Scarlet Justice - ep. 106
"Automations"
[Earth Country Collections: Feature]
I settle in at the base of the hill, keeping a firm grip on Ino in case I need to move quickly in the next moment. The plan has been set in motion.
From here, things will follow a simple and effective arc, leaving space for us to improvise if anything should go wrong. The first step, getting Ino safely inside the mind of our enemy, has been completed. She will take herself to the edge of her technique's limit, which is about two or three minutes worth of real world time. As much information as possible will be gathered from the target, then Erika will make a timely arrival for an information exchange. Once Ino feels that it's time to leave, she will return to her own body and Erika will knock out the shinobi to close the loop. It's this point that determines what we will do next: if there is a reaction from the others, then we will have to act as quickly as possible and take out everyone inside at once. This might be difficult if we're strictly going for non-lethal takedowns, and there's the possibility of a silent alarm of some sort, making the sole person downstairs react in ways that we cannot predict. Speaking of them, they've remained in their position this entire time. Surely if the others are eating, they will be served as well...unless there is a hidden food cache down there, perhaps? We might know more soon.
The other possibility is that everything goes smoothly, and our enemy is none the wiser. That means we can proceed as we wish, and properly sneak into the structure to get what we want. From what I can see, it's in the form of a cube. Wooden, sturdy enough from what I can tell. But with this artificial surface it sits on, also easily collapsible if need be. That above all is the biggest worry if we should be stuck inside. The Hidden Rock does love to dispose of problems via fissure and cave-in...
"Mmph..."
Ino stirs in my arms. Good, she's back. Erika is returning after having pulled away the other shinobi and starts to stalk the remaining one on patrol.
"Are you okay, my love?" I ask gently.
"Just fine. Thanks. I got plenty of stuff to show you...Erika's already in the know, and she's got a plan for us."
"Good. Let me just help her take care of the final problem, then we'll sprint up for a quick conference."
"I'm alright to walk, then."
I set her down slowly and then reach for a shuriken from my pouch. Making sure that the shinobi is not moving, I whip it quickly past his head. He predictably turns and in the next moment, Erika is on him, knocking him out with a single blow. She drags him to the side of the structure as we run up to meet her. There's still no reaction from the others inside, which confuses me just a bit.
"Ino, go."
She does as Erika tells her and puts her hands on the side of my head. The information transfer begins, a series of images that explodes into being inside of my mind. Though it takes a bit of effort to pull everything together, I have a clear image of what's going on right at this moment. I can see why Erika wanted both of us to come along on this mission, Ino especially.
"Is everything sorted?" Erika asks me.
"Yes. So the sensor we handled first was the more experienced one. The other one inside, she's still quite green and has to devote some time and effort to switch her chakra over to a sensing state. Right now she's focused on eating and while she will be done soon, we can already make adjustments to evade her."
"Both of you, make the switch now. I will keep my chakra suppressed for the next phase."
"Understood." Ino and I focus, matching our chakra signals to the other shinobi we felled. It likely won't be a perfect match, but we can take advantage of the inexperience of the only remaining sensor inside. Still nobody is moving, not even to head downstairs. The three of us move out to the front of the structure just to be cautious.
"The only gap we have right now is the basement area," Erika says. "What we do know now is the layout of the floors and the little nuances of the interior. There are three entry points to the basement: one is directly from the ground floor, the other from a side entrance nearby, and the last is an emergency tunnel. We will not be going near the last if possible, since we know the habits of the Hidden Rock when it comes to interior spaces. I will be heading to the roof and then down to the top level to gather more data and put myself in place for multiple diversions. We will be running on a timer once this conference ends. Seven minutes. Once that time expires, I will start my routines no matter what happens, and you both will need to escape. It does not matter where you go or how you leave, you must leave. Eventually we will be able to find each other. Your safety is more important to me than anything else. Is this understood?"
"Yes ma'am," we reply.
"Good. From my simulations, I know who will be ascending to the top level first and who is likely to be on the ground floor sweeping for threats. This structure has two exit points, the front that we see here, and the back which is directly opposite that. There will be a subtle diversion at the thirty second mark. This should place the person we want near the back exit, and said entrance has a door that is easily accessible. From there, you may act at your discretion. Are there any questions?"
"None," I say.
"Nothing," Ino replies. "Let's go for it."
"Yes. I believe the meal break will be ending very soon. Lili?"
"Timer set at seven minutes," I say as I look at my watch. Erika hands me a scroll. "Ready to activate."
"We start now. Godspeed, ladies."
Erika jumps towards the roof and starts climbing, while Ino and I split off and make our way around the wooden structure towards the rear exit. It really was hastily put together, and isn't much on the interior either. Perhaps this is meant as a simple holding place. Or there simply wasn't any effort spared for an installation in the middle of nowhere. It's looking more and more like the second case. Erika has found her way inside, and we're nearing twenty seconds. Ino is keeping pace with me, and the sensor girl is up and going. She reaches out into the atmosphere with her chakra as the others move back to their posts.
"Hey, you guys! We're switching off, time for you to eat!"
Our move should start...now.
"Oi, guard the front door! There's something upstairs."
"Yeah!"
Ino and I meet at the back door. I quickly pull out a small knife and charge it with lightning chakra, then swipe it through the small gap in the door. The deadbolt and latch are both cut through cleanly. Ino positions herself and prepares her jutsu, while I get ready to open the door so that she has a clear line of sight.
"Ready," she says quietly.
I nod and quickly pull open the door, allowing her to fire her technique at the closest person. They're alone, which is nothing but a positive for us. Ino falls and I catch her, while the body she occupies runs over to close the door behind us, using a paper seal to hold it in place. It's a woman this time, seemingly in her early thirties from what I can tell. She has short black hair and eyeglasses.
"Down we go. I have the knock pattern she needs to use, and the other ones shouldn't be down here for another minute or so. Seems our girl in the basement has all of the other information that we need..."
I suppress my chakra and we rush towards the stairs, heading downwards towards the basement door. Ino passes the information she's gleaned to me just in case I can make something else out of it, then starts the knock pattern.
"What's up?" The voice on the other side is definitely a girl's, youthful sounding. Probably a teenager sent to take care of the most undesirable part of the job - this basement looks especially miserable.
"Food's here."
"Shit, really? I'm starving...gimme a second."
We hear movement on the other side, and bolts on the door sliding away so that it can properly open.
"What's next?" Ino whispers.
"Did you have something in mind?" I whisper back.
"Yeah. I'll take her and then let the body drop. You should be able to set me down and get your hands on her after that."
"That should work. We're approaching three minutes."
"Plenty of time. Here we go, then..."
The corridor is cramped, so moving forward into the room is the only real option at this point. Ino's plan should work, and if not...killing is undesirable, but not out of the question here. Hopefully it doesn't come to that.
"Took long enough...alright, I'm re-"
Ino uses the older woman's body to push through the inward swinging entrance and wrap the younger girl in a bear hug.
"Release."
"Mm-mhmmm!"
As they fall over together, I rush in and set Ino's real body down, pushing the door closed behind me and rushing back to the tangle of bodies before the other girl can work her way free. I put my right hand on the older woman's back and make her pass out with a good jolt of electricity; my left goes around the girl's neck as she lies face first on the floor, and she's paralyzed for the time being. Her hair is fairly colourful, short and dyed a soft blue. The body isn't too bad, either.
"How much time do you need?" I call to Ino.
"N-not much. I should be good..."
"It might take a bit before you can move properly at this rate. Better hurry."
"Yeah." She walks over and begins her jutsu again, falling backwards into my chest. I set her down in one of the nearby chairs and wait for her target to stand up, fighting off the effects of the earlier paralysis.
"Ino?"
"Yeah, you were right...gonna be a few more seconds. Uh...god, sorry."
"Not your fault." I go and lock the door, checking for any immediate threats. Nothing yet, but the people upstairs are getting anxious. Our other two exit points are clear for now. "Just let me know when."
"Uh...okay." She puts a hand to her head. "Okay, there's the counter to the far right, top drawer, pull it out and then feel for a switch underneath. Push that in twice. Check the cabinet above, clear a space through the junk and pull on the ring you see. Should be a box that comes out. Standard seal, overload it."
"Understood."
"Scroll's in there. Mineral is in a safe underneath the floor...need a jutsu to dig it up, and our gal has just the thing. I'll get on it in a second."
I move to do as she says. Counter furthest right, drawer at the top. I pull it out quickly and feel for the switch. Once I find it, I push it twice as instructed. Done. A small click sounds and I reach up towards the cabinet, pushing dusty items to either side and finding the gold ring described earlier. With a quick pull, the wooden box comes out and I set it down on the counter, opening it up to find a metal container inside. There's a paper seal on it, and I lay two fingers down before surging chakra through them. The paper burns away and the box is easily opened.
"Scroll...yes, just as we hoped for. Primary objective completed," I say.
Ino has pushed the safe upwards on an earth platform. Normal looking metal box with a single dial combination lock. Would have been nice if they went electronic...always makes my work so much easier.
"So what's the plan? Bust it up?" Ino asks. "How much time do we have?"
"Two and one half minutes. No, something like that would take too long, and there's more than likely a relocker fitted. That screws us if we use too much force. If it were electronic I could just spike the damn thing," I say. "Either way, we don't want to damage what's inside."
"You think we need to carry it?"
"No, no. We should be fine. How are you for time?"
"Maybe two more minutes."
"I'll be done before then." I press my ear against the metal and close my eyes, concentrating. The sounds and vibrations speak to me as I quickly turn the dial. Have to assume three discs inside. Numbers from one to sixty. Clockwise. Yes, I'm correct. Three discs - this should be easy. First, ten. Counter-clockwise. Second, fifteen. Clockwise. Third, thirty-six. Done.
"And we have our prize." I take out the scroll that Erika gave me earlier and unroll it, then place the spiky ball of blue rock in the middle of the formula. With a single seal, the object is transformed into a two-dimensional representation, safely stowed. I roll up the scroll, bind it, and put it into my pouch. "Secondary objective completed. All clear. One minute, thirty seconds remaining."
"We've got incoming," Ino says. "I can hold out just a bit longer."
"Time to head outside. I've got you."
I scoop up Ino's body again and we head outside, ignoring the banging on the door.
Ino winces as we clear the exit, going back into the night where we are cloaked in darkness once more. "Yeah, I'm at my limit. Get ready, Lili."
"Go ahead."
"Release."
I set Ino on her feet and use my free hand to hit the other girl squarely in the face, throwing her backwards into the side of the structure before she falls forward, unconscious.
"Oh, to do that to such a pretty face...do forgive me, darling." I sigh and shake out my hand.
"Hey...mind being dramatic later? We've gotta haul our fine asses far from here," Ino says drowsily.
"Come, now. I'm not that irresponsible."
"Never hurts to be sure."
I pick her up again and take off into the nearby forest. The other shinobi are spreading out to try and find us, but...
"Seven minutes...now."
Erika's timed diversion seems to the very opposite of subtle. It's a rather flashy explosion that brings the Hidden Rock shinobi rushing back to their outpost as she flees. We can loop back around to her as soon as it's safe to do so. Given we're under cover of darkness, that shouldn't be too long.
"I'm good to move. Thanks again, Lili."
"Of course."
Ino gets to her knees and catches her breath. Using that jutsu of hers so many times in a row could not have been easy. Not just the chakra, but the mental strain from taking on so many memories at once...she did extremely well tonight. As always, I am very proud of her.
"Got both of our targets, no fuss. We did good, girlfriend."
"Like we would do anything less together," I say with a smile.
"It's what I love to hear. Yeah...Erika really knows her stuff. And she can pull off diversions like nobody's business. How's she doing?"
"Perfectly well. About five kilometres from us at the moment...the Rock shinobi aren't as invested in chasing her as they are preventing their little lodging from burning to the ground. Very little to worry about. When you're rested enough, we will walk ahead and meet up with her."
"Got it. I'll take you up on that offer. Whew..."
We wait another hour quietly, monitoring the movements of the Hidden Rock shinobi. They have yet to properly deal with the fire, but some of their members are out hunting for whoever infiltrated their little building. Our reason for not going at full power from the start is made manifest at this moment; they cannot identify or track us by chakra signature since we've either suppressed our own or in Ino's case, stolen familiar signatures for our own use.
Erika starts to move through the forest and back towards the mountain range that we crossed on the way here. We go back to our first checkpoint to grab our hidden personal items, then slowly follow her and get closer until we can see each other again. Her chakra is the same as before from what I'm sensing, but we do the usual routine hand signs in sequence before anything else.
"You are both safe. Good..." She gives us both warm hugs. "The enemy should be sufficiently distracted for a long while, since the explosion and subsequent fire are both chemical-based."
"Ah. Sounds just a bit troublesome," I say.
"Given that the structure involved contains several types of flammable material, not including the timber that composes the majority of it, I would agree with that assessment. Come, we will move to a safer place and rest. The information will still be in our heads once we wake in the morning. I am sure that Ino especially will be grateful for it."
"Right on the money. I'm...kinda beat, honestly. But don't shut everything down on account of me, you know," Ino says.
"You would say such a thing. I, however, am the mission leader. And I say that we will rest a while. Any objections, Miss Yamanaka?"
"None over here. Let's get ourselves some sleep, then."
We travel onward and find ourselves a small cave in one of the mountain faces, enough to fit the three of us inside. Erika sets down an array of traps and we sit together against the back wall, heads pointed towards the outside. It's warm like this...comfortable. It doesn't really get much better than spending time like this with two good friends. The whole potentially deadly mission in a foreign country thing is more or less in the background, of course.
Ino is already sound asleep next to me, and I can feel my eyelids getting a bit heavy.
"We can all go to sleep together for once," Erika says. She yawns and slowly closes her eyes. "The traps should wake us...if anything trips them properly...calibrated for...mm..."
She drifts off next to me before she can finish. I suppose I can follow her advice and close my eyes for a spell. It's been quite a long day, and this...it's well deserved.
I open my eyes to the new day. My watch says that it's about 900 hours, which is fine. I feel quite refreshed.
"Hey...morning."
"Good morning, darling. I hope I didn't wake you early," I say to Ino.
"Nope. I'm more than okay. Might get too used to this, you know...it's really nice sleeping next to you."
"I would say the same to you," I reply with a smile. Erika has already woken up, standing at the mouth of our cave and presumably doing a survey of the area ahead of us. The ground in this cave is quite hard, and thus unsuited to making a proper fire pit. We'll have to descend and make breakfast down below.
Erika is dismantling and collecting the last of the traps as we leave the cave.
"You both have awakened. Good. Shall we have breakfast and discuss our findings?"
"That sounds nice. I have a good breakfast in mind, along with a superbly sumptuous tea to properly wash it down," I say. "You and Ino can exchange information properly while I make preparations."
"Quite agreeable."
The three of us descend the mountain and reach a concealed place. I test the ground and after finding it suitable for digging, make the fire pit with two tunnels to reduce the amount of smoke that is output. The small portable pan comes out, so does the meat and the vegetables sealed away for these excursions...Ino and Erika sit together on a rock and silently pass information back and forth while I cook.
"So the mission and all its objectives were accomplished safely. Well done, ladies. I knew that I could count on you," Erika says with a smile.
"We have our wonderful commander to thank, of course," I say to her.
"Yeah. I mean we could have pulled it off on our own, but probably not as smoothly if not for you," Ino says.
"I will accept your praise of me. Thank you."
"Hey, you'd better. Seriously, you're super super old-school when you work, and it's the absolute coolest. Like, everyone these days is mostly about the aggressive jutsu and the techniques and the stabbing and the killing...you know, all that. But you? You're so sleek and stealthy, all the time. I don't think enough people appreciate that." She pauses. "Also...that wasn't cosplay I saw in there, was it?"
"No. I apologize, I did neglect to tell you about that part of me..."
Ino waves her hands. "No, no! Seriously, it's fine! Uh...I find out stuff like that sometimes. Things inside of people's heads. It's not a hassle, like...hiding it, is it?"
"Not at all. My mother taught me very well how to keep my true nature concealed. And of course, undoing it is quite simple." A soft, slender white tail pops up from behind her back. "I do not mind doing it when I am alone at home, or in the presence of those I truly trust."
"Oh, I see. It's really neat...all the people I know are totally human. Well, mostly." She giggles as Erika's tail touches her nose.
"I resemble that last remark," I say as I deliver breakfast to the girls. "Here you are, the tea is being kept warm for now. Shall we begin our reports?"
"We shall. From what Ino has shown me, the mission has been completed without incident. No identifying information was gathered, and even in the event that we are accused of this infiltration, we have much in the way of deniability. Lili, I assume the scroll contained the information needed by the Hokage's Office to perform their duties?"
"It did, yes. An authentic document, with all of the relevant details contained within. Signatures and seals were all in place, the document retained its physical integrity, and the removal cannot be directly traced back to us as individuals, or the Hidden Leaf as a village and organization."
"Very good. And the secondary objective was completed cleanly as well. I was not aware of your innate skill in defeating locks."
"Oh, that." I shrug as I sit down to eat. "It was nothing special. I decided that if I was going to learn traditional lock picking, I might as well learn the other styles as well. It brought me to some things about relocking and self-arming systems, electronic locks and such...so on and so forth. Quite fascinating, I must say. But yes, it was a simple rotating lock, easily dealt with, and with no need for volatile materials like explosives."
"Hm. I made that remark because of the reason that most storage solutions do not come with levels of security higher than what you have encountered."
"Oh, is that so?"
"Yes." Erika has her tail disappear again. "In this age, advanced and ostensibly more secure systems are cost prohibitive. Perhaps your views have been coloured somewhat by the rate at which you take on A-Rank missions, where such systems are commonplace."
"That does make sense...especially in the field where you might need to destroy pieces of evidence. And of course, memorizing a code is somewhat bad because of genjutsu..."
"Or other methods," Ino points out. "The girl in the basement I possessed, she didn't have the combination on her."
"Usually one or more persons have access to that information, and they tend to be either the leaders, or the strongest and most resilient of the group. I suspect we would have found out if we had to face down all of them at once," Erika says.
"Only you two would talk so casually about a three on ten scenario."
"Mm. It does sound somewhat reckless, if you analyze it from a certain point of view..."
"That sort of arrogance is warranted," I say lazily. "If it weren't, we wouldn't be sitting here right now eating breakfast in enemy territory."
"Eh...you're right about that much," Ino admits. "Sorta magical how the crazy stuff looks routine with the right people. But I'm not complaining."
"With the great success of the mission, we will be able to travel in a more casual manner to our next stop. Hopefully, it is not as serious a matter as it seems to be. As said before, we must all be prepared for what might come next," Erika says.
Ino and I nod before we all go back to our food.