The Red Hand

"Target spotted at 010-023-143. At current speed, they're five Mikes out from the ambush point. Over." Nemino stood on a hillside watching a Noble's carriage drive down a winding forest road through his binoculars. He’d been sent as part of a strike team to capture one specific family in particular, and while he wasn’t worried about failing, he was by no means letting his guard down.

"Rodger that. Bravo team is in position and awaiting orders. Over." The voice of Nemino's second in command, a wolfkin named Gagarin, came over the comms.

"You guys really do act like a military, huh?" Shimari was wistfully sitting next to her bunny boyfriend, playing with some butterflies that were fluttering about.

"We aren't acting, Shimari." Nemino said as he kept an eye on the carriage through the binoculars. "We're Lady Akagi's Elite Special Forces and the ones she calls upon when she can't afford failure." He took pride in his position and enjoyed being part of this small but effective team.

{Though couldn’t Akagi just do all this herself and guarantee success?} (Shimari)

"I suppose you did collapse North Korea." Shimari giggled. "By comparison kidnapping some Nobles seems like child's play. I'd bet you could do it all by yourself if you needed to." She figured that half a dozen ninjas on one job was overkill.

"Its more than just ensuring a successful mission. On top of our duty to ensure that Lady Akagi’s will is done, we also have an obligation to return home alive, Shimari." Nemino continued. "Lady Akagi will not stand to lose any of us, nor do we wish to inflict such pain upon her. Thus, what you see as overkill is what we call being prepared."

{Lady Akagi has done so much for us that there's no way we'd risk causing her anguish. We all mean so much to her, so we can't repay her with heartache!} (Nemino)

"I'm not even going to get into that discussion." Shimari sighed before standing up and next to him. His devotion to the Demon Lord was quite extreme, as was just about every other member of Akagi’s clan and she figured trying to make him relax his loyalty a bit was both impossible and counterproductive. "So, we're doing this my way, right?" She glanced down at him, her eyes drilling into him.

"Yes..." Nemino groaned. "I promised you that we'd take them prisoner, and Chloe approved it, but I would advise you to reconsider your aversion to bloodshed. In my experience, the best way to deal with loose ends is to cut them."

{The Ondai only survived as long as we did BECAUSE we didn’t allow people to survive long enough to stab us in the back.} (Nemino)

"I'm not averse to spilling blood, Nemi." Shimari replied, using a cute nickname for the bunny. "But I don't approve of taking lives unnecessarily. I’m not like Akagi or some of the others." Though she would admit that her place in Libra did make her hypocritically, but she would always counter that she never actually harmed anyone in her short stint within the organization.

{One of us can fold these people like tissue paper. There's no reason to kill them and no harm in putting them in irons back at camp.} (Shimari)

"Neither does Lady Akagi, but sometimes it's best to spill a drop of blood now so that gallons don't flow later." Nemino said as he slowly stood up. "Come on, let's head to the ambush point. I want this done quickly and without issue. Do you have the box?" He asked.

"It's in my inventory, so don't worry." Shimari smiled before kissing him on the cheek and causing the rabbitkin to blush.

{He's so adorable!} (Shimari)

_____________________________________________________________________________

A few minutes later, Nemino, Shimari, and two other ninjas got into position in a treeline just off the main road. There plan was rather simple, block their target’s path and then ambush it, though Shimari again noted that this all seemed overkill for a single lone carrige with a bunch of Nobles in it. As they sat together in waiting, the carriage was close, and it would only be a few moments until they engaged it.

"Everyone ready?" Nemino asked over comms. Each member was outfit with small wireless radios which would allow them to communicate within short distances.

"Ready to rock and roll!" Gagarin replied with a hearty laugh and cheer. He was actually half-Dwarf half-Wolfkin and was quite the hardy man.

"At the ready." The harpy-like birdkin Tina acknowledged his words.

"Just remember to take them in alive, please..." Shimari sighed.

{I hate that I feel the need to remind them of that every five minutes…} (Shimari)

"Everyone, move on my signal..." Nemino paused as the carriage entered its final approach, rounding a small curve in the road and entering an area where the tree cover grew thicker. The ninjas weren't concerned at all, but Shimari, who wasn't used to things like this, felt her heart pounding in her chest.

{We've got this... We've got this... It's just like those ambush missions in FWO...} (Shimari)

"NOW!" Nemino's voice shocked the puppy girl out of her thoughts as he chucked a small explosive device in front of the carriage to get it to stop.

*BOOM*

"REEEEE!" The horses whinnied and neighed as they became frightened while the Demon driver driving the carriage desperately tried to rein them in. Nemino had used what was basically a lower power concussion/stun grenade which, while startling and blinding, would not actually harm anyone caught in its blast.

"What's going on?!?" The carriage driver yelled as he tried to keep the horses under control.. “Are we under attack?!?”

"Don't give them a chance to collect themselves! Our targets are inside, and we need to move quickly in case something unexpected happens!" Nemino leaped from the tree, slamming into the carriage driver and causing him to fly from the seat and fall to the ground, unconscious.

The two other Ninja, and Shimari, followed close behind him, taking up positions around the carriage. It only had one door, and the internal blinds made it so that they couldn't see inside. It was ornate, though not quite as much as one would expect from a Noble. It was clear that this wasn’t a very high ranking house, though that seemed like it was part of the plan.

"I sense high magical power within the carriage! I think they have a guard!" Tina drew both of her daggers as she closed in on the door.

"That's probably the Spirit that they use as a battle slave. We had intel on her before hand so get ready!" Nemino commented as he also drew his rapier and got ready for battle. "Whatever you do DO NOT kill that slave! She is master's property and is considered a rescue target. We'll incapacitate her and take her back with us." He’d been given explicit orders NOT to kill any Spirit that could be saved, at least as long as saving them did not pose a threat to any members of the clan.

*CLICK*

While they were discussing what to do next, the carriage door slowly opened, revealing a red-haired woman with snake-like scales scattered on parts of her body. Around her neck was a thick black slave collar, and Nemino and the other ninjas could see visible scars from torture and beatings on her face.

{A half-naga?} (Shimari)

The woman slowly stepped down from the carriage, and Nemino instantly got a bad feeling in his stomach.

{She's got a lot of magical power, that's for sure. I don't see any weapons or armor, and it appears that her robe isn't enchanted or fortified in any way, but her eyes... Them being closed like that... I don't like it...} (Nemino)

"Erina, please dispose of the trash." A younger black-haired Demon man lazily ordered her to attack. Nemino could see two others in the carriage and based on their descriptions they were most likely Count Boze's Wife and daughter.

{Good, they're all here. Now we just need to end things with this snake woman and Operation Impostor can begin in earnest.} (Nemino)

"As you wish, master." Erina slowly opened her eyes, revealing yellow irises that reminded Nemino and the other ninja of their master’s own.

"Watch out!" Shimari zipped forward the moment the naga-woman started opening her eyes, slamming into her and pinning her to the carriage with her shield.

*BOOM*

Shimari thundered forward, slamming the naga-woman against the side of the carriage with great force, causing the wagon to tilt slightly before setting back down"I know what you're about to pull, so don't even try it." She continued pinning the woman to the carriage, and a moment later, she heard screaming as Erina’s body began to petrify.

{I fought a Medusa in FWO, and I know darn well that high stats don't mean much against petrification!} (Shimari)

"Oh, man..." Gagarin whistled. "That could've gone south real fucking quick."

“Yeah…” Tina laughed nervously.

"No kidding." Nemino tensed for a moment as he realized what just happened. “Thank Lady Akagi that the Shimari was here.”

{We definitely have no defense against petrification, and even with Lady Akagi's power boosts, I don't know how well we'd resist such an attack...} (Nemino)

The naga-woman continued to scream as her entire body was turned to stone. Shimari's shield was just reflective enough to bounce the snake woman's attack back at her, and it appeared that, like Medusa of legend, she wasn't immune to her own ability.

"Phew..." Shimari sighed as she slowly lowered the, now petrified, woman to the ground slowly. "Good thing I listened to my gut on that one. Otherwise, Akagi would be getting some new lawn sculptures right about now." She laughed as she turned back to the Ninja.

"Good work, Shimari. You just saved us a massive asschewing." Nemino thanked her before turning to the visibly afraid Count. "Now, you three, get out here!" He yelled, and the Count and his young Wife and Daughter exited the carriage, the young girl clinging to her mother's dress. She was probably not more than ten years old, and Nemino thought she would make a good servant for Alice, but that was neither here nor there.

"You ruffians! What do you think you're doing?!? Do you even know who I am?" Boze's tried to intimidate them, unsucessfully. "I'll have your head for this!"

"What you'll have is a nice cell and some iron chains, Count." Nemino laughed as he walked up and smacked the man across the face, causing him to fall to the ground.

"Papa!" His daughter ran to his side. She looked just like her mother, and her red hair was apparently a genetic trait commonly found on that side of the family based on their prior research. "Don't hurt him, you meanie!"

"Stop! Listen, we'll pay whatever ransom you want, just don't hurt us!" The countess pleaded for mercy, placing her daughter behind her.

"Why would we trade your lives for your money when we can just have both?" Nemino rolled his eyes as Shimari took a metal box out of her inventory. "Let's make this quick, it will look suspicious if the Count and his family are late for the Galla."

"I just hope Alice's invention works..." Shimari sighed as she opened the box and allowed a black liquid to flow out and onto the ground.

*SPLAT*

"W-What is that?!?" The Count screamed as the liquid reformed and wiggled like a slime.

"Nothing that you need to worry about." Nemino snapped his fingers and the black slime shot toward the Count and Countess, covering their bodies in a thick film.

"Papa! Mama!" Their young daughter screamed, but Gagarin pulled her away and restrained her.

"Don't worry, they'll be fine." Gagarin snickered. "Just give it a minute and all will be well."

“Let go of me, you ugly Dwarf!” Her words caused Tina and Shimari to giggle.

“Are there any women who like you, Gagarin?” Tina snickered.

“Yeah, even kids don’t appreciate the muscular, short, wolfy boy.” Shimari laughed.

“I’m going to pound both of you over the head with a mallet when we get back to base…” Gagarin sighed as the young girl continued to wiggle in his arms.

The Count and Countess were engulfed by the slime for what felt like an eternity before it released them.

“No..." The young girl feared that they were dead, and the fact that they weren't moving made her feel hopeless.

"Now, form up!" Nemino commanded the slime which proceeded to split in three. Two black blobs slowly began to stand upright until they formed into the shape of the Count and Countess.

"What?" The young girl started shaking as she looked upon the copies of her parents.

"So, did it work?" Nemino asked the copies how they felt.

"Everything seems fine." The Copy Count replied, his voice causing the daughter to flinch.

"No problems here, but getting used to this form will take time." The Copy Countess smiled.

"Good... Good..." Nemino breathed a sigh of relief. "I was worried that we'd have a problem with your mimicry. Alice and Imp couldn't make many of these Copy Slimes, and I was starting to wonder what we'd do if this didn't work."

{At least now we know this works as intended, it's just too bad that making even one of these is an absolute nightmare, otherwise we could take over entire governments in mere days.} (Nemino)

"What have you done to Papa and Mama?!?" The young girl began to wiggle in Gagarin's arms, again. “What are those things?!? And what do you intend to do with them?!?”

"Don't worry too much about what we did to them." Nemino pat her on the head as he snapped his fingers, indicating for the other part of the slime to come closer.

"N-No!" The girl could tell what was about to happen and desperately tried to get away. "Keep it away!"

"Shuuuush." Nemino put a finger to his lips. "I promise you that it will be over before you know it and then all this will seem like a bad dream." He smirked before snapping his fingers again, ordering the slime to leap at and engulfed the young girl. As the black goo clung to her, she was struck by the feeling that the creature was invading the deepest parts of her mind, and the last thing that she saw before falling unconscious was a guilty-looking Shimari, who turned away as they locked eyes.