A Story Hidden by the Mists [Tutor/Kiri]

[Kouin]

The Anbu and Sentou work hand in hand; when the Anbu go out on missions they don't bring the average run of the mill med-nin, they require specialized individuals who are also trained in the way of shadows. Ones who know how to hide in plain sight, and know how to make the greater sacrifice for the betterment of the village. This is the way of the Anbu, and in turn the way of the Sentou.

He had personally given his recommendation to one of few skilled doctors in Kumo for the very division, and now a new prospect was looking to join their ranks. A fiery jinchuuriki with a bad habit of picking fights in the wrong places. While none of these traits show the required skills for the division, Kouin himself was a highly trained individual and believed himself capable of teaching the trainee what was really required to be a Sentou. He was sure to send the young individual a notice the day prior that his presence was requested in the forest.

The area of the lesson would be one he was all too familiar with; it would be the site of his final battle in Kumogakure. The scene of his finale. The air still resonated with traces of storm chakra from the sheer number of storm blades that razed the field; trees lied around completely devastated and torn asunder. This field will play a part in his lesson to the Sentou hopeful.

He positioned himself in a way that would give him the widest range of vision. Kouin was wear his classic attire of a black suit a tie with his Anbu mask placed firmly on his face with his call sign etched into it. Kiri would recognize him as the same Anbu from the gates when he returned from the village. As we waited for the fledging to arrive he began tinkering with an old pocket watch.

 

[Kiri]

Sometimes, in the dark of night, he would find reprieve in his dreams. It would be a time to rest the body. A time for the system to rejuvenate and recharge for another start come dawn. It was also a time for his consciousness to slumber. And a time for his soul to be in the security of his soulscape. He was not inside his small apartment, Kiri noticed. Rather, he was walking in the endless dark void. Gradients of black and grey would sometimes appear, but he wouldn’t bother stopping to examine them. They felt like shadows to him and that was all there was to appease his curiosity. Instead, he was more eager to follow the glimpses of light and wisps beyond his reach. It was a strange and somehow frustrating fascination, for when he would begin to run, they would run further and further.

What makes me more frustrating was that the voices were familiar to him. And as he picked up the pace of his run, he felt the hovering shadow mist around him. Slowly, the beast would form– a large lupine of all black from the darkness and shadow, plated skin and face with its eerie golden eyes glancing once to Kiri at his side before looking up ahead.

“Again?” the beast spoke.

“It’s mother’s voice, isn’t it? Maybe I can find out where she’s going if I can catch up,” replied Kiri.

“But it’s time.”

“For what?”

A sudden jolt brings Kiri to open his eyes. Wide awake, gasping at what seemed to have been a marathon, he brought a hand over to his chest and beat it, coughing for a bit before catching his breath. He slowly rose to a sit on his bed as he looked around the small apartment. It was silent, and the rays of the sun was seeping through the window. Strange. Wasn’t it not just a moment ago did he fall asleep from a day’s work in the hospital? Coming home close to midnight? Wishing nothing more than diving onto his futon and scrambling under the covers to sleep? Funny how the dream, a senseless dream, kept coming back again for the past few weeks.

“I need to get faster,” he concluded as he got up from bed and was on his way to the drawer when his legs stumbled along the wounded covers, and he ended up falling down flat on his face. And to make matters worse, he pulled on the covers that hit the nearby drawer, shaking it so his stack of medical books and journals fell on top of him. A series of loud thuds and yelps would echo, far before the ringing of his alarm clock. Sorely rubbing his cheeks, a lazy shadow tendril would sneak towards the alarm clock and tap it shut.

Coming to a sit, he sighed as he realised how his day had started and directly in front of him was the calendar posted at the opposite wall. A scribble on the date said something along the lines of an important meeting. He considered it for a minute before his eyes grew wide in shock “Crap! It’s today!” At once, he scrambled to his feet and began to search for fresh clothes, his hakama, a yukata, and his happy (the over coat). It wasn't only when he was ready to leave when he noticed that among the pile of books that fell, there was that old journal. He stopped for a moment as he approached the piles, though he had earlier decided he’d clean up when he returns, he couldn’t help but pick up the journal at the very least. It was his mother’s. One of the things that he had of his old life aside from his brother’s sword. However, there journal was a strange one for no matter how many times he attempted to read it, there were too many blank pages in between, while others were torn. He, at least, read those that his mother recounted of their happy life. But the rest were simply illegible. No, not illegible. More like…. tampered.

He had tried going to the library to get it… fixed, but last time the librarian wasn’t there. Still, there was no time to lose. He hastily placed the book in his rucksack before grabbing his sword as he exited the apartment. He’ll have to remember passing by the library after this day’s event was over. For now, he needed to rush and make sure not to send any bad impressions. After all, he was to meet with one of the ANBUs.

Not too long after, Kiri would reach the forest. He’d been there countless of times for his hunts. Today, however, he didn’t know what to expect. But when he finally reached the designated place, it was a bit of a surprise to find the ANBU the same one who let them in the village before. Coming to a stop a few distance away, then walking closer, Kiri began to instinctively sketch the man’s features into his memory. Save for the face hidden beneath the mask, he was almost certain that his memory of the day they returned was real. It was nighttime back then so he didn’t have a good grasp of the area or the visage of their gatekeeper, but now, he could very well tell.

Still, he should do something about his odd habit of staring at people with furrowed brows. Almost gives him the wrong impression. And so when he noticed it, he quickly raised his hand as if to smooth out the wrinkles on his forehead and then bow in greeting.

“I’m sorry for the delay. I’m Kiri from the Medical Branch. I’m still a Mednin, as you may already know. And it was from my Supervisor Shinrya Kahako, that I was recommended to try for the… Sentou.” He grew quite by the end of it as he couldn’t help but be drawn towards the mask.

WC: 998
[Topic Entered]

 

[Kouin]

He was curious where the shinobi drew his thrill to seek out harder and stronger challenges. For being a young shinobi. he already had quite the extensive list of "accomplishment"; nearly killed a fellow shinobi, having a demon that was borderline uncontrollable, and picking fights with various high ranking shinobi from other hidden villages. Geez, this kid has caused more trouble for the village than I have myself He couldn't help but chuckle to himself silently, it has been quite awhile since he went on rampant sprees of almost causing international incidents, yet here was a youngling who seemed to be going down a very similar path as himself, and he knew better than anyone what kind of life a person like that is likely to lead.

The moments dragged on as he continued to tinker with the relic in his hands; how pocket watches grew out of style was beyond him, they were sleek and fashionable, and appeared less gaudy than your typical watch, and less bulky than carrying around a whole clock with you. Though the watch in his hands wasn't as ornate as the one his father gave him, working with time pieces has always been a way for him to find solace and serenity, especially with all the strife and tribulation that continued to rake his mind every moment of his waking life, not even sleep protected him, that only made them worse. Still letting mere trivialities bother you Kou-san?

Kouin didn't have to give any visual queues on his reaction, Tensai could sense them. It was only a jest my dear friend; your stress is my stress as you know. Though your thoughts don't ravage my senses as they do yours, I still feel the aftermath of them; it's because we are one and the same that you have maintained your grasp on reality. He knew Tensai was right, the force of his will was strong enough to suppress many of the dark thoughts he had, but he was unsure of how long he'd be able to rely on him before he was also corrupted. He had to find a way to end this nightmare.

As the watch starting ticking in a steady, rhythmic beat he could hear the subtle sound of leaves breaking under foot. Sorry for the delay. He remembered saying those very words to his father on a few occasions, "Timing is everything. It dictates the pace of how things will go" He closed the time piece and slipped it back into his pocket. So Kahako also thinks he would be a good fit for the Sentou; usually she'd be one to write those types off as ones who wouldn't even be qualified to be medical shinobi, but here she was giving this one a recommendation, maybe he had more promise than met the eye.

I've read briefly about some of your exploits while you were away from the village, and I must say, your actions remind me of myself when I first came here from Kirigakure. He allowed a brief silence to transpire for a moment, A path such as the one I've lead, and the one you are seemingly traversing ends in nothing but chaos and needless destruction. He gestured to the area around them.

This area used to be quite filled with trees, but no more. I walked the path of destruction, and completely desecrated the field, no trees will be replaced in spots where they were torn asunder. He pushed himself off of the tree and took two steps towards Kiri, I had betrayed the creed every Anbu follows, I had abandoned hiding in plain sight and calculated destruction; instead I opted to brazenly strike those that opposed me, and caused more destruction than was needed; since then I've been walking true. Kouin reached into his shoulder bag and pulled out a blank black mask, and tossed it to Kiri.

One of the Anbu, and in turn Sentous, greatest strength is our anonymity. We hide our faces behind a mask so we can perform actions without the village fearing it going back to them, that is why we don't wear our headbands, but wear masks. Though the more notorious you become, the more people will hound you down for that information. He let out a short sigh, he wasn't really one of lengthy monologues, but in this instance he deemed it worthy enough.

He began circling around the young Padawan, gaining a visual estimate of the trainees strength and capability, Why join the Sentou rather than one of the other divisions? Your bloodline suggests you'd be quite a skilled Anbu or Sentou operative, but actions speaks louder than blood. He stopped in front of Kiri and stared into his eyes, What drives you to do what you do...

 

[Kiri]

It comes at a weird times, when the familiarity shows itself in Kiri’s face. The way he looked at the ANBU would have sent warnings to stop him. Had this been others, or those who were quick tempered, he would have gotten into a fight by now. But it wasn’t Kiri’s concern. He was instinctively curious and this ANBU gatekeeper who had been assigned for his teacher or evaluator today seemed mysterious. For the most part, it was curiosity, but there was, undeniably, a strange attraction… perhaps charisma on the latter, but it was something else, and he could feel like it was pulling on him. Well, there were some he met that had that effect on him, like Osu, but this man was just… different and he couldn’t pinpoint what or why.

But before he could think further, the man would begin, and in a rather unwanted way. Immediately, whatever familiarity he felt earlier, seemed to die down and his sharpened ever so slowly. He didn’t like it when people judged him, especially for his past actions. He knew he screwed up– big time– but he was supposed to grow stronger and be a better shinobi, and that was why he was here. But if he were to be summarised once more by his mistakes… Why was it that he was getting angry quickly lately? Well, he kept his temper in check for now.

As quickly as he may have been triggered earlier, he quickly came to a surprise. Indeed, he didn’t understand why Kahako would recommend him. He only helped out once before, but he didn’t think much about it. Perhaps she saw something in him? He wouldn’t bet it. It was probably before of the other reason– a careful supervision for his future actions.

As he reached out and accepted the mask, Kiri would nod in confirmation. He understood the basics about the Sentou and ANBU. With their identities hidden, both their resolve and their country’s safety was assured. Still, he never thought he’d actually come to have a liking for masks, but if it was what was required of the Sentou, then he’ll oblige. But if he were to be questioned… that’s a different matter altogether.

Eyeing the ANBU before glancing back down on the mask, he realised that there wasn’t much to say. He didn’t aspire to become the best there was. It was simply, a way to utilise his full potential. “I want to become the doctor that could help save children, keep them from harm’s way. But there’s something in me that makes me more appropriate in the battlefield. But what kind of a doctor will I be if I’m easily targeted or that I cannot even defend those in need. No, I guess what I meant was… because I know my ow capabilities that I can tell this is where I belong.” He paused again and then let out a sigh before showing a different kind of resolve through his eyes, a sudden pulse of chakra wave washes down him, turning his hair pale and white while brushing his eyes into golden orbs.

“As you have read in reports, I am rather much of a trouble magnet because of certain circumstances, but I can be useful in other ways. And my home are the shadows, the darkness at every corner, or even the one under your own feet. I guess, that’s why it would make sense that I would aspire to be a Sentou. However, I am, first and foremost, aspiring to be a doctor, and that simply falls into place as well. And from that last trip to give emergency treatment to an ANBU, it made me think… I’m capable enough to handle myself, and I can also help others. More importantly, I can be of use without endangering anyone high up.” He smirked. “I’d rather avoid the Leaf Incident if I could.”

Then the smirk would face and he turns serious but also curiously sharpening his eyes as watched the man. “But you think otherwise, right? Someone as volatile should have no role with something delicate.”

WC: 686

 

[Kouin]

As he spoke his words he could visibly see the young med-nin grow slightly aggravated, even if he had no intention of showing in, he had been in his line of duty of far too long to not pick up on such expressions, but it didn't dissuade him from continuing his speech. Though there was something else in the young mans eyes, some kind of intrigued as he gazed through his masks black sockets, as if he was trying to envision what I looked like exactly, though he probably doesn't quite remember, but Kiri had seen the mans face before, but he wasn't quite ready to remove his mask, not yet. His excessive staring would be concerning to probably anyone else, but Kouin didn't care, he was used to people watching him intently, most with the intent to kill but too afraid to follow up, but he wasn't worried about Kiri; he was sure if he had to he could easily force him to submit.

He had direction with his purpose, which was more than he could expect from most youngsters, but being a liability makes most ill-suited on the battlefield and in a medical position. Any sensible person would know this as a fact, but none of this pushed Kiri away from his path; he remained true to everything he wanted to accomplish, and for that Kouin was impressed with the kids level of resolve, Protecting those that can't protect themselves... That's very admirable... His voice trailed off into the crisp afternoon air before picking back up, But, you lack discipline. Such as when you returned to the village without the escort you left with. We have rules for a reason, they are for safety and liability concerns. He took in a deep breath and sighed. He felt this was getting no where fast. This kid is more like me than I'd like to admit

He felt their was a slight tension between the two, maybe the mask was keeping him on edge, distant for the facts. Maybe he sees it as only speaking to an enigma and not a person, maybe that's what he needs, a person not an enigma. His hand grasped the mask on his face and slid it off his pale face, revealing rippling emerald orbs behind a pair of small framed glasses. He ran his hand through his messy, unkempt black hair, I don't disagree that you are very much capable of handling yourself in a fight, its a matter of control that is a concern to the village. We all eventually have to face a darkness inside of us that make us yield control. He closed his eyes for a moment, he knew well that we all had incidents that we would've liked to have avoided, but somethings are just impossible to avoid... Is that why you keep ignoring me.

A shiver shot down his spine like someone shot electricity through his spine. He knew the voice, but he had ignored it for so long, he thought it had gone and passed, that it got bored with his delusions and crazy hermit antics, but it was probably also Tensai that was helping him suppress the voice deep within his mind. Though maybe it was just his mind playing tricks on him, We all have things from out past that we wish to forget, some are worse than others, but eventually, one way or another we have to face our true selves. Little did Kouin know, he would know the true meaning of his words soon enough.

He took the small frames from his face and polished them gently and set them carefully back on his face, I am not one to dissuade someone who has the path they wish to follow set in stone, I can only hope to guide them in the right direction to better themselves. If being a doctor, and a member of the Sentou Henkan is what you wish to do, than I can only help you grow from here. His usually serious face would soften for a mere few moments as he spoke his encouraging words, but it wouldn't last long, Only question is, are you ready to dedicate yourself the same way every Anbu dedicates themselves? It's more than pledging allegiance to the Kage in every way, it's also knowing the fact that when you leave the village you run a much higher risk of not coming back than an average shinobi. Are you ready for that?

 

[Kiri]

It was apparent, even if he didn’t try to hide it, yet even his manner of hiding it would unknowingly betray him – that Kiri was keeping a safe distance, if not in an aggressive manner. He looked at the man with discretion and was ready to move until suddenly, the other did what he wasn’t expecting – taking off his mask. For a moment, Kiri was left stunned, speechless. He knew of the secret and the laws that ANBU operatives abided to, and he, himself, is keeping mum about the secret that he knew Hoshi was in ANBU. Still, he didn’t think this man would do the same thing. Trusting him for such an important detail, something that could eventually and possibly endanger the man. Or was it because the latter thought he was an easy target to silence should he squeal?

The second reaction, however, was that he felt a strange familiarity with the man. It was almost as if he knew him and yet he couldn’t pinpoint who, where or how. And perhaps he may have looked stupid with a flabbergasted expression, he wouldn’t really know. All he was conscious of was that his eyes instantly locked on to the other’s green orbs. Despite the glasses he wore, Kiri was seemingly searching into those green orbs, as if hoping to find a glimpse into his soul. But he would listen to the other’s words as intently as his gaze was. In fact, he noticed a change of tone before it got serious once more.

For some reason, now that he didn’t have the mask on, this person before him felt like just any other person he’d met. Kiri’s guard was somehow lowered, not entirely, but to a certain extent. Not because he now saw the other as someone lower, but that he realised that behind masks, they were still human just as he was. That’s right. The distancing effect was something encouraged by the barrier that was the mask, but now he was truly addressing the other as a person and not as another entity.

The words that came last sounded far more like the ultimate decision that he was being given. An ultimatum, of the sorts, but it was also a test of his resolve. And here, lies wouldn’t work. He waited until the other was done and he gave a moment’s silence before answering, “There’s always a risk, in everything. If the risk is not returning, then I’ll have to make sure that things get done and I come home. Now that this is home, I’m not losing once more.” He smirked his usual cocky grin, raising his arms to cross over his chest, “Of course, it goes without saying that I’ll make sure no one gets left behind.”