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Naruto Fantasy (AU) : The Rise of the New Generation

[fieldbox="Moving out, gold, solid"]

Kiro Oda
ANBU of the Republic of Kirigakure

After a few days of sailing they finally reached land and got to disembark with Kiro stretching hid body, while everyone got their gear and such off the ships. He looked at all the men and women moving about to get things ready to march out and couldn't help but laugh to himself. He never would believe that he would be in this position right now, poisoned and forced to do the bidding of whatever that woman told him to do. Which was in itself way more sketchy than him leading a bunch of people. Whatever could that woman be planning using a missing nin to do work knowing full well how hated they are to the world? Well not that he cared really, hes done just about everything that he ever really cared about in life and if some woman wanted to keep him on a leash for whatever possible reason, then so be it. So he got to helping take their gear and such off the ship, before writing a message to whoever he would be meeting up with from Kumo. He frowned a bit at the thought, remembering they were the ones to steal the wolf country out from under him. After he went to all the trouble of trying to get them to break, just for their greedy little hands to reach over and grab it. Bastards are lucky they even sent him to "Help", wait was this maybe what she was planning? Pretend to help but in the end betray them? Well if it was, she was doing a good job at leaving him in the dark yet he just had to follow orders. Meet up decide for himself what was best and follow orders she sent him. Finishing the message he would attach it to a crow before it flew off.
______________

To whoever is in charge

My name is Yuki Narukami, I am the commander of the Republic of Kirigakure forces, and I am informing you that our forces have arrived to aid you.
I bring close to 3.000 troops, this was as much as we could spare at the time so I do apologize if you feel that its a tad low. Im sending this message to
let you know that we should arrive within a few days, maybe a week or more depending on any issues coming up. I look forward to meeting and working
with you in the coming future.

-Yuki Narukami
___________

With that message sent, he helped with the remaining preparations, and after being heckled by Takeda a bit, Kiro would send out a scout first. Who came back and reported that the way forward was clear of any possible enemies, so with them setting out he could only wonder if it would be against the rules to hit on any of the Kumo ladies.... probably so, he had to remain in character and respectable.[/fieldbox]
 
[fieldbox=Waves of blood- Part II, plum]

Asami Sanosuke
Raikage Assistant | On board of the Chimera, on the Kaizoku sea - sailing towards the west.

Part I


It was a mess on deck. Sailors, soldiers and present shinobi were running to get to their positions or try to help one another. There wasn't any captain needed to make it clear that they were entering combat as horns from the other ships - part of the Lightning country squadron - also started to unleash volleys of ballista arrows at the unknown ships.
As the captain was taken down Asami started to shout orders. Soldiers and shinobi armed with bows, crossbows and even slings were taking up positions to prepare a volley on the enemy ships. Shouting to the man who steered the ship to enable them a better line of fire Asami turned her attention back on the enemy ships. Focusing her attention on the nearby ship, she would give the command for the crew to shoot at will.

The air soon was filled with arrows, bolts and stones being shot from one ship to another. Blood started to mix with sea water and sweat on the deck as the fight continued. As the Chimera ship started to near an enemy vessel some of the crew started to prepare to board the other ship as others would ready themselves for the scuffle on their own ship. With the tension rising Asami readied herself by drawing her own blade. The ship rocked over the waves as soon enough the crew of both ships would unleash their battle cries. Wood start to crack as the ships slid against each other with men and women starting to jump over the railing to have a go at each other with their weapons. Before she could jump over the railing to pay a visit to the crew of the other ship a man moved over the railing. Armed with a handaxe the man didn't waver to take a swing at Asami.

Reading his movement, Asami lean away to avoid the swing. Stepping forward the point of her blade would be driven through the stomach of her attack. Twisting the weapon, Asami would pivot as she would yank her weapon out of the dying man. Spotting an enemy who was driving one of Chimera's crew into the defence Asami would dart to the aid of the other. Just before the enemy could slam the shield away from Asami's ally, the later would drive her tanto in the neck of the man. Jerking out the blade she shouted at the other man.
"Signal that we need more aid, now!"
[/fieldbox]
 
[fieldbox=Moving on, royalblue]

Mika Hayashi
Kirigakure Jounin | Team 14 | Kirigakure, the port.


The first warehouse that the genin checked was barely guarded. There were some crates and wares being transported in from a large galley. Other than the smell of dead fish that would likely not be considered pleasant by the genin there seemed to be barely anything of note that was interesting or illegal.
The warehouse next 'door' was a slightly different story. There were a few guards standing in front. Not heavily armed from the looks of it, but wary of anybody who would want to try to come near. There were a few men who carried crates together into the warehouse, receiving often a wary glance from the few guards.

It seemed that there were also two groups of men that did patrols around and inside the warehouse. There were a few windows, which mean that with the absence of the sun that it was quite dark inside the building. There were a few wax candles in lanterns placed to give some light inside, but it seemed that the personnel didn't bother that much with it.

Mika. who was watching from the shadows with her invisible technique would keep an eye out. It was possible that there was a sensory nin inside, but she doubted it. From the looks of it, the guards were hired muscle, probably working for a rich merchant who was transporting and aiming to trade wares from another island or part of the Republic.
Wondering how the genin would tackle this, Mika would remain on watch from her safe position.

[/fieldbox]
 
Another 'talk'.

Suspect of murder!
A collab between Conman and Gerontis.

Summary :
Jugo has another interrogation session. This time with Kona Omari, who had been sighted with ending the life of a wounded woman on the street.​

[spoili]
Another interrogation. Though a bit weary of them it seemed he wasn't the only one who was being tasked with one after another interrogation session. During the last break he already had overheard from some conversations of his co-workers that they still had to interrogate a few people. Both people that were arrested on sight as those who could lay off a report as eyewitness. Which caused the police office and department to be buzzling with activity. Rubbing his forehead Jugo read the profile of the person who he would hold an interview with. Again, a rather young person. A genin who had been seen killing a woman on the street.

If that wasn't bad enough the woman who had died had served in the Shinobi corps for the past twelve years. A rather clean record so far Jugo could make up from the profile that he had requested. Hualing Chai. Born and raised in the southern districts of Amegakure. Served ever since she gradudated from the Academy as a genin in the shinobi corps. Only much later did she gain promotion under the leadership of Soru Deshuga. Perhaps under a bit of ominous situations, but judging from her record and what Jugo read how she performed missions as the psychological review on her personality the man couldn't say anything bad about Hualing. Other than she had died on the streets, with a few broken ribs and being literally punctured to death by Kona Omari. As a co-worker came to his desk and brought him his ordered ramen dish, Jugo mumbled a thanks. Studying the profiles quickly, he would wrap them underneath his left arm and hold his food with his right hand up.

Heading towards the room where the genin would be waiting for him. Two guards were at the present of the door, though Jugo doubted two were needed. The genin wouldn't be able to likely take even one trained and experienced police offer on, let alone two. A guard would open the door resulting that Jugo would mumble a thanks as he entered the interrogation room.

Kona looked up quietly from where she was at the interrogation table. THe chakra binder was still around her throat and the handcuffs around her wrists. It left her to wonder whether or not the police would truly be on her side after what happened. The woman she had killed, the mere thought of it made bile rise up into her throat.

The officer that had entered was a man, holding papers under his left arm and a bowl of ramen in his right. Ramen..... the mere sight of the food made her stomach grumble, reminding her that she hadn't had any food in a while. Kona lifted her wrists up and spoke addressing the newly entered man.

"Are the handcuffs really necessarry?"

"I can ask that about a lot of things." Jugo answered as he would take a seat. Placing the papers he had with them down in front of him, the man would lean back in his seat. He had noticed the grumbling of the girl and glanced at his ramen for a moment. "You won't mind, do you?" He asked friendly, but wouldn't really wait for an answer as he would already take a bite of his food. Chewing on the bite, the man eyed the genin in front of him. "So, how many kunai did you throw at Hualing Chai, miss Omari?"

Kona's eyes narrowed as the reply came back to kona. The second question that came wasn't really a question at all, in fact, the man had already started eating. With his mouth full the man questioned her about how many kunai she had thrown, quite rude, and it made her wonder where his manners were.

"Who the hell is Hualing Chai?"

Then it hit her who the woman must have been, if they were questioning her about thrown kunai, and she felt a wave of cold pass over her. Regret, again..... How many kunai had she thrown? She thought she remembered somewhere around four or five. She had thought the woman might dodge them after all. However, Kona said nothing more.

"Let us see." Jugo would finish another bite of his ramen. Straighten his back he would place the smal bowl of ramen down and open Hualing's profile. "Born in a small hamlet east of Amegakure. Thirty-two years old, born on the 6th of May. Four other siblings, all younger than her." Jugo summed up in rather a friendly and calm manner. "Worked for a long time in the Shinobi Corps of Amegakure. A very clean record. Now," Closing the profile Jugo looked up at Kona. "I will ask again. How many kunai did you throw at miss Chai and also, for what reason?"

Kona silently looked at the man, saying nothing. Kona hadn't been aware that the woman was in the Shinobi Corps for the village, she hadn't even considered that the woman had a name or a family when she had killed her. A fresh wave of regret and repulsion at her actions hit her.

".....It was somewhere around six. When she came crashing through the door in front of me after I landed, I wasn't sure whether the woman was a friend or foe. I threw a kunai near where she was on her back, and warned her not to get up or i'd throw them at her next time...... When she did, I made good on what I said I would do."

Kona quietly resumed staring at the man.

Continue his ramen dish Jugo would hear what the girl had to say. He didn't make any notes and he had a good reason for that. Not that he considered that Kona would really understand that now. "So you threatened a wounded woman of whom you weren't sure if she was friend or foe? Then when she attempted to defended herself or at least, let us assume trying to get up because of you posing a threat you decided to end her? Cause you wanted to press on what you said?" Jugo said, his eyebrows perking up by a bit.

The man's words made Kona feel quite stupid in retrospect, but then again, hind sight was always 20/20. What was she to do? At the time, Kona didn't quite

"You speak like you know what it was like in the streets at that moment. People had been shooting crossbows from the post office, I was down in the street trying to make sure other villagers could get away. I didn't have time to worry about watching her to see if she was a friend or a foe. She got up, I threw the kunai. I didn't plan on killing her, that was simply something that was an effect, officer. To top all of that off, it wasn't like I could restrain her either, not with the impending threat of a crossbow in the window, and not knowing if she was an enemy."

Once again Kona finished speaking and contiued watching the man carefully. Their verbal and mental fencing was resuming, the man was on the offence ever since this conversation had started, and he had forced Kona to stay on the defence. Either way, it was time for Kona to ask a few questions of her own.

"What I want to know is how so many enemies infiltrated the village in the first place. It shouldn't be so easy to get in to our village, do you not agree?"

Listening to the genin Jugo continued with his ramen. He seemed to not really take much of an interest in what Kona said or tried to suggest. Finishing up his ramen, he let out a satisified sigh. Placing the small bowl down, he would fold his hands together on the table. "I am quite aware of what happened on the streets. Perhaps I wasn't there, but if we are going to speak in such a manner, I am not the one being restrained and confined. Let alone being suspected of murdering and aiding the culprits that assaulted the Post Office." Jugo calmly replied. "And are you sure? You just made it clear you posed a threat. A threat upon which the woman reacted on and you decided to press on without being sure of what would be wise. Now," Jugo took a pause as he leaned back and crossed his arms out front of his chest.

"I already know that the crossbow armed hostile was dealing with another person. Meaning that is nothing but an excuse and frankly, I think that your fate and conclussion lies with what I believe and can conclude from your story. So far I don't really see any prove that you did something that would neutralise the problems you are in and you're certainly not in the position to ask questions back. Think that we else should trade jobs, do you agree?" He spoke the last sentence in a more friendly manner as he would let the words sink in.

"So, let us begin with the start. Why did you go to the Post Office in the first place?"

Kona sighed at the reply, sadly it seemed she wasn't going to get the answers to her questions, and it seemed in a moment that she was once again on the defensive in the duel of words. She had to be careful, the words of the man made it quite clear he was not on her side nor did he wish to be.

"I unfortunately didn't have the all seeing eye of hindsight and eyewitnesses during the post office fight, and I was dealing with the woman at the same time I was dealing with the crossbows, so pardon me if I happened to miss the crossbows not being in the windows, it happens you know, i'm only a genin, and only human."

Kona quietly resumed her silence until the man spoke again.

"I was simply on my way to go get food from the market. I was just out the door at my home. When I saw the fire I moved to it, then I saw an injured man in the street and moved to his defense."

"I doubt that any of us has that, kid." Jugo said, once more on a friendly tone. "Perhaps you had good intensions that gone wrong in the heat of the moment. Even if for some chance the woman was a hostile her record prove otherwise. Those who saw what happened state that she was already wounded and that you finished her off. This all makes it clear to most that you should be held responsible." Waiting to let the words sink in that she could argue and state whatever she wanted that it wouldn't help her. Slightly tilting his head to the side, Jugo started to speak again.

"So you came from the market, saw the injured man and then moved to his defense. Are there people who can testify that you were on the market?" Jugo asked, though he would add something as he raised his right index finger - as a warning. "And think well. Not that I am here to make you look like a murderer. The situation already makes you look like one. What I want is to learn on what happened before. Perhaps in order to give you some help and prove that you're not with those who are behind the attack. If I wanted you behind bars I could end this session now and it would be done before the next day would dawn upon us."

Kona shook her head, she didn't come from the market, she was on her way to it.There was no use arguing the first point, since she knew the man simply wasn't going to listen to it. Further more, the man was simply stating that cooperating the best way to refrain from remaining in the collar and in a cell longer then she had to.

So much for the justice system.... ugh.....

"You seemed to have misunderstood what I said earlier, I wasn't coming from the market, I was on my way to it. I saw the fire after I had just left my home. Someone could probably verify that, after all, my neighbors have basically been my parents for half my life."

An "Ah," followed as Jugo thought about her answer. "Then you probably have to give the names of your neighbours once we're done. I would love to have that information so that we can indulge a bit further before it is decided what will happen to you." Briefly the man glanced at the chakra restrainer. He wasn't sure if it was making the girl nervous or really anxious. She had the same kind of calm almost as the four tailed jinchuriki, which was not really making Jugo feeling content. Perhaps the genin these days were being trained to be more resilient to the effect of the restrainer? Probably not. "Very well, think that we're done here. I would love to stay and talk more, but I got a Godai match to watch soon. I would wish you a pleasant stay, but doubt you will like another evening at the cell." The man paused for a moment as he would get up and gather the papers he had brought with him.

"I hope you can sleep well. Good night in advance, kid." The man said as he would walk towards the door, knocking twice on it. As Jugo left, a guard would move into the room to bring Kona back to her cell.

Kona tugged at the collar once she was in the cell again, the handcuffs still around her wrists. It was annoying, confining, stuffy, and worst of all, she could feel the collar beginning to grate on her ever so slowly. She had managed to stay calm during the interview, if nothing more for then the looks, but on the inside, she was panicking from the restraint. She needed to get it off, somehow. With those thoughts in mind Kona placed herself on the bed, and quietly went to sleep, ignoring the ever present want to cry about her current situation.
[/spoili]
 
Stalking an Empress and Stating Desires.

A Collab between Lesli and Fieryfly

Summary:
While Kiyomi, Saki, Shikaroku and Violet descend into the darkness of the underground and old facility they are being followed by two shinobi. In this collab you can read who have been send to follow Kiyomi's group as some hinted desires between the duo..
​

It had gone for a few days in the same manner. Following while keeping a distance, read the tracks and wait. Then follow them and wait again. It was in a way almost exciting, stalking their targets to their destination. At the same time there was a certain tension considering the risks that were taken. Not a big fan of risks, Meisa, however, had decided to not voice her opinion strongly about the plan. She couldn't conjure a better plan and it would be a waste of time, air and energy to try to just point out the risks and consquences of the best possible plan that they had. There was the pleasant factor that she was out in the field and working as she had in the old days with Hisoka. Still, the woman wasn't quite sure at times how to address matters with the Uchiha. Knowing the reasons for that, she did decide to not try to push him away and keep a distance between them.

"What do you think," Meisa began as she was reading some tracks of the group that was led by Kiyomi, "Considering they didn't go east what would you think that her plan is?"

Hisoka seemed to share most of Meisa's problems despite the fact that neither of them knew that about the other. It felt good to be outside again. Really outside. In the field, working with someone, working with Meisa, to get their mission completed. It had been way too long since he had done some missions with others. Yet there was this distance between the two of them that he didn't know how to bridge. All the reasons were known and yet discussion them was impossible. It was if the words just refused to leave his mouth. So he had simply given up. The least he could was put all the personal stuff out of his head and just focus on the mission, which was still to track Kiyomi who had left Konoha under their supervision. Not that the girl knew that of course. Miss Yamanaka was quite good at leaving a steady trail without her friend knowing it.

They halted for a moment as Meisa searched for the path and she spoke up. Hisoka was silent for a moment. "East would perhaps be too vague. She is not reaching for the ultimate source here it seems. Kiyomi clearly has a goal in mind here, perhaps she even knows the location of someone. I wonder how she came upon that knowledge though."

"Probably we can ask her soon about it?" Meisa tried to joke. Straightening her back as she rose from her crouched position, the woman threw a look from the direction they had came from. It was starting to become a bigger distance from Konohagakure and it was only making Meisa more worried if it would come to a clash. "So," she started in an almost cautious manner, "How have you been doing?" Meisa asked as she started to walk. The last tracks were quite fresh and that meant that they had to keep their pace under control if they didn't want to bump into Kiyomi and her group.

"I guess. If she would be willing to share," Hisoka threw a half joke back. His eyes were fixed on the road ahead unlike Meisa who kept looking behind them. When she asked him how he was doing he cocked an eyebrow and shot her a look. "Days of travel and now you ask me." Despite his words there was no malice in his tone. "I..." He wondered what to say. It was so easy to keep up the pretense, but then again Meisa always knew when he was lying. He didn't know how she did it, because everyone else seemed to buy into his words just fine. "I have been trying to find a way to sleep better. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. How about you?"

"I could ask about the weather, but I considered that the first few days were just," pausing Meisa tried to come up with a reason. He had her there and she knew it. But there was a difference in not accepting it or just subtly acknowledging it. "I guess that I wanted to be careful." Trying to keep her tone casual, Meisa became silent for a long moment when he said how he was doing. Keeping her eyes focused on their front as they walked, she wasn't sure how to answer back.

"Guess I've been doing fine. Nothing really exciting, except trying to find clues on those Zealots. Trying to figure what I should do for Mayumi. She is doing okay." She said, deciding that he would likely want to know how she was doing. "You should come and visit her, if you're not busy with chasing empresses."

"Never would have guessed that that would be in my job description. Chasing empresses across the country. The world really has changed..." He was silent at his own statement for a moment. So much had changed since he had grown up. To him. He shot a side-glance at Meisa as they walked. To her. She wasn't the girl they had picked up during the war anymore. She had become Hokage and did so much more, was so much more. "I should. I should take her off her hands some more. It is the least I can do. After all, I am to blame that you are now so crazy busy all the time. So..." Hisoka narrowed his eyes ever so slightly. "Fine is a bit short. And nothing really exciting is a lie. It might be the wrong kind of exciting, but things are happening. How are you doing Meisa?"

Remaining silent Meisa kept a calm expression present on her features. Raising her left hand to rub her neck, she half closed her eyes and let out a soft sigh. "Forgot for a moment that it wasn't really going to work against you. Worth a shot, I guess." Pausing, Meisa lowered her hand and threw a sideways look at Hisoka. "I guess that I'm just both proud and regretful of what has happened this last year. A lot of stuff happened, both what I consider good and bad. You and Harumi, Kiyomi becoming an Empress and I did notice that you're having a bit more freedom. Guess that you may have proven that you don't need me and Zakito keeping you on a leash. Or perhaps you managed to fool him to let you roam around and now are dragging me in your plot." A smile crossed her lips, though it was one that held no joy.

"I guess that that I don't know how I am doing. I am healthy, let's establish that right away. Mayumi is healthy as well. Guess that on that I just want things to be different on a hindsight."

HIsoka lifted both his hands up into the air. "You have seen through my cunning plan," he said jokingly before becoming serious again. "I doubt I could fool Zakito. He knows me too well for that, but he and I had a conversation. Keeping me on a leash is a nice gesture, but it is not helping me in the way you two were perhaps hoping it would. I understand the sentiment, I do." He searched for Meisa's eyes. "But as much as I love my city, it can be like a prison for someone who is stuck especially since my house is now no longer just my own." He fell silent at that and let the silence drag on. He still didn't know how to discuss Harumi with Meisa. He didn't even know how to discuss it with himself.

"If you had the power to go back in time," he said then slowly. "Would you change things? Would you actually change things?"

She snickered for a good two seconds. She was a bit surprised that he had spoke about it with Zakito. Hearing what he said about Konohagakure made her slightly nod. It was something that she could agree on. But what other home was there for her? She wasn't part from some renown or powerful clan. Or any clan at all, so far she knew. Upon the question, an amused smile crossed the woman's lips. "I would state we're a bit too old for such kind of games, but fair enough. Hmmm," she thought about it. Her first thought was about the current state about Mayumi. The child was an eternal reflection of the mistake, which Meisa couldn't erase unlike all her other mistakes of the past. No, that was phrased wrong : she didn't want to erase it.

"I guess," she slowly started, "I would take a different path with how I based my decisions. If I had known that Kiyomi would be this loved and cared for I would've given up way earlier control and influence over the realm. Would have enabled me to make more time to consider decisions and events that I then could take more time to think about how I would go about them. What about you?"

"I doubt we were ever young enough to play this game. We were never much children to begin with," Hisoka replied before letting her speak her mind. Getting dragged into a war when you were in your teens made one grow up radically fast. For a brief moment Hisoka wondered what life would have been like if there had never been any war. But tha truly was unimaginable. As he listened to her reply he found himself shaking his head ever so slightly. "I think we have given the role to Kiyomi as early as we could. Any earlier and she might have collapsed under the task, leaving you with just as much work." He paused for a second. "You see I have thought about this a lot. What I would do if I could go back in time. The answer would be obvious right? Save my teammates and my sister. Spare myself the problem I have now. Have someone else go on that mission. But when I think about that that would mean two things. One, I would condemn another team to death and their blood would be on my hands and mine alone. Two, I would most likely never have met you. If I had stuck to my team I wouldn't have paid heed to a girl from Kirigakure. I wouldn't have cared. Maybe Genji would have, but not me. And I don't want that either. Most of the choices of changing something in the past go like that and as such I almost never find myself wishing that I can actually change something."

Hearing what his answer was created another moment of silence. Not the uncomfortable one, but one that made it clear that Meisa was thinking about what he had said. It was never fun to hear that the person you did care and love for wouldn't pay heed to you, but Meisa understood what he meant. His honesty was one of the features of Hisoka she appreciated. Perhaps even liked about him? "You sure about that?" She asked, though being convinced that he meant what he said. "You know," frowning Meisa wasn't sure how to bring this up. It felt bad and good to talk about what she wanted to say. "Sakamoto has a good portion of a decade to live. He is a good friend. Of us both. Think neither of us wants him to die with the knowledge that Mayumi isn't his. But when he dies, Mayumi will be just what? Eleven? Twelve? An age where she needs a role model." Falling back into silence, she threw another sideways look at him. There was no need to further state what she had on her mind, but she hoped that he wouldn't feel burdened by it.

"I'd say about 80 percent sure," Hisoka mumbled as Meisa started onthe dreaded subject. Sakamoto and his illness. She was right. He was a good friend. A friend he had betrayed in the harshed way possible, but still a good friend and not someone he wished to see die. The truth that the Senju only had a decade to live was strange and felt unreal. Why did Sakamoto have to die after he had survived so much? Why because of this? "I swear I will be there for her. For all the steps she needs to take. That is if I am still around, but so far I doubt if you are even going to let me die. Though then again, you could be a great role model too if you just wished yourself to be." A pause. This time awkward. "What if..." Hisoka started then. "Hiding that I am her father might be easy, but what if... her Uchiha legacy brings out the red eyes. What then?"

Meisa's nose wrinkled as she thought about the possibility. She was glad that Hisoka was willing to be there and decided to just react on the possible future outcome. "Then I suppose I've to meddle with my known background." She said, though considering to indulge into the Uchiha history and background. Perhaps even just find herself be known as a bastard, though she wasn't sure if she should voice that idea with Hisoka. "I doubt that she will show her Uchiha legacy. How common is it that a full blood Uchiha gets to have the sharingan? One out of third Uchiha shinobi only have it, don't they?"

"Yeah, that is about right. Yet I have it, and my father has it, and my grandfather had it. I am just saying. For something that should be rare, my direct family has a lot of it. But you are probably right." Hisoka dragged a hand through his hair as he thought about all the problems that would bring along for Meisa. Yes, it would give him problems too, but he could deal with those. He was still Shozo's son and he was still the man who had been the Fouth Hokage in the eye of the public. He could get away with things. Meisa? Probably not so much. "I wonder what she will be like when she is all grown up," he said then. "What will she do with her life, how will she live her life."

Thinking about it, he had a point. Wasn't the Second Hokage not also an uncle of his? An Uchiha with quite the dojutsu if she remembered correctly. Trying to think of arguments that would debunk the possibility being larger, Meisa decided to say something she wasn't sure of herself. "Indeed. Perhaps she won't become a soldier or kunoichi and will live a peaceful life. Not giving us any worry about her possible legacy." Though Meisa doubted that. It was a common fact that the children of both shinobi were often more motivated to pick up a military career. And seeing how close Mayumi already was with Sakamoto made Meisa decide to try to swap the subject. "You know, back in the day I could swear that missions were harder though. This still so far seems more like we're babysitting and watching Kiyomi dig around."

"Back in the day we fought Swordmen before breakfast," Hisoka said. "Those were the bad days." He grinned despite his words. Those were days he hoped Mayumi would never see. If she could only get easy missions, if she chose to be a shinobi, then that would be fine by him. "Though perhaps we should be paying some more attention to our mission. Looks like our Empress is seeking the darkness once again. I am going to assume we are following. "

"Can't indeed say that they were good. But they were more exciting." Meisa said, wondering for a moment. With Hisoka's words she nodded. As they approached the cave that seemed to have an odd carved in entrance, Meisa whistled softly. "She is starting to become more like Hiron these days. I wonder how much chakra she can use? Without the Nibi covering her on that department." The woman pondered out loud. With the darkness inside, she wondered how they were going to proceed. "While I wouldn't mind to be surprised, I figure that we're going to approach this part differently?" Meisa asked. Problem was that if they would use a light source that it would alert Kiyomi. And who know how that would go?

"I am not sure if exciting is what I wish the world to be. It seems like everything goes wrong when things are exciting," Hisoka said before focusing his attention on the cave. The darkness stared back at him as a gaping mouth waiting to eat them. "Well the question is if you still trust me," he said to Meisa as he inched closer to the place. "You see I have been keeping up with what I have always been the best at despite what my father wanted me to be good at. I am capable of using the Barrier: Canopy Method Formation while walking, though it might be slower than normal. That way we will know who is in that cave and how many there are at any given point. The only thing you have to do is stay close and trust me in the dark. As soon as we encounter something I can make light in a second."

Meisa scoffed lightly as she placed her hands on her hips after hearing what he proposed. "And be the damsel in distress when hell break loose?" Knowing that, however, she had no way of staying hidden from the group they were following without making a light Meisa threw another look in Hisoka's direction. "Worth a shot. Though let's hope that we won't encounter anything that will force us to fight in that darkness."

"I doubt you could ever genuinely play the role of damsel in distress. You don't have that helplessness in you, Meisa," Hisoka joked as he formed a string of handseal. "Besides I will be trusting you too. I will have to keep my hands together for this, I trust you to fend of any attackers that I point out so that I can keep the technique going." He flashed her a hopeful smile. "But yeah, let's hope that nothing jumps out of the shadows." With that he finished his seals and claped his hands together. An invisible barrier stretched out around him and immeidately Hisoka took note of the world around him in a much different way. "Let's go."

"I could try. You know what you asked before? If we could change something then what that would be?" Meisa said as she would follow him. Using the presence, smell and sound she would keep close but not too close and stumble against him. "I think that I might have pondered on becoming an actress. After all, putting up an act is what most operatives learn to do. And working in theatres and travelling groups sounds nice. No killing. No threats." She whispered as they entered the cave. Sadly enough reality was that she wasn't living such a peaceful life. Perhaps Mayumi would?

She couldn't see him anymore, but Hisoka was raising his eyebrows at that. An actress? He had not suspected that to have been an option for her. He couldn't even imagine her on stage, in the spotlight. It was so against what she did now, staying in the shadows and yet controlling everything. Considering her answer he kept his attention on the barrier and searched for Kiyomi and her party. "I told my uncle when I was small, that I didn't want to be Hokage," Hisoka whispered back. "And I realized over the years that I liked building. I think a simple labor job would have suited me just fine. Maybe one day we can change our fates..." He let his voice trail off.

Focusing on remaining close and not making a sound the woman found herself slightly surprised. Not at the revelation that he never wanted to be Hokage. After he had given her the rank and position in secret it had became clear that Hisoka never had asked for it. In a way it made him in her opinion a great leader, knowing what was wise and what wasn't. Though he wouldn't see it, she nodded as she followed him. "That would be nice..."
 
[fieldbox=New Dawn, wheat]

Alert :
If you want to read this post, be warned before hand. This post will change your knowledge on the Great War and newcomers will not fully understand the meaning of the post. Perhaps some veterans won't even understand it. I understand if there are questions, but don't bother to ask me. Slowly the meaning will float up to the surface and reveal more of the past.
For those who decide to read the post, I hope you will enjoy it. Feel free to discuss it in the skype group chat and such. Perhaps throw even a theory or two at me if you desire so.​


Kimi Iomaski,
| Spymaster | Republic of the Water Country| Kirigakure, Intelligence Division HQ |

[spoili]
Crossing her arms out front of her chest Kimi watched how the preparations were set in place. The ANBU that was at work checked the seals for the third time. Making sure that the written and inscribed formulas were correct. Nothing was left out for luck to influence what they were going to do. There were some ANBU who were busy to set up the next preparation, which was to lift a heavy closed vase in place. There was something morbid to the silent preparation as the masked men and women were making everything fall into place. Raising her chin slightly Kimi continued to watch from her position. This wasn't something she favoured but since when did the world care for that? Desires were perhaps a nice thing to consider but compared to what needed to happen they didn't fall in the first place. A cruel truth that each of them in the ANBU had been beaten to accept. Some even dying before they had been able to accept the truth that their desires weren't worth anything back in the days of the Second till Fourth Mizukage. There was an illusion that they had some freedom and capability to field desires during the time of the Fifth Mizukage. Yet that was an illusion. Knowing fully well how the Revolution had sparked Kimi wished that she had been able to act earlier.

Alas, wishing things to be different was a waste of time and energy. That was why they were making their preparations. Her eyes moved her gaze to the side. In the corner of the dimly lighted room by the few torches was a teen on her knees. She didn't seem to be much aware of her surroundings, a dull expression plastered on her face. There wasn't any indication that she had been hurt or suffered any pain, but Kimi couldn't be sure that if she wasn't feeling any agony or pain. She was sure that the teen had likely the desire to be gone. Far away from where she was now.

But did her desire outweighed the need of what needed to happen?
Was the life of a single human worth preserving when it could be used to make progression?
How would morality come into play when the end goal, the aim of it all, was to not make the world darker but better?

Slowly raising her right hand Kimi nodded. An ANBU behind the teen would grab the teen by the shoulder and force her to stand. Shoving her forwards to the middle of the formulas, next to the vase, Kimi kept a close watch of the stumbling teen. She wondered what went through the thoughts of Haruhi Suzumori. Probably fearing what would happen or would she understand that this was her end? Kimi doubted that it was the last. The girl was probably scared and the woman couldn't blame her. If anything the underground room that was part of the Intelligence Division complex was even giving Kimi some chills.

Making Haruhi drop to her knees Kimi nodded as she closed her eyes. Silently the ANBU would leave the room. As shadows retreating for the light, simply vanishing as they walked out of the room and closing the door behind them. Leaving Kimi alone with Haruhi.
Opening her eyes Kimi eyed the jinchuriki. A most curious thing, she thought to herself. Slowly stepping forwards Kimi couldn't detect if Haruhi was aware of that they were alone. That she was soon going to leave the world of the living in a most gruesome manner.

Crouching in front of the jinchuriki of the Five-tails, Kimi half closed her eyes. Reaching out to the right cheek of the teen, Kimi frowned as it seemed that the drug indeed was doing its work quite well. Pinching the cheek hard there was no reaction from the girl. Pulling her hand back Kimi considered to test it further to smack the girl full in the face. But why let her suffer if she perhaps could still feel pain? Soon enough the girl's world would end with pain. A sad end that Kimi even wished could be different for the jinchuriki. She had a whole future for her. At least, that was somewhat debatable. At what age did the average jinchuriki die? From what Kimi had learned it was at the age of 17 years. This wasn't because of the risks of being a shinobi or kunoichi. It was because of the dreadful bijuu inside of them.

"If you're still able to hear me then blink twice within five seconds." Kimi said in a calm tone. Counting down she noticed that Haruhi blinked at least even three times. Nodding slowly, Kimi straightened her back as she raised herself up from her crouched stance. "You probably have a lot of questions. Who I am? What are you doing here? How we managed to get you here? How this will end?" The woman summed up, placing her hands at her back as she looked down at the girl. She didn't look up with her head, but Kimi noticed that the green coloured eyes kept close watch of Kimi. There was a hint of fear and anger. Perhaps even agony and hate? Hard to guess seeing that there wasn't anything that Kimi could base her assumption off.

"I will introduce myself and tell you a short story. I will also apologise. If the previous Mizukage hadn't burdened you as heavily as you are now then there wouldn't be any need for this." Kimi paused for a moment. Gesturing to the formulas written on the floor Kimi continued. "I am Makoto Kobayashi." The woman said. "Where I come from? I don't think you would know or ever heard of it. Nor does it matter if you believe or don't believe me." Makoto let out a sigh as she threw a look at the surrounding formulas. "I don't tell this for you even. I am hoping that what has been sealed inside you is listening. Paying attention. You are just the messenger of some sorts Haruhi. I am pretty sure that you know who I am speaking off?"

Locking her eyes with Haruhi, Makoto would spread her arms as she paused. "I serve those who have switched their names and served in the shadows for a long time. How long? I have no idea, but those who stood against us accused us of creating the Great War. Accusing us of pulling the world through chaos for our own benefit. I can try to tell you all of the wars in the shadows that have perhaps come to a standstill thanks to the recent truce, but is destined to continue on one day." Lowering her arms Makoto's facial expression turned a bit bitter.

"There only a very few of us and our numbers aren't growing. The others are growing stronger and while soon enough we will be working together I am not going to forget their crimes. They blame that we unleashed the tensions between the nations. That because we strived for an absolute order and control that the war erupted. Easy to speak in hindsight and point fingers, but I believe that my predecessors had good intentions. If they were given a chance there wouldn't have been so much dead. Not so much hatred and destruction. The world could be unified and we could have faced the coming storm. As one. Instead of what we are now, divided and weakened by our fears and desires."

Pausing Makoto was sure that the girl didn't know what she was talking about. The beast in the dark would, however. "You once served our cause. You were on our side and promised to aid us before. I request you to aid us once more. I fear that else the order will be facing annihilation." Makoto's voice started to lower in volume. Becoming a whisper.

"If you are there. Then blink four times rapidly and I'll see to it that you will be able to work for the greater good again. Kokuō." It remained silent as Makoto waited. She couldn't wait for long, but slowly a smile grew on her lips.

"Let us begin then. May the New Dawn rise as glorious as it should have."​
[/spoili]
[/fieldbox]
 
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[fieldbox= A Nice View, #ff4d4d]
Harada Toshi | Team 3 Genin | Sky-Wolf Country | Abandoned Town
Summary: Toshi walks around the abandoned town and settles in for a night on watch.
Toshi was oddly aware of the crunching beneath his feet, a combination of charcoal and rock. Toshi scanned the buildings nearest him as he kept walking through the town, each window and doorway left open represented a hidden threat and Toshi wasn't about to get himself killed on his first real mission so he eyed each opening as they passed him by. He noticed a few of the buildings with more than just fire damage to them, but what exactly had done the damage he couldn't say for sure, 'Good thing I'm not a sensory Shinobi, because I would suck at that job.' he thought as he kept walking. Up ahead he spotted an old looking well, the rock surrounding it caved in on one side and the remains of the roof over it's opening strewn across the ground to the side. He took a moment to look down the well, expecting more debris or worse; but much to his surprise he was greeted by the calm black of water at the bottom.

'Remember that well.' he repeated in his head as he walked away from it. Up ahead he spotted one of the few two story houses in the small village. Badly burned on one side but relatively untouched on the other he decided it was to be his new lookout position.

Landing on top of the roof with a quiet thud he was surprised to find himself alone on the roof. "I like peace and quite." he said jokingly to himself as he surveyed the town from his new perch. A convenient view that commanded the surrounding area as well as the fields near the closest entrance to the village which he could see had a small group of soldiers patrolling near it. Taking note of the soldiers he had eyes on he shifted his position on the roof. Standing at the edge of the burnt away roof he leaned over the side looking to the floor below, the room was almost entirely burnt out with a few embers still glowing here and there. Toshi was almost positive he could make out a small burnt figure in the ashes, but it was too small to be a child. He settled his mind on it being a doll. Turning around he walked back to the edge of the roof.

Unbuttoning his jacket he pulled two scrolls from their little pouches, one a light red and the other light blue in color. He unrolled the light red scroll on the roof in front of him and left the light blue scroll in his coat pocket. Taking a seat on the edge of the roof he grabbed a kunai from his pouch and began twirling it between his fingers, settling in for a long night.
[/fieldbox]
 
[fieldbox="Patrols, seagreen, solid"]

Miu Sanosuke

Genin of team 3

They did a good few hours of traveling to get there where upon arrival she set up orders for certain groups to do, which was fine. She wasn't working with that one Hojo woman so anything was better really, was just a shame that she was with a random group of people and not Toshi or Rei. Which made sense she couldn't expect the odds to be in her favor to get in either of their groups. Yet they got some better tasks than the one she was in. Toshi got a key location of sorts, or was a lookout somewhere. She was simply in a patrol group, where they moved around a bit spaced to get maximum security from their patrols, which would be repeated multiple times. For over a long period of time. She guess however long it took before they figure out how this entire thing even started, which seemed it might be a while unless it was clear as hell. Yet such a widespread destruction could have simply been the cause of an accidental fire that got treated too late and went crazy before anyone could do anything about it. Yet if it was a hostile threat then jesus they were very clear on no survivors, the place was a ghost town before they arrived. Well hopefully whoever caused this was long gone, and if it was an accident. Well then hopefully they could leave soon. Yet she must have been trailing behind a bit cause one of the soldiers pushed her to get her moving faster. To which she apologized and would move forward to get back in her spot. Every now and then they would hear a rustle in a bush in the distance not burned to a crisp, which upon checking was just a wild animal usually a rabbit or chipmunk. So she saw plenty of cute animals during her patrols, and some very vulgar conversations between the soldiers, which left her disgusted but men would be men. Maybe thats the next question she could ask Toshi, since he seemed to partake in these conversations.[/fieldbox]
 
[fieldbox="Rest is Best, red, dashed, 10, Tahoma"]

Shizu Sarutobi \ Amegakure Barracks Building \ Team 2

It had been quite some time since she had last been in Amegakure, but as she got off of the waggon Amegakure seemed to still be the same from the last time she had been. Glancing around at some of the buildings she could not help but think back at that last time. The team she had been with the last time she had been in Amegakure, and how that time was her first time being in a place that rained so often. Back then it was shocking that Amegakure could get vast amounts of constant rain, and back then the buildings alone were something of a surprise to her. Hearing about it was one thing, but seeing it was another thing altogether.

Faintly shaking her head Shizu bit her lip to keep from thinking any more than she needed on that, and would walk with the others into the barracks building. Nothing much expected about the building nor where they'd be staying. If anything it was nice compared to the waggon, and now thinking about that Shizu rolled one of her shoulders as she walked to one of the beds. After rolling her other shoulder she put the standard bag on the ground, took off the rain coat, put her own bag on the bed, and undid her hair to let it drop down. Finally sitting on the bed Shizu then took the communicator, and switched it to channel C as Koike did say he could answer any questions on this channel.

"Thank you." Shizu said to Tomo, not quite sure how else to respond to the privilage she had gotten.

Setting her hair piece on the cabnet top near her bed bunk she would take her tachi from its sheath on her back, and lean it against the bed frame. As for the jacket...not actually sure what to do about it as it was still wet she placed the dry side, the inside of it, flat on the bed. Getting back up Shizu would walk to the door, and look out to the hallway to see if there was a nearby restroom. Looking back at her female teammates Shizu cleared her throat. "You wouldn't, by any chance, have been here before to know where the restroom is at?"

[/fieldbox]
 
[fieldbox=A night raid, lightsalmon]
Satoshi Jun,
Commander of the Kumogakure vanguard | Jounin of Team 3 | Sky-Wolf country border, encampment

Nothing had happened since the group he had assigned for the last task - to investigate a village that seemed to be abandoned after some disaster - had left and went to attend to their task. Satoshi was wondering if he shouldn't have assigned more people. They were close to a troubled region of which they didn't have that much information on. Then again, sending out a larger group could be a waste and Satoshi wasn't a real fan of wasting. While it was perhaps a small portion of the current army he was assigned to lead and command, he was certain that reinforcements from the Lightning country wouldn't just be sent on a whim.
Hopefully, they would be back in no time as he would enjoy this evening in peace as everything seemed to be doing alright and fine.

At the abandoned village.

With the group of Lightning country soldiers and few shinobi arriving and taking up their positions, the coming night didn't seem to bring much trouble. Soldiers who took their positions and patrol didn't seem to bother much with the shinobi that were assigned to them. Most seemed to consider the mission to be quickly done as the investigation shinobi were trying to find some tracks.

An hour passed and nothing really happened. Until one of the five investigation shinobi seemed to have found something. Soon enough the five started to investigate and search for information as there was a weak chakra signature trace left in one of the houses in the middle of the village. Figuring out that it was humanoid the five started to try to find more clues. Slowly, but surely they managed to learn more as traces of blood could be found. With the damage one could find in the village the first theory was that the hamlet had been attacked by some force. This news didn't seem to bring much worry among those who learned of the information as there was no sign of any threat nearby.

The five shinobi doing the investigation decided to see if they could find more weak chakra traces and perhaps where they had come from. Only the rest and peace of the group would be disturbed by a short scream coming from the northern part of the village. Soon enough shouts and battle cries rang through the air.
Out of the dark all around the hamlet shadows seemed to have taken live. Chilling battle cries were screeched and shouted as the shadows were men running towards the entrances of the hamlet with hatchets, spears and shields. They were light armoured, which enabled them to be fast on their feet but a terrifying aspect of the sudden attackers were their numbers and the fact they seemed to cover by ash and mud. Soon enough the group of Lightning country soldiers and shinobi would be beset on all sides by men who seemed to have no chakra signature to them and more than ready to show the group what had happened to the previous inhabitants of the hamlet.
[/fieldbox]
 
A dark tidal wave,
Hold the line! Shieldwall!

A collab written between Frostedcaramel, Honorabru, Sketching and Oetje!

Summary :
An assault from all sides rushes on the group that is under leadership of Yumeij Hojo. Determined and forced the soldiers and shinobi try to hold their ground against their attackers!​


[spoili]

Patrolling was still going as well as it could have, nothing dangerous was sighted and it stayed that way for most of their time there. They kept trading off whenever they heard sounds in the distance but it always ended up being a animal of some sort. Except for the last time when a sounds rustled in a bush in the distance. One of the soldiers stopped mid conversation with a friend to go and check it out, as he neared it though instead of a rabbit jumping out and running away from the giant men, something else jumped out in the form of a human. A sword was quickly thrust through the soldier who couldn't get a sound out before collasping on the ground, what followed after that was multitudes of figures running out of the shadows towards the destroyed village. Wondering what was taking the one guy so long Miu looked over to see a bunch of shadows moving towards them at a fast rate. For what she knew only one guy went to investigate, and they weren't recieving reinforcements that she heard of. As they got closer it became clear that they were very much hostile, and probably the culprits of this destroyed village. "Shit!! Were being attacked!!!" Miu shouted which raised awareness for the other soldiers who on a flip of a dime of being carefree went to being the trained professionals they were and got into a defensive position, with Miu reluctantly being ont the front lines with them.

Sitting atop the roof, Toshi calmly spun a kunai between his fingers as he scanned the tree line and fields at the entrance closest to him. Here and there throughout the night he had seen the soldiers moving in groups as they patrolled. Ahead of him he watched a soldier berak off from a group and make his way into the forest, a few moments later he seemed to be returning, "That's more than on--" his words cut off mid-sentence by a yell from the group of soldiers ahead of him who seemed to take a defensive formation facing the incoming shadows. Standing up Toshi was able to see more of the viallge outskirts than before, suddenly he was hit with a grim realization, there were more than just that group of shadows coming from the treeline they seemed to encircle at least the half of the town that Toshi could see.

"Oh shit...." he said under his breath as he turned toward the center of town and began to yell "We've got incoming! All around us!". He turned back to the entrance and knelt at the scroll at his feet and unsealed the assortment of throwing weapons within. Grabbing a five shuriken and another kunai he stood back up and waited for the shadows to get closer.

Yumeji's head twisted to the side of where the first scream was originating from. Soon enough more followed and the chuunin in charge wasn't sure what was going on. Clearly nothing good, that was for sure! Drawing her seax and grabbing her shield the teen glanced around as the sound of battle started to dawn from every side. Soon enough somebody - one of the shinobi - reported that they were being assaulted from every side. Which was confirmed by the growing violent sounds and tensions growing around them.
"Defend the investigation group! Take up a defensive position at the centre! Hold the entrances to the centre!" The teen shouted, but she wasn't sure what she should do herself. Turning to one direction, Yumeij bites her lip. Armed and ready she decided she would try to help to hold one side so that those at the centre could afford some time to brace and mount a defence against the unknown hostiles.

Jogging towards the side where the distress had sounded first Yumeji was for a moment shocked. It seemed as if the shadows of the night had come alive to take them all to a cruel end. For a split second, the teen wavered, her gut telling her to abandon her post and duty to make her way out of it.
Instead, Yumeji would slam the flat side of her seax against her shield. Not to instil fear or dread in the enemy, but to mentally force herself to focus. Rushing forward Yumeij would hold her shield out in front of her as readying her seax as she moved at the front rows as the hostiles moved as a dark tidal wave - intending to force themselves through their defensive to swarm the village.

They formed their defense fast enough with the soldiers and herself getting their shields ready for the initial charge. Miu was utterly terrified inside, she never was in a battle like this and so she wasn't quite sure how to handle the situation as it grew. She simply held her shield tighlty while clenching the hilt of the sword as hard as she could, so when the the shadows came close enough that she could reach out and touch them. A sense of dread filled her as she was pushed slightly back when a sword hit her shield followed by the weight of multiple men pushing her backwards. The sounds of metal hitting metal rang through her head every moment now, and all she could do was block this one beserk like man's attacks that kept coming at her. Yet her fear grew higher as he finally pushed her shield to the side, and had his sword raised to bring down. She wasn't sure when it happened, she blinked for a couple of seconds and when she opened her eyes, she found her swords inside the man's chest, with blood pouring down him as his raised arm went limp and he fell backwards. When did she raise her arm? She didnt recall doing it at all, and yet the man was dead? She... killed someone? She probably would have been dead too if someone didn't bump her and to tell her to focus, she can freak out later. She gradually held her shield up again but her eyes kept glancing at the dead man now being trampled on by his own allies.

Cursing softly to himself Toshi threw his full hands of kunai and shuriken at a roof closer to the edge of town. the moment they were on their way he snatched up the scroll at his feet and began making his way from rooftop to rooftop to where he had thrown his weapons. 'Where the hell did they come from, and how did nobody sense them?!' he was in awe as he watched the shadows descend on the town like beasts. Landing on the roof of a building not far from the initial group of soldiers he had been watching he gathered his weapons and set himself at the edge of the house.

Spotting a four shadows that seemed to be making their way toward the friendly soldiers he pulled the arm with both kunai back to throw them, "They're only shadows." he said to himself as he let the kunai fly, followed quickly by three of the five shuriken he had in his left hand. He was astoundingly able to see the glint from the moon off the kunai as they flew across the field making their way quickly to the shadows. He lost sight of the kunai for a moment before realizing two of the shadows were no longer visible, and a third shadow seemed to be injured, "Shadows don't get injured..." he said again to himself before throwing the final two shuriken in his hand. He watched them intently this time, catching sight of the fourth shadow raise a shield to intercept them as they streaked toward him which did him well but not so much his injured shadow friend who was; like the first two shadows; no longer around. He watched sickeningly as the fourth and seemingly smartest shadow smashed into the friendly group of soldiers.

Gritting her teeth Yumeji tried to hold her position. In front of her was a soldier carrying a shield and sword, fending off an enemy. Due to the charge and weight of the enemy numbers, the man in front of Yumeji was threatened to be pushed back. Attempting to help as she used her shield and own weight and strength to provide the man with some force to hold him up instead of being knocked down. Blood splashed on Yumeji's face, causing her to squeeze her eyes as the warm, crimson liquid splattered on her. An axe had been plunged into the neck of the soldier in front of her. Grunting Yumeji would push forwards with all her might, toppling the dying soldier on his opponent and take his place.

Next to her was a girl fighting with all she could, even striking an enemy down. Raising her own shield, Yumeji fended off a strike of a short sword, while she would plunge her seax into the belly of the man. He kept screaming his lungs out. Using her shield to push the man back, Yumeji was soon forced to again protect herself against another attacker who replaced the previous. Deflecting a blow with her shield, Yumeji would move her foe's weapon out of the way. As she lashed out again, her blow was caught against a shield. Before the man in front of Yumeji could make his move, she landed a firm kick against the shield of the man, which saw him being stumbling back.
"Hold the line!" She shouted, though unsure if it would work.
The previous attacker decided to lunge forwards, his weapon raised to bring it down on the chuunin. Not willing to block a heavy attack, Yumeji moved her shield slightly out of the way as she thrust her seax in front of her. The man impaled himself on her weapon as the chuunin used her shield to slam the man backwards as she jerked her weapon out at the same time.
Trying to catch a breath, Yumeij had to raise her shield to catch an imminent strike. There were so many of them!

In the chaos, Rei found himself moving with the wave of soldiers towards the edge of town where there were sounds of metal clashing, and where the first cry that had broken the silence sounded. It felt surreal for the boy. What could it have been? Some training drill, or perhaps a sudden feast. How could it possibly have been an attack?

Finally he came to see the group of soldiers with shields right in front of him, being pushed back. He looked at the small group of men bringing shields and swords for the soldiers arriving, thinking for a moment before glancing over at the rooftops where he noticed one of his teammates attacking with ranged weapons. He quickly rushed over to the nearest building and ran up the side to get on the rooftops near the shield wall. He pulled out two kunai and sent them flying towards two of the unknown attackers on the doorstep of the wall.
[/spoili]
 
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Korina Kusanagi
Chuunin of the Cloud
​
The task had been going well, should all things be considered. Korina had been working with a group of soldiers to clear out some of the environmental obstructions to the sensory shinobi. It wasn't a glamorous or exciting job and most certainly wasn't her preferred patrolling job, but she wasn't the boss.

For herself, Korina took a measure of comfort in the jokes the men were spitting around, even if some of them were at her and her fellow shinobi's expense. Calmly, she adjusted her kote and jacket and moved on to the next bit of debris to clear when the call came. It didn't take more than a few seconds to hear the clash of metal and the war cries of the soldiers that seemed to form in the area around their current objectives. The soldiers of her group made war cries of their own and the ones with shields seemed to hurry off to join the protective wall. Korina owned no such shield, and she wasn't very keen on the idea of joining said wall without one.

That being the case, however, Korina didn't want to leave the objectives. Her orders had been to stay with them, and she felt as though she would be abandoning her post if she ran off half-cocked to join the fray. She decided that she would plug in the holes from the rooftops, maybe she could provide support while mopping up any attackers that made it through. Korina deployed her hook and ran towards one of the more sturdy buildings. She kicked off the side, hooked herself to the roof's edge, then pulled herself up for a better view. Thanks to her darker clothes, she wouldn't be easily seen if she minded her positioning and kept her moon shadow on the roof, rather than on the ground.

With her higher vantage point, she could see the funnel and pincer that some of the soldiers and shinobi made at the main entrance. However, she could also see the other areas with no such support. Using the roofs, she worked her way over there and provided what support that she could from the shadows. At her closest avenue, she threw a few shuriken from her thigh pack then shot her loaded rope dart at the arm of a berserking shadow a little ways behind her. She drove her chakra into her feet to stay anchored as her thrashed and yelled as it was pulled down after the dart impaled it's mark's wrist but a soldier's sword quickly put an end to that struggle. Happily, some of the enemies were clotheslined or even cut on the sharpened, darkened metal wire that connected her to the berserker throughout the struggle, and she had to employ chakra enhanced strength to keep from being torn off the roof.

When she felt the wire slacken, she pulled hard with her chakra enhanced strength to drag the body towards her, and tripped up a few of the smaller attackers on the body and braided wire rope as it was jerked backwards towards the attackers and up to the roof. She decided to cut and run before she could be focused down, and used her tomahawk to hack through the wrist to free her dart blade then used the rooftops to get to the next defensive avenue to support with her shuriken, kunai, and rope dart.
 
A Quick Trip Home

A Collab between Jasonhero, Lesli and Fieryfly

Summary:
Eiji leads Aiko to his home to fix her a place to sleep and rest for the upcoming days. Ryu, who was also home, has a conversation with Aiko before Aiko and Eiji talk a bit more about the present situation. Eiji expresses his wish to meet Koike Hon and possibly the new Hyuuga Clanleader before having to leave again. There is always more work to be done.
​

Laying on the couch with a rather large textbook in her hands, Ryu let out a small sigh and flipped the page. As much as the girl enjoyed reading, she loathed the thought of having to open this monster. That being said; it was a bit essential that she did read and take notes on it. Doctor Tsubaki had told her it was, else she wouldn't be able to become a medical-nin. So, with a small huff, Ryu went back to studying her materials. Occasionally pausing to set the book down and pick up a notepad to scribble down some notes.

She took a moment to take it in. Eiji was going to get stuff to make up a bed on the couch,but also some other stuff. Meanwhile Aiko was told to make it herself comfortable. The woman was grateful for her friend's help, but she felt a bit uncomfortable. Kei had fallen asleep, leaning fully against Aiko which made the woman try to not wake up the child. She doubted that Eiji wouldn't prefer Kei start to search for the best spots to hide and eavesdrop or 'ambush' people. Then again it was more of a thing for Kei to eavesdrop while Akimoto was more a fan to confront people. In his own way. Walking to the living room, Aiko looked around for another moment. Dropping her bag, she would make her way to the couch only to spot an unknown person. "Oh, hello." The woman said, tilting her head slightly to the left as she eyed the other person. Probably the student Eiji had told her about?

Ryu, not having known Eiji was bringing guests jumped about four feet in the air when she heard a voice from behind. With a high pitched squeak, the girl spun to look at who was behind her, her book spilling onto the floor. Her entire face red from embarrassment, Ryu looked at the woman with her good eye. Hopping up quickly, Ryu gave the woman a polite bow. "Uhm... Hello Miss... I didn't know Eiji-Sensei was bringing guests today." she said quickly.

"That makes two of us, I guess then." Aiko replied in a slight amused tone as she would take a seat on a nearby chair. She was glad that Kei remained asleep or didn't at least seem to be willing to make it appear differently. "Sorry, I should give you a proper greeting, but I got my hands full. Aiko Cho-Hon. Sorry for disturbing your reading."

Whenever the woman sat down, Ryu crouched down to grab her textbook and notepad. Setting both to the side and sitting on the couch. "Oh, no Ma'am. It's fine! I was just studying like my Medical Ninjutsu mentor told me to do. I'm Ryu Uchiha! It's nice to meet you."

"Medical ninjutsu?" Her mentor? Aiko wondered when Eiji had learned or knew medical ninjutsu. Perhaps she and Eiji were indeed two different sides of the same coin? Which was to her quite amusing, but she kept that for herself. "Beg my pardon and manners for I had a long travel, but you're an Uchiha?" She asked to be certain. The eyepatch and other features of the girl weren't missed by Aiko, but what kunoichi or shinobi didn't have their scars? "But medical ninjutsu?" Aiko added, hoping to spur the conversation in that direction as she wasn't certain if she should talk about the Uchiha clan.

"Yes Ma'am! I decided to learn Medical Ninjutsu because I wanted to help people, stop their pain and heal them. As for being an Uchiha, as far as I know I am. Otherwise I'd much like to know how I managed to get the Sharingan." she said with a peaceful expression. Though one looking could certainly tell it was partially forced. Yeah, and lose it again. she thought to herself. "If I may ask, I've not hear of any Hon or Cho over here in Amegakure... are you from Konoha?" she asked.

A soft snort escaped Aiko as she had to agree that she would be interested in how the girl got the sharingan. Deciding to not state that it would be dangerous to let another kunoichi know of your abilities it was for the reason that the girl wasn't any pupil of hers. That and it wasn't like they were going to be likely at each other's throats. Neither did Aiko further the topic seeing she noticed that there was something with the expression of the girl. "I am not surprised. I fear that many of the Hons and Cho prefer the nicer climate at the eastern part of the realm. As for me? Do you mean where I was born or if I live in Konohagakure?" Aiko asked, not just to be certain of what the girl was trying to learn. It was also to try to keep the conversation going on.

Tilting her hesd slightly to the side, Ryu thought for a second before responding. "I suppose I was asking if you lived there. That is, only if you're willing to share that information. I don't want to pry too much." She said then looked over to the side towards her notepad, and noticing it was still open. Leaning over to flip it closed before looking back at Aiko.

"I don't mind sharing some small information. I do indeed live in Konohagakure, yes." Aiko answered in return. She wondered when Eiji would return, but decided to continue the conversation. It would do better than just to sit in silence and be prone to fall asleep. "And how is your study going so far?" Aiko asked, glancing at the books to indicate what she meant and hoping that the girl would take the invitation to talk about her medical ninjutsu study.

Whenever the woman confirmed that she lived in Konohagakure, Ryu's eye went wide for a second as it dawned on her. "Oh! It just dawned on me, I've heard of you before Mrs. Cho-Hon! You're known for really powerful genjutsu. That's really cool! I kind of want to learn Genjutsu myself, but I don't know anybody who actually knows how to use Genjutsu." she said quickly, then her face flared red as she realized she had strayed off topic a bit. "S-sorry! I... er... yeah sorry. I got a bit distracted... Anyways. You asked how my studies were going. They've been going well... I suppose. Mostly I've been working on Chakra Control with Doctor Tsubaki. He says I'm doing well! I've also been studying how to do basic first aid and other procedures without ninjutsu. Along with learning about the human body and stuff. It's hard work and I'm only at the beginning, as I was out of things for a week or so recently. But that's a different story." she said before pausing and thinking for a seconds. "What brings you over to Amegakure... and well... sensei's house in particular? If I may ask of course."

With Ryu recognising her or at least seemed to be aware of one of her talents Aiko flashed a polite smile. She would let the girl continue talking without deciding to confirm or deny the fact she was indeed who Ryu considered her to be. It would do no good she supposed to deny it nor was she eager to confirm and stroke her own ego with saying she was indeed that person. "Very useful," Aiko commented as she remembered briefly about Kaname. "Hmmm, it is a pretty nice city, no? At least, it offer a different sight from Konohagakure. You could say that I am doing a bit of sight seeing on my own way." Aiko decided to answer, which wasn't completely from the the truth. "That and Eiji is a friend of mine. Know him for almost three years?" She thought about it, wondering if that was correct. "At least, for some time."

Nodding, Ryu gave a polite smile in return to Aiko. "I thought it would be useful. I'm glad I'm not the only one to think so." she said before falling silent briefly. "It is a nice city. I rather like it here, though I can't say I've seen any other cities to really compare it to. I didn't know Eiji-Sensei had friends over in Konohagakure. But that's pretty cool! I'd be interested to visit there some day, if nothing else than to just see what actual Uchiha are like." she said, not thinking much of how the last part could sound strange.

"Actual Uchiha are just like you, Ryu. They are people just like me and you," Eiji said as he entered the room. He had managed to catch the last words Ryu had spoken and while he understood where she was coming from he felt like he should correct her before she started to believe she was a lesser person or something .Sure, the Uchiha held their powerful dojutsu and had done much for the land, but they were still people and not higher beings one should look up to. His meeting with the Hokage had proven as much. Even Uchiha had their demons.

He placed the fuuton and blankets he was holding down next to the couch and then turned to Aiko. "If you want there is room in my chamber for Kei to sleep right now. Sachi is taking her nap as well. Kei could use my bed. Also, can I offer you something? Travel must have been long after all. I could make you some tea?"

Aiko nodded as she heard what Eiji said at first. "So far every Uchiha I met in Konohagakure were polite and friendly people." Aiko said. Even Shozo she had to admit. The man had always been polite and perhaps formal, but nothing that she could say or think bad about the man without feeling it would be a lie. "Oh, many thanks." But when Eiji offered that Kei could sleep somewhere else the woman clearly pondered if that was a good idea. It sounded better than sleeping on the couch, but she wasn't sure how Kei would sleep without knowing she was safe.

"We can try it for one night. Really, Eiji, I owe you one. Thanks." Aiko flashed a smile. Glancing at her daughter, she noticed that Kei was still asleep. "Some tea would be delightful. I will let Kei here and put her in bed in a bit. Just to be sure she is vast asleep." Which was half true as Aiko realised that she felt a bit nervous.

Upon hearing the offer for tea, and the woman accepting it, Ryu turned to look at Eiji. "Sensei, I can go make the tea if you want to talk with Mrs. Cho-Hon or anything!" she offered, trying to be helpful in some capacity. She stood up as she made the offer and already began heading over to start getting the tea ready. As she walked, the girl responded to what she had heard from the two about the Uchiha. "Well, I mean, I want to learn about their culture and all that. I'm somewhat lacking in understand my own clan's culture. But at least they're not total jerks." she said before setting about getting the tea, humming softly to herself.

"That would be nice, Ryu," Eiji said. He watched the girl walk of towards the kitchen with a slight frown on his face. Then he turned back to Aiko and waved the gratitude away. "No worries. I wouldn't want Sachi to sleep in the barracks either. It is not a very child friendly place, nor was it meant to be." He sat down on the couch and leaned back. "So besides the craziness going on, how have you been? And more importantly where is mister twinbrother? As far as I understood it the two are never apart."

Flashing a smile as she thanked again the question saw the smile vanish as Aiko let out a sigh. "To be honest? I have no clue. I suppose he is still at home. From what I understand the two were planning to hitch a ride with hiding in the bags that I had prepared. Akimoto has likely managed to hide in a bag that I didn't need on this mission. And seeing that I can't leave my group alone to quickly head back I decided to bring her along. Hoping that Amegakure wouldn't have any problems in store for me." Aiko said, pausing for a moment. Her eyebrows perked as she decided to ask a question. "To return a question, how long has the city been dealing with problems such as offices being attacked?"

Eiji shook his head. "Not. This attack is the first one I know about and I generally like to think that I know everything major that is going on in the city. With Ryoku stepping out that has become madatory." Eiji still wasn't sure how he felt about Ryoku leaving the job as Amekage. He understood that the vision the man had for the city had been reached, and that was a noble thing, but... that didn't mean that he wasn't still needed. Especially with the attacks now. "Konoha would have been informed if this had happened before." He fell silent for a moment, his eyes cast down. "I should have been more prepared. Somehow. It is my job to protect the city while there is no Amekage do it. I should have figured that the peace wasn't going to last for much longer."

Realising that this wasn't an easy time or going to be an easy time for him, Aiko would respond back. "I agree that it is in your job description, though blaming yourself is a bit harsh. You're already trying to do something about it and seeing I'm now around I suppose that I can lend some help." Though his last sentence made her wonder. Deciding to ask it Aiko would hush her voice by a bit. "And was it to be expected that with Ryoku's retirement peace wouldn't last? Any signs that made you think that this could happen?"

"Not necessarily, but we did hear about Soru and Liaru before and having them up to something is never a good thing. I can hardly see it as a coincidence that they, whoever exactly they are, made their move now that the seat of Amekage is vacant. And besides," he looked up to her with a rather serious expression. "Since when does peace ever last? It has been years since the big war, but ever since conflicts have appeared left and right even though the nations desired peace. Or at least they state they do. I do. Who wants their children to grow up in a time of conflict, but it feels like that is a bit of a naive dream."

Soru and Liaru. She wondered if it was possible that one had contact with the other, even while being imprisoned. Considering to figure out if that was the case later on Aiko couldn't really disagree with Eiji's words on peace. "Peace is a nice ideal. Perhaps it is just our experience as shinobi that makes us skeptical on it, but I can't think of a more worthy cause or goal to strive for." Her eyes lowered, throwing a glance at Kei who was still asleep. "Perhaps a bit of naivity wouldn't hurt? I like to think that this trouble maker won't experience what war will be like as we had when we were younger." The thought alone of going through another war was enough to make her stomach shift a bit.

Eiji followed Aiko's glance to Kei who was soundly asleep. It was endearing in a way. Aiko's words rang true. He was going to make damn sure that Sachi wouldn't experience a war like he had. A war that broke so much more than it had anticipated and healed very little. "I guess. It is just that a lot has been going on and suddenly there is a lot more pressure on my shoulders. Hoshi is doing all she can, but she is swamped too. Turns out maintaining a city is difficult. Everyone wants something from you. I can't even imagine how it is in Konoha where you also have all the clans who want to have a say in the matter. Though maybe that could mean you could delegate more..." He pondered about that for a second. "Either way, I would gladly take you up on your offer. I could use your help."

"Who knew?" Aiko tried to joke as he stated that maintaining a city was difficult. She found it already stressful to manage her clan and their lands. Which wasn't that much work as there were enough clever and independent people who worked for her who would manage and see that her desires were done. A city full of people with different backgrounds, desires and norms would provide most likely a much bigger challenge. "Woow, hold it there, mister," Aiko said half amused and worried, "I don't mind helping out with my group. If you wish me to help you out in the administration sector then I hope you realise that I am going to request your work on paperwork in the future." The woman stated, already dreading how much hours she would be stuck behind a desk. There was a reason why Zakito came late at home and Aiko suspected it had to do with paperwork. Then again perhaps her clan could provide assistance for Amegakure?

Eiji laughed. "I wouldn't dare asking you to do paper work. I," he gave her a slightly cocky smile as if he couldn't believe it himself either, "have people for that. Well... sometimes. I still have to do a lot myself. But no, I wouldn't ask you to sit behind a desk with me. I will take whatever you can offer me." It still was a strange idea that he had the power to order people around. He was used to it as sensei. His students had to listen to him, that had always been the case. But he had been used to that. Then when he became Assistant of the Amekage things changed. Suddenly his voice was important, people listened to what he said and often ran with it. "Who has Aiko Hon-Cho picked to be in her fabulous group that will help out Amegakure?"

Unable to resist a smile, Aiko shook her head. As he asked who was in her group, Aiko again stopped smiling as a sigh escaped her. "I wish I could state that it would be a group that would be really helpful and could help to trace the scource of your problems in no time. Point is," raising her right hand to her neck, Aiko felt a bit embarrassed by it as she rubbed her neck, "The group is largely made up from genin. There are so far only two members that are battle-experienced and hardened. My current lieutenant, so to say, is Koike Hon. I figure he can provide some aid in tracking down Liaru. That is if you would have something with his scent and it wouldn't rain for a day. Though, I suppose that is asking for the summer sun during Christmas." Pausing, she continued on. "He is the member who can tell and inform you more about the Zealots and what kind of experience he had with them. Then there is Katsu Uchiha. Like Koike, he used to be a pupil of mine. Good kid."

Pausing, Aiko couldn't hide her pride and smile. "Funny thing is that they are both really close. Koike is my nephew and Katsu has been formally my adopted son for a few months. He is a good team with Koike. I think that they can team up with any of your experienced nin to help to combat your problems. The others, however," she said as she seemed to waver for a second, "That's an entirely different story. There are two chuunin currently that aren't really experienced or combat hardened. I don't think that they earned their promotion with having bought some butter. One of them is a Crystal Release user as the other is a Hyuuga. The current leader of his clan even." Pausing to let that sink in Aiko would continue. "Then there are the genin. I am not yet sure if they are ready to deal with insurgents and the Zealots, but suppose that you can use everybody that is capable of at least trying to help."

"You brought the currently leader of the Hyuuga clan with you on a mission to Amegakure. And we are letting him sleep in the barracks." Eiji let that sink in too for a moment and stared at Aiko. "Well that is something you don't hear everyday. You sure I shouldn't have someone offer him a proper room by himself? I mean as a clanleader he might be expecting things like that." He honestly wasn't sure what to do with this information. Should he personally go and welcome the boy, figuring that the Hyuuga must be a boy for otherwise he wouldn't be a chuunin and on this mission, or should he just let it be? It might be beneficial to get to know the boy now and get some good relations going.

"I will definitely want to meet this Koike Hon. Everything we can know about these Zealots I want to know. Not saying that I don't want to meet the rest of your team. You have met mine after all. Most of it at least. So far you are only missing John. He is a good guy, bit extravagant, but a good guy nevertheless. Miss Uchiha's boyfriend too." He gestured to the kitchen where Ryu was still making the tea.

At that point, the girl had finished making the tea and turned to head back to the living room where the two were. Arriving just in time to hear talk about John, she couldn't hide the small smile on her face. First moving to give Aiko a cup of tea, she would then look to Eiji. "Were you having some tea as well? Also, speaking of John, any idea where he is? He hasn't come back yet and I'm a little worried." she said, taking a step back and waiting for his reply.

Aiko had to surpress a small laugh as Eiji was worried about a clan leader. "Yes, cause he is still serving as a chuunin. It would do him no good if we start to pamper him and make him experience his time as a chuunin as if everything will come off easy just because he has been made the leader of his clan. I don't after all request the best of rooms and I fear that I must try to claim more prestige than the Hyuuga these days." Aiko said, phrasing the words on an amused tone to make sure that Eiji understood that he shouldn't worry too much. "If he does start to desire such things leave it up to me to make him realise he should then not stay in the military."

As he mentioned that she had almost met everybody of the team, stating the curious fact that Ryu and this John had a relation Aiko threw a sideways look at Eiji. "This John also lives here?" She asked, wondering as Ryu stated he hadn't come back. Somehow she wondered if Eiji was going down the same road Zakito had. Looking back at Ryu Aiko remembered when Kaname had decided to indulge into medical ninjutsu. "And hold on, you two are in a romantic relationship and in the same team?" A bit surprised, Aiko wasn't against it. It was a rare occurance so far she knew.

"Okay, good, I will make sure to inform you if he requests anything like that," Eiji said laughing at Aiko's words. Yet, he would keep this information in the back of his mind. Maybe he would seek out the boy later, just to make sure he knew who it was. "And no, John doesn't live here. Luckily. My house would be totally overrun with people if that was the case. It isn't even meant to house more than three people. As for where John is now." He turned to Ryu with a calm expression as if nothing was wrong and it was just a normal day. "He ran after me towards the fire and helped out there. He is with the police at the moment, helping them to put together what went down. I am sure he will be home soon." It wasn't a lie. It was just not all of the truth. There hadn't even been a real fire as far as he had understood. But he didn't want Ryu to panic and he didn't want her to worry about it now. In his eyes she was still recovering. Besides, this was mostly true and Eiji was pretty sure that John would be here before long.

Looking first to Aiko, Ryu wore a confused expression. "I-is there something wrong with dating a team member? I don't want to be breaking any rules!" she said quietly, wondering to herself if she was risking getting in trouble by dating John. Though when Eiji spoke up soon after, Ryu's attention quickly shifted. "Oh. Okay. As long as he didn't go and hurt himself or something. Thank you, Sensei. Uhm... if you two need me to leave, I can head out or something I you need to discuss important things." she said softly, in reference to the important sounding conversation they had been having while she made tea.

Aiko would shift Kei a bit, causing the child to mumble something. It would be quite bad if she would spill some tea on her own child, making Aiko be more careful with holding the cup while listening to the other two. She would blow on the warm surface of the liquid inside the cup while she wondered about this John. Remembering something that the girl had said earlier, Aiko wondered if she should ask Eiji if he indeed knew medical ninjutsu. Perhaps they could share knowledge as that would provide interesting seeing she was more focused on inflicting conditions and medical ninjutsu was to cure them. The girl, however, wondered if dating a team member was a wrong thing reflecting - in Aiko's opinion - her inexperience as a kunoichi. "Not really, but it isn't what I would call beneficial." The woman said as she thought. "Love can create so much tension after all. Or in some cases sorrow." Aiko threw a glance at Eiji. She doubted that Ryu would be able to understand, but he would.

Eiji couldn't help but glance at the portait that rested on the mantle piece on the opposite side of the room. She was always smiling at him, but the sorrow he felt would never go away. He understood that that is what Aiko meant and yet he wasn't sure if he agreed with her statement. Yes, love for a teammember could blind you, but it could also push you to perfom better. Then again he had never been in a team with Samaki. The only thing they had actively done together in relation to their job was sparring. Samaki won. Always. Or maybe he had let her win, he didn't really remember. "But that shouldn't stop you, Ryu," he told the girl. "And no, that is okay. I need to get back to my office. I just dropped by to show miss Hon-Cho the way and to say hi to you and Sachi. Speaking of which, if she wakes up, would you mind giving her food?" he asked Ryu already forseeing that Sachi would be crying for food as soon as she woke up.

Listening to the two's words on dating a team member, Ryu's cheeks did turn a bit more red. When Eiji said that he needed to get back to the office, the girl nodded before responding. "Of course! We wouldn't want Sachi to get hungry. She does tend to get a little grumpy. Will you be back for dinner, Sensei? Er... rather... should I prepare dinner for us and your two guests?" she asked, a bit curious about how much food she would need to make for dinner. "Should I get started soon? Or do I have time to go visit Naomi? I don't want her to get grumpy because I forgot to go say hi." she added.

Taking a cautious sip of her tea Aiko would nod towards Eiji. "Take it easy on the paperwork." She joked to the man as she would place her cup down. Supporting Kei in her arms Aiko would also get up. The woman would briefly wait. She wasn't sure if she wanted to burden them with also joining them for dinner and remembered her own squad. "I think I've to decline to join dinner. I have to check on my group and likely pass the information that I was graced with earlier on to my second in command." She said. Flashing a smile towards both Aiko would wait as she wasn't sure where Eiji's room was.

"Most likely not. I'm sorry, but things are busy today. I don't think I can make it back by dinner." As he spoke he got up from the couch and walked to the hallways. "I will just be saying goodbye to Sachi for a moment and then I'll be off." With a couple of large steps he made it up the stairs to see if his daughter was awake already. He found her staring at him with her big blue eyes and couldn't help but smile. The two exchanged some words as Eiji explained that Ryu would cook for her tonight. Sachi tried to convince him to get her cookies, Eiji declined, Sachi pouted. As he joked around with the little girl he wondered if he was not spending too little time with her. Not that there was a choice, but he really didn't want Sachi to get the feeling that he ever did not have time for her even though that might be the truth half of the time. But he wanted to be there for her. He wantd to see her grow up and be happy. And maybe the best way to do that was leaving now and making sure that whoever was terrorizing his city would be behind bars. Or ten foot underground. Either way was fine.
 
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[fieldbox=The First Order of Business, violet]
Passing down the information,
Forming a plan of approach,
Getting to business.

A collab made between Gerontis and Lesli.

Summary :
As the hour grows later Aiko holds a meeting with Koike on exchanging the information and forming a plan of approach to tackle the problems in Amegakure.


[spoili]

"And that is the deal at the moment," Aiko said, concluding her briefing to her second in command. Leaning against the wall while having her arms crossed out front of her chest she glanced at the door for a second. "I suppose we first have to uncover more information. Find possible moles, isolate them and try to probe for more information."

Nodding Koike thought. He wondered why that post office had been targeted, but the idea that it was a diversion was quite plausible. And seeing how much attention it had gathered the Zealots as Insurgents had quite the success with pulling it off. "We could first attempt to find the source where it started? We're with enough to split up and do some simple scouting operations." Koike suggested it as he thought further what they could do. "Perhaps relay to the higher ups to keep our presence for now masked?"

"Seems like the best approach. I will arrange this with the higher ups as well making sure that we will get access to more... closed off sectors as well to arrest suspicious personnel." Aiko replied back. She wondered how the genin would handle themselves on such a mission and if they would be capable of understanding what it meant to keep a low profile. "We will need to split up in groups."

"Yeah. How experienced is Team 8?" Koike decided to ask. He wouldn't really like to be babysitting, but it could be part of the job and it would be futile to complain about it. "If they have any good experience with this kind of operations then we would only need to split up Team 2 between us to ensure that no mistakes will take place."


"Well," Aiko let out a soft sigh as she shifted her gaze to the young man, "They aren't really experienced in this kind of field operations. Sure, Hiraku is a chuunin and has his eyes that can provide quite some help. Yet none of them is really that experienced or known of them. I also wanted to operate in teams of three. Meaning I wanted to delegate some responsibility to Katsu."

Slight surprised, Koike just thought for a second. "I see. What did you have in mind with arranging the teams then?" He asked her. He found it a shame that the weather was so dreadful as the rain made it near impossible for Akumu and Tanpo to be covering any scent that they could have from their suspects.

"I will lead Team A of Aika. Consisting out of Shizu Sarutobi, Sayuri Uchiha and Tatsuya Hon. I want you to lead Team B of Bunko, which will include Kazumo Sarutobi and Tomiko Hyuuga. Katsu shall lead Team C of Chieko, which exists out of himself, Neji Uchiha and Hiraku Hyuuga. Just to be on the safe side, we will operate with radio silence between the teams unless the need is dire. Everybody will use the channel for their own team. "

Koike wasn't really sure if he considered wise, but without any other option that seemed better he couldn't argue against it. Then again, how bad could they ruin a simple scout and search mission? "Understood, when do you want us to move out?" He asked her.

"Right away. Think everybody had enough time to rest and to eat. That and sitting on their rears all day doesn't really sound tiring to me." Aiko said as she seemed to consider something. "I was hoping that I could request a favour, though. It is not that I don't trust Eiji with Kei. But a bit of certainty wouldn't hurt. That and I consider that your dire wolf is great in guarding? "

Koike glanced at the large black canine as he would nod afterwards. "Got it. I suppose that you want the same of Katsu?" He asked in return.

"Yes. The locals aren't used to dire wolves from what I can remember. If you two could make your wolves take up a guarding position near Eiji's house then that would be great."

"Understood. Then I suppose that we are going to gather up the teams and head out then?" Koike said, a soft sigh escaping him. Rising up, he glanced at the small window that provided a view of the outside. Which of course revealed that it was raining. What else?

"Correct." Aiko said as she would switch her communicator to Channel C. "Listen up. Time to gather up, we are moving out. The teams are as following..."

Extra orders/notes :
- No flack jackets,
- Only weapons that are easy to conceal,
- Low profile at all times,
- Each team is only allowed to use the channel of their own team. (Team Aikia uses channel A, Team Bunko uses channel B and Team Chieko uses channel C)
- No extensive use of chakra. Only chakra that is capable of providing to gather intel (sensory and the like).


Team Aika : Aiko Cho-Hon,
Sayuri Uchiha, - @RoranHawkins
Shizu Sarutobi, - @l0ck0n
Tatsuya Hon - @Sketching101

Team Bunko : Koike Hon - @Gerontis
Kazumo Sarutobi - @Honorabru620
Tomiko Hyuuga - @Jason Diabolus

Team Chieko : Katsu Uchiha - @Sketching101
Hiraku Hyuuga - @rusty4297
Neji Uchiha, - @timv999

[/spoili][/fieldbox]
 
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[fieldbox=Mustering Team Aika, violet]
Aiko Cho

Cho Clan leader | Civic council member | Team 8 jounin |

Her gloved hands rested on her hips as she waited for Sayuri Uchiha, Tatsuya Hon and Shizu Sarutobi. The members of Team 2 minus Tomiko thus. The weather was expected even in the darker hours of the day not that great. Aiko at least considered it not the best weather to cheer her up, but it would be beneficial for her water release techniques. Not that she expected she would use any on this relatively easy scouting mission. There was the option to ask maps and details about the city from Eiji or Hoshi, but that wouldn't equal to see the city for themselves. Wondering if the three had eaten something as they had arrived at a time that they could just get something to fill their stomachs while she had been gone Aiko decided to wait a good ten minutes.

Pondering for a moment she wondered how the three would operate together. Not that this would be a fun trip but it wouldn't be anything dangerous. As long as none of them would decide to do something random action that would provoke some aggression from the locals. Shifting her weight from her right leg to her left Aiko thought more on what she had been told. Why wasn't there not some surprise party or event in store of them that wouldn't have any violence or danger to it for a chance?
[/fieldbox]
 
[fieldbox="Surprise Attack!, green, dashed, 10, Tahoma"]
Mizuchi Hojo | Storm Guard Member | Kumogakure Vanguard Member | Sky-Wolf Border, Destroyed Village​

The sudden shouts about an incoming attack and sounds of people surging to make a protective wall tore Mizuchi's focus from her technique. As she looked around, she could see vague outlines of what seemed to be shadows clashing with their forces. The Hojo quickly snapped her attention back to the technique, and seeing that none of these attackers showed up still, she swore under her breath. So it seemed that these enemies could actively cloak their chakra. Great. The girl quickly shook the thought from her head and rose to her feet. Looking around, she debated joining some of the others on the roofs to get some attacks in on the sides, but quickly decided against it. She couldn't do much from range that wouldn't mark her for death immediately.

Instead, the girl looked around at the shield wall covering the entrances. She doubted that at their present state, the wall could hold up forever. Immediately, she began moving to search for materials. "Get a barricade up. We can force them into a choke point." she said, grabbing some material for the barrier. Only to find herself joined by a half-dozen others not long after she started. Together, they began building the barrier to restrict access for their enemies. Hoping to keep them at bay just a bit longer. Hopefully, they'd be able to pull this off.[/fieldbox]
 
[fieldbox="Sayuri Uchiha - Konohagakure Team 2 Genin, #003366"]
Team A

Sayuri skidded to a halt in front of Aiko with a broad grin. She was wearing a pretty poncho, something she aped from the locals, to protect her from the rain. It was a delightful thing to have she'd decided, and not even their grim commander being her teamleader could break her good mood. For now. She had a single kunai on her, hidden in the poncho's ample space. "Uchiha Sayuri reporting sir!" She said and flipped a salute, which looked comically cute, in her opinion at least, because the poncho flapped up with her arm.

Today was the first real mission of her first real mission. If that made sense. It would be the first active operation bit, the first bit where all the mission entailed wasn't sitting in a cart or in a barracks. It was bound to be awesome.[/fieldbox]
 
[fieldbox="Learning the Truth, skyblue, solid, 10, Tahoma"]
A collab between Fieryfly and Jasonhero

Summary:Ryu is brought into the police station for a questioning about the day Suguha died.
Komei quickly flipped through the file once more as she arrived before the wooden door that kept her seperate from the person she was about to question. She tsk'ed as she saw the name and picture. So young. Then again this was a whole of battles and she was not one to be sentimental nor was she one to believe that this girl couldn't do what she might have done: blow up her sister. She shut the file with a quick move and with her other hand tucked a strand of her jet black hair behind her ears. Then she opened the door and stepped inside.

It was one of those typical small rooms that they used to question people. One table, two chairs, one for the interviewer, one for the interviewee. The walls were bare and the window was small. Komei closed the door behind her before walking over to the table and placing the file down on the dark wood. She took a chair and then gave the person waiting for her a good look. It did look like a normal little girl, except that there was clearly something wrong with one of her eyes.

"Ryu Uchiha, am I correct?" she asked as she folded her hands over each other.

Sitting in the room alone, Ryu's only eye was wide as it darted around the room. Looking for something the girl could see for hope. However, that seemed to be the only part of her that was moving. The rest of the girl was completely frozen in place at her seat beyond minor shivering, though the shivering was certainly not because of the temperature. Whenever the woman entered, an imposing looking figure to the girl, Ryu shrunk away slightly. As if trying to make herself smaller in her seat as the other sat down. Hearing the woman's question, Ryu nodded slightly before speaking in a quick, quivering voice. "T-thats me. Please don't hurt me." the girl said, the last part said rather quickly before she fell silent.

Komei's face remained blank at the statement. "I am not here to hurt you, Miss Uchiha. My name is Komei Shiyaki. I am here to ask you some questions surrounding the events that transpired not so long ago in which you were injured and your sister unfortunately passed away." The woman inclined her head ever so slighty to show her condolences, but then went to back to talking. "I want you to listen carefully to the questions and answer them as detailed as possible. The better you answer the faster we will be done here and the sooner you might be back on your way home. I urge you to speak to truth and not withhold information for your own sake. Are those terms clear?"

As she listened to why she was apparently being brought here, Ryu felt her stomach churn as if trying to eat itself. This again, the hell she had to face not to long ago and still seemed to have its grip on her. Looking straight into the other woman's eye, Ryu struggled to keep herself crying as she thought about that terrible day. "It's clear." she said simply, voice still quivering like before.

"Good." Komei opened the file once more and looked down at the words on the pages. "Why don't we start at the beginning. Your name is Ryu Uchiha, as you said, you are the daughter of Hatsune and Tadashi Uchiha and you had one twin sister named Suguha Uchiha. You moved to Amegakure when you were still a baby and have lived here ever since, joining the Academy and graduating. You have been placed in team 11 under the supervision of Eiji Emiya. Is this correct?"

Taking a deep breath to attempt to calm herself, Ryu looked straight ahead. Not really focusing on the woman or wall. Just staring. "Tadashi fathered me. But he is no father of mine. As for the rest, that is correct." she said before reigning herself back in, seeming a bit more normal. Though the fear still obvious from the slight shaking of her arm.

Komei's eyes narrowed ever so slightly, but besides that she seemed satisfied by the answer. "Alright. How about you tell me what happened on the day that your sister passed away? Once again please be as detailed as possible and start at the very beginning."

The question Ryu had sincerely been hoping would wait for much later suddenly was thrown before her. Ryu swallowed nervously as she thought about it all, not particularly eager to recount what had happened one more time. Biting her lip slightly, Ryu nodded slowly. As she definitely figured that being cooperative here would be in her best judgement.

"Well... I had woken up that morning for training and nothing seemed odd. Sugu was just her normal self when I left. Then I came back home about an hour later, and had to sent Naomi; my panther, to go grab something I had forgotten. When I went inside my apartment, Suguha was suddenly acting all strange. Like she was waiting there, and talking about Tadashi with such terms as 'daddy'. Which is odd, because she'd always hated the man much like me. Then she started insulting me when I asked what was wrong, and the next thing I knew... she had kicked me to the floor." she said quietly as a single tear began to trace it's way down her cheek. Another breath was taken as Ryu got ready to explain further.

"I didn't try to fight back, not at first. I just begged, and pleaded for Suguha to stop. But she kicked me into our furniture and it broke on me, I can even show you the scars. Then... somehow... I'm not sure because I remember getting hit, then suddenly Suguha had me pinned. An intense pain in my eye, half my vision gone, and something that looked like an eye in her hand. I got scared and knocked her off before her Kunai could reach my good eye. I tried to stop it, but she started making the handsigns for a fireball and for whatever reason I copied. Begging her to stop the whole time. Then we both committed. I vaguely remember her flying towards the window, hitting something, then I woke up in the hospital bed to find my sister dead." she said, finishing the last sentence just in time as tears began to flow freely and she began to cry.

With a quick move Komei reached into her pocket and pulled out a handkerchief that she offered the girl. Despite the gesture however she didn't seem all that touched by the story, her face remaining as stoic as it had been before. "So if I understand correctly Suguha attacked you first. You refused to fight back, but in the end you gave in a fought. Is there anyone who can verify the story you just told me?" Komei asked Ryu.

Accepting the handkerchief and dabbing at her eye, the girl shook her head. "As far as I am aware, no there isn't. Other than Doctor Tsubaki, but he only showed up after I was unconscious as far as I know. He did do the surgery on me, so I guess he can confirm the injuries?" she said, wondering exactly how screwed she was due to the lack of evidence. Given that the only other person who could tell the story was... dead.

"Could you give me Doctor Tsubaki's full name? I will check in with him later to confirm the details from him." Komei said as she noted something down in the file. "Assuming that you did fight out of self defense, why did you opt to follow her technique and release a fireball in a small, contained appartment? Surely the consequences of that technique when used inside must have crossed your mind."

Nodding, Ryu answered the first question. "Kante Tsubaki. He works over at the hospital." She said simply before tilting her head to the side as she thought about the lady's question. She had managed to calm down a bit since earlier, and was able to think more clearly now. "I... I don't know. I guess I panicked because I was in so much pain over the whole losing an eye thing. I was scared. I just know that I had figured if I copied it, then maybe she'd stop for self preservation. But... like I said I was panicking so I don't know if I was really thinking." she said in a small voice.

Komei nodded slowly. "You expected her to stop fighting because of self preservation," she repeated Ryu's words. "Does that mean you did have intentions of hurting her when it became apparent that she was not going to listen to your plees? Did you make those intentions clear to her?"

Shaking her head slightly, Ryu looked utterly defeated. "I never wanted to hurt her. At first I had done it so she wouldn't stab my other eye out. But at the end... I don't think I did communicate it to her. I had thought she would stop all the way until we were about to commit. At that point there wasn't any time to stop. But I never wanted to hurt her!" Ryu said, emotion taking over a bit towards the end as she sort of yelled out the part of never wanted to hurt Suguha. After a few moments she muttered a small "I'm sorry."

A slight raise of her left eyebrow was all that indicated that Komei was affected by the tone. She made another note before speaking up again. "So in the end it could have been that your actions, copying the technique and intending to fight, made her fight back. However, once again, this cannot be verified by anyone as it was only you two in the apartment. You said that Suguha talked about you father before the fight started. What is your relationship with your father, miss Uchiha?"

Ryu frowned deeply as she heard the question. Shaking her head, Ryu became suddenly interested in the table. "The man that fathered me, I've no interaction with. He's been rogue for a couple of years, and we were victims of his sadism. Though... I'm not sure I wish to go into those details." she said quickly before looking up. "For some reason, Suguha was talking about him like they were close. But, they weren't. She hated him, I think she did. I hate him. I had always tried to protect her from his abuse."

"When was the last time you had any interaction with Tadashi Uchiha?" Komei asked when Ryu stopped speaking, her pen floating above her piece of paper. "And any idea when Suguha last talking to your father? Did you or your sister keep in contact with him in any way?"

"About two years ago. When he killed my mother, burned my house down, and left the Village. As far as I know, Suguha hasn't spoken with him since the day he left." the girl said quietly, before falling silent as a small tear moved down her cheek.

"But Suguha spoke highly of him even though she hadn't seen him in two years." It was a statement as well as a question. Komei paused for a second as if she was considering what to ask next. "You say that Suguha hated your father. Was there ever any clear indication of that when your father still lived with you and your sister?"

Tilting her head slightly to the side, Ryu shook her head. "I don't think she spoke highly of him, just that she called him more affectionate terms. Whenever we lived with him, I think both of us were too scared to show we were afraid. Well. Maybe I was the only one." she said before something seemed to occur to the girl. Looking down and placing her head in her hands, Ryu spoke one more time. Her voice sounding a bit hollow. "Did I even know my own sister?"

"Considering that she might have liked her father more than you let on can you say for sure you weren't attacking her because you felt that that was not right? I understand you have an aversion towards your father and seeing as you figured out your sister might not have shared your opinion, were you upset at that?" Komei asked.

Her head snapping up to look at the woman with a wide eye as she heard that question. "I-I... what? A-are you asking if I attacked her?" she asked, not answering the question as she awaited an answer. Wondering to herself how it had all come to this, because she knew she wasn't attacking Suguha willingly. She wasn't like Tadashi.

"I am asking you if you were upset when you found out that Suguha might have had a different opinion of your father, one that didn't correspond with your own," Komei repeated calmly. "I am just trying to piece together what happened that day, miss Uchiha. What happened to Suguha and what happened to you."

Shaking her head, Ryu remained silent for a few seconds before answering. "I didn't have enough time to form an opinion on it. I was a little bit busy trying to not die for it to even occur to me that she didn't hate him. Furthermore, I'm still not entirely sure that's the case. As I'm not sure my sister could adore a fucking pyschopath who gets off to beating and violating his daughter." she said, a bit angry over the questions and just overall emotional from the situation at hand. As it only took a few seconds before the girl broke down once more into tears.

"I am sorry for what happened to you, miss Uchiha, I truly am, but please try to remain calm. If you need a break from the questions I can ask someone to bring you some water if you like." She made another note on her paper. "If not I would like to remind you that I am not here to accuse you of things you did not do. You seem to have a lot of trouble with your father and your memories about him. Have you past experiences hindered you in the field in any way?"

Sitting still for a long time, silently sobbing into her hands until she could get control of herself; Ryu did not answer at first. When she did, the voice that came out was a bit shaky with emotion. "I'm sorry. I snapped. It's just... I love my sister. She was the only family I had left, and truly my favorite person in the world. If I had to, I would've gladly faced down an army for her. Then today it just seemed like you thought I attacked her, and it's so soon after I lost her. I just couldn't handle it. I am sorry for getting so upset" she muttered softly before taking a breath and thinking about the next question.

There had been that time she snapped at Yogiri, but otherwise she didn't think it impacted her in field much. "Other than during a training when I stopped pretending to be the son that Tadashi had forced me to act like, it hasn't really affected me. Eiji-Sensei might know more, he was there when it all happened. Otherwise, it was a driving force in my decision to seek out training in Medical Ninjutsu. Alongside what I experienced on a mission, I had decided I wanted to be able to stop others from feeling pain like I had. So I figured I should learn to heal and fix others. Besides those, it has not effected me that much, as far as I know. Because nobody could be as terrible as he, so short of Tadashi showing back up himself... I think I'm fine." she said, trying to think of any other times it had affected her.

Komei waited patiently until the girl was done pulling herself back together. When Ryu was done replying Komei simply nodded and continued: "Your mission reports indicates that during your first mission you nearly blew yourself up endangering not only your own life but also that of your teammates. That then marks the second time you have nearly died in an explosion that was partly set of by yourself. These are dangerous mistakes, miss Uchiha, that you seem to be surrounded in regardless if they were by your choice or not. I need a very definitive answer that you are capable of working in the field, that you are fine. Training shinobi for the village costs us a significant amount of money. To then lose capable hands against someone they considered an ally is very unfortunate not to mention something people will hold against you. If you can't be trusted as an ally in the field then there is no use for you there. I am saying this to make you aware that you should be careful with your actions, especially now. Regardless if you attacked your sister first or if she struck first the truth of the matter is that she is dead and you are not."

Staring straight as the woman, Ryu nodded as she understood what she was saying. About how she might not be able to be trusted. Doubts that she had held about herself several times before, and ones that Eiji-sensei had convinced her were things she could overcome. "The first accident was not related to my father or my history. It was simple inexperience and not thinking. I can handle myself in the field, as I've learned more since then. The situation where I partially set off the explosion was extreme circumstance that I was panicked in and clouded by emotion. However; I've no family left over to become clouded by emotion like that in a fight again." she said matter-of-factly. The girl honestly hoped that this showed the other woman that she could handle it in the field.

"Except you have your father. If you were to face him at some point in your life would you say that you would remain in control of your emotions then?" Komei said in response. "Or would you go out of your way to go after him?" To be fair, from what she had seen so far from the girl, Komei felt like she could predict the answer Ryu was going to give.

Ryu wanted to say no, but it honestly wasn't a sure answer for her. Sure, the girl had wanted to go after Tadashi and end his life. But Eiji-Sensei had sat her down to talk to her about it. He didn't think outright revenge was the right thing, and honestly she agreed with him after many late nights since Suguha died thinking on the subject. "If he were to face me, I'd do what it takes to protect those I care about. Eiji-Sensei has counseled me on the subject, and blind revenge wouldn't do any good. While I admit I want to see him dead, and would be emotional... I think I could face him and handle myself so long as I had somebody I trust around. Like my team." she said, not exactly sure if that was the answer she was looking for from her.

"I see." Komei made some final notes on her paper and then placed her pen down next to it with a careful move. "But we can't be sure that you are not alone. You were alone when you faced your sister after all." She let a deliberate silence fall and then said: "Just for the record and because it is protocol, you remain by your statement that Suguha attacked you first and you retaliated in self defence. In panic you didn't realize what you were doing and you set of a fireball that collided with hers causing an explosion. You in no way had any intentions of killing your sister. There are no witnesses to prove this and all other evidence of the struggle was burned away in the explosion and subsequent fire. Is this your statement?"

Ryu listened then nodded with a grim expression. "Then I'll need to learn to control emotions better than I can now. I don't want any others to be hurt unnecessarily because of me." she said before quietly repeating the statement that was said at the end to herself. She nodded once more before replying. "All of that is correct, except I can't say with any certainty that all evidence was destroyed. I haven't been back to my apartment since, but I know some things survived the flames. Doctor Tsubaki did find a stuffed bear my boyfriend bought me, somehow survived all that." she said simply. After but a brief moment she quietly added. "Am I going to be in trouble?" as the girl feared she might be arrested though she didn't intend to hurt her sister.

"A stuffed bear unfortunately cannot tell us much," Komei said. "As for now you are free to go. In case we have any further questions we will call for you again. Please refrain from leaving the city until then. We will have a conversation with Doctor Tsubaki as well. Be careful on your way home." The last was said with a slight smile.

Nodding simply before standing up she looked around briefly before saying. "Er... I don't exactly remember the way out of the building..." with a bright color to her face, a bit embarrassed about the fact that she couldn't remember where to go to get out of here.

Before she could say more the door had already opened and another man appeared in the door opening gesturing for Ryu to follow him. Komei just nodded to him and got up as well. She followed Ryu outside, bit the young girl goodbye and walked to other deeper into the building wehre her own office was located. On her way there she made sure to secure someone who could watch over Ryu for the upcoming week or two. Where she was going, who she interacted with. Just a precaution. Generally Komei was rather capable of telling when people were lying, the chakra of a person was always fairly reliable, and yet one could never be too cautious. Especially when it was the daughter of a missing ninja. Who knew what Ryu's father had instilled in his daughter unknowlingly.

Now there was a report to write, and them maybe later she could have a drink with Jugo. She sighed as she opened the door to her office. They worked way too hard.

The girl bid Komei goodbye in return before following the other man out of the building. Taking a small breath Ryu debated heading back to Eiji's house. She wondered briefly if he even knew she was being questioned or why. She should go check in with him at least, else she might worry him. Unfortunately, the whole questioning had bothered Ryu and she needed answers. The lady had seemed to think that either Ryu had attacked Suguha, or that Suguha had been harboring a positive opinion of Tadashi the whole time. Whatever it was, Ryu wanted to know the truth. Which led to another conclusion; the only place she had left to find the answers was her old apartment. Turning down a street she needed in the cool evening air, Ryu began making her way to her old home. "Sorry if I worry you, Sensei, but I need to know the answers." she said softly to herself as she began moving with purpose towards her destination.
[/hr][/fieldbox]
 
Sen Cho | Genin | Konoha Team 7 | Heading Out

A Trail Awaits (Part One)

Ten peanut butter sandwiches, two pairs of shoes and some amount of gear later Sen had everything she thought she could possibly need. Sure, her pack was a tad heavy but that would help her later when she had to carry much heavier packs. She jotted down a quick note for her parents in case they came home and needed to know where she was. They probably won't even notice I'm gone, that small irritating voice in her head chirped. It was the same irritating voice that said her parents don't care to be around her. Sen did like she always does and ignored it. Her parents were busy, and there was nothing wrong with that.

Walking out the front door, she locked her house up and headed straight towards the village exit. Sen waved goodbye to Hachi, and set her mind getting at least a third of the way there. The constant absence of her parents made it hard to get things without any clear goals, but one of her kin had suggested making goals to help with daily activities. Sen had been setting goals for herself ever since then to make sure chores got done around the house. Sure, she could have hired a maid or someone to do them with the money her parents left for her but she preferred to do the work on her own. She walked out of the village and into the surrounding woods with a little fear. It was after all the first time she had left the village.

It was a good thing she had brought her notebook so she could jot down any ideas or interesting sights she saw on her hike. Sen saw some interesting birds which she stopped to watch a few times before drawing a rough sketch of them in her notebook. She recorded every inspiring animal or flower or spot as she went. She thought it was nice to see how the animals all coped lived in the same forest.

To avoid getting lost, she used a kunai to cut a notch into every other tree that she passed along with some dark green paint to emphasize the notch she made. The sun was beginning to go down and finally after a long day of hiking, she saw the small clearing she wanted to reach. Sen set up her tent and found some decent branches to use a firewood. She stargazed a little before putting the fire out and settling into her sleeping roll before drifting off.
 
[fieldbox=A letter from the heart, White]

Hiroshi Hon
Captain Commander of The Tiger's Claw

With an aching wrist and itching eyes, Hiroshi was finishing the paperwork after a long series of meetings. They were more productive than he thought before, but also left the Captain Commander severely exhausted. Several more ideas were agreed upon to further increase the effectiveness of the unit and new tactics were implemented and discussed thoroughly with Hiroshi's various subordinates. He was very pleased with the end result but he secretly hoped that a similar string of meetings will not repeat itself for quiet some time.

He still had some paperwork left to do, but right now, he was writing a special letter. A letter he looked forward to write for a long time. It was a letter to Kiyomi. He wanted to tell her that the unit he has been given command of, The Tiger's Claw, is now officially prepared and ready for combat. It was a collective effort of several people and the he hoped that the people of Akino will be the ones to reap the results of their hard work.

Upon lengthy meetings and discussions with the command staff of the unit, all of the officers present agreed upon that after an extensive series of drills and exercises, The Tiger's Claw is ready to carry out the orders of Your Imperial Majesty. Those were the last words of the scroll he was writing. But he was not satisfied with it. So he took another scroll out and his hand hovered over it for a moment. Then it started to write letters on its own.

Honor. Obtain. Loyalty. Duty. Oath. Nation. Knowledge. Idea. Youth. Ocean. March. Identity.

Satisfied, he placed the seal he is using for his letters and wrote Kiyomi's name on it. He then wanted to rest his eyes for a moment but a few seconds after he close them, his head landed on the desk with a soft thud.
Hiroshi fell asleep in his office ... again.​
[/fieldbox]
 
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