they approached the derigible which would transport them back to Mizu No Kuni.

And with a thunderous voice did he speak.

"Any who desire to live to see sunrise will depart this vessel." he gave. The imperative statement was as adamant as the very steel blade upon his back, his cold glare piercing the miniscule slits within his wolven mask and settling true into the souls of those within audible range. The cries of fear ran rampant for seconds as they merely stood in no particular formation, those hearing their words taking cover behind the various structures that housed the boat's loading area.

The woman and her child's forms were lowered as two of the Uchiha six lay them to beds located a single floor down. Atsuhiro ensured that they would man the deck; their transportation would be returned shortly, though for now it was his vessel to command. Watching their sleeping forms, Atsuhiro leaned against the northern wall from where they lay. Powerful arms dangled at his sides, his mask elevated so that he could catch a better glimpse of the woman.

"...You will be free, maiden. The Hand of God has caressed you with grace."

The scarlet of his Sharingan was in constant activity, half-lidded in their gaze upon her visage. She was...attractive, to say the least; the curvature of her lips coaxed an intimate touch. Tresses of her silken mane fell in grace along her countenance, accentuating her innocence. Even beneath her clothing did curves ignite the desire to explore, the Uchiha's study of her features a thorough one. In contrast did he pull his mind away from such pleasantries, the appearance of one of his clones signaling his whim.

"Prepare a meal for them. We are escorts, not thieves."

A shunshin carried his counterpart to the kitchen's quarters, Atsuhiro's lingering presence ensuring that he would be the first that she would awaken to.

[nokemono]

”Mama?” A boy’s voice called out softly, followed by a fit of giggles. The young woman grunted softly, her dark eyes slowly cracking open. She jumped slightly, seeing the boy’s murky eyes staring back at her. ”Mama!” Gabriel shouted, throwing his small arms around her. Iggy sat up carefully, wrapping her arms around him. The child nuzzled his head into his mother’s bosom, closing his eyes as he grinned. Pale fingers gently sifted through the boy’s golden locks, letting her head rest gently on top of his. Iggy kissed Gabriel’s forehead softly, smiling warmly at him.

“Sorry, Mama had a bad dream…” she said, sighing softly. Gabriel tilted his head, pouting. ”Okay now?” he asked, his eyebrows furrowing. Iggy laughed softly, nodding her head. “I’ll always be okay, when I’m with you,” she said, giggling. The young woman leaned forward, playfully placing Gabriel onto his back and tickled his stomach. ”Hn…only him?” A deep voice echoed. Gabriel suddenly slide away from her arms, being lifted into the air. Iggy tilted her head up, her dark orbs widening. A shadowy figure stared down at her, his scarlet eyes splitting her soul in two…

Iggy’s eyes opened suddenly as she sat up, gasping loudly. The young woman’s body slouched over, her arms and hands seem to lay lifeless before her. She stared at them for a moment before wiggling each finger quickly. She sighed heavily, bringing her hand up to pull her ebony hair back. Iggy peered up slightly, glancing her surroundings. Her eyes widened again as her back became rigid. The young woman rolled her head slightly to the left, seeing a figure leaning against a wall. Her eyes met his own for a moment or two, before slowly peering over her shoulder. Iggy saw her child laying in the bed next to her. She watched as Gabriel’s chest rose and lowered slowly, in a peaceful slumber. A soft sigh escaped her dark lips…

Iggy looked back at the dark figure before turning her body, her legs hanging off the bed. She stood up slowly, pulling her beige dress down and removing any wrinkles. Her body was tense, ready to be struck. If nothing would happen to her, Iggy would calmly walk over to Gabriel’s bed. She’d gently sit upon the bed and scoop the child into her arms, holding him softly. The mother looked over the boy, checking for bruises, scraps or cuts. Seeing that he was fine Iggy smiled gently, watching his sleeping form. Her head suddenly jerked up, looking at the stranger once more. “What do you want?” She asked softly, her eyes cold.

[Umehara]

Anotsu noticed the awakening form of the woman, her stirring silhouette causing his hand to retrieve the mask from its place upon his crown. The porcelain obstruction pulled over his countenance, the Mizu No Kuni resident watched her ministrations with a statuesque figure. Her slumber was disturbed; watching the wince of her eyelids, the shards of her subconscious being were cutting along her cerebral and awakening her mind's secrets. This, he concluded, would not dissuade him from returning them to their home. Now that she was rising..there was no turning back to the past.

Yet, time froze when they made eye contact.

He stared deeply into her occuli, the intensity emanating from his own veiled behind the false identity he so blatantly hid behind. He made no motion to brace himself for any type of offensive maneuver; the Sharingan Eye meticulously viewed her every motion. It surprised the Uchiha, though, that even in the moment of her peril and uncertainty..all she cared about was the child. Atsuhiro allowed her to move freely to settle herself near the young boy, nestling him close to her bosom in a protective fashion.

Her warmth was reassuring..yet it did nothing to melt the ice from his still-beating cardiac muscle.

When she turned her attention back toward the ANBU prodigy, her question was answered in a low tone. "You have our roles confused; I am the hand that has released you from your prison. The true question now would be..." he began. Two clones entered the room, and therein they set hot gatherings of food upon the bed she had moved herself from. Ramen, sushi, riceballs; all of these delicacies were at her hands.

"...What do you want?" he finished.

His clones once more removed themselves from the quarters, closing the door behind them. Anotsu straightened his posture, and thereafter turned his head so that his gaze appeared to fall to the wall on her eastern flank. "We are close to Mizu No Kuni. There, you will find new refuge." With only a moment between his last syllable and the next, Atsuhiro could only shake his head enough for her to see it clearly.

"..And no: you don't have a choice on whether you will be accompanying me there."

[nokemono]

Caressing the child within her arms, Iggy blinked a few times as she listened to the ANBU. She couldn’t help but tilt her head to the side. Our roles confused? Wasn’t she and the boy the ones who were kidnapped. She could have sworn they were… “Yes…I suppose I am confused,” she said softly, before her lips contorted to the side. The young woman’s eyes widened slightly, watching two forms appear with food. Iggy tilted her head once more looking back at the ANBU figure, his question sinking into her mind. The teen became light-headed suddenly. It seemed like a drop of concentrated confusion seep into her head. What did she want? She wanted to be back home, with her child. Safe…

Gabriel stirred softly in her arms moments after they dropped off the food. Iggy peered down at him, watching his eyes crack open slightly. Gabriel’s murky eyes met hers for a moment before a soft grin formed upon his lips. ”Hi, Mama…” he said, followed by a small giggle. Iggy couldn’t help but smile at him, poking his nose gently. “Why, hello there, sleepy head.” Gabriel yawned loudly, as he stretched out his body and slipped out of her arms.

He sniffled softly before he glanced at the food that was in the bed next to him. The small child looked back at his mother, his eyes wide. ”I eat?” he asked. Iggy peered up at the dark figure at the wall. She studied him for a moment, even though she couldn’t see his face. She looked back her child and nodded. Gabriel smiled brightly, before picking up a rice ball and nibbled on it. Iggy shook her head, she couldn’t believe she just did that…She somewhat trusted the stranger.

His voice caught her attention once more, the young woman’s head tilting back towards him. She laughed softly at his words. “I guess not… A missing-nin with a child really can’t do anything in a country they’ve never seen…”

[Umehara]

Her innocence was almost as pristine as the child's..

The ANBU member of Sector Seven watched as she continued to care for the child, yet fleeting moments of doubt lingered. One of analytical skill, he quickly deduced that their features were nowhere near similar. Though this fortunate soul possessed no blemishes that he could see, her kinship with the young boy was questionable. "That child.." he began.

The question was interrupted as the derigible slowly began to decrease in speed, the words "Destination reached." caressing his eardrums before plumes of smoke were visible in the distance; the chakra spent creating the clones was now null, their forms dissipating into thin air.

It seemed as though she was searching him for an internal struggle upon whether to allow the boy to eat, the nourishment still fresh as he stirred and gave tentative care to its accessibility. Of course, Anotsu had no intention to poison or starve them. There was much that he could gain from the young woman's knowledge.

As he allowed his heart's strings to tug upon his emotions, he lowered his head and decided against asking her such a personal question. Still, there was much to be done before a true sense of comfort could be given. Addressing the beautiful maiden, Atsuhiro stepped forward and stood to full height.

Yet..surprise struck him. Was she..laughing?

The youthful Chuunin swore inwardly that a Genjutsu had fooled his sense of hearing, though after seconds he only came to settle once more; it was refreshing that he could make someone laugh. Albeit that that was not his goal (Seeing as he was more than serious about the statement), he felt a tinge of warmth coarse through his veins at her features. "Yes..you have a point." Anotsu replied.

He lifted his right hand, extending an open palm to the woman and her child. "You are more than welcome to carry the food with you. But for now...we must depart. The docks are few steps away." She had entrusted her heart to him to allow the child to partake of the food that he had prepared. He could only wonder if she trusted him once more to be the guide to her soul..the deliverer of her security.

[. Move To Mizu No Kuni]

[Zetsumei]

Welcoem to Mizu no Kuni, please keep your arms, legs, and internal organs in their proper places at all times.

[nokemono]

Iggy’s eyes widened slightly as she watched the ANBU step forward, her laughter turning into a soft cough. Her body tensed up once more, her eyes peering over to Gabriel. She stared up at their stranger for moments, waiting for him to spring at her. The young woman’s cold eyes finally pried away from him, seeing that he had finally relaxed. Iggy looked towards the child again, smiling softly at him. Iggy blinked a few times as she heard the figure speak once more. She laughed quietly to herself again, looking up at him. “What else could I do?” she asked, raising an eyebrow as she smirked.

The mother watched as the figure extended his hands towards them as he spoke. Iggy closed her eyes slowly, letting all that happened up until now sick in. Her thin body shivered softly as her head bowed slightly. A man had just taken her and the child away from home. She would be considered missing if they didn’t return…Did she want to return to Sand..?

Iggy sighed heavily as she stood up once more. She looked down at Gabriel and demanded softly, “Grab what you want.” He looked up at her and nodded. The small child slid off the bed, and began to reach for whatever he could. Iggy watched as the child placed the food into a bowl, before he handed it up to her. With her other arm the mother scooped up Gabriel, holding the bowl so he could reach out to it grab something. She then towards their stranger, stepping forward. Iggy looked at his extend hand and bounced Gabriel in her arms gently to indicate her hands weren’t free to take his. She smirked once more before making a shooing motion with her hand, telling him to go ahead. If he had some doubt, she would say, “Don’t worry, I’ll follow… I can’t run too far.” Right before Gabriel brought an onigiri up to her mouth, making her take a small bite out of it.

[Umehara]

..And he could not help but smirk, as well. But like someone he knew, he could only force half of one.

Anotsu nodded, withdrawing his hand; she was intelligent. His small test had proven beneficial to the both of them. Had she taken his hand, the Uchiha would have considered her rather naive to accept the advances of one so quickly. He, himself, was not so gullible. Handseals moved swiftly once more as he reached the deck, the derigible rocking from side to side slowly as a single stream of water filtered through the air. Joining him at his side, an exact replica of the Chuunin crouched at his side before standing.

"He will take your..." he started, before choking softly."

[/i][/center]

The perverted innuendo was almost too easily noticed, so he merely continued. "...rear." he muttered. The male thereafter began to move once more, ushering them to the boat's loading section before stepping along the wooden board onto Mizu No Kuni's land. It was imperative that he move them to comfortable quarters, his mask more than enough evidence that this was well within his jurisdiction. Any who gave even so much as a slight glance would be turned away by a watchful visage; he their guardian, the angel would ensure that not a scratch was placed upon them.

Biting his lower lip softly, the Uchiha pondered just how he would entertain them while they inhabited the country. Their place of rest would be at his private quarters.

....How awkward it was that he'd offer someone so unknown to him a bed at his most coveted place of sanctuary. But alas..they were fellow Suna Ninja. He, though former, would respect that.

[. Exit]

[nokemono]

Iggy nodded a bit, watching the ANBU's hand come down once more. She smiled slightly at him, bouncing Gabriel in her arms again, to keep him from slipping. The young woman sighed softly as she glanced at the stranger, watching as he formed hand seals. Her eyes widened slightly, seeing the water clone form before her. Gabriel stopped eating for a moment, bits of rice falling off his cheek as he was amazed at this. The clone landed by the ANBU’s side, crouched.

Iggy moved back slightly seeing the clone stand up. She had seen clones before, just never one made of water. Gabriel reached out slightly, his tiny fingers grazing the water clone. He giggled loudly, moving his arm wildly. The young woman couldn’t help but laugh at the sight, before coughing softly as she pulled the boy away from the clone. “No no…” she scolded him softly, wiping his fingers off. Iggy glanced at the ANBU then, hearing his voice. She raised her eyebrow slightly, before smiling. “I think I can carry my own, thank you.”

A soft sigh came from the young woman’s lips again as she followed the man. The thought of being missing now rushed through her mind. What would they do with Gabriel if she was caught..? She shook her slightly, closing her eyes. She would take one day at a time…

-Exit-