Fandom Naruto: Last of the Fallen Blossoms

[Phayne]

Team Yukari

Enkai Kaji

Mokunoha

Whispering Puppets - Dining Roomt

Remaining seated and in reserve, Enkai's eyes would subconciously begin to wander to the surrounding interior of the dining room; haphazardly looking for any signs of something amiss whilst still listening in on the exchange between Koyome and Mr Ouzen. It was evident that Enkai was the 'odd' one out among them, givenhis interest in this particular hobby and art form waned in comparison to the aforementioned duo. Unlike Koyome and their client; Mr Ouzen, Enkai didn't really have too much of an interest in the deeper intricacies of puppetry; weaponized or not. This fact confirmed as he affirmed his positive impression of the Koyome, though his following admission of Yue being the sole member of staff on the premise did pose some concern for Enkai. Naturally, it would point to Yue as being a prime suspect, given she had now been confirmed to be the sole other party living within the property; of course that didn't rule out a 3rd party presence.

Like many who didn't understand the time and effort required to excel at mastering puppets, Enkai's interest in them were largely aesthetic. Yes, they looked amazing and where highly effective in combat, but beyond that Enkai simply didn't have that deeper emotional attachment to them; not like those that sought to perfect the craft. This didn't mean he had no interest. He was simply another 'audience' member that admired from the outside; lacking the actual skill set needed for puppet mastery. Though, if Enkai was being honest, he still wasn't sold on the idea that 'everything' the man claimed to be a puppet, would actually qualify under the strict definition.

Any further thought towards this internal debate would be halted as the chorus of bells reverberated from down the hallway; Enkai's brows furrowing as he instinctively thought of Akari's little adventure; a casual side eye towards the corridor spared as he considered the implications of what this sudden chorus meant. Given their lack of a plan prior and Akari's decision to wander off, the sudden sound of bells could have indicated that Akari herself had gotten caught in some kind of trap. Though considering the surprised and tensed reaction of the missions benefactor, it was highly unlikely that he had prior knowledge to the bells being set up.

A small glance towards Yue would hint towards Enkai's present thoughts. Given how she was the only other 'known' person of interest thus far, it was possible that this former kunoichi had set up the alarm without Mr Ouzen's consent; further implicating her as a suspect. If her intentions were good, then there would have been no need to hide the fact from her Boss; thus if she were the reason for these bells then there was the possibility that Akari needed their aid.

Fidgeting slightly in his seat, Enkai glanced at Koyome and quickly took note of her lack of reaction. Given what he knew about her from their time in the same squad, Enkai trusted her mysterious perception skills to the fullest and given how there was no apparent reaction towards what could have been their teammate being in trouble, Enkai had to trust that the danger wasn't that serious yet. He couldn't count how many times her perception skills had come clutch during their previous missions. That being said, a niggling concern did teether itself to the back of Enkai's mind.

There was still the potential threat of Yue's presence . If she were the culprit, then anything they said or did right now may have worked against them. Despite her facial expressions remaining unchanged, her explanation that it was her clone doing some spring cleaning with bells hadn't convinced Enkai, rather it just made her seem even more suspicious. It was clearly not an 'everyday' thing, to clean with bells given how Ouzen had reacted.

Taking Koyome's lead to remain in the dining room, his attention would subtly be drawn back towards Mr Ouzen; though expectations as to what these 'fragments' were would unfortunately not meet with reality. Enkai almost had to force his facial muscles to remain as neutral as possible; the desire to look at the man with 'amazement' being almost unbearable. Though this isn't to say he was amazed at the fact gathering ability of the man, rather he was amazed at how silly some of these claims were.

Suppressing a sigh, the following revelations s would do little to support the idea of a 3rd party involvement, rather given how outlandish some of the 'fragments of evidence' turned out; it had instead pointed towards another plausible scenario. An exasperated sigh would escape Enkai's mouth, as he avoided eye contact with the man. Remaining silent so as to not cause a potential problem, Enkai couldn't deny that he was leaning more towards the idea that their client was simply a senile old man.

Lord knew Enkai had had enough of senile old men... the vast majority of his experiences with their kind being the old foggies that came to the Azure Dragon Store. While they were valued customers and regulars, there were a handful of them that had instead proven to be a unique training method towards developing 'patience'. Enkai could not count how many times he had almost lost his patience with these customers; old men coming into the store and forgetting what they needed. Old men hitting on his mom. Worse yet... in his youthful naivety, he had somehow ended up in a game of Shogi with one of them; the young man taking over his father's pieces as the man went to attend to urgent business.

While he enjoyed a game or two of Shogi, that single experience with Old Man Yamagushi had proven to be a traumatizing event for a younger Enkai. Not only was the man slow in deciding what piece to move...even forgetting that it was his turn on a few occasions, Old Man Yamagushi had even forgotten that he had already told Enkai the same story three times... THREE TIMES. ON THE SAME DAY. TWICE DURING THE SAME TURN.

Enkai had no interest in the love affair of Old Man Yamagushi's eldest daughter.... a promiscuous vixen if his descriptions and story telling were to be believed. In reality, she simply sounded more like a woman in her 40's that preyed on younger men. If this was somehow meant to be a warning to Enkai at the time, - a young bachelor hitting the double digit age club- then Old Man Yamagushi's daughter was really someone to be feared. God forbid his daughter visited the village.

Shivering at the moment of nostalgia and returning to the present; a furrowed brow had appeared across his forehead.

Three weeks of mysterious occurrences according to the mission brief, yet the only 'evidence' their client had that something was amiss were some missing apples and painkillers as well as parted grass and his puppet slightly out of position. 'hang on..' thought Enkai to himself as he ran these 'fragments' through his mind again; noticing the number three appearing several times. Three weeks, three missing apples and three painkillers missing. Though the significance of this could simply boil down to being nothing more than a coincidence.

Having gone on a wee little tangent of thought, Enkai had almost missed Koyome's conclusion to their interrogation; voicing their next plan of action to the client, before turning to him. "That sound's like a plan" replied Enkai, standing up and turning to glance at Mr Ouzen and Yue, before focusing his attention towards Mr Ouzen. Maintaining a 'professional on the job tone', Enkai would clear his throat once before speaking up.

"Ouzen-San, I hope you don't mind, but as part of our investigation into your case; I will be utilizing a steam based Jutsu within the property. Given your attachment to your vast collection of puppets, I must assure you that no damage will come to them" he paused and glanced slightly towards Yue. "The jutsu will simply help reveal any fingerprints or footprints that may be invisible to the naked eye. So if there really is a junkie stealing your pills, then it should display a pair of footprints that do not belong" he continued, lying intentionally to their clients. "While finding the culprit is our mission, I can assure you that we will take utmost care to ensure your property remains in-tact" he added, bowing slightly, before turning around to leave the dining room; though he did stop. "Of course, for this to work efficiently it would be best if both you and Mrs Yue as well as any clones remained in one room. Of course, this is on order to better protect your puppets," he intentionally put more emphasis on the word puppets "it would be best if we found the suspect as quickly as possible... and any additional new footprints or fingerprints could tamper with the results of my jutsu" Enkai paused, a whimsical thought fluttering through his head as he remembered the 'fragments' Ouzen had mentioned. "The faster we get this done... the safer your puppets, apples and medication" added Enkai, before turning and leaving the room.

Whilst this made up jutsu itself did sound useful, his steam based jutsu had no such ability. Rather, outside of being an effective smokescreen, he could detect anyone with a chakra nature that was caught within its gaseous body. If Yue was really a suspect, then she may attempt to hide any fingerprints or footprints in area's that they shouldn't be, in addition she may not suspect the sensory properties should she enter the smokescreen; thus giving Enkai info on her present movements.

"Koyome-San, just say the word and I will get my jutsu set up" spoke Enkai as they went in search for the missing Akari.

Ganryu Spoiled Bread AtlannianSpy

Code by Serobliss

 

[Blitzkrieg Bob]

Daisuke crossed the gates of the Minamoto Quarters N.° 3 in the downtown of the city, he turned back to see it once more, a large building that seemed a military school, but with its high and sturdy exterior walls reminded to a prison, Daisuke had came accustomed to places like this, most young members of the Minamoto clan spent their childhood and adolescence in places like this, living in a house surrounded by a family was a privilege granted only to those blessed with outstanding talent or a noble birth. Their training was not less harsh, though. He had taken the first steps out of such a building with a paper with instructions to meet a new squad and a small picture of his squad leader.

“Toyotomi Nadeshiko, huh, she seems kinda like …”.

A couple of kids came from inside interrupting his thoughts, both kids carried a bag of letters and packages, judging by an armband they carried Daisuke identified they were assigned to deliver mail inside the quarter because even the smallest Mimamoto cadets had to learn to fulfill responsibilities and the grim consequences of not doing so. Daisuke saw the letter and the small package, none has signature or sender, merely signed with the hiragana “sa” (さ) on it, Daisuke grunted imaging who had sent the letter why she didn’t mind to put her name on it, he told the kids to get inside the quarters before an officer punish them by crossing the gates without authorisation and without opening the letter or the small package, instead throwing them inside his backpack.

Daisuke walked by the city streets feeling the thin cape of snow under his feet, this snow seemed harmless and almost friendly, very different to the snow in the unforgiving frozen grinder where you could lose a finger to frostbite, but his attention then focused on the opposite side of the street where a girl ran with a toast on her mouth, Daisuke smiled a little but desired not to get in a mission with that girl in the near future. Nevertheless as he reached the guest house he noticed a girl lying on the floor with her head under her pack and a mess of arrows around her, Daisuke walked aside as this girl obstructed the way. Wearing the black boots, pants and military jacket, his backpack and his sword at his back, as well as the red armband that was the de facto Minamoto uniform for Mokunohas, standing firm he did a military salute to Nadeshiko.

“Minamoto Daisuke, Mokunoha reporting for duty”.

AtlannianSpy Nilionis Ganryu

 

[Phayne]

Team Yukari

Enkai Kaji

Mokunoha

Chaos & Control - Jomei's Request

"Not bad" mumbled Enkai as he watched the lone wolf Itto transform into the very visage that was Ishii; the disguise worthy enough to fool even the most perceptive of individuals. "Seem's like we have our roles then, all that is left is to carry out the plan..." he paused, glancing between Ringo and Itto, "... without causing too much damage for the residents here..." he added, pressing both hands against his knees as he forced himself upwards, neck tilting to one side as he cracked it once, then twice. 'Blue boy...' Enkai's eyes would widen so slightly in amazement as he turned to face Ringo. Dumbstruck ever so slightly as he pondered whether she was intentionally doing this or it was simply her nature to be so blunt.. and rooooood.

Flustered slightly, he would listen in as she spoke to Jomei. While it wasn't the most professional manner to converse in; he saw little reward in making a comment to that fact and simply walked closer to the table; glancing down at the pieces once more as he reaffirmed the plan in his head.

"Itto, Ringo. If I may make one alteration to the plan" he spoke up, finger pressing down on the spot that marked the abandoned factory. "I will be able to conjure up a fog like mist with my jutsu. While it will affect sight slightly, it will enable me to detect any unfamiliar chakra presence within the covered area. While I hope Jomei-san will be able to evacuate any residents... there may be a few that might be overlooked." he glanced at Jomei, then back towards Itto and Ringo.

"Additionally, I will be able to set up some traps within the mist... should some of Yugoro's lackeys decide to join the party" he added, eyes now shifting down towards the weapons his fellow samurai carried. "Unlike the pair of you, I am not as adept at close range combat..." he paused and raised a hand as if to stop either of them making a comment. "... yes.. I know.. a Samurai that doesn't excel at close quarters combat... " he sighed. "That being said... I will be the eyes in the back of your heads... so rest assured, feel free to go all out against that scumbag..." he paused again, placing a hand to the back of his head as he offered a smile. "I've got both your backs covered.." he finished.

Ganryu Spoiled Bread Haze-

Code by Serobliss

 

[Nilionis]

Hokori Campsite, Wakahirume

Earlier that Day…​

A true kingdom of the slums. At least… that’s how most member’s of the Hokori clan felt about their current situation. As of late, their home had consisted of about a dozen large, finely crafted tents that encircled a particularly wide bonfire. The entire site was enclosed in a hastily made, but relatively sturdy, wooden fence that stood about six feet off the ground. While that was all rather impressive for a mere campsite, the Hokori already had bigger plans in the works.

Just behind the clans temporary domain sat the foundation’s of a mansion that was wider than the entire camp. While the walls hadn’t been constructed yet, the few support beams that had been established signified the structure would be at least three stories tall. A wood and clay fortress would be far more befitting of a clan with such notoriety.
And this was only the first step. The Hokori would prove their resilience and overcome those who tried to put a hindrance on their legacy…

But that was a story for another day. Today? The youngest warrior of the Hokori clan was setting out to join a rookie squad in the Land of Iron. But in doing so, the young man’s parents would be forced to part with their boy for this first time since his birth.

“Well… this is it.” Niko’s father, Ojiro, gave his son a small smile and a firm pat on the shoulders. The boy was barely in his teens and already nearly as tall as his old man. But this was to be expected as Hokori genetics were a powerful thing; almost completely overtaking any offspring who possessed them.
The pair made a great example as Ojiro had tanned skin and dark, curly hair while Niko possessed the same pale hair and fair skin as the rest of his clan. It would be fair for one to assume they had no relation to one another.

“And you’re sure you wanna do this? These people don’t know us. You won’t be able to get the same type of training you’d get here.” Niko’s mom, Shinu, interjected. Her expression a mix of worry and hope- hope that she would still be able to make her son reconsider. Her dark-amber eyes trailed across the boy. To a certain degree, he was battle-ready… but he lacked in experience. Experience Shinu had planned to provide.

“I know protocol, Mom. The Hokori are at war with an unknown enemy and some of our clansmen were already captured. The family needs you two for battle-preparation and I can get a ton of field experience this way.” Niko, who had no intention of sticking around, tried to reassure his mother with a quick hug.
While it was true that the sandy-haired boy didn’t wanna be a burden during such trying times… he couldn’t deny that he was excited he’d finally have a chance to venture out on his own. He’d never tell his mother know that, as it was uncommon for Hokori to stray too far from the main household… but now hed never have to worry about telling her.

“I stand by Niko’s choice. A decision like that takes a whole lot of initiative and consideration to reach. I’m proud of you, bud.” Ojiro chimed back in while wrapping an arm around Shinu.
Both of the boys continued to grin at the women, slowly leaning in closer and closer to her while doing so. It was two against one and she knew it.

“Just… make sure you come home between every assignment. I don’t want you missing for months at a time.” Defeated, Shinu realized the only thing she could do was trust her son’s judgement. She took a moment to caress the side of her boys face before pulling back into her husbands arms.

“I shouldn’t be gone too long. And maybe I’ll be back with a decent story or two! Might finally have a chance to teach the elders about something for once! See you!!” The young Hokori’s words slowly grew into a shout as he began his jog away from the campsite. He gave his folks one more wave before disappearing into the treeline… if he was lucky, he’d manage to reach his new squads meeting point on time.

“I really don’t feel good about this…” Shinu muttered, staring intently at the spot where she’d last seen her son.

“Hey… what’s gotten into you? You’re not usually the emotional type. I’m sure he’ll be fine, he’s a powerful kid. He’s not gonna get hurt.”

“What? You think this is all because I’m worried about him getting hurt? I’m worried that they’re not gonna train the boy right. What if he gets some half-baked ninja as a squad captain? That boy needs to be pushed, not some cakewalk training session!” As Shinu finished, she pulled away from Ojiro and marched back inside the gates. She seemed almost offended that the man thought she was concern about her sons safety.

“You’re worried it’s not gonna be hard enough?! I swear… you Hokori are a different breed…”

——————

Niko’s journey to Team Nadeshiko’s meeting point was rather fast seeing as the young man kept a decent pace high in the tree-line. Years of combat training had led to him constantly avoiding things like snow and mud. Leaving a trail of tracks that could be followed would only make his mind wander and put him on edge. He needed to be focused for what was to come.

“There it is…” Finally coming up on the small guest house he believed to be the meeting point, Niko opted to avoid making a large entrance as he was almost certain he was at least a minute or two late.
Upon wading through the doorway, he came to find that essentially everyone had already showed up. Though much to his gratitude, it appeared they had all only just arrived, themselves.
Again, rather than drawing any unneeded attention to himself, the Hokori-Nin simply stood off to the side and waited for the women he presumed to be his squad captain to speak up.

“Time to see if I hate you all…”

Ganryu Blitzkrieg Bob AtlannianSpy

 

[InsaneAsylum]

Izanami Kutsuki
Search for the Four Tail’s Fang

A beam of excitement radiated off Izanami’s face when the man returned with their to-go meals. She had thought asking for one bowl was a bit of a stretch, but he got them meals to last!

“Thanks a ton!”

She was half tempted to start tearing into her food now, but her teammates were rearing to get going. Shoving a piece of bread into her mouth, Izanami hurried after her comrades through the gate.

—————

Once at the cave entrance, Izanami had been crafting a mental picture of how she’s go about eating deathly spicy curry. She thought perhaps she could drink a glass of milk after each bite. However, milk and curry wasn’t a favorite combination of Izzy’s…

Her thoughts were interrupted by her teammates asking the guards some questions. Deciding to let them handle the questioning, Izzy examined the cave entrance. As she did so she scratched her head. Satisfying a reoccurring itch on the top of her head.

AtlannianSpy godjacob KageYuuki

 

[IG42]

Yusuke Satomi - Fear of the Dark
Sitting stiffly upright in his seat Yusuke tried to keep his gaze from wandering or worse staring directly at the Taisho making the short wait stretch forever. Being summoned by the samurai commander in chief had his brain going a mile a minute trying to think what he had done to deserve this, Roku had admonished him for his inaction in the recent battle but surely that didn't warrant personal condemnation from the Taisho himself right?

Hearing the doors behind him open Yusuke turned to look thankful for something else to focus his attention on, he remembered seeing Yanma shortly after the battle but not when everyone had assembled for their team assignments or the Haganenoha that had preceded him at the time for that matter. Turning back to the Taisho as the other boy sat he wondered with a little less panic what a man of such authority and extraordinary ability, who proceeded to burn his tongue like a hasty child, could want with them.

Taking a more cautious sip from his own cup his grip tightened as the Taisho mentioned an all too familiar name, staring into his tea he scarcely noticed the burning feeling in his hand until the paper caught his eye. "Understood. No questions." He responded flatly as he took the paper, bowing stiffly he turned and walked out not breaking stride or looking anywhere except straight ahead until he passed under the outermost of the torii gates, only then did he pause to look back for his temporary teammate.

Ganryu ZackStop

 

[Spoiled Bread]

WHISPERING PUPPETS
Location : Gallery

"Maitantei Mateo is, at best, an educational demonstration of how to use obscure science knowledge to kill people. The individual case is pretty interesting I guess, but the overall plot is just silly." The maid unabashedly criticize her master's work while standing upside down dusting the yarn dragon hanging on the ceiling, she then perform a quick hand seal before gushing a moderate stream of wind from her mouth to thoroughly clean the dragon.

"Ah, let me deal with the more complicated ones. A bit of dust left and he would scream at me for days." The maid walked through the room and pointed at the diorama. "Feel free to clean the wax ones and the skeletons over there."

Ganryu

Location : Dining Room

After his long rambles Mr. Ouzen seemed to be in a much better mood. He looks calmer and more attentive to what the mokunohas were saying. A gleam briefly crossed his eyes when Enkai suggested them collecting fingerprints.

"Ha, good ol' detective work. Sounds like a good idea. I really want to see what the academy teach the youngsters these days. Go on, Yue, withdraw all your clones over here." He sounds enthusiastic about the whole plan.

The maid didn't seemed to be too entertained but nodded to Ouzen's order. She put two of her finger on her forehead for a few seconds, and then continued sipping her tea. Not long after two identical Yue figures appeared. One from the kitchen and one from the corridor.

"I still haven't finished cooking dinners, but I guess this is a good excuse for a break." Said the clones with oil spills on her apron before she poured some tea for herself and sat on one of the seat.

"I failed to see how steam release can be used to collect fingerprints, but I do want some tea." Said the clones with paint stains on her apron as she poured some tea for herself and sat on one of the seat.

AtlannianSpy Phayne

 

[Ganryu]

Chaos && Control

As the transformations smoke began to clear, a sudden crash echoed in the room as Jomei fell out of his seat, his chair shattering on the ground. Ragged breathes dripped down the walls, he instinctively backed away, his hand reflexively tightening until his knuckles turned white against his police Jutte. He crawled backwards as his eyes widened. All the while the stuttering lightbulb in the room flickered faster and faster in a cresendo, before suddenly exploding in a shower of sparks. For the moment, the room bathed in darkness, before Jomei opened the door, clutching his chest, his eyes unwilling to leave the 'Isshi' in front of him, but he caught his breath.

"It... is a detailed transformation. You even have details... not in the picture." Jomei said with narrowed eyes, before finally breaking eye contact and shaking his head.

"Very well, I'll go clear the factory, and lead captain Yuguro towards it... and the rest of his lackeys away. I'll pull as many of them away as I can, but, well, if Eki shows up, he's got a scar running down his lip dead center of his chin. If he shows up, be careful. He's like a faithful hound, but his bite's real. He actually managed to graze Isshi when we jumped him. Not... not that helped any. It got him awarded a kick into the ceiling, he was hanging like a ceiling fan for about an hour."

Jomei shook his head, still glancing cautiously at Itto.

=============================
Clearing the factory turned out to be not that difficult a task. While a few people had been staying there while they awaited more permanent housing, the moment they saw the three Mokunoha, and a Chūseigumi, they quickly cleared out, taking bed rolls and food with them. Many of them slinked away even before being asked, grumbling to themselves as they did so.

Jomei nodded to the bunch. "The factory was a good idea. I'll go alert the captain."

He ran off down the district. "Hey, Captain! I think I've spotted Isshi!"

A roar of excitement came. Then a bit of panicking, before a sudden 'THWACK' echoed, the sound of a fist crunching against a body, and said body crumbling following. Chaos followed, with the statement "What did you do that for!?" as chaos started among the Chūseigumi outside. It seemed Jomei had panicked and opted for "Straight punch in the face".

However, despite the violence, footsteps could be heard approaching.

"I don't care what's wrong with Jomei, a shred of a clue is good enough for me... The rest of the men can handle his insubordination." Sounded as a large 'scrrrrrreeech' echoed, the front door to the factory being tugged at with some effort.

 

[Ganryu]

Akari Tone - Whispering Puppets

Wait? She's answering? Go with it.

Akari gulped, before suddenly springing up with an unside down crunch, and cut her leg free of the wire, falling gracefully and landing on three points between her legs and non wielding hand. She was glad she didn't bring her bow, recollecting her arrows would be a hassle.

But if she didn't have her bow... why was an archer here...?

Shaking off the meloncholy, Akari continued to dust, and built up courage.

"How... would you fix the plotline issues...?"

Nailed it.

As Akari bent down to dust among various skeletons and an artistic rendition, she noticed a skull the size of herself, opened widel like a maw into hell. The throat was really realistic. It almost seemed to actually descend in a hole out of the room...? Curiously, Akari bent over it, looking down into the darkness. There was no way that was illusory 3D... As an artist, Akari would envy that, and reached down to check, before getting her answer in the form of a shoe pressed squarely in the groove of her back. Losing her balance... and hunter's knife, Akari found herself suddenly falling INTO the jaws of art.

Behind her, a crunch sounded as the entire tunnel went black, only a few beams of light visible between interlocking teeth as the maw shut behind her, trapping her inside. Akari probably would have fallen all the way to the bottom if not for one of Roku's lessons she'd had before becoming a samurai. He had refused to show her how her father did his double jump, until after she'd learned tree climbing. She hated ninjutsu in all it's forms... but as she stared clinging to the side of the wall staring down the abyss, she had to admit it was coming in handy now. And she almost hated that more than as if she'd fallen all the way to the bottom of the shaft.

Infact... Akari DID hate it more than falling all the way to the bottom of the shaft, a sudden wind rushing past her as she unadhered to the wall letting herself plummet rather than rely on ninjutsu. Akari, was, in fact, that stubborn.

Why was the maid trying to get rid of her...? Probably better to let the maid think she'd succeeded anyways. She had been a ninja, if she found Akari right at the entrance... it'd probably just be a fireball to the face.

I, too, am finding myself with problems with Maitantei Mateo's plotline...

 

[AtlannianSpy]

Team Nadeshiko

Nadeshiko sighed delicately and stood up, walking over to where Akari had fallen and hoisting her up by her backpack effortlessly.

"It's good to be on time Akari chan, but perhaps you should start your mornings a little bit earlier instead of having to rush? If you're having trouble getting to sleep the night before than warm milk or chamomile tea can be helpful,"

With that Nadeshiko cast an appraising look over towards her two newest students. "Daisuke Kun, Niko Kun, perhaps you'd like to help your teammate pick up her things?" Left unspoken was a gentle hint that perhaps they should have done that already. "After we've all done that together everyone can introduce themselves and we can be on our way!"

Nadeshiko lead by example, bending down to pick up some of the nearest of Akari's oversized arrows and handing them back to her. There was no hurry though, so the arrows that had rolled over to where Daisuke and Niko she left for the boys to handle, content to smile and wait patiently until the work had been done collaboratively.

...

When Akari's arrows had all been put away neatly Nadeshiko clapped her hands together with an approving smile.

"Now then! As you all probably know, I am the Haganenoha Nadeshiko Toyotomi, your instructor for the time being. I specialize in taijutsu and in particular, the use of the naginata but I'm conversant enough in several other disciplines to either instruct you or to direct you towards a more specialised source of knowledge. I am very excited to meet you two boys and to help all three of you along on your journeys. My hobby is gardening,"

Nadeshiko smiled expectantly at the three mokunoha. "Now, who would like to introduce themselves first?"

Blitzkrieg Bob Nilionis Ganryu

 

[AtlannianSpy]

Koyome Omozukai- Whispering Puppets
Well now, that's not suspicious at all Koyome mused, observing Akari through the walls with her byakugan as her teammate was pushed into the giant maw of a skeleton by the slippered foot of the maid. It was hard to follow Akari's progress all the way down through that many layers, but it appeared there was some kind of shaft that lead underneath the house. The nerve of that woman, to try and get rid of my vic- teammate. Koyome thought. But how to proceed now. Should I use the steam cover to try and link up with Akari? If the maid expects something down there to deal with her then she might need backup. On the other hand if I go down there I might just die horribly along with her. Pass.

Perhaps it was time to force the issue.

"Why don't we begin here?" Koyome said, nodding to Enkai. When her teammate did deploy his team cover Koyome made her move: she withdrew two handfuls of senbon and infused them with her chakra so that they would strike with the force of a gentle fist blow, then she threw them at the maid's clones, hoping to destroy them outright to level the playinng field. At the same time Koyome activated a snake like puppet coiled up in one of her pouches and steered it to take up a position separating the old man from the maid. Shoji, the puppet, projected a barrier along its side that would protect the old man from harm if things devolved into a fight. Koyome's final move was to stand up and move quickly over to the maid to try and threaten her with a kunai against the throat.

"Apologies, but before we proceed I would have you explain why you pushed our teammate down a hidden shaft in the gallery," Koyome said before the steam had even cleared, her voice sickly sweet. "I'm sure its all just a misunderstanding but you understand why that might appear suspicious to us,"

Spoiled Bread Phayne Ganryu

 

[KageYuuki]

Search for the Four Tails' Fang
"Mmmm, peppers huh?" The man scratched the back of his head with a sigh. "Then you're not a survey team, damn." He spared a quick glance at the brand on Kurago's arm and gave a slight nod. He reached for his resting weapon, gripping the naginata in a way that would be hard to swing it if he intended to attack them. Koyome's byakugan would be able to see the shimmering, prismatic brand on his weapon's blade long before he slid the sheath off enough to show it to the small team. He returned his weapon to its resting place and stretched. "They were supposed to be sending a haganenoha out here a few days ago to scout and map everything out, some former ninja I think. Guess they pulled her for some other mission or something." He let out a frustrated sigh, "Can't be helped I guess with the Cloud breathing down our necks all the time. Name's Sanosuke, by the way."

Sanosuke added a few more pieces of wood to his small fire, embers scattering through the air with a pop. "Haven't really explored all that much since I'm stuck on guard duty, but can't say I've seen any peppers. Lots of mushrooms though. Wish I could actually go check it out, a lot warmer in there than out here. Spring's almost here my ass." He crossed his arms in front of his chest, tucking his hands in his sleeves to try and keep warm. "Uh, what else . . . some weird glowing mushrooms so it's not pitch black like you'd expect, still gonna want lights. You're, uh, not scared of bugs, right? Heard there's some big ones down there."

As Izanami wandered further inside the cave, the air started to grow warmer and more humid as the outside light retreated. Even from here, the paths began to branch and spread out with no indication of which was the right way to go. Without a map or perhaps some kind of sensory technique, they could easily wander for days without finding their quarry. Or their way back out. A few beetles wandered past Izanami's boots, pausing briefly to seemingly investigate before continuing on their way and disappearing into the inky dark.


AtlannianSpy godjacob InsaneAsylum

 

[Phayne]

Team Yukari

Enkai Kaji

Mokunoha

Whispering Puppets - Dining Roomt

Enkai's eyes would dance between the two clones; a solitary blink masking the change in focus as his gaze fluttered between the two; studying their attire. A faint smirk would appear across his lips as he took in their appearance; his plan already bringing in dividends.

His gaze would turn towards the second of the two new arrivals; the clone questioning the authenticity of Enkai's earlier claims. A sharp one, yet if she did have her suspicions, then the same could also be said for Enkai. '.... and where exactly is the clone that they claimed were cleaning with bells?' he thought to himself in response. The urge to ask the question would prove a tad difficult to resist, however through sheer grit he had managed to resist that urge; merely taking note of the fact that the 'real' Yue had not adhered to her masters instructions. Undoubtedly there was at least 1 more clone unaccounted for.

Unsheating his Kiseru pipe, he would nonchalantly twirl the metallic shaft in hand much like a fidget spinner, slowly turning his head to one side as he glanced at the 'i]original[/i] Yue. "Yue- San, unfortunately that is a trade secret" winked Enkai in response to her clones question. "I'm sure as a former Kunoichi... you understand... right?" he asked rhetorically, pointing the pipe towards her and smiling, all the while uncaring for an actual answer from 'suspect' number one.

As Enkai played along with this game of charade that Yue had started. he had undeniably provided enough of a distraction that Koyome and her mysterious ability of perception would be able to detect the current situation surrounding Akari; a problem that as of this moment remained completely unknown to Enkai. Though, upon hearing Koyome's question; Enkai needed no second invitation to begin; she had found something and that's all he needed to know to begin.

"Boil Release:....." began Enkai, raising the kiseru pipe to his mouth before rapidly cycling through the required hand signs. ".....Miasma of the..." he inhaled deeply from the pipe as a trickle of smoke began to form at its opening. "..... Steam Dragon" he finished, his voice raspy as he exhaled a thick plumage of heated steam from his mouth.

A gust of air would bellow from his mouth as the room was quickly overcome by a thick misty breath of steam like mist; the faint glow of chakra slowly illuminating into blue silhouettes within the mist as Enkai watched for a retaliatory response. Though it was Koyome's quick follow up that had caught his attention.

In response to her movements, Enkai had twirled the pipe around in a complete 180, now holding the pot in his hand as he pointed the mouth piece forward, holding it much like one would hold a revolver. Should anything appear to make a move on Koyome, he would be able to provide cover fire.

"Oh... is that so Koyome- San?" questioned Enkai, "... I was wondering which of the two clones would have been cleaning with bells... admittedly... It didn't appear like it was the maid with oil stains... nor the one covered in paint... I guess... Yue-chan didn't recall all of her clones did she..." he continued rambling, as his veil of steam slowly began to dissipate in the air. "Yue-chan... do you mind answering her question? What reason would you have to assault one of our team mates?" his free hand had reached for his gourd, slowly bringing it up to his mouth as he took a quick swig of water. all the while making minor adjustments to his outstretched weapon as he pointed the nozzle towards Yue.

Ganryu Spoiled Bread AtlannianSpy

Code by Serobliss

 

[AtlannianSpy]

Koyome Omozukai- Search for the Four Tails' Fang
"They are pushing hard aren't they?" Koyome murmured in vague sympathy, more to be polite than anything else. I wonder if that was sensei he was talking about? Koyome wondered. Yukari's byakugan would probably make mapping this place out utterly trivial. Koyome's own eyes would be helpful out here but she was certain her Sensei outranged her considerably. If that was the case than what had called her cousin away from this matter? "Will you two be needing light?" Koyome asked, turning back to her teammates. "I can see well enough in the dark to guide us, but if we need to fight you'll probably want to be able to see for yourselves one way or another. We can take some time to put together some torches or just chance it," Koyome had her puppet shrug lightly. "I'll probably be fine either way so~"

Internally Koyome cursed herself for a lack of preparedness. Even if she could see fine in the dark herself she should have thought to pack a light of some kind anyway, hastily assembled wood torches were going to be smoky and cumbersome. "In either case I should probably take the lead here, I can scout our route more easily. Then if there's anything dangerous ahead I can lead it back to you two and you can blind it with your torches,:

godjacob InsaneAsylum KageYuuki

 

[godjacob]

~~Search for the Four Tails' Fang~~​

Tokiko seemed to watch as the man seemed to reach for his weapon, impulse and years of practice caused her hand to immediately press on the hilt of her own in case she needed to act. It was the longer blade of her master she held closer, but soon enough the man's language seemed to suggest he had not intended to attack as her stance relaxed slightly. Seemed he lacked knowledge of the peppers locations, but had made mention of some mushrooms including some that shinned as he advised that certain paths along this network were dark and may require some light though as Tokita glanced to the one with pale eyes she figured that might not be necessary.

Still, she had some flint on hand and figured that it wouldn't hurt to have extra light so they were not reliant on one set of eyes to navigate.

"There was an old tree just outside the cave entrance. I can produce some torches as I do have flint." Tokita said, in her lone travels she always seemed to be prepared as she had to rely on herself to get by and seemed to be willing to make torches; either for just herself to help provide light for the group or others if they requested it. Koyome seemed to request taking the lead which seemed wise enough as Tokita agreed.

"I can take the middle, provide support to our flank or front if needed and if I use a torch provide the balance of light for others." Tokita offered as she was not used to working as a team but tried to go about it the best she could. On the topic of bugs she was far from scared, honestly she always found bugs even ones people found worrisome or disgusting to be rather cute not that she'd admit it aloud.


KageYuuki AtlannianSpy InsaneAsylum

 

[ZackStop]

Yanma Doromizu​

Yanma arrived with his escort of two full fledged samurai, clad in their signature armor, and before him lied large ornate doors beyond the near supernatural nature of the estate they had passed through. The boy was a hard read at times, hardly ever displaying his emotions on his face. Rather, left it neutral apart from a rare occasion. Everything about this place was puzzling, like he had entered a new world that separated itself from what Yanma knew, even the air around him felt drastically different.

Giving the door's grandeur another long look, turning his head up to see just how tall they were before it came open, welcoming him inside to the scene. "Weird." Was all he said while pulling his hands out of his pockets. He walked straight towards the desk where the Taisho sat whole he made note of where the two chaperones split off from and stood for the remainder of his time there.

A few paces left to reach the desk, Yanma made eye contact with the other boy who peeked his head out from behind the chair, almost surprising, considering the young refugee knew very little about what he was doing here, and had no idea another was being assigned. Even left in the dark however, Yanma was able to determine that this boy was going to be involved in the same mission one way or another. All that was a mystery to him was who this young samurai was. He did not recognize Yusuke, but they light in his eyes told him that Yusuke recognized him.

As Kaizo made a fool of himself, Yanma thought back to the brief and only time he had interacted with the leader of this place. Even when he was taken in by the land of Iron, Yanma and the Taisho had never explicitly interacted with one another. Based on his little slip up that started it all, Kaizo's carelessness was still somewhat of a shock, but once again, Yanma could think back to their first meeting. The boy simply sighed and sat down across from Yusuke, closing his eyes as the Taisho spoke. Not that he wasn't listening, just that the whole explanation became somewhat tiring, as if the man's very personality was exhausting, and to make matters worse, this assignment was turning out to sound like a real pain in the ass. Yanma was hoping for something easy.

It confused him why they would employ some noobies to a B rank mission, gave him a bit of concern, but was assured that it was a simple scouting mission and nothing more. Yanma was decent enough at masking his presence as was entry level for a mist ninja.

Briefing ended and there was only one thing on his mind, and that was who the 'Kuroinu' were and the stranger's connection to them. If Yanma really had to take part in this mission, he'd need to know what they were dealing with. Before he could speak up and ask, Yusuke abruptly ended the interaction with a bow, briskly walking out the way they came. Mirroring Yanma's entrance, Yanma was now the one looking around his chair to watch the boy very robotically exit.

"Give me a break..." Yanma said with a low energy inflection. He too stood up and gave the Taisho a bow before walking back towards the double doors with a laxed demeanor. He wondered what his rather hastily chosen teammate, Tokita, was involved with in her own mission, before wondering what he's really doing with such a thrown together team.

Once outside the two boys had an opportunity to speak to each other, strategize and bounce ideas off one another and maybe try to bond a little. Seeing how Yusuke acted, for lack of a better term, like a board, Yanma saw it as nearly impossible to make a solid connection with the other teen. Not like he was perfect by any means, he remarked to himself. When it came down to it he was possibly the least motivated person to even be considered a ninja, and could come off as gloomy. Needless to say the duo was lacking in the personality department.

Yanma took a seat on a higher vantage point that Yusuke who was now standing outside the estate, looking around expectedly for his teammate. Didn't take him long however to lock his eyes on Yanma. For all his wooden board likeness, it was safe to say that Yusuke was also sharp, typical of a samurai.

"Yo." A casual greeting to see how Yusuke would respond, with his hands pushing up against his knees while his feet dangled from the wall he found himself on. "You're a samurai, right?"

Ganryu IG42

 

[Ganryu]

Akari Tone - Squad Nadeshiko

Blitzkrieg Bob Nilionis AtlannianSpy

Akari sheepishly turned red as she was hoisted up effortlessly by her teacher, her first show in front of her new teammates being... less than ideal. Then again, if these ones lasted as long as her last ones..

Wait, she shouldn't be cynical. Afterall, Akari had hesitated on the bandit mission. She remembered the shaking of aiming an arrow at the bandits. The embarrassment of firing away, and them thinking she'd missed. Akari never missed... if she had the steel for it. She sighed, for once the question of if she was built for this settling. But Akari was stubborn if nothing else. Slipping out of her backpack onto the ground, Akari concentrated chakra in her feet, a small 'boom' heard as she flickered infront of Daisuke, almost blocking his way from helping as she grabbed the spear like arrow, tossing it in her quiver. She eyed a minute his military jacket, noticing the clan symbol, her eyes raising in surprise. The Minamoto clan? She'd actually heard of them, despite being a country bumpkin herself. That, and the fact he'd introducted himself. That... that might help a bit.

Shaking her head, she stepped in front of Niko next, likewise being silently insistent on no help. Sure, Nadeshiko Sensei probably would yell at her later, but Akari had her pride. And was stubborn. Very stubborn.

As she stopped infront of him, for a moment wondering what such a plain looking individuals even did. She couldn't much of a weapon on him. He didn't look outlandish like most of the ninja she saw. Then again, that was the point of a ninja, wasn't it? Did he punch hard? Somehow, Akari really wanted to spar and find out at some point. Then again, if she got her rear end handed to her like last time she tried to spar Izanami the mushroom girl from that strange mushroom clan... maybe that could wait.

Then Akari realized she was standing awkwardly staring at her teammate. There was... probably some personal boundries she was breaking. Turning red again, she turned to pick up the rest of her arrows.

T-today was going to be the day! That was the only awkward thing she was going to do! She was going to be a model samurai to her teammates. A-afterall, Akari had remained, right? D-did that make her like, a senior teammate? Wait, a Minamoto and someone with more properly made seals across his body obviously part of a full clan... Not just someone trying their best to be a folk level hero...

N-no time to back out now.

"I-I'm Akari. Akari Tone. I'm an archer."

NO CRAP YOU'RE AN ARCHER! WHAT WAS THE FIRST HINT?! THE GIANT BOW!? SAY SOMETHING USEFUL AKARI!!! WHY ARE WORDS HARD!!!??

Akari gulped, outwardly quiet.

"I jump alot."

She put on her best smile... while internal screaming slowly filled her eyes and mind.

Bright side. She had yet to stab herself this time introducing herself. Progress.

Akari offered a hand to shake nervously with a steel grip like a vice if anyone was careless enough to take the offer, her hand trembling. Well... it would at least prove she had a strong grip strength...

WHY ARE WE BAD AT THIS!? AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!

 

[IG42]

Yusuke Satomi - Fear of the Dark
Yusuke remained stone-faced for another few seconds at Yanma's playground meeting before releasing a long breath. "I am." He replied to what seemed to him to be a question the other boy probably could have answered on his own and pointedly rested a hand on the hilt of one of his swords. "My name is Yusuke Satomi, glad to be working with you." While he dutifully delivered the courtesy without hesitation it wasn't exactly loaded with sincerity. "Come, we can plan our approach along the way."

As they walked Yusuke sized up his partner not seeing any significant gear on his person. "I take it from your question that you are a shinobi?" If nothing else Yanma had clearly mastered the ninja art of creating an unassuming appearance to conceal any skills he possessed. "Have you any notable abilities that could prove particularly useful? Mine are based around the art of sealing and barriers."

ZackStop

 

[Spoiled Bread]

WHISPERING PUPPETS
Location : Dining Room

The clones raised their tea cup and deflected the senbons flying at them by knocking its side with the cup. The paint-stain maid looked upset at the new cracks appearing on her cup that spills the remaining tea onto the table. The clones looks unfazed by the sudden escalation of the situation but the original Yue had the same dark look on her face like the previous moment where Ouzen doubted her capability as a shinobi.

"I see for some reason you managed to discove- wait, she did what??" The original Yue was flabbergasted at what Koyome just said. In just a few seconds various subtle expressions flashed on her face. Confusion, realization, terror. She didn't try to hide the next one and for the first time this night the maid displayed a strong emotion on her face : rage.

"Let's just go with plan B. Protect Maa-chan at all cost." Yue blurted.

"Understood." The clones replied.

The oil-stained clones slammed the table and the dining table immediately collapsed into dozens of rectangular pieces, as if the entire table had been cut with a saw. However, instead of succumbing to gravity and falling down, these pieces launched themselves towards Koyome. One knocked her kunai off while the other rushing to attack her like a bunch homing missiles. Koyome could see chakra threads connected to each of the pieces, connected to the clones hands. With an uncanny synchronized timing, the paint-stained clones quickly performed a hand seal before shooting a spear-shaped wind blast out of her mouth. The projectile pierced through the mist and blitzed right towards Enkai's face, as if the mist didn't actually obscure their sight.

Amidst all this chaos, the original Yue vanished from the site. Though Koyome can see her chakra trailing off to the gallery.

AtlannianSpy Phayne


Location : Basement

Akari landed in what seemed to be an unfinished and abandoned room. The ceiling was almost twice higher than the ones in the gallery and a few pillars were erected to support the burden of the mansion up there. The wooden floor had deteriorated so much Akari couldn't even see any plank that was still intact. At each side of the room a torch was slotted into a socket on the wall, providing dull yellow light that barely reaches the middle section of the room. Underneath her was a large red circle with a triangle inside it and right where she stands was a faded red-stains. The air in the room was stale, and reeked of rotting woods, rusty iron, chemical and something pungent.

"Hmm? I thought she wants to lay low for a while?" A coarse male voice could be heard as a figure approached Akari. He was a tall man with all of his skin painted black, though there's a number of white patterns drawn on it to make him vaguely resembles a skeleton. The man was very skinny though so even without the paint job he would still looks like a skeleton, and there's also various freshly stitched wounds all over his body with some of them seemed to be the source of the pungent smell. The man carried a coffin on his back, tied with a very thick ropes, and wore two necklace on his neck, one had a circle with a triangle inside and the other had a straw doll on it.

"Hmm? And the fall didn't break you? What kind of sacrifice is this? I told her I need the lambs to come here suffering!" He sounded frustated as he flips through a small red book.

"Ahh... doesn't matter. I'm just going to be the one to inflict the suffering. Please don't die too quick." He pulled out a dagger with several zigzagging curves on it before charging towards Akari.

Ganryu

 

[ZackStop]

Yanma Doromizu
​

He sat there for a moment, listening to the other boy speak, but it was more like he was reading off a script he had written for this exact exchange. He then sat in silence as the young samurai began to walk away. "Oh brother... this is gonna be a long 24 hours..." He said once Yasuke was far away enough not to catch his mumbling. Using his arms, Yanma leaned back and sprung up off the wall, following Yasuke to where it was he was going.

Yanma didn't walk side the side with him exactly, he more so moseyed a few feet behind him, about seven or so feet. Hands in pockets, leaning down a bit as if he was so exhausted he couldn't even stand up straight. The silence was killing him, and it was getting awkward before Yasuke gleamed back for a moment, asking some questions of his own.

"Yep. How'd you guess?" He asked rhetorically. He tried to quicken his pace just a little, so they weren't so far apart. While Yasuke was still trying to figure out what Yanma was 'concealing', the boy gave a bit of an off putting claim. "Well that's the thing, really." Yanma said with his tired tone of voice, looking up at the clouds that passed above. "I'm not particularly good at anything. Dunno what they're expecting from me, but I guess they can't just have me lying around all day. Gotta be of use somehow... I am a refugee after all, not a freeloader." He put it calmly, as if there was a problem with his total lack of skill or talent.

He sighed. "So who are these Kuroinu guys anyway? You used to run with them or something?" He asked with the same tone as before, not exactly monotone, but not a lot of life put into it either.

IG42

 

[Blitzkrieg Bob]

“Yes, ma’am!”

Replied Daisuke immediately kneeling to help with the arrows of Akari he had extended his arm to reach the closest when suddenly he retracted his arm when noticed a force falling like a thunderbolt in front of him, instinctively he stood up and took his sword hilt, but eased his grip on it when noticed it was his new teammate and having her in front of him, with her face just a few inches from his own, Daisuke’s composed face couldn’t avoid an expression of uneasiness.

Nevertheless, he noticed she quickly and almost frantically grabbed the arrows, one after the other. Daisuke more or less understood she didn’t want to get help, not relying on other to solve her own mess was something he could respect and to be honest he would have preferred not helping that peculiar girl, but his squad leader had told them to help her and Daisuke felt compelled to obey.

The Minamoto noticed a couple of arrows had rolled until ending next to the wall, seemingly skipping Akari’s efforts. Daisuke just grabbed those arrows when Akari started introducing herself telling her name, her role in combat and that she ‘jumped a lot’. The last part fell into the uncanny valley, in other contexts, knowing about her jumping prowess would be valuable, but it looked out of place in a first time meeting. There wasn’t a closing phrase either, something like ‘nice to meet you all’ or ‘hope we can get along together’, not even a bow, only a smile and a shaky hand extended that prolonged her introduction unnecessarily. Daisuke really didn’t want to shake hands with that girl, but he felt it would be rude leaving her hanging like that. Against his better judgment he extended his hand to shake hands with her.

“Nice to meet you, Tone-san”.

He said with polite words, but still lacking in any warm expression.

“These are yours, right?”

He said trying to sound polite, but while still shaking hands with her showing the few arrows he had in his other hand, Daisuke noticed the girl had a strong grip, Daisuke had put some of his own strength into his hand in response, again, he wasn’t sure what she was trying to do, had she been playing the clumsy girl before?, she intended to play the tough girl now? She was playfully challenging him to a test of strength? He simply looked at her trying to understand what she planned, but sure he didn't want to shake hands with her again.

AtlannianSpy Nilionis Ganryu

 

[Phayne]

Team Yukari

Enkai Kaji

Mokunoha

Chaos & Control - Jomei's Request

As the door to the factory opened, a thick veil of steam like mist would soon begin to seep out of the inner confines; this body of mist a product of Enkai's own making as he remained hidden within the darkened interiors of the abandoned factory. Positioned at the top of the stairway that seperated the first and the second floor, Enkai would soon detect the traces of chakra as their prey entered the hunting grounds; a wry smile visible across his face as he counted their numbers; in particular a stronger presence than the majority. Undoubtedly that was their target, the head honcho to which this plan had been formulated specifically for.

Thank's to Jomei's actions outside, it seemed that only a handful of the Chuseigumi had entered into the factory; enough that each of the three mokunoha would be able to get a slice of the pie, in regards to some action.

"Itto... Ringo..." whispered Enkai as he pressed the transmission device; his wry smile growing as their prey continued further into the labyrinth of this factory. "Let the hunt begin.. " he spoke, a tinge of excitement in his voice. "Stick to the plan... once they are deep enough into the factory... I'll get the next phase going. Even if they wanted to flee, they wouldn't be able to.." he smirked, closing off the comms.

Ganryu Spoiled Bread Haze-

Code by Serobliss

 

[Ganryu]

F̷̞̪̪̈́̿̑̓͋̉̆̀̐̽̓̀͘e̴̛͇͍̹͓̦̒͋͂̉̿͌̃́̉ą̶̻̲̦͓̟̫̗͎̤̹̍̃̉r̷͕̜͉̜͙̦̭͇̱̮͈̤͇̗͉͆̂̑̊͛̓̓̽͆͋͘͘͝ ̸̛͎͚͈̒̋̿̀́̌̀̊̉̂̀̉̿̍ó̶̫̜͕̣̟̦̝̪̮̋͆̿̂̂͝f̸̲̩̞̤̥͖̠̻͓̺͛͆̅̽̽̽̀̐͘̕͜ ̶̖͎̱̠͐̄̐̊͌̀͑̈̒͐̈́̿̓̑ẗ̷̢̩͖͙̖̰̯̖̮̥̲́̌̚h̷̨̡͓̲̹̯̭̺̯̝̼̩̺͛͛́̒ȩ̸̤̌̿̒̅̔̈́͝ ̸̢̡̢̗̟̬̹̝̝̤͍̫̿̈̔͑̃̃͜ͅͅD̷̖́̆̃̿̋͗a̸͚͆̈̀ŕ̵̡̧̛̰͔̻̬̔͐̎̌̓̎͝ͅk̶̨̨̡̧͚͔͇̹̼̘̼͍̫͕͑̉̓́̚͝



As the two left Hanamachi to the Hojo mine, the nip spring air blew past them, snow crunching under them as mud clung to boots with each step. With a bit of luck, a few warm days might even sneak in. Today, however, was not yet that day. The quarry at the base of the nearby mountain leading into the mine had equipment sprawled out in a hurry, the Hojo clan more or less bullied out. Mine carts upturned, drills left in walls, little sticks of dynamite drenched and half filled. The bustle and blasts of the mine left empty with signs of a recent battle as the two would reach deeper inside. Blood dripped against the wall, broken samurai swords, and the a symbol belonging to the kuroinu painted against the wall.

Despite having been a bandit tribe of little note, the group seemed to have exceptional planning in their targets, and the fight had been swift. The only fight the tribe was known to take, quick, easy, and one no one saw coming.

Signs of living past the signs of dying. Meal remains scattered across the corners of a shaft, hanging clothes nearby, a used tattoo needle, moldier blankets thrown up no longer to be used in the actual living quarters below. From the sheer number, it seemed a dozen people were living here, a rather small number compared to the entire gang, only a single cell in actuality. None of the members seemed close to the surface though.

Still, the mine shaft was not particularly valuable. Mostly, used to mine rainbow ore used in the brand in samurai's weapons, the mine had been having dwindling returns as of late, causing serious debate among the Hojo if it was worth it to continue to dig, or if it would be better to look for new land to strip.

The only note this mine had was how deep it was. In the past it had been incredibly lucrative, the tunnels going deeper, and deeper in a frenzy after the ore. No other mine in the Land of Iron seemed to dig nearly as far into the ground. Rumors were the tunnels went beneath even the capital, and some more far fetched ones claimed that below, many large beasts and begun to dig along sign the mine, giant moles some had summon contracts with. A few rumors were that... stranger beings still could be found below.

Thankfully, the lanterns were powered by chakra, so fear of going completely dark was hardly an issue.

 

[InsaneAsylum]

Izanami Kutsuki

Pepper Hunting!

“Yea we’re definitely gonna need a torch or two,” Izanami responded, gazing at her foot as she played in the dirt. All this talking was getting boring! They knew the peppers were in the cave so why didn't they just go in?

The thought lingered in Izzy’s mind as she stared into the dark cave. A feeling back to come over her, enveloping her body with a slight tingle. The feeling wasn’t foreign though. It was the same feeling Izzy got after she did something awesome. This time however, the feeling came before the action.

“Last one to find a pepper has to eat it!” Izanami burst out, before taking off in a full sprint into the cave giggling all the while.

Her giggling was short lived though, as it got dark fast. And soon Izzy was sprinting in the darkness. She slowed down, not wanting to slam face first into a wall, but it was too late. Her foot caught a sudden dip in the ground, and the samurai fell face first onto the ground.

KageYuuki godjacob

 

[Nilionis]

“Right…” Niko sighed under his breath while slowly leaning down to pick up a single arrow. If first impressions were anything to go off of… stealth missions were off the table so long as this ditz remained on the squad.
After lingering in place for several seconds, single arrow in hand, the other two had finished gathering up the remainder and moved onto introductions.
Time for another mess…

“I’m Niko of...” The young Shinobi trailed off, starting down at Akari’s extended hand with a tinge of skepticism plastered across his face. After a long moment of deliberation, likely only making the situation even more awkward, he promptly dropped the single arrow he’d picked up into her outstretched hand before continuing, “…let’s just say I have an affinity for Yang Release that makes me quite handy.” The young Hokori finished with a small smile, knowing no one else in the room would really understand his clever little pun.

Thankfully, his other teammate seemed to be quite reserved in comparison. Niko wasn’t too concerned with who he was, so long as Daisuke pulled his own weight.

Blitzkrieg Bob AtlannianSpy Ganryu