B2 [ANBU Sennin]

[Oshiro Saki]

The last time I'd been on the second floor of the Sileo, other than in passing on my way to lower levels, had been when Santaru Rin had summoned me before and after my punishment for pickpocketing. I didn't have very fond memories of the place, hough I do remember that i like Rin herself. She was surprising down-to-earth, especially for a Sennin. She seemed to really care about me, despite my actions… I still remember the time I first met her in person, when I reported to her about Inuzuka Gekido's coming out from hiding. I liked her. I trusted her. But that was all gone…

But enough of the sentiment. It had been five years since I'd been in the ANBU corps, and I was finally being summoned for my ANU exam. I'd received the letter this morning, and so I spent the early portion of it warming up and getting ready for anything. i would need to be at my peak, especially since I'd heard of some people dying during their exam. But I was more than ready. I was a high-level ninjutsuist with the ability to influence time, I had a demon inside me to make me strong should I need it, and I was a damn good fighter, if i do say so myself. There wasn't much I was afraid of.

I confidently walked to the Sennin's door, and gave three hard knocks on the reinforced blast doors. I was ready for this. OI could sense that Youko was slowly growing in power within me, like he was ready to burst out at a moment's notice, should I call on his help. I was lucky to have a demon with a nature such as his; he was not evil, and he had no intention of ever taking over my body without my consent. He was simply there to grow with me, to become stronger and help me along the way. I respected his advice, and he respected my actions. We were synchronized.

And we were ready.

 

[Kogami Ayumu]

Ayumu, not the actual current Sennin of the ANBU of Kumogakure, sat in the chair of the Sennin of Kumogakure, sifting through papers on his desk. He was in search of some form or file, no one could be sure, perhaps not even himself. As at last his hands lifted a folder from underneath a stack of papers which slid aside, a smirk formed over his face. "Finally," he whispered in relief, half thinking he had lost the file up until that point. Now he could begin. Or he would have, except one of the non-combatant members of ANBU was standing at his desk looking like he had something to say. "Yes?" Ayumu asked, slightly annoyed to be interrupted before he could even begin his next task.

"Your 10 o' clock is on his way," the information specialist informed Ayumu. How did he know this? Well, he was an information specialist in the ANBU Sennin's office, and such a person would know all that went on within the Sileo. They were particularly good at that, as had Rin, the former ANBU Sennin, been. She had spent countless hours, days, at this desk, the heart of the Sileo. Nobody was more well informed than her. Perhaps Moro was getting the hang of it too, but Moro wasn't there. As such, Ayumu had to fill in as he had been doing a lot lately. Moro had good reason, at least. He was on the trail of one of Kumogakure's most wanted and dangerous criminals. Besides that, Ayumu could probably use the experience anyway. Some day he was supposed to take over this office. Perhaps sooner than anybody realized, especially himself.

"Is it that time already? Oh, dammit..." Ayumu responded, wondering how much time had been lost searching for the file in his hand. He set it down reluctantly at the edge of the desk where it would no doubt go into hiding once more as soon as he took his eyes off of it. Fortunately the file he needed now was handed to him directly by the one who stood at his desk. "Thank you. Have someone open the door for him when he gets here," he instructed the aide before opening up Kosei's file for a refresher course. He had gone on a mission with the trainee and Gin when he himself was a trainee. This was back before the insanity that had led Ayumu to his current position. If not for the coma Kosei had fallen into shortly after their mission together, who knew where Kosei would be now? At the moment he was at the Sennin's door. A knock came at the door, and Ayumu motioned for the personnel nearest it to open the blast door.

"Kosei, welcome. You were expecting the Sennin, no doubt. Well, you got me!" Ayumu said, beckoning for him to approach the desk as he set down the file, having learned a few things from it. "At any rate, records indicate that you're ready for promotion. I have a mission for you first that will serve as a bit of an evaluation. Upon your return, if you succeed, you'll be promoted. Before that, I wanted to talk to you a bit," he said, extending his hand in the direction of the seat on the other side of the desk. He waited for Kosei to sit, if he chose to. "So, what's new with you, since you woke up from the coma? How have you recovered?" Ayumu asked, almost as if this was to be a casual conversation. Considering him, it could actually be one.

[MFT]

 

[Oshiro Saki]

The door was opened by a man whose name I did not know, nor did I ever learn. I suppose he wasn't very important in this story, though were it not for him, many things around the Sileo would not be accomplished. An unsung hero, at best. Regardless, i nodded at him before I totally looked into the room to face the Sennin. The heavy door closed behind me, and I was once again in a familiar room, with familiar setting, and a… surprisingly familiar face behind the Sennin's desk.

It was Ayumu, not Moro.

Well now I was really confused.

I knew that he'd been promoted to the ANBU captain… but now he was the sennin? Or, perhaps he was holding the desk while Moro was out. I didn't know. It was curious, though, as only recently, before I'd fallen into my coma, he'd been an AiT just like I had. When I'd awoken, he was captain. I'd only been under for a little over a month… and in that month all of ANBU had changed.

"Hello, sir. I was expecting Moro-sama, I have to admit. It's been a while!" I said, trying to keep the mode light. I'd like to think that's I'd become friends with him on that mission we had together before, but I didn't know how he felt about that. But, assuming he was my friend, I still didn't know if I was speaking out of place by acting as though he were my friend, since as of right now he was the acting ANBU Sennin, and a Sennin should probably stick to professionalism, or at least I assumed so.

I guess I was right, though. He seemed to act friendly enough, asking me what had happened since I'd awoken from my coma. It could also mean that, as Sennin, he had to make sure that I was physically fit enough to actually be a full-fledged ANBU. I was confused… and I was over thinking things. Ayumu was just trying to be friendly, that was it. Nothing more!

"Well, a few days after I awoke, I had myself put in for gate duty. I didn't want to take it too hard, so that I could get back into the swing of things. But… uh, about a week later, I passed out while checking someone into the village." I paused, trying to gather my memories correctly to make sure I got it all out right.

"While I was unconscious, I…. it was weird. It was like I was within myself. I don't really know how to describe it, really. I admitted. "But I wasn't alone. There was a great purple bug-like thing there, at least eight feet tall. It has massive scythes for hands, six-inch long talons on its feet, and grasshopper wings on its back. It was… a demon. He calls himself Youko, and he's decided to live within me. Remember those gauntlets we were getting on that mission before I went under? Apparently, he'd been imprisoned within them until I picked them up. That's why I fell into that coma, because I couldn't handle him at first, I guess." I sighed. I didn't know if this was new news to Ayumu or not, and I didn't totally know how he'd react. "You can find a full detail on his disposition and features in the Medical Complex under my name. He's not a bad demon, from what I can tell… he's sticking around with me so that he can become stronger and defeat another demon he knows. He doesn't try to take over or anything unless I let him, and then we fight side-by-side, with both of us equally in control of my body. The only problem is that we haven't exactly den able to totally control everything we do… sometimes, we'll screw up a jutsu, and it'll go somewhere wild. I think we're getting the hang of it, though." This definitely wasn't helping my promotion. Why was still talking about it?

"Since then, though, I've been recovering well. I just finished an escort mission, bringing someone to Konohagakure. That went off without much of a hitch. I was able to defend thee escort well. I had to take charge of the team… and… heh, I guess I was the team leader. I was able to quickly and effectively give the others orders when the time came, so I'd say that as of right now, I'm even better than before I went into my coma. Anyways… anything else?"

[MFT]

 

[Kogami Ayumu]

Ayumu was glad to find that Kosei wasn't too stiff around him. They had gone on a mission together and gotten used to one another well enough, he liked to think. It made conversing and getting information much easier when they were both comfortable. Ayumu was also glad to see that Kosei was entirely forthcoming about the recent events he had gone through. Of course most of this was in the file, but there was no mention of how he was adapting to the presence of a demon within him. He started with the mention of how he had passed out while checking someone into the village. Of course, apologies had to be given for how the ANBU reacted to the someone, thinking that he might have been the cause. Ayumu was just glad Kosei had woken up again. He went on to describe the experience he had while unconscious. He described what sounded a bit like a nightmare to Ayumu, but clearly it was all quite real. A demon was within Kosei, something that should have been alarming, but considering what those in the shinobi world had to get used to it wasn't too much.

Ayumu remembered how Rin had been ever so watchful of those involved with demons, being one of those who lived through the demon invasion. Of course it was only wise to keep an eye on them. History gave word to the wise not to trust demons, as a general rule. This was while Rin had made a goal of gathering demonic artifacts to seal them away where they couldn't harm anybody. Why she had sent Gin, Kosei, and Ayumu after those gauntlets. Ironic that it had brought a demon into Kumogakure, catching a ride inside Kosei. Apparently, despite putting Kosei in a coma, he wasn't a bad demon. At least that was Kosei's evaluation, and who would know better? Ayumu did not have the same stigma against demons that Rin did, but he was still wary of them. Still, such a thing was legal in Kumogakure for the sake of making its shinobi stronger. Ayumu knew that some were capable of controlling or cooperating with the demon inside. Hopefully Kosei would be one of those people. It was slightly concerning to hear that they were having some trouble with coordination, but as with any new technique or ability, it took some work to master it.

"Well, practice makes perfect, I suppose," Ayumu said before allowing Kosei to continue telling him about life since the coma. He went on to describe the mission he had just returned from. Kumogakure shinobi had been hired to escort a woman being relocated to Konohagakure. The employer was something called the Titan Corporation, a company Ayumu had not heard of. It seemed unusual to be hired by a corporation, normally the government of Lightning Country or some wealthy civilian did the hiring. Ayumu hated not having information on something, so he filed away the name for potential further investigation at a later time. From the sounds of it, Kosei had done well on the mission. That was good, and further added to the reasons it was time for his promotion.

"Well, I've probably wasted enough time catching up... the client for this mission would probably appreciate some haste," Ayumu said, lifting a file from another portion of his desk and opening it up. This had actually arrived at his desk earlier in the morning and while other aspects of the mission and information gathering were being handled, Ayumu had selected Kosei to take on the mission. It was then when he had realized Kosei was in a position to be promoted after the mission. The portfolio before him had some updated information, so he took a moment to scan over it and make sure he knew what he needed to know. "This mission is probably going to require some stealth. A young girl was kidnapped and is being held for ransom by a group of thugs and bandits... it's possible some shinobi are mixed in with the group as well," Ayumu began to explain. He set down the file and pushed it towards Kosei to allow him to look while he continued to brief him.

"They actually moved in and took over the mansion of our client while they were out of the house, leaving the servants to take care of their daughter. We don't know for sure what's become of the servants, but the group let one go to inform our client of their demands. Now, instead of handing over money to them, the client chose to use it to hire us. Naturally we could move in and take the mansion back, but that could potentially be very risky for the little girl. That's where you come in. I need you to infiltrate the mansion and find the girl, secure her safety, and then let us know. At that point, we can retake the mansion. You can't be caught, as if the rest of the mansion is alerted the girl may come to harm. We don't have as much information as we'd like, so you'll have to be very careful of course. The ransom was demanded to be given within three days, but we're not waiting for that, naturally. You'll be going as soon as we're done here. The mansion is about a day from our village, more information can be found within that file," Ayumu explained, motioning towards the file in front of Kosei when he was done speaking.

"Any questions?"
[spoilername="File Contents"]The file contains the information Ayumu gave you and the exact location of the property.

It also has the names of of the clients and their daughter:
Kusanagi Hiro [Father]
Kusanagi Saeko [Mother]
Kusanagi Yuzuyu [Daughter / Hostage]

They would appreciate the safety of any of the servants if you come upon them, but only Yuzuyu is mission critical.

Photograph Taken of the Mansion:

Photograph of Kusanagi Yuzuyu:

[/spoilername]

 

[Oshiro Saki]

I took the envelope with the mission info in it, and quickly opened it. There wasn't much to do other than that, really. Ayumu described the mission, a hostage rescue, or something like one. A psuedo-rescue mission, if you will. Minimal deaths if possible, at least to the friendly faction. But that wouldn't be a problem, so long as Youko and I could behave and get in sync properly. Shouldn't be too hard.

"None, sir. I'm ready to go right now."

[TL]

 

[Kogami Ayumu]

Ayumu watched as Kosei took the file and quickly went through the contents. There wasn't a whole lot of extra information in there, mostly just pictures that would give him an idea of where he was going and what he was looking for. The file also contained a map which would show him the exact location of the manner so that he could reach it with little issue. After a few moments, Kosei was done going through it. He would have further time to study it on the way there, or perhaps once he had gotten close. For now, he indicated that he was ready to go. Ayumu nodded in approval of his enthusiasm to leave immediately.

"Good, off with you then," he said simply, motioning towards the door. "You'll find travel arrangements outside the gate which will get you there," Ayumu said as he watched Kosei leave through the large door of the office. With Kosei on his way, Ayumu had other things to attend to. He turned his chair slightly, accidentally bumping the desk and causing a large stack of papers to tumble over, scattering the pages everywhere. "Oh, son of a--"

[Topic Left - You can post up a exit thread at the gates when you're ready, probably best to just wait til Kosei's an iNPC to make the transition smoother.]