Blockbreaker 1 - Mannequin

Sakura Haruno wasn't sure about what she'd been told to do. The kunochi knew her mission, but wasn't sure it could be called that. What she didn't know was why she was being sent alone. Well, she did actually. Her idiot teammates had all been injured a few days ago.

She had been told to try and track down a few missing people. They'd all vanished around a store in this town, so the obvious place to start was there, even if it was heading into the evening already when she arrived.

It was better than doing nothing, she figured. But she wasn't sure what she could do. She'd got to the store, and that was it. Nothing out of the ordinary around. Just a handful of shoppers milling around, outnumbered by the mannequins and staff.

"Why did I even bother coming here. It's not like I'd see them just standing there..." She sighed, looking at a handful of mannequins dressed in various swimsuits.

She had figured it was time to leave when she remembered something. She'd been told that the missing people were three women and a man. The women were all black-haired, the male was blond.  The four mannequins were three black-haired females, wearing a one-piece, a sports bikini, and a regular bikini and sarong. The male was just wearing boardshorts.

'It's just a coincidence. But that sarong set is nice...' She thought to herself, then noticed the way they were laid out. The male mannequin was central, the three females flanked him, but on his right there was still a large space. Another mannequin should have been there.

"Can I help you?" A woman said, wearing the uniform of the shop's staff. Sakura turned to answer.

"Uh, no thanks. I was just looking." Sakura replied, not actually lying. The Assistant  followed her gaze.

"The new summer range. Nice to look at, but if you ask me, nicer to be looked at in. Especially with a figure like yours."

Sakura would normally have taken the compliment without any worries or hesitation, but a nagging worry meant she stumbled over her reply.

"Um, well, thank you."

Luckily, the Assistant  took it as embarrassment rather than as any sign of worry, and ignored it.

"Would you like to try something on?" She asked. Sakura shook her head.

"No, thanks. It's kind of late and I've had a long day."

Sakura's gaze went back to the empty spot, and she suddenly felt like asking.

"Why is there a gap in the display? Did you sell out of whatever was there?"

The Assistant smiled.

"Oh, no. We're just a little understocked on the display figures. You see, we make each display with a custom  figure, the perfect one for each item. We're quite particular, and the one we had just didn't match what the store wanted to display."

"Oh, right, I get it." Sakura said, not getting it at all. Surely you just put the clothes on a dummy and that was it?.

"Well, if you need any help, don't hesitate to ask me or a colleague." The Assistant said, bidding goodbye and wandering off.

Sakura figured that was her cue to leave too.

***

Breaking in was a simple enough task for her, even if Sakura didn't quite know why she was doing it. Something seemed off about the store. She wanted to be able to take a better look.

'No security or night watchman... Good.' She thought to herself, but moved silently towards the Summer display. There was still the odd empty gap, and the four figures stood as silently as the Kunochi moved.

It was why the noise was all the louder.

Sakura wheeled round, having heard the faint sound of something moving in the silent darkness. She saw nothing moving, but carefully edged to hide behind a rack of clothes.

'Nothing out there. Just something moving on a shelf? Mice or something.'

She was about to creep out of her cover when a cold hand landed on her shoulder. She suppressed the instinctive urge to scream that welled up, burying it below experience and training to try and move to throw whoever had grabbed her away...

...And found she was immobile. The hand pulled up, making her stand straight. She felt herself shift as whoever had grabbed and paralyzed her swung her under his or her arm.

'What is this?!' She panicked. She had no idea what technique was being used against her, but her skin felt tight and stiff now. Whoever carried her marched on, and Sakura found even her eyes and throat were paralyzed.

'Wait... I'm not even breathing. I can't hear my heartbeat...'  She realised. Shock descended upon her at these realisations. What was this attacker doing to her? Was she dead?

Then she saw a mirror. A faint sliver of moonlight from a window illuminated her and her attacker, her frozen eyes getting a quick vision of what was happening.

The thing carrying her was a mannequin. The boardshorts figure from the display. The waxy-shine skin of the plastic creature shone in the light.

So did Sakura's.

'It's turning me into plastic? He was one of the missing people!'

She felt her frozen and stiff body wheel in the air and be set down. Boardshorts began twisting her arms into a better pose, not too gently, but Sakura only felt the changes numbly as she was reposed. Staring forth with now-glassy eyes, Sakura saw two more mobile mannequins, permanent grins and blank glossy eyes facing her impassively as they advanced. One held a pair of scissors in surprisingly mobile plastic fingers. The other held a large sheet of plastic wrapping material.

All Sakura could do was watch...

***

As the first workers came to open the store, a Manager and an Assistant worker, they found a welcome surprise.

"Ah, they've delivered again." The Manager said, upon seeing the cocoon of protective bubble wrap.

The Assistant helped him remove it, and get the mannequin out of the wrapping.

"Hm, looks like the one for the last spot in the Summer display…" The Assistant said, thinking the blank-eyed plastic figure looked somehow familiar.

"Yes, it is. You get it dressed up, I'll unwrap this other one myself. I think it's for the wedding display," The Manager said, pulling a second bubble-wrapped figure up from the ground.

The pink hair of the mannequin was visible through it, and The Assistant looked to her manager, puzzled.

"But... We don't have a groom yet."

"I'm sure it'll arrive soon enough. They deliver fast for a custom mannequin company," The Manager mused.

"Maybe we should leave that one until we do have a groom mannequin though..."

The Manager nodded.

"I suppose so. Well, I can help you out then," he said, walking away and leaving the pink-haired bridal figure wrapped up, awaiting its groom.