Starring:
Kurome (emitter), Hige, Atorei
Date: September 23, 2015
Summary:
A strange man arrives in Konoha, claiming to know the Uchiha clan head.
Poster's note: foul language filtered in obvious places.
"Ghostly Beasts - The Scorpion Tail"
Konohagakure - Jounin Training Grounds
The training center! Rumor has it there's a man there in a black cloak and a half-mask. He seems to be disfigured/deformed in some way, too, as there are strange lumps under his cloak. How odd, no? It looks as if he's searching for someone, people say. And thus, within the course of a few hours, far too many people were talking about the strange man in Konoha's jounin grounds. The day itself was sunny, which meant a lot of people would be out and about. Is that why he decided to come?
Strange people lurking around the training grounds, hmm? Well, that's rather interesting, since no one should've gotten into the village without being checked out first. Hige was on his way out after doing some of that horrendous 'paperwork' sting when he heard tell of the mysterious figure and his curiosity was piqued…as was his need to ensure the safety of the people. As such it's a rather short time frame before Konsho and Hige arrive to sniff out this strange person and see just what it is they're doing here.
Atorei on the other hand, was on active patrol of the grounds. While sure, he might not be welcome in the Jounin grounds, being a genin, that doesn't stop him from stopping others who might wander into the wrong place. So Atorei would come across Hige heading for where the 'man' was at. Atorei shuffled his feet a little, before going along with him. "I.. I guess.. we should check it out there.. huh? I.. I mean.. if it's something.. wrong.. or.. or bad.."
The training area continued to be its usual self, filled with students, genin, and Chuunin training. As well as Jounin, though a lot of them are out on missions. The man in the black cloak is, of course, real. He is leaning casually against a tree, and doesn't appear to be disfigured, though… Maybe it's that leaning. His arms are crossed over his chest, and his lower face is covered by a black mask.
"Yeah," Hige agrees, sniffing the air to try and get a scent off the figure as well as anything 'wrong'…like the smell of blood. "Come on, let's check it out." Hige walks forward, Konsho following a little back and to one side. When Hige nears the figure he raises a hand in greeting, the small teen stopping a short distance away. "Hey there. I'm Inuzuka Hige, Jounin of Konohagakure. Might I ask who you are?"
Atorei would nod to Hige lightly and fall into step behind him. While Konsho was on one side, Atorei was on the other. Shifting a moment, his eyes would go the faintest of red, just that power starting to focus in his sharingan, without quite bringing it up to full strength. He wanted to study the man in the mask, even if he didn't say anything. Because, well, Hige IS right there and outranks him.
There didn't seem to be any smell of blood. If one tried to sniff very close to the man (or just had a good nose), the person/dog would notice a faint scent of desert sands. "… Nogoro," the man says in a quiet voice, nodding lightly to Hige. "Of the Land of Wind. I'm passing through," he explains. The man's eyes are very analytic in nature, trying to study Hige, Konsho, and Atorei all at once. His eyes pass between them all lazily. "Am I in trouble?"
Hige shakes his head as the man asks if he's in trouble. "No, not particularly. I just got word that there was someone suspicious hanging around the training grounds and wanted to come and make sure everything is okay." Hige glances back to Konsho a moment and the dog vanishes, going to check the entry logs into the village about this arrival. "Are you from Sunagakure then," Hige asks as his feral eyes focus back on the man. "Or just from the Land?" He only sounds curious, not even suspicious. Just a nice little chat and all that!
Atorei would shift on his feet while Hige chatted. Something about the guy seemed not quite right. That level of chakra was.. different.. than what would be expected. He shuffled to the side a step, further behind Hige with a small frown. If the guy was only that strong, great.. but it was just a gut feeling that something else was at play here. Why not say Suna, afterall? Although they aren't exactly friendly with Suna at the moment..
"Suna? Never. I work for myself to further my projects. This time my project brought me here," Nogoro says evenly. "Being part of a village… Is interesting, though. A life I wouldn't choose after seeing it."
"Where is it that you are going on your way through our humble village?" Hige asks as if he's just making small talk while really he's using his senses to get a firm read on the visitor while waiting for Konsho to return. He almost would've preferred if the man had been from Suna…it might have explained some things. That and he knew people in Suna. Hige glances back to Atorei and smiles, then motions him forward. "Atorei, introduce yourself. No need to hide." Yep, just killin' time!
Atorei would eep a little, glancing around. Drat. He did call Atorei by name. Moving forward a little, he'd bow stiffly to Nogoro. "H-h-hai. I am Uchiha Atorei. It.. uh.. is.. n-n-nice to.. meet.. you..?" Atorei would rub the back of his neck. Shifting to the side, he'd just spread out a little from Hige. you know, just in case. Keeping tabs on where Nogoro was at in case of action being required, or anything like that.
"Uchiha? So I assume you know Uchiha Kurome, then?" Nogoro says, eyes flashing with interest. "As for your question, Hige, I am simply aiming to stay here and stock up on supplies for a little bit. And then I'll be making my way back to the desert once I think I have gathered everything I need." The man nods slowly for a moment, his dark eyes never leaving Atorei.
Hige half turns back to look at Konsho when the pup returns. There's no obvious communication between the two but somehow Hige seems to have learned something. He turns back to the visitor and nods slightly. "Very interesting. And where might you be heading back to the Land of Wind from?" As for Kurome and hte Uchiha thing…he just watches for now.
Atorei would blink at the man, taking a step back at the intensity that Nogoro showed. "I.. uh.. g-g-guess.. so..? I.. uhm.. w-w-why.. do you want to know?" Atorei would take another step back, shaking his head slightly as a little more chakra would trickle forward. The strength of his sharingan a sort of comfort in telling him what was going on, at the very least.
Atorei might notice quite a bit of chakra flowing into the man's arm. He was gathering it in a single spot… For some reason. "Hmm? We are… old friends, in a way. I knew her during the wars. She was only this tall when I saw her last, though," he says, gesturing to about his waist. The man is about six feet tall, and he has long legs. So his waist is around the four foot mark, give or take. Nogoro flickers his gaze to Hige briefly. "From the Land of Pebbles. Another project of mine, even. I shouldn't be in town for too long. A day, maybe two…" The man pauses for a moment, then holds out his hand to Atorei. The one that had been gathering chakra. On it is a small 'figurine' of a scorpion's tail. "Could you please give this to her?"
Swift hands move out to take the scorpion from the man before Atorei can take it, the teen looking it over with a curious gaze as he waits to see if it might be dangerous in some way. "Rest assured, I will get it to Kurome. I know her well." Yep, see, make it so Atorei doesn't even have to worry about it. "If you're here perhaps you should stay and see Kurome yourself. I'm sure I could have her stop by." And maybe /she/ could shed some light on this stranger.
Atorei shifted on his feet, staring at the man. Hige's action, even if Atorei wasn't up to moving that fast, was noted. He could see it, with his eyes at full like they were. Shaking his head slightly, he'd shove his hands into his pockets. "I.. d-d-don't know why you would be.. charging chakra.. into it.. But.. I'm.. not sure she needs.. whatever it is.. She has plenty of monsters already."
"She might not know me," Nogoro says with a soft sigh. "I was there when her father died. The whole experience was likely too traumatic for her to remember much of anything. She was very young." The man shakes his head. "No… No, you can take that to her. It is a bit like a chakra crystal or chakra metal. It absorbs chakra and takes on a nice glow. Very good for a light source, actually. Especially those with fire. I was simply removing my own chakra from it."
Hige looks between Atorei and the visitor for a few moments before he nods, then slips the scorpion into a pouch. "I'll be sure she gets it. Though she might like to at least know the family name and not just the given of the person who's gifting it to her." Hint hint. Hige leans his weight on one leg as he watches Nogoro, waiting for an answer to that question.
The man's eyes close for a moment. "That…" Nogoro comments as he raises a finger. "Is something for another time. I haven't used my family's name in many many years… And the one I have now, … It is not old enough to carry weight." The man smirks. "I must, of course, bid you farewell. For the time being. I'll be in the hotel; room two-five-four. She can visit me if she wishes." With that, the strange man turns to start leaving the area. Unless he's stopped…
"I'll be sure to let her know," Hige says with a nod as the man leaves. Once he's gone Hige turns to Atorei and nods. "Let Kurome know right away. I'm not quite sure I trust him, if only because he's being so secretive." The teen looks to Konsho who nods and then disappears again, following the man from a good distance by scent to make sure he stays out of trouble until Hige can get someone else to keep an eye on him.
