Unwelcomed Arrival

[Cho Hakkai]

Hakkai sighed. The resistance, oh how wonderful it was. Hakkai's heart still felt heavy for what he did back in the day. Again even though Brash gave him a pardon, Hakkai knew deep down that if he had stayed the resistance would have continued to be, if only for a bit longer. Hakkai couldn't help but nod at the Jounin as he spoke about how he felt towards the idea of VAK. Now that Hakkai thought of it too, it seemed like a ridiculous idea putting all that responsibility on gennin. But then again, Hakkai was ignorant to how Brash was "taking this out on himself” exactly. "Correct, I was in fact apart of VAK.”

Hakkai noticed that the silence grew. It was one of those you could hear a pin drop silence. It was almost exactly the same as when he was entering the village. Hakkai knew something wasn't right here but couldn't put his finger on what it was exactly. He took a deep breath and exhaled.

Where were Raz and Korin? How did he manage to be separated from them so quickly without realizing it? Hakkai's mind could not shut up. It kept bothering him about where he was and where he wasn't. It all seemed like his head was about to explode from all the questions. The moment he started to get a headache from all of these questions he decided to let most of them go. There were really only a couple of problems he needed to take care of right now. One of those problems being the other Jounin he is currently fighting with. But he wanted to know one thing.

"How is Brash taking it out on himself?”

[Cloudnine]

Korin's eyes narrowed as she scoured the bird's mind. It was blank, strange… foggy. The ties were unfamiliar, its thoughts too mangled to be human. Her lips were stretched in a straight line, jaw tense, waiting for her attempt to blunder into some genjutsu trap she'd spring by wandering into the wrong area of the crow's mind. Nothing. She held her cutting gaze with its black eyes until the crow jerked away, mindlessly pecking at the pebbles. Withdrawing from the useless attempt, she cursed under her breath.

"It's no use trying to talk to it,” She turned to Raz, "it's just a crow.” Hands falling back down to her sides, she continued. "Someone was controlling it.” She imagined the severed chakra threads she saw, the invisible traces this suspect failed to erase. If only the girl specialized more in the subtle arts instead of splitting disciplines with curative jutsu; Korin could have tracked down a shinobi by their chakra signature alone… or something. She'd heard of the method somewhere.

The crow took flight in a flurry, leaving the bewildered trio alone in the still landscape. Another string of obscenities; awkward from Korin's tongue. She was getting too high strung as she watched the crow fly away from the perspectives of the thirty needles she set down. Thirty needles to grant her vision and still not a trace of a clue.

[[Do I still need to keep a word count and roll? @__@]]

Edited November 26, 2008 by Bifröst

[cntrstrk14]

ooc: Too tired to make a real post. I may ask for your total word count later if you want to keep track, and then again I may not. For the moment though you do not need to continue rolling as I am sure you are far over the word count. I'll edit this or make a new post in the morning, feel free to post until then though.

[Khaos]

While cautious of the bird; Nidori found he was gradually becoming more and more restless. The three stood there waiting, so expectantly; their curiosity and weariness met with nothing out of the ordinary. After it spoke its piece, the crow acted, well, crow-like. There was no more suspicion to be aroused in regards to it as far as he could tell. Maybe if he had some expertise in genjutsu he could probe the bird's mind; alas he didn't and if either of the others did they would've spoken up had they found anything. At least they were all ready in case of attack. He, with his melody arm, Rasen wielding several wind shuuriken and Korin having scattered some sort of beacons; figuring it could not have been an attack on its own. Taking a deep breath, then looking at the crow and the peculiar other bird that had been residing in Korin's vest he inwardly sighed, not being in the know was a bit troublesome though it [the second bird] didn't seem to be too significant to anything.

Thinking about the talking bird, he tried to figure a way that it could possibly have been communicating with them. It didn't take long before he thought up a couple of ways it was possible. Was it a summon? Or maybe some sort of transformation technique... No. That would be too forthright of them, they don't know us; they couldn't put themselves or a summon in the line of fire. I'm sure I wasn't the only one ready to attack if I deemed it necessary. He looked around, realising just how many needles Korin had thrown before resuming his thoughts on the matter. A genjutsu? Nah, it reacted to Korin’s bird’s appearance. That means the bird was a pawn of some sort. At that point another possibility came into mind- a manipulation technique?!.

As the crow flew into the distance, Nidori turned to the other's, Korin at least seemed to have come to the same conclusion, he nodded and spoke; figuring his silence would help nothing as long as he kept his comments on point and focused on the task at hand. This was no social group.

I thought that too. That still means we don't know what we're dealing with. If it was speaking the truth, Brash'll have some information.

With that he dismissed himself from covering the back, quickening his footing he continued towards the tower which was a stone's throw away at this point.

Edited November 26, 2008 by Khaos

[Eechi-go]

Raz's eyes met Korin's, and he instantly turned a small shade of red, his eyes quickly darting away from her. Indeed, the bird was capable of being his ‘eyes', he just hadn't thought of using that ability, seeing as how he was sure the bird had died back in Fang. He studdered softly, embarrassed, as he said;

"H-hey…d-don't look at me…I forgot you even had it.”

From there, Korin attempted to communicate with the crow, and patiently, the boy crossed his arms and waited. This all seemed very much like a lost cause. They were wasting valuable time talking to this unknowledgeable bird, while Oto was falling apart all around them. He thought of the possibilities as to what the avian creature might be. A genjutsu wasn't very possible at this point, seeing as how Korin would have easily broken it and freed them. Transformation or a summon seemed most logical, but even people who transformed into animals didn't act like their animal form -that- well.

Alas, Korin surrendered her attempts at communicating the bird. He heard her release a string of curses, which caused him to place a hand on her shoulder, in order to comfort her, allow her to know that it wasn't her fault.

"Yeah, that thing was pretty useless to us from the start. In any case, we have much more important things to do, like find Brash and Hakkai. I'm worried now, let's move a bit quicker now.”

It seemed as if Nidori had the same idea in mind, and he followed suit, quickly dashing towards the ominous tower.

[cntrstrk14]

The trio would find that their trip to the tower would go smoothly and without sound or sign of another being. The slight sign of fighting here or there could be seen, but no serious structural damage was done to the village in whole. As they would near the tower itself though, they would be able to hear a strange irregular humming beat coming from nearby, each 'beat' followed by what could only be described as a small electrical crackle.

-Fwooum- -zz- -Fwwooooum- -zz- -Fwooum- -zz-...

The doors to the tower stood slightly ajar, the hinge broken on one of the heavy doors so that it hung at a slight angle. A series of flashing purple and blue light would illuminate the floor near the door as it pulsed and crackled along with the sound, which was coming from within.

ooc: Keep in mind that my style of GM is to have the player do what they want and not force them into any situations. With that said, I will not always stop at a pivotal moment or when something exciting will happen, but rather when there is a choice for you guys to make. Shorter posts tend to work out well, and also being very clear as to what you intend to do or did by the end of your post. I'm just throwing it out there, you guys have been doing great so far.

-----

"How? Well for starters he ex-", Raeyn started to say but was interrupted by what sounded to most as a high pitched flute note. Hakkai and more than likely most of the other ninja from Oto would recognize it as a C note. Without even a word all of the uninjured ninja would spring to life, their eyes moving about.

"Make a tight group around the injured, hold a defensive position, we only need to hold them off!, Raeyn would yell towards the other ninja as the note continued to play. Suddenly, it would stop and from the shadows, alleyways, rooftops and all around ninja with gray vests would appear and move forward, striking as soon as they could.

ooc: Defend yourself and the injured ninja from the attack. 300 words per attacker, fend off at least three.

[Eechi-go]

The sound of electric crackling filled the air, probably more so to Raz and Nidori then Korin, due to their extensive sound manipulation training, but it had become more obvious the closer they had approached the tower. The boy stopped dead in his tracks before the door, his eyes blurring in the bluish-purple lights. It was a strange sight to behold, for sure, but he had never actually been in the Kyoukage's tower. Still, there were doubts in his mind that these lights were naturally there, and more proof stemmed from the fact that the crackling noise that immerged from the door seemed to radiate from around the village. Raz, quickly killing his anger for the mission, turned to Nidori quickly, and said in a rather soft-spoken voice, seemingly asking for council.

"That's probably not natural, right? In any case, I'll go in first. There's a good chance whatever that noise is has to do with electricity of some kind. Normally I'd think of another way to go about doing this, but I can protect myself, if it's what I think it is.”

His eyes went back and forth between the young man and the girl, before clapping his hands together softly, feeling the wind around him twist and turn like a small hurricane. After years of studying under Hakkai, Raz had come up with his own method of protection against the peril's of lightning jutsu. The hurricane quickly spread out over the boy's head, falling short of the earth below him, completely encasing his body in a transparent sphere of air.

".:Fuuton; Arashi Kekkai :."

[Wind Release; Storm Barrier]

He released his hands, before taking a breath, then turning to the tower. He carefully opened the door that was left ajar, and wandered into the building on guard. If anything electrical would lash out at him, it would most likely not even leave a mark, let alone touch him. Hell, if anything lashed out, there was a good chance that the barrier could absorb the impact. He was still on his toes, however. He wasn't fool enough to let his guard down.

"Brash!?” he called out, hoping for some sort of response from the man.

Edited November 27, 2008 by Eechi-go

[cntrstrk14]

As the door would open, before Raz could even call out the man's name he would feel a shift in the lighting and then an immense heat. A blast of white, blue and purple light would strike into him, forcing him backwards and out of the doorway heavily as if he was hit by an impossibly fast train. Following the blast a ripple of sound louder than any thunder the three had ever heard would echo outwards, shaking the entire tower itself. Korin and Nidori would feel as if their bones were being rattled to their core as the sound died down, echoing off the buildings in the background and leaving all three with a terrible ringing sound echoing in their own heads. Raz's condition was to be seen, but the blast had been just as the boy had assumed, one of electrical proportions and a strong one at that.

After these few moment which had taken place in a mere split second, a voice would call out from within the tower, the crackling and humming beat coming back into audibility as the ringing subsided slightly

"Hello?! Who's there?!", the voice would call out over the immense glow of purple and blue light. From their angle the group would be able to see some kind of large oval form in the middle of the room about the sides of a human body, and the sillouette of another person nearby who seemed to be struggling with the gate itself. He held both hands outward, palms facing the rift as if he was in a struggle with an invisible being. His back was facing the group, but before any guesses could be made a shuffling of feet would proceed the face of a young woman poking out of the doorway. She was dressed in the standard Otogakure no Sato jounin vest, loose purple training pants and a slightly lighter toned purple long sleeve. Here light blonde hair framed her fave with a perfect curve as her plain brown eyes went from face to face.

"Who are you?"

ooc: 600 points of electrical damage, everyone keep track of your Chakra, Stamina and HP from this point on at the end of your post. Eechi, remove the chakra from your barrier and calculate the damage, etc on your own.

[Eechi-go]

"Shit--!!”

As the boy predicted, a gargantuan blast of electrical energy surged towards him at incredible speed. Before he could even blink, the lightning made contact with the shield, causing a large ‘explosion' of sound that echoed out in all directions. Light blinded him, and he felt his barrier begin to rattle under the strength of the jutsu. He had expected something much weaker then this, but thankfully he was prepared. Would he have waltzed in mindlessly, he might have been killed by this. His arms quickly crossed, as his body ducked down, releasing air from his pores, his aura, strengthening the jutsu, before extending his hand, and blasting a secondary wave of sound outwards, loud enough to possibly reach the ends of the village. Thankfully, the shield had only cracked slightly.

"Minimal damage…but I shouldn't drop this just yet…”

He thought to himself, his eyes adjusting to the light of the room, Raz quickly recognized the voice of the man who seemed to be struggling with some vaguely silhouetted oval in the center of the room. He went to step forward, and cried out his name, but was quickly cut off by a curvaceous woman dressed in Otogakurian garb. His hands formed fists, still holding his air-formed shell together.

"Kinsen Rasen of Otogakure no Sato. I don't mean to be rude, but what the hell was that!?”

(Health Power) 1,000

(Stamina) 200

(Chakra) 1,800 (Chakra Flow covers the chakra cost,, otherwise he'd be at 1,400)

Barrier Health; 650 (Only takes 25% damage from lightning based attacks,dealing only 150 damage, in that case.)

Edited November 27, 2008 by Eechi-go

[Khaos]

The three had arrived at their first destination, though they were about to meet up with Brash, Nidori was sure he wasn’t alone in his caution. He tentatively slowed his stride as they reached the doors of the great tower. He looked up, his vision scaling the tower he’d been in several times during his ninja career. Just then he had thoughts of the past; reminiscing about old times briefly. Friends he’d made and lost; before and during the war. Rei, Shira-chan, Mikomi-sama... even Jinsei he paused in his thoughts for a second - i gue- Nidori’s were again interrupted but this time by an external source. At first it was a sound; a droning ominous sound from the other side of the doors. He narrowed his eyes, an attempt to peer into the jarred space between the large doors. He instead felt a distinct air of chakra. A density he recognised to be electrically charged chakra. Had he not held an elemental affinity for electricity he may not haave noticed so soon. He did not speak however, not yet. He figured the others would be careful enough to not arouse attention or give away their exact position.

Adjusting his view downwards, Nidori noticed the array of lights on the floor, illuminated from an unknown light source; clearly something or someone was waiting on the other side. Before he could speak, Rasen commented on the situation. As the boy finished his sentence, he performed a wind type, defensive technique; ready to walk inside. It was too late to call him back, he would be sure to rush in if it was necessary. The boy’s technique seemed to be of high rank in terms of complexity; something another ninjutsu user would instantly acknowledge. Due to this, he felt if a trap were to be sprung, he’d be relatively safe. Not another thought could cross Nidori’s mind as in a flash, Rasen was flung from the door by a powerful jutsu. The rate at which the chakra had risen to fire off such a technique was ridiculous, especially considering the nature of it. Being that Rasen had used a wind technique, it should have technically been strong against the attack, as Nidori looked back, towards the attacked oto-nin he realised he wasn’t seriousy injured, though he was surely hurt.

Looking back towards the door; Nidori felt he knew this enemy a little better. Being that they used lightning ninjutsu to such a high standard he could only assume it was a Kumo nin. He, on the other hand could not bank on that as a fact since it wasn’t impossible for a shinobi of one country to specialise in an element not of their heritage.

Nidori looked inside; trying to focus on what was immediately visible. It was more a matter of, if they were enemies; which he could not really give them the benefit of the doubt otherwise, he could grasp just how many opponents there would be, minimum. As Nidori readied an attack, albeit a weak one as to stun and not kill quite yet, a figure approached, emerging from the door clad in Otogakuran wear. Sighing and briefly closing his eyes, the tension built up calmed slightly within him.

He wouldn’t talk just yet, wishing to gain a grasp of the situation; a scowl began to form on his face as he looked at the kunoichi who came to enquire into their intentions.

As Rasen made an outburst, though justified if it was friendly fire, Nidori rolled his eyes. It would have been better that he just get straight to the point, it was clear that given the situation, what with people disappearing and a obviously distressed village that citizens would be on high alert. Nidori would have spoken up too if it had been for his sneaking suspicions. He didn’t want to give them a way to deceive; though seeing a familiar face would’ve helped the situation.

~~~

[HP]: 1000/1000

[CHK]: 1500/1500

[sTM]: 150/150

Edited November 27, 2008 by Khaos

[Cloudnine]

With a deft pull of chakra, Korin recollected the needles. Not in the mood to speculate over anything really, she wordlessly continued down to the tower.

Her anxiety only escalated when Raz stepped ahead to peer into the door. She was half expecting him to disappear, get sucked into nothingness like Hakkai. She'd be alone with Nidori and strangers, and a genjutsu rampage on enemy and assumed ally alike would be necessary…

But she hardly expected the blast, the giant explosion of energy shook the ground. Her fingers rattled numb and her thoughts broke up. Korin's teeth ached. Dazed, her unfocused gaze looked for Raz. Still here. Korin didn't take any action yet, in case these Oto-nin meant no harm.

"Someone from Kusagakure,” she answered sharply. There wasn't much trust to go around.

HP: 1000

ST: 100

CH: 1600

[short post, just moving it along. @__@]

[Cho Hakkai]

Hakkai paid attention to what Raeyn was going to say. The more Hakkai would know about Brash the better. If he knew the person he would be serving under he would know how to work himself to Brash's pleasure. (Totally doesn't sound sexual?)

But a noise came. It caught everyone's attention. A C note. It was a tad bit sharp, but then again Hakkai could have been wrong. He was a little bit more concerned as to where this noise was coming from. He looked to the left and then to his right. He couldn't see anything that stood out. Then again, without his monocle his eyesight was quite terrible. He gritted his teeth as suddenly the group of ninja were surrounded.

It was the ninja in the grey vests again. Hakkai cursed himself under his breath. His shoulder was still in pain from the kunai that had hit him before. How the group of ninja were completely surrounded without so much as a hint of their presence confused Hakkai but then again these ninja were more concerned with their wounded comrades. Looking around, Hakkai noticed that the note was done playing. Was this a warning that they were coming? Hakkai shook his head as he closed his right eye.

Closing his right eye would make the headaches he got from the blurred vision become minimal. There was a silence. Hakkai could hear the people breathe. He walked slowly back towards the injured ninja behind him. When he stopped, no one moved. It was like no one was breathing either, but there were. Such a silence made Hakkai's chest heavy. He wanted to just end this right here and now with these grey vested ninja. However, that wouldn't be smart at all.

The silence was broken as the grey vested ninja came. Hakkai grasped his sword at his side. But just as quickly as he had touched it, he took his hand away in a snapping motion as if the sword was hot. ‘No,' Hakkai thought to himself. ‘I can't use the sword. It's used for close range combat. The problem is the point isn't to defeat the enemy, just fend them away. I can't leave the group for too long even if it means the enemy numbers would dwindle. No, that's stupid. I need to use long range techniques. Alright. I think I've got it.'

The first wave of ninja consisted of three people, two females and one male. The male went towards Hakkai. His face was emotionless. His brown eyes looked empty as if the man no longer had a sole to him. Other than his grey vest he had a pair of black pants and a snow white shirt. He had a rather large spear in his hands.

He was a quick man he was. With his speed he was within meters of Hakkai in only seconds, already swinging his giant pendulum with no sign of mercy. Hakkai figured that the first wave of attacks would be the weakest. Any battle in history shows that any first wave of attacks is the weakest to make their opponents shrink in size and strength. Hakkai figured this man couldn't have been that strong else he wouldn't be in the first wave. Using too much energy would be exactly as the enemy would plan.

"fun that,” Hakkai said. Making several hand symbols, Hakkai concentrated energy into his right hand. "Let's see if Raz made any influence on me.” And with a thrust of his open palm, a gust of wind was expelled in the direction of the young spear wielding man. Even though Hakkai's knowledge of the wind element was limited, Hakkai assumed it was reckless but precise, like Raz. Many people tend to live by their primary elements. Hakkai yelled…

"Reppushou”

(Gale Wind Palm)

The wind grew and grew as it gained distance from Hakkai and towards the young man. The young man continued to run with a valiant effort to bypass the gust of wind. But because of his ignorance to how to accommodate with such a gust, the man lost his footing and as first tripped forward, but because of the wind was sent backwards.

Hakkai looked over towards where the other two women in grey vests went. They were subdued. What comes after the first wave children? Exactly. The Second wave.

This time, the people were a bit more skilled. They didn't attack head on. They came from all sides. Hakkai couldn't stand still anymore. Hakkai reached into his belt pocket and grabbed out a scroll. He ran out and away from the group as he ripped open the scroll. It began to glow a tint of brown, green, blue, and yellow in different areas at different times.

Smoke appeared around Hakkai. When the smoke cleared, there was three other men stand near Hakkai. A small, monkey like boy with eyes of gold. A tall man with hair red as blood. A monk with an anger issue wearing the golden robes.

"Hakkai, what's going on?” asked the red haired man.

Hakkai stopped. He began to yell and said, "Gojyo, Sanzo, take my place near the group and fend off as many people as you can from the group. If anyone gets too close then don't think twice about using something extreme. You protect those ninja as much as you can. Got it guys?

The tall, red haired man and the monk nodded at each other as they jumped back to support the group. The small monkey child ran over to Hakkai and up his hands out as a staff appeared in his hands. "Alright Hakkai, is it time to kick some fresh meaty ass?” asked the boy in a cocky manner.

Hakkai smiled brightly at the boy as he himself raised his arms. "That is correct Goku. Let's go.” And thus Hakkai and Goku confront a team of three grey vested ninja. It was another team of two females and one man. But this wasn't the only team. There was another one heading towards the group.

The one female, with hair blue as the ocean, a physique that was quite fucking awesome nice took out a sword and swung it at Hakkai's left bicep, which connected. Red crimson blood came out of Hakkai. Hakkai grunted. Hakkai wasn't going to take this from the enemy. Hakkai jumped back and then forward while spinning. With his outside leg, he slammed it into the female's head with a lot of force.

"Roundhouse Kick!”

And that's what Hakkai did. Her head was sent in the same direction as Hakkai's leg. Of course the force wasn't meant to smash her skull into itself. Hakkai was tired of killing people. It was meant for her to get knocked off of her balance. And since she pretty much fell, Hakkai accomplished his goal.

Goku had managed to take care of the male in the group of three with a simple stomp on his foot and an uppercut to his jaw. Goku was a bit more reckless than Hakkai was but alas he got the job done. But wait… 3-2=1… Where was the other person? I'll tell you were she was, nearing the group who was already preoccupied with the other team of ninja attacking them. The girl, with brown hair, black small skirt, long and droopy pink shirt, with a grey vest, was going to hit the point where no one was covering. It was a blind spot which would take out many people.

Hakkai ran over to her slowly catching up. Hakkai felt like he wouldn't be able to touch her before she hit the group. Hakkai made several handseals as he placed his hands behind him and out came a blast of sound. It was a basic Air Slicing Blast, but using to give himself a boost he oh so needed. He tackled the girl. He placed his arms around her arms and chest to constrict her. Her boobs were squishy…

She tried to break free from his grasp and even went so far as to bite him. Hakkai winced in pain and let go of her. Knowing that she couldn't just keep going, she had to fight Hakkai. She took out a kunai knife and swung at him, again getting him at the chest. Hakkai let out a quick breath of air to show his pain. Again more blood was showing. Hakkai whistled as Goku appeared behind the girl. She freaked out as Goku spun her around to face him. When the back of her body was shown to Hakkai, He kicked the backs of her knees so she lost her balance. As she fell, Goku grabbed her and flung her in the opposite direction of the people she was trying to attack.

(1463 words)

(3643 words total)

835 health unless otherwise told.

[cntrstrk14]

"Do you have any proof-"

"Let. Them in.", the man struggling with the strangle oval in the middle of the room would call back. The woman would, without hesitation, move aside for the three to enter the room. The oval itself seemed to be the source of the light and noise all in itself, both of which had only grown more intense as the three would near and enter the doorway. As they would enter, the woman would speak, and the group would take note that there were no other people in the room at all.

"Are you alright?", she would say towards Raz, moving towards him to inspect where he had been hit by the lightning strike. She would give a small blush and look up at him with a smile as she did, it was kind of obvious that she was making some very clumsy move towards the young man. Before she could go on though the man in the center of the room would speak. It was obvious to the ones that had met him before, that this was indeed Brash, the sennin of Otogakure no Sato and the acting leader of her ninja. The light from the oval had illuminated his form now that he was not directly between the light and the new comers. His white-blonde hair was being thrown back by the wind and chakra that erupted from the oval.

"I'm glad... you're here.", he managed to say, his green eyes staying focused on the task at hand. Twisting his palms, he would bring his hands together quickly, making a succession of seals. Five bright green flames would appear around the oval's edge, each seeming to attack to a corner of it. The bright light and flashes of chakra made it hard to see exactly what it was, but with a quick movement of his arms, thrusting both outwards from his body, all five of the green flames would push apart from each other and the oval would grow in size and shape, becoming a pentagon. With the shape opened up larger now, the three would be able to see within it as if it was a doorway to another world. The only problem was that on the other side of the door it appeared to be the rest of the room, just as if they were looking through a clear sheet of glass. Brash would seem to relax his muscles as the five fires 'locked' into place and held themselves perfectly still.

"Since you are here I assume that means that the invasion of Fang went well? I also assume you have seen the village, so I will make this short... Isn't Hakkai usually with you?", Brash would say, more directly towards Raz as the two knew each other.

-----

As the last opponent of Hakkai fell a horn would sound, and the ninja in gray would fall back, disappearing into shadows and around corners, the village falling eerily silent as soon as the last had vanished. Even more strange, was that the bodies of the fallen opponent's would disappear as well, fading from existence or popping out of existence the moment no one was looking towards them.

"Hell of a job there Hakkai.", Raeyn would say as they disappeared, the man approaching from a few steps away. "Prepared the injured, we need to get to a more suitable location for defending until we can get a bearing on our situation."", he would call out towards the other Oto ninja.

"Hakkai, do you have any suggestions of where to go?"

[Eechi-go]

Though the young man's tone was rather brash and rough, he didn't mean for it to come off offensive. He was more or less stunned by the previous attack, and so his nerves were a bit uppity. His arms were crossed, chewing on his lip as he looked up at the woman. She asked if he had any proof, and the boy went braindead for a moment. All he had that might count as proof would be Hakkai's Book of Memories, and even that might raise suspicion. Thankfully, the oh so familiar voice demanded that their squad gain entry to the room. He felt his shield would no longer be necessary, and after concentrating for a moment, it dissipated into nothingness.

"Me? I'm alright…it didn't break through. I‘ve felt worse.”

He smiled back at her, now sure she was an ally. He felt slightly silly for yelling at hew now, and he bowed respectfully, apologizing. It never pleased him when he snapped at a person, and though many times it was justified, he still felt impolite, especially considering she was looking over him for wounds. His attention was quickly drawn from the woman to Brash now, who seemed to be struggling against some type of oval formation in the center of the room.

"Glad to see you too, Brash-sama. I got a little worried when we didn't see you in Fang.”

He said, scratching the back of his head, aloof, as he watched the man manipulate the oval form into that of a pentagon. Raz had not a clue as to what was going on, and he had a suspicion that the man was manipulating some type of sealing jutsu. Ah, sealing jutsu, a technique he had not received the pleasure of picking up quite yet. His hand absentmindedly fell to his cursed seal on his back, his fingers gliding across the feathery texture.

"Inabikaru Raikou is dead, the resistance won the war. The other countries are negotiating with Kumo as we speak. We came as soon as we heard your summons. As for Hakkai…he was with us, but he seemed to have...disappeared on the way to this tower. Not a trace of him was left behind, all we know is that a crow approached us shortly after, telling us that you knew something. It looks as if you have quite a bit to tell us, but you're right, let's make this quick, and take back our home.”

(Health Power) 1,000

(Stamina) 200

(Chakra) 1,800

Edited November 29, 2008 by Eechi-go

[Khaos]

What had been extreme caution liaising with Nidori’s mind had instantly dropped a few levels at the sound of the familiar voice giving them right of way. The kunoichi who’d initially ‘greeted’ them had rushed towards Rasen; no doubt making sure he was alright. Nidori had no reason to pay any more attention to the misplaced attack other than his acknowledgement, having already noticed the strength of the boy’s wind technique only assured him there was nought to worry about.

Not a chance was given -past the establishment that the man in front of them was Brash- to the trio before he, after expressing his feelings towards them arriving, began the performance of a technique, utilizing the oval beside him. As the jutsu began to take shape; a pentagonal window of sorts, Nidori could only wander what it was for.

This guy...

He could only pause for a second to think of Brash’ capabilities, the two techniques he’d ever seen the man perform were both one’s he’d never heard of or seen before. Truly his repertoire was bordering on the divine. Upon closer inspection of the ‘window’; he could see that while the room on the other side was one and the same as that of which they stood, there was something distorted. It was only a feeling at the time; sensing a disturbance of sorts at the cross section of the five flames.

Interrupting Nidori thought process was Brash addressing them properly; the mention of the invasion sent a slight shiver down the oto-nin’s spine, it was a lack of effort he’d rather forget; though that wouldn’t happen for a while. As he was to get to a possible breakdown of the situation, he stopped mid sentence, questioning the whereabouts of Hakkai. It was a question directed at Rasen; it seemed that Brash knew the two of them as a double act... since that wasn’t the case when the VAK was together, that only pointed towards the scenario that the two of them met with Brash at another point. Possibly somewhere other than Oto. It would have to be a topic for another day, a brighter day. Once they cleared the skies for Oto a lot of things could take place.

As Rasen spoke up, Nidori could only look back and forth at the two. He took off his hood once again, the probablility a bird would pop out again seemed low now. As the boy finished Nidori looked intently upon Brash waiting for some sort of explanation.

~~~

((OOC: Don't know if these are necessary anymore, but yeah...))

[HP]: 1000/1000

[CHK]: 1500/1500

[sTM]: 150/150

Edited November 29, 2008 by Khaos

[Cloudnine]

Let them in. And they were let in. The woman stepped aside immediately, granting the trio passage into the tower of strange sparks. Korin's eyes fluttered from place to place, taking in the unfamiliarity without much celebration. Her unease continued to rise as the constant crackling of the oval resonated across the walls. She mindlessly thumbed over the smooth glass ends of the needles- a nervous habit. In her mind, she watched a magnified image of her thumb pass over thirty small windows in her mind. She saw every ridge, every scar, the defining roughness of the callous, and the tattered skin around her nail. So much has changed over the… what, year? That she has committed to being a shinobi. Her hands had once been soft, smooth… cared for.

She shot the woman a disapproving glance as she hovered over Raz. Korin crossed her arms and poised a leg out, cocking her hip… standard idle position. Whereas Raz and possibly Nidori [Korin assumed] knew the man in the oval, she really had no idea what was going on, or how to address these unfamiliar faces. There wasn't much to do but stay still and remain silent. She watched the man's strained actions as he struggled with the oval, morphing it into a pentagon of flames. She watched with a vague curiosity, more for the sake of knowing when to flee rather than knowing what the power is.

There was ambivalent interest in the portal that formed, and Korin looked into it, only to see the rest of the room looking back at her. She wanted to touch it, send a clone through it, but impulse control was something she'd really improved on. The girl remained in her unanimated state, moving only to snatch at the sky-hued mockingbird fluttering towards the flames.

HP: 1000

ST: 100

CH: 1600

[Cho Hakkai]

Hakkai smiled and nodded as he was commended on his fighting ability. "Thank you,” he said in a humble and modest way. Hakkai, since he had lost the fight to the swordsman, did not think highly of his fighting ability. He didn't fight often and thought fighting for the sake of fighting was stupid. Hakkai looked at Goku, then Sanzo, then Gojyo and said, "Thank you guys.” They all nodded at Hakkai with a broad grin, a stern face, and a smirk as they all disappeared.

Hakkai was asked where to go from here. "Well does anyone know where we are?”

[cntrstrk14]

"So Hakkai is most likely with the others... That is unexpected, but manageable.", Brash said aloud as if he was thinking to himself. After a very brief moment though he would continue.

"I will make this brief, we can discuss details later when we have more time. Basically, a space time jutsu was used without proper training, and the very fabric of time has been splintered in the village. Now this does not mean much for the stability of the village, and there is no danger of a tear of the fabric of time, but the real problem is that all of the villagers save myself and L here were branched into the 'other' Oto and need to be rescued before that alternative universe collapses on itself. I am not sure how long they have, but from what I can tell that 'world' is slowly shrinking with every moment, and this tower is the center where it all started.", he would finish, looking at the three of them in front of him.

"Behind me is the original portal opened up to 'Oto II' I have been struggling to keep it open since the event, but I believe I have found a way to keep it open until Oto II collapses. Unfortunately, I cannot pass through the gate otherwise my chakra will seize to exist on this side and the portal will most likely collapse. This is all just guess work, this situation has never happened before really. The bottom line is, we need someone to go to the other side and get as many survivors out of there as possible, are you three up to it?" , Brash would say, giving a knowing look towards Nidori who he had trained for a short duration in the past and a glance towards Korin, who he had never met.

-----

The teams of ninja would being moving the wounded, lifting them and preparing to move. A few stood guard, waiting for another attack while the medically trained prepared the injured for movement.

"Well, we are currently in the market district of the village. If you want to get a bit more philosophical on us, then we have no idea 'where' we are. The real question is who our enemy is. They resemble NCIA in appearance, but did you notice that they were rather mute in their attack. Not to mention the way they can appear and disappear in a matter of moments. It's the strangest thing I have ever seen... But the important thing is to find a safer location.", Raeyn said as he looked toward the injured.

[Khaos]

Brash would now tell the three a brief summary of what was going on; Nidori listened intently trying to grasp the situation, his thoughts being knocked decidedly off-track once the mention of the fabric of time being distorted in some way. He couldn't quite keep the shocked expression that was emerging across his face to subside; his eyebrows were raised, his nostrils slightly flared; he at least stopped his jaw from dropping. Nidori, after that point, wasn't comprehending complete sentences, only hearing key snippets including; ”tear....other Oto.... collapses on itself....tower is the center”. From that, after quelling his astonishment during Brash' pause, shaking his head slightly before his thoughts really drifted; he pieced together a logical explanation, close to what the Oto sennin had told them just then.

As the man resumed his speech, Nidori found himself looking at the other two, wondering if Brash had incited a reaction in them also. As Nidori listened, it was clear that by the end of it the three would be asked to cross over to ‘Oto II'. Not ten seconds later did Brash get to that exact point, requesting they carry out a rescue mission. It was unavoidable.

Thinking about the cause of the rift, a failed space-time jutsu, made Nidori briefly think about his time in Hakumei. More so about Uchiha Natsumi, his comrade throughout their stay there. It was an awkward thought being that she was the one set fire to Hakkai and Rasen and with Nidori himself had chased down her own comrades, including Korin as they tried to escape the confines of Hakumei... but it wasn't the reason he was thinking of her. She was also able to utilise space-time techniques, though only with her sharingan open. She must have grown by now, I wonder where she is? He closed his eyes, opening them as he snapped back to reality. Brash looked towards the three, clearly waiting for a response.

'Kay. He approached the portal, stopping about two feet away from it and turning towards Brash. How much time do we have? I mean, can you give us an estimate on how long you can keep it open?

[Cho Hakkai]

Hakkai looked around. They were in the market district of Oto. Hakkai began to wonder where they group should go. They had injured people, tired people, and people ready to fight. Where else?

Hakkai looked at Raeyn and said, "Since we aren't getting anything done by just staying here in the Market District, we should head towards the Kyoukage tower. Should we need anything, it would be there. And also, on my way over I was told that Brash was there. It'd be best to meet up with him and tell him what happened. As for the ninja in grey vests, if they attack we can't fight them. We need to get the injured people away from harm. Since we have medical ninja here they can heal the wounded at the Kyoukage Tower. From the tower, if we have anyone that injured, we can break off a small team to get to the hospital. Is that an alright plan?”

[cntrstrk14]

"Could be five minutes, could be a couple hours. The world should show some signs of waning if it is getting close... You'll know what I'm talking about if you see it... I hope." , Brash would say towards Nidori as he neared the portal.

"Good luck Raz!", the girl only referred to as 'L' would say, giving him a warm smiled as she did.

-----

Raeyn would nod at Hakkai's suggestion.

"That sounds like a good plan, let's get moving!", Raeyn would say towards Hakkai, the last part being raised above the rest so the group could hear. The injured would be placed on makeshift stretchers and prepared to move.

ooc: Kyoukage's tower is through the market and residential district. 300 words to travel with the wounded to the residential district first. Also roll a d100, add your accuracy modifier and give me the result as you arrive.

[Cloudnine]

The strange portal was hypnotizing as it is- Korin found herself aimlessly staring into the other side of the wall no matter how hard she tried to look away. The man took that recognizable breath of launching into an explanation of what the hell had become of this village. His words weren't any more comforting than not knowing. Sure, Korin now knew [somewhat] of Hakkai's whereabouts and the fate of many of Otogakure's denizens, but the fact that there was a cause to this situation was… unsettling.

Hairs on Koirn's neck rose as she digested this subject, breaking it down into little odds and ends to brood about. Who in the world was compelled to attempt some kind of jutsu with such unforgivable consequences? Moreover, what was the purpose of attempting this jutsu- to send the enemy NCIA into a collapsing void of time, and end to their existence? Merciless. And the crow who had spoken to them earlier- perhaps this wasn't merely just an accident or just amateurism. Was it the culprit guiding the three towards Brash, dragging the last of Otogakure's hope into this diminishing rift of time that could close, disappear forever with the nothing mass of their lives?

Korin felt another string of foul language bubbling up her throat like word vomit, struggling to taint the air with the stinking bile of obscenity. "Mother-” she let the first letters garble the air before swallowing it to burn in her stomach. Her thumb was now running over the other side of the needles, probing her calloused skin with the dozens of keen points. She faintly nodded as Brash glanced in her direction. There wasn't anything good to come out of refusing, not to mention it horribly went against her beliefs if she left people on the other side of this atrocity.

Ignoring L's fawning enthusiasm towards Raz, Korin neared the portal, keeping the gateway of time an arm span away. She was gauging her chakra- testing the strength of the chakra system she'd so tactlessly burned out. The girl sent a small wave of chakra through her body to assess the conditions of her wounds. Her back stung and her hands were still petrified, mummified in the charred, leathery product of unsightly burns. She'd have to hold on just a little bit longer.

[Khaos]

Brash' answer was cause for concern; not that the mere mention of a tear in the fabric of time didn't ring alarm bells, but the other side of the portal, not dissimilar to their current surroundings was unstable. Venturing too far from the tower would not be wise if they didn't catch the tell tale sign of the closing of the portal and subsequent collapse of ‘Oto II'. Realising there was probably nothing else to be said; he decided to make that first step.

As the Oto-nin placed his foot through the portal, he felt a shiver travel down his spine; it was a cold, prickly feeling before dissipating into nothingness, possibly his body getting used to the sensation. Just as his head was to pass through, the girl who had mistakenly attacked Rasen blurted out something Nidori only heard part of. "Good luck-" not hearing the last word as his ears had passed the gateway. By the time he could think about it he'd already passed through and did not want to waste time with trivial things. He looked back through the pentagon and instantly noticed the distorted view through it from the side he'd stepped out on to. Sound could also not be heard from the other side, it was almost eerie. Looking at the girl, ‘L', he saw she was smiling at someone; from his point of view, given the ripples perverting his view, it seemed she was looking directly at him. He had a pretty good idea of what that last word was now...

I guess I have a fan... A good looking one at that.

He lifted his right hand and gave a wave back before quickly shifting it into his pocket, realising how dopey it may have come across. It was not the time to be social; Nidori reminded himself "just don't” and waited for the other two to step through.

[Eechi-go]

"You've gotta be shitting me.”

Was all the boy could think as Brash had explained the happenings of the situation. What dumbass tried to use space-time ninjutsu without any understanding of what he was doing? He himself knew a single jutsu of the sort, and even it took him quite a bit to understand the full mechanics of how it all worked. Raz sighed in distress; this would not be a mission that they could risk failing. Not only would all of Oto be lost if the gate between realms closed on them, but what would happen to Oto II once it's connection to their plane of existence ceased to connect?

"You said you can't cross over because your chakra will no longer exist in this world, right? In that case…”

The boy wasn't about to take any precautions, as this mission had far too many negative consequences to be reckless with. His thumb lightly ran along his torso, running down the wound in which he was pierced by the Kaguya not too long ago. Blood gushed onto his thumb, before he began to perform a stream of hand seals in rapid succession; he was getting much better at seals, at least the summoning seals anyway.

".:Kuuhakuma Gama Yusouki:."

[space-Time Toad Transport Technique]

The boy's hand smacked the wooden floors of the tower, before all of a sudden, a puff of smoke the size of a lampshade burst out from under, before molding into the shape of a small, amphibian creature. It was colored in blue and white, various spiral designs cascading down it's back, it's eyes glazed black, looking up at everyone in the room, before giving a croak.

"We don't know what'll happen if Oto II collapses in on itself after the portal closes. If that happens, then we'll all die, period. However, if worse comes to worse, there's a chance we can all escape through this frog. Since I can't leave anything back here that's made from my own chakra, this toad will remain here, since it's an actual sentient being. It may be an awkward and disgusting method of returning, but we won't be complaining if the shit hits the fan.”

He nodded to Brash, and L, as if entrusting the toad to them, before L began to wish the boy good luck. She was being awfully nice to him, which made him turn red slightly, as he waved deftly at her, before quickly turning to the open portal behind him. Korin's pouty expression and idle pose made him cock an eyebrow. He didn't quite understand at first, but it slowly clicked.

"A-are you…jealous?”

He whispered to her, a small smile forming on his lips. He never imagined the girl to be the jealous type, really. The irony in the whole Kou situation is what really made him laugh to himself, though. He extended his pinky, hooking onto her own, smiling at her in order to ease her jealousy and worry. She should have known by now that she was the one for him.

"Alright…we're off. Keep safe, Brash, L.”

He grinned back at them, before approaching the portal, and walking through. He quickly saw Nidori waving to the portal, which confused Raz. He figured he was waving at him, and awkwardly waved back, at a loss as to what was really going on.

Chakra: 1800

[cntrstrk14]

As the three would arrive in the new world they would notice an eerie silence accompanied by the low humming of the portal behind them. On this side there were no green flames holding the portal up like push pins, but the portal held the same pentagon shape it did on the other side. The Kyoukage's tower they stood in now was identical to the last in every way, lacking only Brash and the girl 'L'. The door to the tower was closed tight, the air feelings strangely stagnant in the tall hallway despite its windows near the ceiling. In an upper window there could be heard a fluttering of wings as the sound of a bird taking flight echoed in the walls, and nothing more.

ooc: Search the village, there are 6 locations to search. Hospital, Academy, Arena, Residential, Streets and Bazaar. Each one will take a 400 word post to completely investigate. Split up or search together, your word counts will add up if you search together. Make sure to post ooc or very clearly ic where you are so its easy for me to keep track of word counts, etc. Also only search one area per post and do not double post, as it will skew the concept of time. Not to mention it will be hard for me to GM if you find something and have already moved on to another area, haha. Also, for simplicity, keep it all in this one thread.