Starring:
Hideaki, Naru, Soren, Fuuta, Ishino
Date: February 12, 2013
Summary:
A Konoha and Kiri shinobi squad are both tasked to retrieve artifacts from a Kitsune Ruin however there is a limited amount of scrolls… and the Fox summoners aren't willing to part with them….
Poster's note: foul language filtered in obvious places.
"The Fox's Den"
Kitsune Ruins
Ruins.
Soren Haaaates Ruins. Especially Kitsune ruins. These things were labyrinth. The particularly clever could navigate the ruins with little trouble. Or someone with a Kitsune guide. Or two, in this case. Either way, the fox leading him and his current team through the Ruins knew her way around… sortof. She could atleast decipher how to make their way to what they sought. The fox pup walked about 4 feet in front of him, an etheal blue flame crackling over her tail, lighting the interior of the tree the pair was seated in. The flame licked at the plant, but didn't ignite it. This particular set of ruins was in the Land of Hot Water, in the opposite end of the Country from where Fuuta and Soren traveled to the Kitsune's realm.
"So… why do the Kitsune make their ancient ruins so… complicated?" Soren asked, in little more than a whisper, spying the complicated structure of the temple through the leaves of the tree. No doubt even larger than it looks, extending underground several stories. Or maybe Soren was just a bit paranoid about those kind of things.
"To stop exactly what we're doing." Ayame responded dryly, sitting on the branch just infront of him.
"Which is?"
"Essentially? Stealing. Even if it's your right to have it." she says, looking back at Soren, and Fuuta.
Dressed in that suit, much as normal when he's working, Ishino would pull out that watch to check it for a moment, the time noted, before it was put away. Time Keeper was about as well, hidden within the shadows of the surrounding, easily over looked with that small bit of flame being the only source of light here. It's ticking was the slow drone of a grandfather clock within a hall, soft and mostly ignorable. Ishino kept silent, watching those whom he was with, as well as the fox. He had been put on this mission to do support of them in their search. He was going to do just that. He and Time Keeper had to work together in an unusual location to help them out, it seems.
"Bah ruins. There's not a construct by nature or by man that can best the great Yoko Fuuutama!" Fuuta states traveling alongside Ishino. He looks to Soren and chuckles "Naturally if there is something of value within the ruins they'd want to guarantee some theif can't just come along and pillage it." Fuuta explains. The jounin folds his arms and nods to Ayame. "Well better us than a couple of weirdoes." Fuuta states. Fuuta looks to Ishino "He seems weird…and kinda is but he's the good kind of weirdo so no worries." Fuuta states with a smile. "Hopefully any traps and what not that were once in place are loooooong since inactive or broken. I've had enough kitsune death traps for an entire life time sprung on or at me." Fuuta shudders recalling his trail in the Kitsune realm.
The darkness of the ruins were a little difficult to navigate. Nevertheless a duo of Konoha shinobi quietly began to move throughout the labyrinth of a ruins. Rather than meandering within the darkness Narusegawa carried a single torch along with them, burning with each step as they gradually began to move through the expansive corridors. " Do you understand the mission? Hideaki-san?" Naru soon spoke up from amongst the darkness, she turned back to glance at him with a slight smile. "There are some scrolls that we need to pick up from here…something rare that that village needs to decipher, once we pick them up…considering We survive the ordeals of this place we should be good to go," Narusegawa explained, just incase Hideaki wasn't paying attention. Naturally she flexed her chakra just incase they were to come across any sort of obstacles.
Hideaki finds ruins- "Fascinating." Hideaki hasn't said much this entire journey, as he often prefers to undertake missions as quietly as possible, not speaking unless he feels he has something of significance to say. Every now and again, however, a word or a few will escape his lips, and he cannot help but murmur his appreciation at his and Naru's present surroundings. He follows close behind the young woman, nodding to her explanation as she recaps the mission parameters. "I do not believe I have any questions at this time," Hideaki replies, not returning the smile but offering Naru an appreciative nod.
Meanwhile, he tries to keep hs eyes peeled, while failing to stop them from wandering to the walls and the minutiae of their surroundings. He follows Naru's lead in keeping his chakra focused and staying on his toes for the time being.
Soren glanced back to Ishino, and Fuuta. "Don't listen to Fuuta-baka, even if he -does- know a wierdo when he sees one." he grins, trying to keep the mood lighter. "Allright boyos. Let's get in, and out quickly." he says, nodding to Ayame. He focuses a bit of chakra, his reserves a bit low after Summoning Ayame as their guide. "Be warned. This place is going to be a bit treacherous. It's likely to have a good number of traps. We're not sure how many are still active, but best to be on guard. And check the egos at the door. We want to be able to -fit- in these halls, Fuuta." He says grinning, before he looks back to Ayame, and nods. "Take us in." he says.
Ayame also focuses a sliver of chakra, readying herself for the possible dangers, before flickering forward, landing not infront of the main entrance that Naru and Hideaki likely took, but instead off to one corner, with Soren quickly following. The fox pup motions at the wall, hopping up onto Soren's shoulder before pressing a specific brick, opening one of the numerous hidden passage ways in this labyrinth of a building. "This should quickly take us to the scroll room. Be warned, even this might be booby trapped, so stay alert." she says, before hopping into the passage, expecting everyone to follow. "It won't take us long. Just be alert.
Ishino would give a small nod, pondering for a long moment. Very interesting.. Shaking his head to clear it, Time Keeper would go with him into the tunnel, he'd keep looking about, watching intently for any potential traps or other issues. Everyone needed to be alert, just in case. He was not going to be any different. With Time Keeper keeping to the shadows, he'd silently walking along, watching the others, although no response was actually given to Fuuta, just a raised brow and a look, before he'd walk on.
Fuuta wags a finger at Soren "Such sacrilege spills from your mouth Soren-kun. You know what they say, blasphemy is a mouth shot." Fuuta chuckles but it soon comes to an end when Ayame mentions that there might be some traps still active. He winces at the mere thought. "Well I'm up for it." Fuuta states with a grin. He considers summoning Genki to help but given their last few encounters perhaps he'd leave Genki to himself for a bit longer. Once Ayame revealed the hidden tunnel Fuuta sighs in relief then cuts it short again when she mentions that this passage too may be booby trapped. "Very thorough. I'd forgotten just how meticulous Kitsune can be." Fuuta claps his hands together and gathers a bit of chakra to be used in the event of an emergency which given who they were dealing with seemed rather likely.
The path leading to the scroll room began to open before them, however the most interesting aspect was the fact that the door towards the scroll room appeared already to be open, not only that but she could make out some figures further within the room, prompting Naru to screech to a halt as she ducks down to one of the scultures near by. "Hideaki-san… It looks like we have some company already here… Though unfortunately I won't be able to make them out from here," Naru whispered with a hushed voice, barely audible so it wouldn't echo throughout the whole area. "We will need to proccede cautiously…We can't afford for them to get the scroll before we do,"
Hideaki catches on almost immediately as Naru ducks out of sight, and picks a sculpture on the opposite side of the entry to the scroll room. He nods to her, the only other acknowledgment besides his hiding that they are on the same page. He then holds up his two index fingers and traces them through the air, moving them in opposite directions. Then one hand turns into a fist, motioning a punch in the direction of the other party. The other hand grabs at the air in a snatching motion. He then tilts his head in questioning fashion.
He seems to be suggesting that one of them distract the other party while the other grabs the scroll.
The pathway finally deadends, and Ayame opens it up, the wall acrossed from the main entrance opening up for the passage. The door being open was just a coincidence. The room was expansive. They were easily 15, maybe even 20 yards underground at this point. Crystals embedded into the walls around them, powered by the natural energy of the world lit the cavernous room. It was a stone construction, the stones plain, except for the crystal mountings. Every 4 tiles in every direction, there seemed to be a symmetrical hole, in the walls, floor, and cieling, and if one was particularly keen, they'd notice a few tiles just barely raised, probably to serve as pressure plates. Yup. The scroll room is booby trapped.
"Ah, finally!" Soren said, not being particularly stealthy, as he walked into the eerily lit room. He immidiately steps on a pressure plate, and with a *kaklink!* An Arrow is launched from the wall, pinging off of his false arm! "Ah! Well… um… that's…"
Ayame Pipes up. "That's a Booby Trap. And you're the Boob." she says, her ears twitching as she hears something in the hallway.
The sound apparently caught Soren's ears too, motioning towards the door for the others in his group. "I know someone's there. It'd be best to show yourself, or leave." he says, motioning the others to come out of the passageway.
Oblivious. Ishino was oblivious to the rest, instead taking interest in the floors as Soren would set off a trap. The walls and ceiling checked, he'd ponder for a moment before giving a nod and walking up on to the wall and to the ceiling. Time Keeper would be close by as well as he'd follow along with the others, although keeping alert for potential other traps, Time Keeper was used as a barrier of sorts to stop any initial attacks at least. He put Time Keeper into a shadow mode, it did all the actions he did, walking forward where he would step. Potentially, it might save him a few arrows at least of this scroll room.
Fuuta let's Soren deal with that as he checks the room out. If he learned anything from his last encounter with kitsune booby traps it this 'watch your step' Fuuta folds his arms when Soren triggers one. "Hmmm…well on that note…" he looks to Ishino "We should…." But Ishino and Time Keeper are already at it. It was rather clever of Ishino but Kitsune are often more crafty. "Careful clockwork. Kitsune build traps to keep their own out. Normal humans will be challenged greatly." Fuuta states as he moves forward towards the scroll. And of course he triggers a trap. Fuuta watches as an arrow narrowly misses his head. He blinks then whistles before turning around to Soren. "Didja see my sweet moves?" cue thumbs up and Gai-sensei smirk. Fuuta then recalls that they are not alone. "Oh right…we've got company…." Fuuta sighs and bites his thumb before performing handseals. 'Please….don't dig me over' "Summoning Jutsu…." and with that he summons Genki on his shoulder.
In a light puff of smoke a small brown two tailed fox appears on Fuuta shoulder sighting with a rather regal demeanor. Fuuta sighs "Ok Genki I need you to-ow ow ow ow stop bitting my ear!" and with little more than a minute of being summoned Genki has already turned his fangs on Fuuta. Fuuta finally pulls Genki off and winces. "WHY!?" he beckons. Genki's ears twitch and it simply stares at Fuuta cutely. "Put me down. I have legs….why are we in one of our ruins?" Fuuta sighs and sets Genki down before point to the scrolls by the pedestal. "Please?" Genki looks back to Fuuta and barks weakly. "Fine." While doing so Genki's sense works his way towards the scrolls.
They were spotted somehow…though it didn't surprise Narusegawa especially with the amount of shinobi lingering throughout the room. Regardless she finally began to step out of the shadows, beckoning for Hideaki to come along forward right after her as she spear head the way towards the entrance. "We are here for those scrolls, do you mind stepping aside aso we can acquire them so you can go back to looking around these ruins?" Naru questioned them instantly, not bothering yet to bring up any sort of compromise. "I don't want to cause any problems but we don't have a lot of time here to negociate here…" Naru soon went silent, allowing Hideaki to do as he needed… She had trust in him at the very least.
Hideaki steps out of the shadows and follows Naru into the light, staying behind her but to the side nearest the pedastal. Though he is still some distance away, he spends his energy peering at the pedastal, trying to determine if there are obvious signs that it also is trapped. Obvious signs besides being the centerpiece of a Kitsune death maze, that is. His muscles are tense, ready to spring into action if needed.
Soren smiled when he saw Naru. "Naru-chan. It's good to see a familiar face. But I apologize. Those Scrolls belong to the Kitsune. We're just here to retrieve the scrolls for them." he says, walking closer to the pedestal, being carefull to avoid the traps.
Ayame, still sitting on his shoulder, nudges him with a paw. "No time to get sentimental temple head." she says, hopping off, and walking closer to the pedestal herself, making her way between the traps. "Listen well Mortals. These scrolls belong to the Kitsune and their appropriate summonders. One for the Tenko summoner, and summon. Myself and Templehead over here. One for Reiko summoners and summons. Templeheads two and three back there. And one for Kiko summoners and summons. We're only here to claim them, as is our right."
Fuuta glances back to Ayame and then to Soren. "You two are quite the pair." he states. He looks back too Naru "But that's basically the gists of it. So…" Fuuta is armed with a few shuriken. "Could you move along?" Fuuta then recognizes Naru. "Oh it's you again?" Fuuta curses a bit underneath his breath. This could get rather intense if Naru and her companion decided to fight back. Shinobi weren't known for abandoning their missions because of some sense of integrity that suddenly came in to question. Fuuta signals Soren to get ready to go on the offensive. At the same time he signals Ishino to retreat back to cover their escape route. Snatch the scroll and go was the name of the game though and with the numbers in their favor Fuuta and Soren need just keep Naru and Hideaki busy.
Naru was suprised to catch Soren, she blinked her eyes in disbelief though soon shook her head as she replied back to him. "Sorry, Soren-san… and…the talking Kitsune. Unfortunately we are under strict orders to pick up these scrolls, you are free to pick them up and look over them from Konohagakure once we have finished looking over them… I assure you this will be in terms of preservation rather than out right ripping the scrolls or messing with them in anyway," Naru states and suddenly she does narrow her eyes down upon the group… They could feel their bodies being forced to the ground in an attempt to subdue them with a powerful genjutsu. "I'm surprised to see you are still alive, Kiri-shinobi… I suppose our time in the exams wasn't ill-fated after all," there was a slight tease in her voice but she was absolutely serious. " Hideaki-san? Can you get the scrolls?" She asked him curiously, keeping the others in mind at the moment to assure they didn't break free from her genjutsu. Right now it was completely harmless.
Hideaki's brow furrows at the comments from Soren. He is obviously familiar with Naru. "If I understand correctly, the Kiko summoner is not present?" Hideaki mirrors Soren's movements as he talks, also striding toward the pedestal and trying to keep a similar distance. "So you should have no interest in that scroll at all?" He pauses to consider Naru's words, then nods. "Not that it matters much. Our orders are as she said." With that, he dashes over toward the pedestal, trying to grab them before anyone else can… And successfully picking his way around the traps in the process.
As soon as the sensation hit, Soren tore a Canine tooth into his lip. A few feet away, however, Ayame, as she felt her body over come by the sensation, she squeeled and whined. One look and the pup, and she was absolutely terrified at what was happening, as she lost control of her body, letting out a scream, before dissapearing in a small blast of smoke.
Soren was shocked. But in just a moment, shock turned to fury. A twin blast of smoke erupted from Soren's person. "Naru… LEAVE!" he yelled, in a fury, chakra erupting from his person, his Fox Claw arm, and Serpents Fang blade both summoned and at the ready. He twists his body, blade extending as he whipped it out, aiming to strike both of them in his anger.
Naru's genjutsu had gotten the better of Fuuta. seeing the other shinobi make a dash for the scrolls Fuuta calls out to Genki. "High tail it Genki!" Fuuta commands as he tries to fight the genjutsu. He can't do much yet but hopefully Genki can get the first.
Not only had Soren suddenly become enraged but his body seemed to shift, the hand which most of the time remained disengaged had turned into an ominous massive weapon, causing the Uchiha to b link her eyes briefly before throwing herself into action. Suddenly she unsheaths the edge of her blade meeting his sweep with the electric edge, smashing down into his blade while lightning arced about her form, she followed through with a flawless cleave to not cut Soren down but disable him for the time being. "Are you insane?!" Naru suddenly asks as she pushes away from Soren, she takes a leap over him while attempting to capture him in a genjutsu yet again, a spinning torrent of blades begin to surround him attempting to lacerate him from head to toe. "We just need the scroll for now! You can get it later!"
Racing against the two tailed fox, Hideaki is almost at the pedastal when a suddenly enraged Soren strikes at him. He quickly makes hand signs, and a large gust of wind comes into the room as Hideaki splits into two, one of him rolling down under the whip-like blade, the other attempting to jump over it. Sadly for him, the blade correctly follows the jumping version, gashing his lower back and tossing him away from the scrolls. He cries out in pain as he slams into the ground and bounces once. He rolls over and sucks in a deep breath, then makes the handsigns for his response, spitting out a small node of wind that rushes toward Soren. Hardly a devastating attack, but all he can do after the the blow he sustained.
The lightning caught him, but as the next Genjutsu encroached on him, his claw came down, cutting acrossed his thigh. "No. I'm FURIOUS!" as he leaped over the wind bullet. "The closest friend I've ever had. The one person whom I can honestly share my heart with." he yells as he lands. "And you put her through her worst Terror!" He spins, a Metal spike launching from his wrist at the younger nin. "You desecrate what she holds SACRED." he yells, turning and bearing the claw at Naru. "And you expect me to back down, because you want a few scraps of PAPER?!" A thin chakra thread reaches out to Fuuta, and with a quick flick of his finger, yanks Fuuta back to reality. "I. Don't. Think. So. Not even for you Naru. I don't care what you tell them. Tell them they're already gone. Tell them you couldn't keep up with the people who took them. I don't care. But leave. Just. Leave."
"Oh boy…he's lost it." Fuuta remarked. Fuuta feels Soren's thread tug him and falls to the ground. Upon hitting the ground he is freed from the genjutsu. "Ouch. Uh Soren-san!? Remember why we're here?" Fuuta could see that Soren was fighting recklessly which would have him at disadvantage. "Uh….why don't we come to a little agreement then?" Fuuta suggested. "RIght now this is just a senseless moshpit of violence." Fuuta stands and groans "Which I'm not truly a fan of given such simple circumstances as these. So we could keep fighting about like savages…which sounds rather grim for either side or we could hmmm let's say make a deal?" Fuuta looks between all the ninja present. He feels an arrow wiz by and sihs. "And can we PLEASE STOP MOVING ABOUT LIKE MONKEYS IN A BARRELL. We're setting off traps left and right." Fuuta looks to Naru and Soren "Come on. You're friends right?"
As usual Fuuta seemed to be on the right track of thinking, or at least the non aggressive route. It was the same much like how he was during the exams, which almost brought a smile to her face. Her attention was too much on the more aggressive Soren, who seemed to be deeply offended which honestly was a little surprising to Naru…she understood his fustration about the amonunt of anger surging from him…? She narrowed her eyes on Soren as she took a leap back away from them. She chakra finally begins to kick up slightly as her pumpkin hue'ed eyes slowly began to morph into the radiant crimson hue of the sharingan, a measure of three tomoe circulating about her obsidian pupil.
" I don't know what has gotten into you Soren… But you are out of control," Naru spoke softly to him, she made eye contact while the whirling of her sharingan attempted to subdue him, this time much stronger than her original jutsu. Soren would feel extremely fatigue, as if energy was literally sapped right out of his body. " We will take one of the scrolls… You are welcomed to come back to Konohagakure and obtain it from Hokage-sama… We aren't going to destroy the scroll or anything like that," Naru explained to him, peering at Hideaki, giving him a firm nod to go ahead and pick one of them up.
Hideaki manages to get to his feet, though he sways a little from the blow to his back. Fortunately, he is mostly steady by the time a metal spike comes hurtling his way. He steps to the right, making a quick handsign as he does to create a slipstream that is just enough to speed him out of the spike's path. Nodding at Naru's instructions while breathing heavily, Hideaki jogs forward to the pedestal again. He has no idea which scroll is which, but he tries to identify the fox carving that looks least like the two foxes he has seen today and attempts to take that scroll.
Soren looks at Fuuta, fury still in his eyes… but reason's starting to take hold again. As much as he'd hate to admit it out loud, Fuuta's got a point. "Fine…" He grumbles as he looks back at Naru, still pissed, and about to continue, when she hits him with that hypnosis. Son of a… *flump* He drops to one knee, barely mustering the energy to growl. "Fine…" he mutters, unable to do much else at this point, other than struggle to stay concious, as the hypnosis saps his bodies strength.
"Well now. That's better…" Fuuta points to Hideaki "Don't move yet! You either Genki. We have terms to discuss." Fuuta nods softly. Genki is near the pedestal but doesn't move for the scrolls yet at Fuuta's command. "This bbetter be good." He warns Fuuta. Fuuta chuckles weakly and looks back to Soren "Great. Good to see that you've calmed *flump* down…" Fuuta shrugs. "Well he's calm either way. SO. These scrolls belong to the Kitsune and you guys need them for…well whatever. So how about we take two and…give you one. Then when you've copied whatever down return it to one of us and we'll exchange it for another…and we cycle like that until everyone has what they want." Fuuta suggests "Hmm? How's that?" Genki yawns and mocks Fuuta "Brilliant. Are you done now?" Fuuta sighs "Why Gengoro…why?" Fuuta points back to Genki and Hideaki "So if we have a deal you both can make your move. Genki take the Reiko and the Tenko scroll. Since Raindrop isn't here they can have the kiko scroll for now. Oh and watch your step." Fuuta looks back to Naru "Sound good to you?"
Narusegawa was glad that Soren took the fall. His irritation and anger wasn't going to help the situation any further, and with Fuuta giving them the idea of switching them out over time, it sounded even more fruitful than she had anticipated. "That sounds like a good idea…We can swap out the scrolls over a period of time and lastly you can have the originals if they truly are that important to you," Naru responded back giving Hideaki a nod to go ahead and continue taking the last scroll. " I'm glad that we can come to adeal… It isn't very often Kiri-shinobi are willing to compromise…" Naru responded back while a light rub of her temples, she looked over back in Soren's direction, her genjutsu was wearing off now at this point… "Sorry… Soren-san,"
Hideaki stops with his hand hovering over a scroll when Fuuta barks his order, and heeds it, at least for a moment. Fuuta may be on the other side, but he seems to playing the roll of adult in the room for the moment, and Hideaki has had quite enough of fighting for one day if he can help it. He waits for the go ahead from Naru, then takes the scroll and slides it into his vest, wincing as he does so. He nods at Fuuta. "I think I am quite glad you were here." He casts a dubious glare to Soren, as if to suggest Hideaki enjoyed meeting that swordsman far less. He then turns and starts to head back the way he came.
As the Genjutsu wore off… Soren climbed back to his feet. "That's agreeable then. I apologize for my anger." he says, bowing to each of the shinobi of the leaf in turn, before walking over to Fuuta. "You take care of things here. I need to check on Ayame, and I'm not going to do that in Naru's presence. Not right now." he says, looking around. "I'll see you outside." he says, before flickering down the path they came through.
"AHA! But of course! Do you know who I am?" Fuuta bows towards Naru then Hideaki. "I am the shining denizen of GREATNESS and vessel of GLORY!" Fuuta points skyward. "Holy, am I alone, on Heaven and Earth. The one, the only, the GREAT!" Fuuta takes a step forward for his posing. This sets off another booby trap which sends an arrow flying by his head once more. He freezes for a moment and blinks as if making sure he's still alive. "Ahem." Fuuta returns to his previous position. Genki waltzes over to Fuuta with the two scrolls held in his tails. "The great Yoko Fuutama blah blah yeah. I'm going back now. Summon me again when you want the scrolls." And like that Genki is dismissed in a puffing cloud of smoke. Fuuta would turn around and wave to Soren. "Ok…I'll be there shortly. Let Ishino know about what happened please?" Fuuta turns back around. "Sweet guy. Uh…well it was a pleasure. Until next time." he bows to Hideaki and blows a kiss towards Naru. "You are now leaving the presence of Yoko Fuutama, pray that you're blessed enough to meet him again." Fuuta then exits.
