Metal plates slid back and forth with a faint whispering noise, acting as if it was a real flesh-and-blood hand.
"So you wanna see the attachments, boss?" asked the lead goblin nervously.
"'Attachments'?" asked Kargath. "What say you, slave?"
"See?" said the goblin, tapping a section of the back of the hand. The goblin slid back a section, revealing little springs and a socket. "You can put things in here."
"Like what?" said Blackhand, thinking that was a pretty small area.
"Like this," said the goblin. It had been HIS idea after all. Keep making pretty little things that could fit into the socket there and live another day after all. With any luck they could milk this until the escape tunnel was ready.
Kargath watched, his sneer relaxing a bit as a set of three bladed claws was clicked into place, extending his reach a bit. "Hmmmm. How do I take them off again?"
"Push here," instructed the goblin. "Then to the side like this. There's another tool that can be put on there, O great and mighty Kargath, but it unfortunately isn't ready just yet."
"Blackhand," said Kargath Blackhand absently as he put the claw on and took it off a couple of times. "Interesting, slave. Can you make a gun and put it there?"
"Uhm yeah, we can do that," said the goblin. After all, say 'no' and probably get something nasty and painful done to one's body. So 'yes' was probably a good policy.
Blackhand chuckled. Yes, he had been injured - but now he would come back even stronger and he would crush that red-eyed human with this very hand!
Kargath held up the other hand, which had been replaced by a sword long ago. As impressive and traditional as it was - it sure as hell made getting dressed a pain. "Do this one too, slave. I shall be twice as powerful then!"
Books.
She'd said she was good with books and here she was in a tower full of them.
"The first floor is mainly histories," said the gnome whose pink hair was only a single shade different from her own. "Histories and speculations - archaeology and mythology. Each race of Azeroth has its own history. Some of them match up. Some don't. There are some which we're not sure which is correct - if either version of events actually has a basis in fact."
Sakura nodded as she followed the gnome up the stairs.
"Second floor has geographies to the left, political analysis to the right, and the whole geopolitical stuff is a subsection under that set of windows."
Sakura glanced that way, continuing to follow.
The gnome made a gesture, glowing lines following her fingers. "Security passcode: aleph aleph aleph delta gamma quadrant polynomial bicarbonate soda. Identity: Aedna Mole."
Large suits of armor began forming all around them.
"And friend," finished Edna.
The armored suits vanished.
"What were those?" asked Sakura.
"Guardians," said Edna. "My goodness, anyway. Here we go - the magic library."
"We're not in the tower anymore are we?" asked Sakura.
"You caught that?" asked Edna, looking up over her shoulder at the human child. "Very promising. Most people don't catch that. This might just work out after all."
"Hmmm," said Sakura. Stone room, roughly circular. Could have been another level of the tower, but there had been just a moment when her foot had left that last step.
"Anyway, that section over there is the beginning texts. Find one that suits you, settle down and start reading. I will be over there if you have any questions."
Hinata thought she understood most of what was going on. That she'd had this strong temptation, right after Sakura had them seperated from Naruto, where she'd been sorely attempted to shut off a few of Sakura's tenketsu - was beside the point.
Thoram was what they called a Paladin - a warrior that wore heavy armor and waded into battle wielding a big sword. So a kenjutsu specialist with some jutsu dealing with protection and healing. Definitely not a possibility she could see for herself but maybe Naruto or Sakura.
Tajra was a Druid - someone who had some healing and long-range jutsu but mainly used an advanced form of henge that turned her into a bear that could wade into a fight and slap around opponents. That had actually been tempting as she could see layers of thick fur and skin and muscle protecting the night elf's tenketsu and the idea of slapping opponents around with modified Jyuuken strikes was appealing.
Tardra was a Hunter - a night elf who used ranged weaponry to target opponent and befriended creatures that could be summoned and dismissed to perform a number of functions. The furry rhino had seemed to be a bit more affectionate (if smelly) than one would expect from its size. She could see possibilities with this as well - especially as she knew from her brief meeting with her team that both Shino and Kiba had animals associated with them. Still, her father would likely disapprove of a Hyuga that attacked from a 'safe distance' despite the appeal.
Xingba - something called a pandaren which was sort of a bear-person. Who was also something called a Warrior, which was confusing as all of them seemed like warriors to her. Apparently that required heavy plates of armor and large weapons. Neither of which appealed to her, but she could certainly see Sakura going for that.
Hinachan was a shock, someone who (despite being a night elf) looked similar to her. What they called a Rogue and combat specialist. Hinata thought what she practiced was more like the Silent Killing skills she'd heard of from some of the other clans, particularly those from Kiri. Not her preference, though she DID think the armor the woman was wearing seemed a bit better than the usual warrior sort.
Thordra was what they called a priest. Which was apparently someone who healed others. Which appealed greatly to her, Hinata could admit that. She didn't think her father would approve though. Hyuga of the main family were to be warriors after all. So, much as the idea of healing everyone else's injuries appealed to her - she couldn't go there.
Which brought her to someone local who could train her in the ways of a taijutsu specialty, what they called a monk.
"Wash yu lookin' at?" asked the woman, sprawled across two chairs in the inn.
"Uhm, are you... Chlam-" began Hinata before she eeped and ducked below a thrown tankard. When she looked back she discovered that somehow the drunk woman was now less than six inches away from her. "EEP!"
"I don't know who told you that name, but don't EVER call me by that name," said the woman, her drunkeness seemingly evaporated. "If I hear that word pass from your lips, I will personally rip your tongue out and strangle you with it. Do I make myself perfectly clear."
"Uhm, ano, I mean-"
WHAM! went a heel strike on Hinata's foot.
GRAB! went a pair of pliers into Hinata's mouth.
SLAM! was where Hinata's back abruptly found a wall.
"I said - do I make myself perfectly clear?" asked the woman.
"Yeth ma'am," managed Hinata despite the pliers gripping her tongue painfully.
"Good," said the woman, stepping back and releasing her holds. "Now run along. I'm supposed to meet some little girl for training. Hopefully she won't take much longer. Especially after burning through a perfectly good drunk."
Hinata fidgeted.
"Yer kidding," said the woman.
"N-no. I can come back later?" tried Hinata as she edged for the door. Though honestly she could remember some training sessions with her father going about this well.
The woman facepalmed. "Great. Just great. Okay. Rule #1. My parents thought that sounded like a beautiful name. I legally changed it, I don't go by it, and to say I hate it is like saying that the temperature of the sun's surface is warm. My legal name is my battle cry - Wataah. That's a kiai used when making a strike. You can call me Wataah or Wataah-sensei if you like. Like I said, do not use the name I was born with."
"I understand," said Hinata, her tone indicating that she didn't but wasn't about to provoke the crazy woman.
"My parents thought it was a beautiful name, almost poetic or something," said the woman, ignoring the large guys coming in. "The word actually refers to a particularly nasty disease that is spread through sexual contact. Do you understand WHY I loathe that name and changed it the minute I was legally able?"
Hinata nodded, understanding a bit now.
"Great," said Wataah. "Now the path you're on - dodging is the most important skill you can have. So we're going out back and I'm going to teach you the first steps and then we're going to practice that. Let's get started."
"Mission completed!" yelled three Naruto.
"Good job..." said Thoram before stopping, shaking his head, then just going on. "How did it go?"
One Naruto stepped forward as the other two vanish. "Man that was a toughie. Them plant guys can shoot from a distance."
"So it was a success?" asked Thoram.
"Yeah, stopped the horse-plant-guy-thingie," agreed Naruto. "Went through clones like crazy and them plant-guys kept showing up and shooting at me - but I did it! Believe it!" Naruto's grin was practically electric.
"Up for another one?" asked Thoram, going through his notes.
"Lots of missions?" asked Naruto. "Isn't that pile of paperwork bigger than when I left?"
"Yes, so many little problems setting up an outpost," agreed Thoram. "Huh. How many clones can you make?"
"Uhm, I dunno, lots?" tried Naruto.
"Make a dozen, have them go here," said Thoram, jabbing a finger down on the map. "Carpentry team needs assist there. Make another dozen and send them here. Drainage ditches and an embankment. As for you - how do you feel about checking out a vanished caravan?"
"Okay, I guess," answered Naruto. "What's Sasuke doing?"
"Still killing warpstalkers I guess," said Thoram.
Sasuke looked over the shredded shirt with an expression of distaste.
"Now THAT is why you summon a voidwalker to fight up close for you," said Weesell.
Sasuke sighed and tossed the remains of his usual shirt aside, picking up the other one with an expression of distaste.
| Poofy Pirate Shirt Item Level: ??? Soulbound Chest 45 Armor +15 Intelligence +10 Spirit +15 Critical Strike +15 Haste +10% Experience "Yahr."
|
"What's wrong with it?" asked Weesell. "I've seen worse fashions. You should see what some'a them blood elves wear. And they spend forever lookin' in the mirror, pimping and preening, and makeup and hair stylists. The women are pretty bad at it too."
"Hmmm," commented Sasuke, not sounding impressed.
"Look, I don't care," said Weesell. "I'm getting paid by the day. Ya wanna spend all day on a shirt, that's fine with the ol' Weesell."
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(Posted Sun, 25 Jan 2015 16:50)
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らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
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