MOONSTRUCK, otsutsuki indra

2 - Beautiful Stranger

         "She looks foreign to me." Ashura commented on Mania's looks. "I have never before seen a woman wearing such odd attire and heavy makeup. Judging from the slight bronze tone of her skin I'd say she's somewhere from the south."

His brother was right; she definitely looked different from the girls and women Indra saw day in and day out, walking the streets of their land. The purple color of her hair was clearly distinguishable from all the blacks and browns that passed by, the intensity he felt when his eyes met her cold azure ones was something he had never experienced before when looking into those of other women. He did not even get the same sensation when looking into a pair of beautiful emerald irises that belonged to his own wife.

It was a different sort of sensation Indra felt when his crimson sharingan had roamed the stranger's delicately graceful frame; it was the kind of intensity a hungry wolf would stare down a trembling deer with. The man's desire to touch her skin grew larger with every inch his avid stare had consumed of her body, seemingly piercing through the semitransparent fabric of her dress as he had observed her sleeping form. Yes, she indeed was a foreigner, probably coming from a land far away, unknown to both Indra and Ashura, but it was her foreignness that made her all the more enticing.

She wasn't able to reveal much of herself after Indra had unlocked the genjutsu, mostly because she still had been too confused to talk properly and even more confused to think clearly. The Otsutsuki possessed exorbitant eye prowess which allowed him to cast powerful genjutsus on others; recovering from those took an average person up to a week. Indra was therefore mildly thrilled that she was able to utter two or three coherent sentences after waking from the comatose state he had put her in. She seemed to be - much to his liking - no ordinary woman.

For this particular reason Indra imagined her to be of royal blood. The way she was dressed only reinforced his impression; her clothing wasn't the finest texture for his standards, but the silky fabric was still too expensive for a woman of low birth to afford. However, what bothered Indra was the fact that her dress was too revealing for a noble woman, showing off way too much skin. Her robe was a long gown with a deep v neckline and leg split on one side. The cream-colored satin was draped and looked like it was wrapped around her body. A wide golden metallic belt graced her small waist and from her wrists dangled many golden bangles and bracelets. Her ears sported big golden hoop earrings, too. She sure looked like a foreigner with all those excessive jewelry and unusual type of gown, making the raven-haired man wonder from which curious place she originated.

"She might be." Indra replied. "All the noble woman in her country might be dressed and have their faces painted in the same way. The maroon color of her lips and her eyes rimmed with black liner could be a sign of nobility." Indra mused. "But I guess we won't find out unless she is able to talk." he told his younger brother, who was sitting cross-legged on the opposite side of the small Japanese table, eating rice out of a bowl.

"She better will be soon." Ashura said in between chewing and swallowing. "Father wants to know how she actually knows ninjutsu when it is actually your invention, brother. He assumes that you have met her before."

"I haven't." the crimson-eyed male declared, flashing his sharingan at his brother. "Father has been very suspicious of me lately, hasn't he?" Indra sneered. "It's because my beliefs differ greatly from his. But he needs to understand and accept the fact I don't share his ideology."

The younger man felt his heart sink a little at his brother's words. Ashura had noticed how his brother had changed over the years, too. Indra once was a carefree and loving elder brother, who was very protective of Ashura when they were children but as time had passed, he became more distant, colder; at times even callous towards the ones that just as much as tried to oppose him. The fact his brother had become a different person concerned Ashura just as much as it did their father but unlike him, the youngest Otsutsuki tried his best to ignore it.

"No, I don't think he is suspicious of you." Ashura lied. "I think it's the woman – Mania, if I am not mistaken – and her knowledge of ninjutsu. Don't worry too much about father." the brown-haired male said with a wave of his hand.

Indra rose to his feet. "Whatever." he said as her turned to leave. "If he wishes to talk to her, he shall see her."

"Wait, brother, where are you going?" Ashura exclaimed.

"See her." Indra said plainly as he left the room.

.

Mania's head hurt as she woke up a second time. It was similar to the kind of throbbing pain she used to have from drinking too much wine. But she couldn't remember drinking herself into oblivion last night. All she could remember though were a pair of piercing red eyes looking down on her, returning her amazed stare and causing her body to shiver with a mixture of fear and awe. Despite the blurriness that still clouded her memory she could recall the features of the owner's face; a defined jawline, prominent cheekbones and a perfectly straight nose. The blue, thick eyeliner under his waterline clashed with the crimson color of his irises, intensifying the dazzling impact his eyes had on her. Everything except the man's handsome face was still a blur, though.

Mania sat up and looked around the small room she found herself in. Judging by the room's furnishings she assumed it might be a guest chamber with an adjacent bathroom owned by someone quite well-off. The wooden sideboard looked expensive, just like the ornamented carpet lying on the parquet floor. The fabric of the blanket she was covered with seemed to be made from a very valuable texture, too. But she still had no clue where she was.

Her azure eyes scanned the room for further things that might give her a hint in which village she had ended up when she suddenly spotted the Hannya mask she had worn, lying on the sideboard. It all returned to her memory in an instant. She had been ordered by her clan's leader to spy on - rather than assassinate - the Otsutsuki brothers but apparently hadn't succeeded in doing so.

Mania ran one hand through her long hair, considering the circumstances; she had failed to carry out her mission, had been defeated by her target, had blacked out and was then, with all certainty, brought to the village of Ninshu. The woman took a deep breath, trying to calm herself before panic could take over control. What was she supposed to do now that she was alone in the enemy's territory? She didn't know yet, but she had to come up with something soon.