Mission
Storyboard Mission Element: Infiltrate an enemy's base (3) | C-Rank
Coming back from her last skirmish, Rini once again wandered through the lushy forest. For some reason it looked more gloomy, dark and scary than before. Was that because the day was coming to an end, or perhaps she was just uneasy thinking back to her last fight? Her mind had been repeating the same thing over and over again, "You shouldn't get into too much trouble." The way she was right now, she can't go into battles without being almost close to death. The last two missions she had were a close-call and unlike the first one, she was also putting someone else's life on the line during her second endeavor. It's hard to hold back the will to fight, but while she's still new and fresh, she'll have to tone down her urge to be aggressive a bit.
She was lost in her thoughts until she heard a screaming voice from 2'o clock. She decided to head there immediately but made sure to take the concealed route of the forest area rather than the open pathway leading towards the source of distress. Because, once again, it's better to avoid trouble given the state of her skills as of now. After dashing towards the estimated location in her mind, she finally arrived at the scene. A bit too late however. She saw a murdered woman with her clothes all being ripped off and a trail of blood. Rini wasn't super quick to arrive at the scene, but it's not like she took forever either. Seems like it was multiple enemies against one, or perhaps there were others that are now kidnapped.
She jumped down to examine the body and try to find any clues that might tell where she might be coming from or who she's affiliated with. Rini is a new-comer to this area, so of course she wouldn't know even if she did find a a sign, but she can always explore the area afterwards. Any sign of trail or clue will help. She doesn't find anything and had two choices - She can either go back to the village who she helped deliver medicinal supplies to and ask for their assistance, or she can go right ahead the road/pathway and try to catch up with the attackers there. The latter is more dangerous since she could be walking into a trap, as someone following a trail after seeing a dead body would be exactly what the enemy would want in order to trap any allies coming for help.
Rini had no choice but to push forward. The village seemed to be full of sick people and she can't chase after low probabilities. She charged at full speed, not caring to conceal her path this time, as she wanted to catch up to the perpetrators as soon as possible. After sometime of intense chasing, she had finally embarked upon a strange Castle-like entrance to... something, she couldn't see yet. Unless the attackers took a zig-zag route to some other direction, this is the only place they could've come from and must've went back to after what had happened earlier.
She was about to make her way through the entrance somehow but two guards in front of the gate had already detected her. Rini remembered her pact to herself earlier; that she would avoid confrontation as much as possible. They approached her with a suspicious look and began talking.
"I don't recall seeing you around these parts. State your motive"
Rini: "I'm from another village in the vicinity. I was told to come here regarding the recent chain of events, your superiors have asked for my help."
"Oh and who might that be, exactly?"
"Does it seem like I take check of some weirdos that approach and ask for my help?"
"What do you mean by that, you insolent outsider!? Don't joke around about some of the most powerful men on here like that."
"Oh, I meant all offense. They saw me killing a bunch of sturdy men and decided I would be valuable to them. The title is deserved. Move out of the way."
"I'll tell you what I do. Skin you after killing you and present it as a gift to Senpai. He's somewhat of a... cannibalist, you see. That's when you'll be valuable to them."
"Let's see.. since they need me more than they need you, otherwise they would've picked you two instead; I can end you right here and carry straight on."
Rini, realizing she has to display an immediate show of bravado in order to really get them out of her way, aggressively changed her stance and pretended to weave ninjutsu seals. One of the guards, a bit calmer than the other, suggested that all of them stop.
"Our people are really strong, so I doubt a girl like her would be able to cause trouble anyway. Let's let her go. We also don't want to get on Shiboko-san and the others' bad side." The guard said to his companion
"Pacifist try #1 successful," she said to herself, even though that was clearly not too pacifist.
She wasn't used to being calm and diplomatic. She wanted to let go of this persona and kill both of them immediately, but she did a good job holding back those urges.
She entered the castle.. or town, she couldn't tell how to put what she was seeing. It certainly wasn't an ordinary village. And neither were the people, who looked gloomy, and more sturdier and well-built than average. Was this some sort of criminal town? She wanted to let go of her act and fight everyone in there. Her sadistic self thought of this a game; that she's in a wild animal territory and it's time to let loose in this high-stake deathmatch. Fortunately she discarded those thoughts and went to the main building. At this point she had no idea where or what to look for. Maybe the people killed earlier were simply... killed just because some bandits were bored? Either way, she had come too far to back down now. She made her way to the main building, which was easily distinguishable due to its sheer size and separate pathway leading to it.
But then, she had to turn back. She's used to her straight-forward attack instinct after all. She forgot that the same excuse outside won't work in the next place, and escaping from here is more tricky than if her cover is blown, compared to simply escaping from outside if things went wrong. Rini figured she had to go around asking the townsman about some men recently dragging people inside the town in the hopes of getting information about what this 'operation' is all about. She asked around a few people but got nothing of value, until she finally met someone who had some awareness of what's going on. Apparently they were experimenting with a way to re-write memories of people. And for some reason, that's much easier when the person has recently been through a traumatic event - A period of time where one usually either suppresses or dwells on memories too much and in general, cognitive abilities are hazy, so it becomes easier for them to perform this illegal task on the victims' brains. It's literally called, "Tsukurinaosu" i.e., "Remake".
Rini had enough information and it was time to proceed to where all this was going on. She started walking up the road to the Castle. During this she noticed that people were eyeing at her. Not in a bad way, but like she was some sort of Royalty that had an appointment with the leader of this shady-looking town. Finally arriving at the main doors, she was once again questioned by the guards, but this time they were a lot less suspicious and interrogating. Rini might have gained knowledge of the operation but she still has to lie her way through.
"I'm here for Tsukurinaosu. Let me through."
"Can you verify yourself?"
"I'm not allowed to. I was told I need to meet Shiboko-san and he'll take me on from there."
"Understandable, but we-"
"A subject was brought here just a while ago, am I wrong? I don't have time to argue with you two. We're bringing a new technology that might enslave millions and I assure you that's a good enough reason to give to the superiors for killing you both right here. Step aside."
It's true that she wasn't fighting anymore, but just like she gambled on chances during fighting, she was now betting on a display of confidence to make the guards let her through. Sounding confident is the No. 1 rule to make people trust your lies after all.
The reluctant but panicked guards opened the gates. Another gamble save. But she wasn't going to use this tact anymore, it was way too dependent on chance.
Upon arriving inside this castle, she saw a lot of.. disorganized people. It was like a School but with just the kids. Then again one usually doesn't exactly expect order and properness from criminals anyway. Now that she was here, she was gonna play a bit of a long game. Not that long, just not instantenous. The entrance to the experiments would probably have the toughest guards and even if she were to engage them, there's a good chance others would come to the enemy's aid. And since everyone in this town is an enemy, it would turn into a 1v200 or more, which is a bad idea. Not the best of odds. It can't be helped, there's surely an experiment going on right now and a person may be dying, but it can't be helped. Rini can't save him/her, but she can track down this site and stop any further chaos. She was too comfortable with sacrifices, and in this case it was really needed.
With all that considered, she would begin to socialize with everyone and find out the fellow named Shiboko. She wasn't sure if this was going to turn out all right, but that's what's fun about it. The fact she had successfully infiltrated enemy territory and one wrong move could lead to the entire town turning hostile was simulating her with enjoyment. With a grin on her face, Rini walks around like she owns the place and searches for the first person to approach, make acquaintances with and carry on from there.